Americans go in search of sun

[fillerup]

By definition this is news, and by inference it's Disney related. So I thought I'd throw this up here for what's it's worth.

From Reuters, 2/18:

After harsh winter, Americans go in search of sun

"(Reuters Life!) - After experiencing one of the worst U.S. winters in memory more than a third of Americans are planning to take a break this spring in search of warm weather and sunshine, according to a new poll.

Three-quarters of travelers questioned in the survey said they would be staying in the United States, and Florida was by far the most popular destination, followed by California and Nevada at a distant third.

And despite the lackluster economy, most people will be digging deeper into their pocket for travel money than they did in 2010.

"The purse strings seem to be loosening this year." said Beth Caulfield, editorial director for AOL Travel, which commissioned the survey of 1,000 travelers across the United States.

"The fact that people are willing to spend the same or more is indicative of some of the positive signs we are seeing in the economy," she added.

More than 60 percent of travelers will spend between $500 and $2,000 on their trip and 80 percent plan to venture more than 250 miles from home.

"The men were the bigger spenders," Caufield said, adding that 50 percent said they were planning a trip costing between $1,000 and $5,000, compared to only 37 percent of women.

"There is definitely a disconnect in the way men and women tend to think about money when they are traveling," she added.

Residents of the midwestern states will be going the farthest from home and taking the most time off, about six days, compared to other regions of the country.

Northeasterners were also planning longer trips and had the biggest budgets, with nearly half saying they would spend between $1,000 and $5,000 on the holiday.

And while people from other regions will be traveling to Florida, residents of the sunshine state were the most likely not to stray too far and to be driving to their destination. For Floridians going abroad, the Caribbean was a top choice.

Many Westerners also said they would be staying close to home, but for those going farther away Hawaii and Mexico were popular destinations.

Although 60 percent of people knew where they were going when they were questioned in the January poll, 75 percent had not booked flights or made travel arrangements.

The complete AOL Travel survey results can be found on aol.it/fussVm.

 

[Hakunamatata]

This American prefers the cold and is not looking forward to summer....

 

[rsoxguy]

This American lives in South Florida and never lost the warm weather and sunshine.

 

[Chevross]

This winter was one of the worst winters? '09-'10 was by far the worst I have experienced since the 90's. The only thing about this winter is that places that haven't seen snow in a while finally saw snow. Plus, these "no-snow" places greatly exaggerated the Snowpocalypse they experienced. It was nothing compared to what I get normally. :xmas:

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

pies ..................surely?

 

[mickeysaver]

Having just moved to Daytona Beach from the Atlanta area, where snow and ice have been the norm since Christmas, I must say that the warm sunny weather has been just excellent.

I can certainly understand the desire to shake off those winter and "frugal fatigue" blues and head to a warm sunny place where the cares of the world are far behind you.

Come on America, our back yard is your playground and we are don't mind the company.

Of course I say this dreading the heck out of the fact that I have to go to the airport here in Daytona tomorrow morning. The airport is off of International Speedway Blvd, right next to the Daytona International Speedway, and tomorrow is the Daytona 500. The tourist in that area have made it a bit of a nightmare to navigate. :lol: They go home on Monday, right!??! :lookaroun

 

[Chevross]

Having just moved to Daytona Beach from the Atlanta area, where snow and ice have been the norm since Christmas, I must say that the warm sunny weather has been just excellent.

I can certainly understand the desire to shake off those winter and "frugal fatigue" blues and head to a warm sunny place where the cares of the world are far behind you. Come on America, our back yard is your playground and we are don't mind the company.

Of course I say this dreading the heck out of the fact that I have to go to the airport here in Daytona tomorrow morning. The airport is off of International Speedway Blvd and tomorrow is the Daytona 500. The tourist in that area have made it a bit of a nightmare to navigate. :lol:

Don't even mention Atlanta......I was there in December, that was specifically the place I was referring to. I talked to a Holiday Inn clerk and some waiters and I told them about the 12 to 20 inches and power outages back home, of course Atlanta had it worst with a half inch and thin layer of ice according to them, power still effective in Atlanta. I know what made it worst there, the Speed Limit says 70, but in those conditions it's better not to do 100mph. :lol:

 

[mickeysaver]

This winter was one of the worst winters? '09-'10 was by far the worst I have experienced since the 90's. The only thing about this winter is that places that haven't seen snow in a while finally saw snow. Plus, these "no-snow" places greatly exaggerated the Snowpocalypse they experienced. It was nothing compared to what I get normally. :xmas:

As a former Atlanta area resident, let me say that the majority of the Snowpocalyse fuss was more directed towards the next to worthless GA DOT. :fork:

The metro area has tens of thousands of miles of roads, over 3 million residents, and only 3 snowplows. :brick: Um, WTH?!!??!?

Yeah, we fussed. You would too.

 

[Chevross]

As a former Atlanta area resident, let me say that the majority of the Snowpocalyse fuss was more directed towards the next to worthless GA DOT. :fork:

The metro area has tens of thousands of miles of roads, over 3 million residents, and only 3 snowplows. :brick: Um, WTH?!!??!?

Yeah, we fussed. You would too.

We didn't have clear roads for the majority of the entire two months either, and we have mountainous, single lane, sudden drop off, roads.

I would rather drive in what you guys had than what we got.

 

[Atomicmickey]

I just got back from the Dream and WDW. We are getting 15 inches of snow tomorrow. There is no mystery about where I would prefer to be, no matter what my nationality!

 

[spaceghost]

Back in my day we walked to school in 5 feet of snow with beavers strapped to our feet because we couldn't afford snowshoes, and we liked it! Seriously, I live in Maine. Snowy winter = normal. This winter has been snowier than normal, but certainly not the worst in memory...

 

[NMBC1993]

As someone who has lived in FL my whole life I dare say bring back the cold weather. Currently it's 80 degrees in February and we've had about a month of actual "winter". Idk maybe it's just me but FL has become 1 month of winter and 11 months of summer.

 

[Wilt Dasney]

As a former Atlanta area resident, let me say that the majority of the Snowpocalyse fuss was more directed towards the next to worthless GA DOT. :fork:

The metro area has tens of thousands of miles of roads, over 3 million residents, and only 3 snowplows. :brick: Um, WTH?!!??!?

Yeah, we fussed. You would too.

Precisely. People from other parts of the country can't understand what it's like to be in a place where no local or state investment has been made in keeping roads clear, no individuals have snow chains on their tires, and — probably most importantly — a major portion of the population has made it into their 20s, 30s, or later without ever getting the rude awakening of the realities of driving on snow and ice that people in other places get as teenagers.

Transplant all of those conditions into a place like Buffalo or Pittsburgh, and the result would be exactly what we saw in Atlanta...a relatively minor winter weather event quite literally cripples the area.

Pointing out that people in other places are better at dealing with the conditions is about as relevant as pointing out that penguins are better at living in Antarctica than camels would be. :lol:

 

[420WDW MONSTER]

This American prefers the cold and is not looking forward to summer....

I hear that!! there's nothing like a texas summer(and i don't have AC)!

 

[Chevross]

Precisely. People from other parts of the country can't understand what it's like to be in a place where no local or state investment has been made in keeping roads clear, no individuals have snow chains on their tires, and — probably most importantly — a major portion of the population has made it into their 20s, 30s, or later without ever getting the rude awakening of the realities of driving on snow and ice that people in other places get as teenagers.

Transplant all of those conditions into a place like Buffalo or Pittsburgh, and the result would be exactly what we saw in Atlanta...a relatively minor winter weather event quite literally cripples the area.

Pointing out that people in other places are better at dealing with the conditions is about as relevant as pointing out that penguins are better at living in Antarctica than camels would be. :lol:

I should have known better than try to say that 18 inches on mountainous roads are rougher than a half inch on flat straight roads. Our magical salt trucks are not effected by gravity, snow, and ice too. In fact, if a salt truck touches the road, it's like the entire street was in summer time. No need to worry anymore about black ice or missed spots.

I'm not saying we are better adapted to the weather. I'm saying it takes a bigger and worse snow to cripple our community than it does yours. Common sense should also say if you see snow, to slow down when driving. Instead when I was in Atlanta this winter, I was doing 40mph on the interstate and I was literally getting honked at, flipped off, and blown by at much higher speeds. About 20 minutes later when I saw the same cars in ditches, other vehicles, or flipped on their tops, I couldn't help but think back to everyone saying it was a bad snow (keep in mind I didn't find it bad), but yet you guys still drove like maniacs knowing the roads had snow on them? I know it rains down there, I'm sure you guys are little more cautious when driving in the rain, but just because it doesn't usually snow shouldn't equate that the roads are going to be like a normal, dry, warm day. People were getting ticked at me when I said I was happy being in that type of weather they had at Atlanta, and they couldn't understand that maybe the further North you go, the more snow and colder it is.

But we have the salt trucks, so that takes care of all our problems. :ROFLOL:

PS: We have two salt trucks.....and chains aren't used unless there is absolutely no other solution because chains can rip the fender off a vehicle. I haven't checked our salt trucks for chains though so they more than likely use them.

 

[Chevross]

EDIT: Double post, sorry.

 

[Wilt Dasney]

Common sense should also say if you see snow, to slow down when driving. Instead when I was in Atlanta this winter, I was doing 40mph on the interstate and I was literally getting honked at, flipped off, and blown by at much higher speeds.

If you read my post, this was actually a major part of my point. For the average person, knowing how to adapt your driving style to a particular set of elements requires experience driving in that element (or exposure to other people with said experience, like parents, etc.)

I'm sure that plenty of people where you come from (yourself excluded naturally ) learned this lesson "the hard way" when they started driving (or saw enough cars in ditches as kids to know better). The difference in a place like Atlanta is that a lot of people here learn that unfortunate lesson simultaneously, because they lack the reference points people in other places rack up individually and cumulatively over time.

I'm saying it takes a bigger and worse snow to cripple our community than it does yours.

This is pretty much exactly what I said. I just offered an explanation as to why this is the case that doesn't hinge on the notion that everyone north of D.C. is possessed at birth with a surplus of IQ points we just can't match down here.

 

[Figments Friend]

As someone who has lived in FL my whole life I dare say bring back the cold weather. Currently it's 80 degrees in February and we've had about a month of actual "winter". Idk maybe it's just me but FL has become 1 month of winter and 11 months of summer.

Indeed. Thus why i moved back to MA after living in Fl for 3 1/2 years. The weather really BORED me!

I mean, i LIKE wet Springs, hot Summers ( not HUMID ones..), and cool Autumns with colored leaves. I also like snow for Christmas...or at least at some point in the Winter.

Of course, i was younger then....and would probably enjoy the non-changing weather now, but the variety in the weather i really missed.

People always ask me why i moved back ( thinking i am a nutter..) but when i talk about the weather, they seem to 'get it'.

 

[Chevross]

""""

Well it's good that we are agreeing then isn't it?

And I had to learn too, but I heeded the advice of others, I also remember in movies showing ice being slippery would cause car wrecks (I know Hollywood isn't the best way to learn things), and ice skating rinks helped me not to like the ice and caused a few broken bones. That slickness kinda translated that maybe this type of water formation could be dangerous, even before I could drive. I'm sure Atlanta or some surrounding area has an ice skating rink somewhere? I'm also sure Atlanta has ice cubes.

This is how I saw Atlanta.

Dry = Normal
Rain = A little cautious
Snow = All Heck breaks loose, Drive through the snow as fast as you can!

I'm just saying Georgia was crazy. All other states seemed perfectly fine with the snow. Georgia however, no chance, and they got mad if you mentioned snow anywhere else. My personal experience, nothing against anyone, I was just amazed how this one state treated the situation so differently than the other places during the winter I had been to cause my job requires me to travel a lot. So, that's what I'm saying. Maybe I should have clarified it was Georgia specifically.

 

[Wilt Dasney]

This is how I saw Atlanta.

Dry = Normal
Rain = A little cautious
Snow = All Heck breaks loose, Drive through the snow as fast as you can!

I don't doubt what you encountered a bit. I was in Florida when the snow hit (talk about timing!) but when I got back, I saw road signs along the interstate that had been knocked around by cars sliding into them.

What's funny to me is that I have a roommate from Boston. Whenever it snows here, he has the exact opposite complaint about the locals. ("Stupid Georgia drivers going 10 miles an hour in the snow! In Mass, you just learn how to deal with it and keep going!") I guess when you're used to the stuff, any overreaction by people less accustomed to it — toward either extreme — seems pretty annoying. :lol: