Board 8 > How many U.S. states have you visited?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Just Florida and Connecticut
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I'm surprised at how many people can afford to travel...
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it's not expensive to get in a car and drive somewhere. If you live on the East coast you have 10+ states within a 12 hour drive
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I don't really consider visiting 16 different states in 31 years to be a lot of traveling.
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KingBartz posted...

it's not expensive to get in a car and drive somewhere. If you live on the East coast you have 10+ states within a 12 hour drive

Gas prices, the opportunity cost of not working the days you spend traveling, paying for food and rooms, all that adds up quickly.
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Oregon
Washington
California
Kansas
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Arizona (Visited Friends)
California (Lived for a year, never went to disney >.>)
Colorado (Conference)
Florida (Universal, general beach stuff. Still have not been to disney world)
Georgia (Stuff in Atlanta inc CTN)
Illinois (Relatives)
Louisiana (Mardi Gras)
Massachusetts (School trip)
Missouri (Relatives)
Nevada (Vegas)
New Hampshire (Friends)
New Jersey (Would sometimes go to NJ because it was where the closest sonics was. Also, Six Flags)
New York (Lived for over 2 decades)
Ohio (Relatives, Ceder Point)
Pennsylvania (Had a vacation home here.)
South Dakota (Mount Rushmore
Tennessee (Currently live here)
Vermont (Had a vacation home here. Not at the same time as Penn)
Virginia (King's Dominion)

Also been to D.C.

There might be more but i cant remember.
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At least 15?

Georgia
Rhode Island
New Jersey
California
Washington
Minnesota
Oregon
Tennessee
Nevada
Texas
North Dakota
Pennsylvania
Florida
New York
Some vague collection of New England states (Maine? New Hampshire? Vermont? I actually don't remember).

Probably more than that. But not like I've been keeping careful records.

(Lived in California, Georgia, Brittish Columbia, Manitoba, and Quebec--generally ended up visiting states that directly bordered states/provinces where I've lived, and a couple more for internet gatherings, and family members).
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Alaska
Washington
Oregon
California
Arizona
Nevada
Utah
Idaho
Montana
Wyoming
Illinois
Texas
Louisiana
Mississippi
Alabama
Georgia
Florida
South Carolina
North Carolina
Virginia
Maryland
Delaware
Pennsylvania
New Jersey
New York
Connecticut
Rhode Island
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
Maine
Vermont
Minnesota

32 states. Hopefully I'll complete the whole set in my lifetime.
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scarletspeed7 posted...

48; no Alaska or Hawaii for me.

Dude nice! Did you knock most out with big road trips?

BowserCuffs posted...

Gas prices, the opportunity cost of not working the days you spend traveling, paying for food and rooms, all that adds up quickly.

Despite all that, it's still much less expensive than international travel. Most people are gonna take vacations and travel, and the multi-state road trip is a hallmark of the broke vacationer who can't afford to cross the ocean.

That said, I'm sure there are still a ton of Americans who have never left their home states due to poverty. Heart goes out to those people.
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BowserCuffs posted...

KingBartz posted...

it's not expensive to get in a car and drive somewhere. If you live on the East coast you have 10+ states within a 12 hour drive

Gas prices, the opportunity cost of not working the days you spend traveling, paying for food and rooms, all that adds up quickly.

Not really. A few hundred bucks (less than $500) can get you a pretty fun trip to any state you want (aside from Alaska/Hawaii). If you're being frugal, much less.

My list is pretty modest. Just haven't had enough time to travel as much as I'd like.

New Mexico - Lived there most of my life
Washington - Lived there about a year. Have also visited a few times.
Arizona - Gone a few times just to go. Most interesting thing I did was see a Suns game.
Nevada - Went to EVO once. Kinda wanna go again.
Oregon - Stayed with a friend here a couple of times while traveling through.
California - Stayed with a friend here while traveling through.
Illinois - Have visited friends here for a few days.
North Carolina - Have visited a friend here for a few days.
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CaptainOfCrush posted...

Despite all that, it's still much less expensive than international travel.

...I mean, yeah? I guess?

I mean, gold plating your toilet is less expensive than making furniture entirely out of diamond, but I would still say gold plating your toilet's expensive.
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Only California, really. I was born in Oregon but we moved a few years after that so I do not really have any memories of it.

I would like to travel around the states more but that is not on the table right now.

Oh. I could add a ton more states if it was just like "I stopped at a mcdonalds here or a hotel here or something."
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Anyone else drive Coast to Coast?
I collect the official state road maps from every state I go though.

I've had to hunt some of those suckers down...Darn California having only like 5 places to get them. Even then they are off the beaten trail tucked away within shopping areas of Indian resorts. Oh and then their map is made of plastic and shaped differently then any other state, it sticks out like a sore thumb next to the others.
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BowserCuffs posted...

KingBartz posted...

it's not expensive to get in a car and drive somewhere. If you live on the East coast you have 10+ states within a 12 hour drive

Gas prices, the opportunity cost of not working the days you spend traveling, paying for food and rooms, all that adds up quickly.

you always have to eat, so that cost isn't real. You aren't working every single day of the year(usually), so you can travel on your days off or weekend, and you can sleep in your car or at friends houses or at a campground, etc

you can drive 300 miles for $20ish in most economy cars.

Provided I have a car or a friend who has a car, I could plan a weekend road trip for less than the cost of a video game. It's not crazy to do if you really want to.

I understand there are people who are in poverty who don't have access to cars or friends with houses, but most people on this board don't fit that description.
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caps (21)
ME
NH
VT
MA
CT
RI
CT
NY
PA
NJ
MD
VA
FL
GA
TX
OK
CO
WY
NV
DE
NM
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BowserCuffs posted...

I'm surprised at how many people can afford to travel...

In the northeast it's very easy to get double digits without trying. There are a lot of inexpensive daytrips. It's possible you've covered more ground in CA than someone in New England has.

Flying/hotels aren't cheap though, for sure. But over time, the states pile up. And I'm sure some folks have had work trips.
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Texas
Ohio
New Jersey
North Carolina
South Carolina
Georgia
Florida
Hawaii
Tennesee
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KingBartz posted...

BowserCuffs posted...

KingBartz posted...

it's not expensive to get in a car and drive somewhere. If you live on the East coast you have 10+ states within a 12 hour drive

Gas prices, the opportunity cost of not working the days you spend traveling, paying for food and rooms, all that adds up quickly.

you always have to eat, so that cost isn't real. You aren't working every single day of the year(usually), so you can travel on your days off or weekend, and you can sleep in your car or at friends houses or at a campground, etc

you can drive 300 miles for $20ish in most economy cars.

Provided I have a car or a friend who has a car, I could plan a weekend road trip for less than the cost of a video game. It's not crazy to do if you really want to.

I understand there are people who are in poverty who don't have access to cars or friends with houses, but most people on this board don't fit that description.

1. You can only pack so much food and restaurants, even fast food restaurants, are more expensive than eating at home
2. Sleeping in the car can get the police telling you off, if not charging you with something, in many locations, and more often than not you travel through areas that don't have campgrounds. (I'm talking more about traveling through several states to get to another state, for the record. Not just hopping over to the next state.)
3. $20 isn't a lot of gas. And are you factoring in the time spent in a traffic jam? Because every time we've *done* traveling, like to one of the states mentioned where family lives, we've ended up in a traffic jam on the way home or something.

When I comment on people affording to travel I mean people who have been to half the states in the country.
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BowserCuffs posted...

KingBartz posted...

BowserCuffs posted...

KingBartz posted...

it's not expensive to get in a car and drive somewhere. If you live on the East coast you have 10+ states within a 12 hour drive

Gas prices, the opportunity cost of not working the days you spend traveling, paying for food and rooms, all that adds up quickly.

you always have to eat, so that cost isn't real. You aren't working every single day of the year(usually), so you can travel on your days off or weekend, and you can sleep in your car or at friends houses or at a campground, etc

you can drive 300 miles for $20ish in most economy cars.

Provided I have a car or a friend who has a car, I could plan a weekend road trip for less than the cost of a video game. It's not crazy to do if you really want to.

I understand there are people who are in poverty who don't have access to cars or friends with houses, but most people on this board don't fit that description.

1. You can only pack so much food and restaurants, even fast food restaurants, are more expensive than eating at home
2. Sleeping in the car can get the police telling you off, if not charging you with something, in many locations, and more often than not you travel through areas that don't have campgrounds. (I'm talking more about traveling through several states to get to another state, for the record. Not just hopping over to the next state.)
3. $20 isn't a lot of gas. And are you factoring in the time spent in a traffic jam? Because every time we've *done* traveling, like to one of the states mentioned where family lives, we've ended up in a traffic jam on the way home or something.

When I comment on people affording to travel I mean people who have been to half the states in the country.

The great thing about living in the year that we do is that it is easier now then at any other point in history to travel.

The only thing holding people back from traveling is their will and excuses. Unless you are literally living paycheck to paycheck
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LOLIAmAnAlt posted...

BowserCuffs posted...

KingBartz posted...

BowserCuffs posted...

KingBartz posted...

it's not expensive to get in a car and drive somewhere. If you live on the East coast you have 10+ states within a 12 hour drive

Gas prices, the opportunity cost of not working the days you spend traveling, paying for food and rooms, all that adds up quickly.

you always have to eat, so that cost isn't real. You aren't working every single day of the year(usually), so you can travel on your days off or weekend, and you can sleep in your car or at friends houses or at a campground, etc

you can drive 300 miles for $20ish in most economy cars.

Provided I have a car or a friend who has a car, I could plan a weekend road trip for less than the cost of a video game. It's not crazy to do if you really want to.

I understand there are people who are in poverty who don't have access to cars or friends with houses, but most people on this board don't fit that description.

1. You can only pack so much food and restaurants, even fast food restaurants, are more expensive than eating at home
2. Sleeping in the car can get the police telling you off, if not charging you with something, in many locations, and more often than not you travel through areas that don't have campgrounds. (I'm talking more about traveling through several states to get to another state, for the record. Not just hopping over to the next state.)
3. $20 isn't a lot of gas. And are you factoring in the time spent in a traffic jam? Because every time we've *done* traveling, like to one of the states mentioned where family lives, we've ended up in a traffic jam on the way home or something.

When I comment on people affording to travel I mean people who have been to half the states in the country.

The great thing about living in the year that we do is that it is easier now then at any other point in history to travel.

The only thing holding people back from traveling is their will and excuses. Unless you are literally living paycheck to paycheck

Depends where you are though. It's more expensive, and far more complicated in other parts of the world.
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I understand that, but it's still easier now then ever.
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https://livability.com/topics/business/how-many-states-has-the-average-american-visited

The average American has visited 12 states. Considering Board 8 probably has more economic freedom and is younger, I'm not surprised we're outpacing the average.
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LOLIAmAnAlt posted...

I understand that, but it's still easier now then ever.

Easier for some, harder than others.

And I'm in the "harder" camp.
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As someone with a decent income and a decent amount of wanderlust, I'm a tad disappointed I haven't visited more than 15 (+2) states in the US.

That number would be higher if I included states I did almost nothing in and have no real experience with - such as every state I drove through en route to Milwaukee many years ago. I don't include that.

I guess 15 is pretty good though. I've been doing a lot more international travel over the past 4 years -- England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Czech Republic, India. I want more of that.
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Indiana
Kentucky
Illinois
Missouri
Tennessee
Mississippi
Alabama
Florida
Georgia
North Carolina
South Carolina
Ohio
New York
Virginia
West Virginia

Also been to DC and driven through Arkansas and Pennsylvania a few times
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New Hampshire
Massachusetts
Rhode Island
Connecticut
New York
New Jersey
Pennsylvania
Maryland
Florida
Ohio

Only 10. Sad!
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Georgia
Florida
North Carolina
South Carolina
Ohio
Louisiana
New York
Tennessee

8

Of course to get to some of these I had to pass through Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky but I spent no time at any of these states save for gas to my recollection.
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scarletspeed7 posted...

48; no Alaska or Hawaii for me.

You should get married in one and honeymoon in the other
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BowserCuffs posted...

Easier for some, harder than others.

And I'm in the "harder" camp.

Aren't you like a teenager or something? Most everyone else here is in their late 20's or 30's

of course they have traveled more than you
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Hawaii, born and raised.
California
Nevada
Arizona
Colorado
Texas
Louisiana
Mississippi
Alabama
New Jersey
Pennsylvania
Maryland and D.C.
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All of them except Alaska, Hawaii, Maine, Vermont, New Jersey, Deleware, New Hampshire, and Maryland.

I've lived in Indiana, New Mexico, Washington, and Florida (basically, I only haven't lived in the corner of the US I haven't visited).
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My parents and I went on vacations all the time when I was younger is how I've been to so many.

Even if you don't count any of that though, since becoming "independent" I've lived for varying periods in 5 different states over a pretty wide range of the country. (Independent is in quotes because I am also counting college which was still funded by my parents.) Couple that with the small number of personal vacations plus 1 work vacation plus random day trips to events in nearby states, and I've been to probably around 20-25 of the states on my own.

Point is it's pretty easy to rack up a decent number of states even without really making a conscious effort to travel at all.
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CaptainOfCrush posted...

https://livability.com/topics/business/how-many-states-has-the-average-american-visited

The average American has visited 12 states. Considering Board 8 probably has more economic freedom and is younger, I'm not surprised we're outpacing the average.

Shit, I've been to like, 6. And two of them were because of work.
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New York

I went to a mall and Olive Garden in Buffalo. It was alright.
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KingBartz posted...

BowserCuffs posted...

Easier for some, harder than others.

And I'm in the "harder" camp.

Aren't you like a teenager or something? Most everyone else here is in their late 20's or 30's

of course they have traveled more than you

I'm 28.
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geez, then if you really want to travel go and do it.
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KingBartz posted...

geez, then if you really want to travel go and do it.

There are numerous factors that make this difficult for me in addition to the lack of resources.

I know this is difficult for you to understand, but there is a pretty significant gap between "living paycheck to paycheck" and "wealthy enough to just go out and travel" where travel just isn't a possibility, and that gap is growing.
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yeah, I definitely can't afford to travel or go on vacation. I have been to a number of states only due to my parents taking me on vacation as a kid/moving fairly often as an adult/accepting a job in another country

and its not "that" hard to work 51 weeks a year and go somewhere for 1 week no matter how much you make if you save for it

thats what I've done the past 4 years to add 9-10 states to my list
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I guess I don't know your situation then and maybe it's dire, and if that is the case you have my apologies.

but if you aren't scraping by paycheck to paycheck, then you should be able to save some money for the things you want to do. If you have financial priorities that are higher than travel, that's fine, but I'm saying that domestic travel is certainly not very expensive(compared to many other hobbies) and there are budget-conscious ways to do it.
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I've been to most states at this point, easier to list what I'm missing:
Maine? Might have been there at some point, since I know I have new hampshire.
Arizona
New Mexico
Nevada?

Being in a military family + living in all corners of the US accounts for most of it, since most states are ~3 states away from a state where I lived.
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Dr_Football posted...

and its not "that" hard to work 51 weeks a year and go somewhere for 1 week no matter how much you make if you save for it

Imagine having a job that gladly lets you have an entire week off
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I can't imagine never getting a week off

I hope I never give up teaching >_>
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Counting only states I've spent at least a few days (and not like...staying overnight at a hotel on a road trip).

New York
New Jersey
Pennsylvania
Michigan
Illinois
Florida
Virginia
South Carolina
Alabama
Colorado
Nevada

Think that's it. Driven through every state on east coast basically.
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BowserCuffs posted...

KingBartz posted...

geez, then if you really want to travel go and do it.

There are numerous factors that make this difficult for me in addition to the lack of resources.

I know this is difficult for you to understand, but there is a pretty significant gap between "living paycheck to paycheck" and "wealthy enough to just go out and travel" where travel just isn't a possibility, and that gap is growing.

Here we go
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I have lived in or visited pretty much every state except New York and anything north of that.
Military brat life

Edit: also haven't ever been to Hawaii!
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I've been to more countries (34) than I have states.

Hooray working for an airline! If I didn't, travel would be much more difficult. As much as it is a passion of mine, it's so expensive!

Edit: to actually answer the question, I've been to 23 states.

velocycloraptor posted...

yeah, I definitely can't afford to travel or go on vacation. I have been to a number of states only due to my parents taking me on vacation as a kid/moving fairly often as an adult/accepting a job in another country

I travel mainly on other peoples dimes.

I get plenty of time off at my job but id never be able to afford to go traveling all the time if not for the "volunteer" job i do for paizo.

I get to travel the country playing pathfinder and for that i consider myself blessed.
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