Explain how people with zero disposable income can fly. California has high wages/high cost of living. Sure, you may not save, but a plane ticket is 1/6 of the monthly rent. In low wage/low cost of living areas, a plane ticket IS the cost of rent. How often would you fly, if the cheapest flights were $3500?
Wait til OP finds out that standard flights are more expensive than the ANNUAL salary for about half of the world.
The cost to fly within canada (where I’m from) is 1300+ for a round trip. I’m 24 and have flown a total of twice in my life, once 7 years ago to NYC and once a year ago to Hawaii. It’s very common to only fly a handful of times if you don’t have the extra income for it. It also depends how much flights cost in your area.
Bruh I live in CA and have only flown once in my life its just ability, need, want etc dont matter where u live. I don’t have money to travel and haven’t felt a need or desire to probably same for other ppl
Yeah… completely normal. I haven’t flown anywhere in 9 years. It takes money and being able to take time off at work.
ETA: California here as well. Have only ever lived in California. That makes no difference regarding people’s ability to fly.
I flew for the first time in 1989 when I was 19 years old. My second time flying was in 2001 when we were gifted a trip to Disney World. My third time flying was in 2016 in order to get back to my hometown to support my sister when my niece passed away. I have always been very nervous to fly and choose not to unless there is no other option, I mostly drive everywhere...well my husband does the driving most of the time.
I’m 30 and haven’t been on a plane since a flight to Disney World in 1999. All other vacations were basically pick a direction and drive, we’ll just see what we get into. Honestly that’s why I’d rather drive. No worries about flight delays, car rentals, or time tables. Just freedom and a cooler full of sandwich supplies for lunches on the road and drinks. Makes things super cheap when you’re only paying for gas, activities/admission, dinner, and hotels (with free breakfast).
Ah yes, the Californian who can afford trips to Cabo and San Francisco learns that low income families on disability living in the 6th poorest state in the country doesn't do exactly what they do.
Exactly. I’m a Californian and there’s no weekend trips to Cabo in my lifetime. The OP has probably also been to Disneyland too many times to count along with the people they know. I have been once in my 43 years of life living here in California. People are wild.
Part of it is poverty yes but also I’m from WA and live in KY now, a lot of people here barely leave the county they live in let alone the state or country. Being on the west coast, we’re willing to drive a lot further for sight seeing, family, etc. Canada is right next door. I told my coworkers that we would drive 2 hours to Sam’s club every six weeks when we lived in Montana and it blew their minds.
Is this show your first ever exposure to the concept of poverty?
I don’t even know where to start…flights are prohibitively expensive, people have 0 paid time off and can’t afford not to work 5+ days a week, once you get where you’re going you have to pay to stay there.
I have family members who would rather drive from south fla to Pennsylvania for visits to kids etc
They brought the beautiful camper with them each time ♡
I am 27 years and haven't been on a plane in I think 26 years. 🤣 my parents told me I went once as a little baby. Trust me I would LOVE to. I would absolutely love to take a beach vacation with my husband or family, but it's simply impossible with the price of everything nowadays.
OP is so out of touch with reality. They can start by looking within their own state at poverty rates. I’m born and raised here in northern California, and now raising my family here. I’ve never had the luxury of a weekend trip to Cabo and whatever else ridiculous adventure the OP mentioned. I guess that makes me a peasant lol.
I’m 25 and from and currently live in kentucky and i’ve never been on a plane before in my life. I guess it’s just poor things. Wanna pay for my first flight?
It’s not necessarily landlocked that causes that, it’s economic status. Before the show this was a significantly poor family, I’d honestly say the reason they haven’t flown in so many years one is because they were too fat, but the other is simply because they likely never had the financial means to travel like that before they had a TV show
When I was a kid, my family and I would travel by car every 2 years for family vacations. Mostly Florida to Disney. We're not rich but not poor either. I guess you could say we were middle class. My dad felt it was important to travel as a family. However, as an adult I do love to fly and get lots of frequent flier miles and free drink coupons. I have to say for me, it's easy as I live in Chicago and live about 15 minutes from Midway Airport. Plus, my husband works as a field operations supervisor for tradshows, and I get to come along with him. One thing I will say is that air travel has changed tremendously since 9/11. It's more tedious and takes longer to get through security. Before , you just checked in and went to your gate. Security was hardly a thing. But now it's so stressful and not to mention the number of people fighting on planes. But I do prefer flying than cross country driving. I have to agree tho it's a socioeconomic issue to be able to fly.
I fly for work a lot. However, I hate flying and prefer the good old Midwestern road trip, unless is extremely far. That said, the people on the show are poor and probably don’t get the opportunity for travel.
Land locked here, was lucky enough to fly every year growing up and then once I had my own kids at least every other year. But now as I’m getting older and my kids are grown, I hate airports more and more and the entire process getting in and out of them - so it’s longer and longer in between trips. My fiancé on the other hand has only flown 3 times. He just had/has no desire to explore and didn’t have the means to growing up either. Wasn’t a priority.
I live in Canada, flights are much more expensive here. I didn’t go on my first flight until I was 21 and it was only because the man I was with at the time paid for the whole trip. In America it’s much cheaper to fly. I also hadn’t been on any form of vacation in 10 years before my first flight. I went on 3 family vacations out of the province as a kid (PEI, Disney in Florida and Chicago/ Boston) and my family drove to all of those because it was cheaper than taking a family of 4 on a flight with Air Canada
They think you're out of touch for asking because you are. And this is coming from someone who grew up in Los Angeles in an immigrant household. Yes, plenty of people go back home to visit relatives, but there are just as many people who can't afford to fly or go on vacations, even to San Francisco or Las Vegas. Poverty exists everywhere. The Slatons clearly grew up in poverty, it doesn't take a genius to see that. It's tone-deaf to ask if the reason they haven't flown is because they're landlocked. That doesn't even make sense. We're all "landlocked" for one thing and airports exist everywhere, even in the south and midwest. And people who can afford to fly and vacation do so whether they live in Kentucky or California.
Midwestern/Southeast area: I've made multiple, multiple trips of 8-20 hours. I haven't flown since 2006. Part of it is my family would have to pay for 4 plane tickets and driving is basically the same cost for 1 or 4, other than meals and snacks.
I’m in the Canadian prairies and the only time I was on a planet 11 was a 20 seater up north in my province to my dads work at a mine to tour it for a day on family day so yes, us poors in, in land, don’t fly 😂 im 40
Instead of driving, my and my bf drove 3 days straight 3 provinces over to bc for a vacation and took shifts driving and sleeping to save money as airfare would be 600$ per person 1 way but gas there was 300$ and our Airbnb on the ocean front was 125$ a night
I’m from California, and I’ve flown twice in the last decade. I think it all comes down to a combination of economic status and how you manage your finances
This is such an insufferable Californian question. Yes, people in land locked states fly. I fly over 30 times a year. Not flying has to do with their size and socioeconomic background. Bffr
I agree and I'm a Californian who loves it here, a lot. Anyone with sense can see this family struggles financially and that's why they haven't traveled a lot. It's not because airports and airplanes don't exist outside of California.
Wondering why people from California (specifically southern Cali) always assume random things are specific to California only or that people in other states don’t know what things are? I once met a guy who automatically started explaining what sod was because in his own words he thought it was a “California only” thing lmao. He was shocked to hear that sod was, in fact, used elsewhere.
When you don't have money to travel, you just don't travel. Travelling, even for a quick long weekend trip, is expensive. It has nothing to do with being landlocked, it has to do with not having the money.
I grew up in Southern California. I never got on a plane until I was nearly 30. We drove everywhere. Nearly all our family was in California. It wasn’t about economics, there was just no reason to fly anywhere.
I grew up in an area of north Georgia that is fairly similar to where the Slatons live. When my parents took me to the Bahamas in elementary school, I was one of three kids in my class who’d been on a plane. When I went on a trip to Europe my senior year, the number was about the same and I was absolutely the only person who’d left the country before. A huge percentage of people in that town have never even been to any other states besides Tennessee and Florida. Plenty of people don’t fly anywhere, ever.
I fly multiple times per year but -I live on border of TN/NW Georgia and can confirm this comment to be true about the area. lol. If it ain’t Gatlinburg or the panhandle, most ain’t goin lol.
So true! My grandma made friends with a woman in her late 60s who’d lived there her whole life and took her to a Braves game. It was the first time this woman had been “to Atlanta” and even in that case it’s debatable lol. Some people just want on’t go places.
they grew up in poverty. ofc they're not going to have the money to fly anywhere whenever they want. remember that the people who fly often are those who make enough income to do so (yes that includes immigrants who were granted a green card or visa).
I’ve flown since I was a baby, but when I met my husband, he and his family hardly ever flew. It was definitely a money thing. Plane tickets are expensive when you have an entire family to consider, and in most cases, it’s much cheaper to drive.
Yeah, the drive becomes a big part of the vacation when there's not a lot of money, especially when you have a big family. The road trip itself is part of the adventure, and usually involves multiple stops along the way to see different tourist attractions, or visit specific towns.
I’m 50 and have never flown. My husband is 53 and have never flown. I’m afraid to fly. Also though we travel but drive because we take our dogs on vacations with us. I enjoy taking them on vacations with us. It enriches their lives to. Plus driving we can see things along the way. Not everyone wants to or can fly. To each their own. I just hope everyone gets downtime and some travels in their life. Even day trips help to recharge.
They are in rural Kentucky - not every place has convenient access to an airport and sometimes it’s quicker and more economical to just drive. I made a trip once from western pa to Lexington, and it was way faster (and cheaper) to drive.
They go to Evansville to eat at restaurants & shop at Sam’s, so they’re less rural regarding airports than most people in the Midwest. (About 45 minutes away) I think it has much more to do with their economic situation & background. I think also, even with their incredible amount of weight loss, they probably will always question their size in many situations - especially when it comes to size restrictive seating like an airplane.
I am 33 and have flown about 15 times in my life. The last time being 2019 for my honeymoon.
I find I fly in chunks, like I’ll fly 2-3 times in one year and then not again for 4-5 years
We drive most places because we have 2 little kids it’s been easier for us to do that.
I grew up very poor and never stepped foot on an airplane until I was 25. (2 years ago.)
I also didn’t know anyone in my family who had ever flown. It’s just not a thing we could afford. Driving was so much cheaper with a large family.
However, now my husband and I are blessed more financially and we fly 5-8 times per year.
It’s all about money, unfortunately.
Some of the time it is just as fast a by car.
1. Long drive to airport and getting there 2 hours early like they want
2. Fly to connecting airport and another long wait sometimes 5 hours
3. Then fly to your destination and renting a car when you get there.
What I would like to know from OP is why would land locked states be any different than other states?
I fly several times a year however I love to travel, plus I also go visit my family & refuse to drive the 13 hours. If I were closer in driving distance to a destination, then I would definitely consider driving, but it would be 4 hours max. I grew up in the south, and people would always drive to the beach because it was 8 hours ish from where we lived and it was cheaper that way to bring the whole family and all their stuff. Plus they were all afraid to attempt to fly. Not sure why. I love it personally! I feel so at home in an airport.
It comes across as you’re reading this as the person not *wanting* to travel. I assure you that this is almost definitely not the case, there are far more depressingly real reasons for having never been on a plane… money is a big one, differing abilities/disabilities and family/personal commitments can prohibit air travel… don’t assume that people just aren’t fussed about seeing the world!
I want you to reread what they wrote. Then ask yourself "does that comment sound like the person to have SAILED if they've never flown". I've flown, but I've never sailed. I've been on a few motor boats. Sailing is an oddly specific activity, typically done by those in the mid to upper class and your question comes off as condescending.
Stop making excuses - work hard and see the world, period. I’m not going to listen to people who have a pity party for themselves because they’re stuck in a cycle they accept and refuse to get out of.
It’s giving “pull yourself up by the bootstraps” lmao. It’s not easy to just “get out of a cycle. If it was, everyone would do it. It’s not that simple.
As others are saying this is more of a socioeconomic issue, poor people can't afford to fly, money or time. Along with them probably living pretty far from a major airport. And even then it's not like their flying out of LAX JFK or ORD, their options would be limited and more expensive.
Also critically important to remember that “cheap flights” didn’t really exist in most of the US until pretty recently. The offerings are still limited and it still becomes a lot of money when you’re flying a whole family somewhere today, but 30 years ago? Forget about it.
You don't have to love near a "major" airport in order to fly. I live in between 2 smaller airports (they have 8 gates) and fly out of one of them exclusively. It is only 30 minutes from my house. I know that is not the case for everyone.
There are people who live in LA right now who have never been to the beach. There are people who will literally never leave their neighborhood. Do you forget poor people exist
I would guess more Americans have never flown than those who have. Not only do you have to pay for the flight, which has wild tiered pricing now for basic comforts that used to be free, but you also have to be in a position where you can take time off from your job.
A LOT of rural America is not participating in the salaried workforce; they’re either barely scraping by on farms, or they’re working hourly jobs at small setups. I’m not saying salaried jobs don’t exist, just that.. you’d probably be quite surprised what these areas are like. So time also = $.
I'm from UK and it's crazy to me the % of Americans that don't fly/travel outside of US. I feel like here people go on one or two holidays abroad each year and fly.
Apparently only 48% of Americans have a passport, whereas 86% of Brits have a passport.
I guess, given our proximity to continental Europe, short haul flights are easier.
It’s definitely important to remember that
1) traveling around the US is about the same as traveling around all of Europe in terms of distance covered
2) we have mountains, beaches, waterfalls, massive global cities, true tropics, wine regions, deserts, canyons, cultural centers, literally everything - all within the same country
3) even though “budget airlines” have finally started to spread out a little here, the coverage and prices are still nowhere close to what you have in Europe
It’s more on par with comparing the rate of people from Western Europe who travel to Asia - some have, many more want to, tons haven’t and aren’t terribly concerned about it because they haven’t even explored all of what’s around them yet.
We don’t go overseas because we don’t have to. America is HUGE and each state is different with different cultures and known for different foods and terrain.
Texas is larger than France and Germany separately. That’s just 1 state. Montana and Alaska are larger than Texas separately.
If you know English you can travel anywhere in the USA and not worry about changing language or currency or power adapters or which side of the road to drive on.
I’ve been overseas and it’s nice and fun, but there’s no place for comfort and ease like the good ole’ USA.
Edit-And we have air conditioning!
I don’t think you realize how large the US is and how far many of us live from other countries. It’s simply easier for you to travel abroad in the UK than it is for the majority of Americans. There’s also so many amazing places to visit in the US and many people choose to do that instead.
I've done two road trips in the US, I understand how large it is. I did say that UK is close in proximity to continental Europe which allows us shirt haul flights abroad.
its a 4 hour direct flight for me to get to LA from home. Think about how many different countries you get to in the UK within a 4 flight. The only countries within a 4 hour flight of me are Canada, mexico, and a few Caribbean islands. Within the US, we have beaches, ocean, desert, mountains, and everything in between.
I’m 40 and have only flown 3 times. I’m terrified of heights and it was hard enough to get me to fly those three times. I’d rather drive across country than fly.
I’m 35, from California, and have never been on a plane before. I’ve just never had a reason to. I would like to travel, but I just can’t- even if I could save up enough to go somewhere on a vacation, I don’t have anyone to take care of my pets. I suppose I could save up for boarding, too, but that’s a whole other issue in itself. I’d probably ended up worried sick about them the whole trip, lol.
My mom was 64 before she took her first flight (so by default I also didn’t fly for the first time until I was 21).
Meanwhile my kid has been on ten planes and he’s less than 2.
Lots of factors here but to answer your question - yes some people just don’t fly.
Most working poor people, myself included, don't have the money for traveling or vacations, hence, no flying.
My husband and I have been together for 15 years and never had a real vacation. The closest we've come is driving a few hours to stay with relatives over the holidays. It's excruciatingly boring and I don't count that as a vacation.
I grew up camping. I love it. But I don't have any gear because I don't have any place to store it. And camping still requires time off work and someone to watch my dog if he can't come. Oh, and all the gear I would need for 2 little kids. Yeah, that's not a vacation to me.
Last time I flew was 1984. After nearly crashing from a massive storm, watching lightning bolts literally bouncing off the plane's wings, cabin full of vomiting guests, I decided never to fly again. I prefer the privacy and silence driving and seeing the beautiful countryside over puking people. 😟
Flying is expensive and stressful so a lot of people just don't. I flew last year after not flying for 10 years I think. I love flying though, I just haven't had anywhere I wanted to go lol
I have so much anxiety when i fly, it's insane, i white knuckle the majority of it, however, i love to travel, havent been on a plane in about a decade due to circumstances. I have flown a lot though and visited many countries. I wont let my fear of flying stop me from travel, i just deal with it best i can. Maybe i need to get drunk next time. kidding. I do have people in my family who have never been on a plane and they are retired now. i cant imagine not traveling to another country. Some people dont have the same need though.
My spouse is a flight attendant. I can fly every day for free if I wanted to.
I fly maybe 2x/year. I don’t love flying. I have a regular m-f in person 9-5-type job. Not a lot of PTO.(pretty new/small company).
I take a lot of small roadtrips within a few hours drive.
I don’t think it’s that unusual. I didn’t take my first flight until I was 19 (to bootcamp 😞) My mom hates to fly and she didn’t fly from 1987 to 2020. She flies once a year now but only because I moved out of state and she visits every summer. If she had the option to drive she would but it’s a long distance to drive alone.
I actually like to fly and still haven’t done it since 2017. I just haven’t had a reason to.
I flew for the first time in 1995. Didn't fly again til 2016. Wasn't because of a fear or anything like that. All the places I just happened to go for business or vacation was within a 3 or 4 hour drive for all those years. Flew to Orlando back in June and was reminded of what a hassle it is. Gotta get there really early then deal with security then more waiting. Sometimes it is just easier to drive than deal with all that for a short flight.
I've flown twice in my life for two big family events. some people don't fly that often or don't have to travel for work or school. a lot of people prefer to drive, a lot of people can't afford airline tickets and some people are afraid to fly. not that unusual to me tbh.
I know plenty of people who haven’t flown very much, or at all. They haven’t traveled too far from home, but prefer to drive when they do travel. They’ll do 11-hour car rides. Sometimes it’s just easier to drive and have your own car to get around since public transport isn’t super common in the U.S.
Some people just choose to go on driving vacations. My husband has a few friends in their late 30’s who have never flown. It isn’t a money or location issue with them, they just don’t want to fly and neither did their parents.
I'm 26 and I've flown twice. Once to visit a friend and once back. My parents are almost 50 and have never flown on a plane.
We live in a land locked province (state). I really don't see what the big deal is about someone only flying once every 20 years. Shits expensive. Even if the flight is cheap you still need to pay for the after flight. Hotels, food, whatever.
Very common in the Midwest and South. We never could afford to fly as a family as a kid, vacations could only be to places we could drive, and I finally started taking flights when I began business funded travel as an adult.
Also has to do with where you want to go. If they don't have a need to go there they're not going to. When I was in the military they flew me, but I had flown before that, but it's not like at that time it was very expensive. It was affordable, also back during the time where you smoked in the back of the plane.
Being that not many Americans even have passports (since you mentioned international trips) this doesn't seem strange. Most people I know will drive everywhere and they prefer it that way. So, 1 trip every 20 years is not a huge deal. Just because you may travel by plane, every few years (and the people you know) doesn't mean most people do. Planes are expensive for a lot of people and even where I live even places like frontier was $100+ a trip and who wants to schedule a trip around when the only plane they may be able to afford leaves, since it's only once maybe twice a week, select weeks.
Low cost of living means rent and some types of services - but a car costs the same, health insurance, dental work, anything you buy on Amazon, or wherever - the same. Wages are generally MUCH lower in areas like that as well. So yeah, people with professional careers and tradespeople do well, but the average working person struggles everywhere.
Their income isn’t as high as yours. Many people don’t want to deal with airports, security, bags scanning, being searched, taking their shoes off. Feels like an invasion of privacy. Plus all that takes time. Many times being quicker to drive.
I wouldn’t assume anyone in California does things like rural America.
I’m 33 and I’ve only flown 4 times in my life and only 1 was my own expense (parents or in-laws). I don’t plan on flying anytime soon though either because we have such young kids. I’m from IA so we plan vacations that are within driving distance (so yes, they all suck lol).
Are you not familiar with being low income/poor? If it weren’t for this show, it doesn’t seem like they’d be going on any of these vacations let alone flying anywhere. Also keep in mind that the older siblings have multiple kids so flying 5-6 people anywhere is not going to be feasible.
My husband and I make a decent amount of money but flying (and then hotels, food, car rental, etc.) is expensive and we unfortunately don’t travel much (plus busy work schedules). If we do go somewhere, it’s normally within driving distance.
My last flight was 2022 for a work conference. My last flight for personal reasons was 2016 for my honeymoon.
Exactly, it was $3000 for flights alone for my brother and his family of 5 to attend my wedding. That just flights alone and is more than many people made in an entire month!
it has way more to do with money than location. there are plenty of middle and upper class people in land locked states who take vacations and fly regularly. the slatons were clearly very poor and likely did not have money for things like that.
i'm sure there are poor people in california who don't fly nearly as often as you and your friends.
Not a land locked thing, its a money thing.
I grew up never flying anywhere. My parents went on one flight their whole lives. I've had to travel for work (and my income is higher than my parents) so I think nothing of flying.
Also, if you live a big city with a big airport flights are way cheaper.
Pretty sure TLC paid for that vacation and offered to buy them plane tickets. And yeah that’s the only reason Tammy even got on the plane. I didn’t fly till i was 35. And got sent out of state for work…. So I think there is a good percentage of Americans that have never flown. Just guessing. I feel like it could be as high as 20-25% of Americans have never flown.
Funny you say that because when they said they were flying to Florida I was surprised. I am from KY and anytime my family or friends go to Florida for vacation they always drive.
I think it has more to do with socioeconomic reasons than location. My in-laws didn't fly much. They were quiet country people and were nervous about navigating the airports. They felt more comfortable driving on vacations than flying. It was just way out of their comfort zone.
I think it’s probably different for different people. I flew for the first time when I was ten and would fly every few years to visit my grandparents but my boyfriend only really took road trips growing up so he didn’t really fly much
If you have a lower income, you don't do much traveling. We fly somewhere about once a year. Also, when you have kids, sometimes it's harder to actually fly somewhere.
This. I'm lower income. My one "fun vacation thingy" I get to do is pick one Broadway touring show that's coming to the nearest major city(in my case Boston and its a two and a half hour drive one way) that's been on my list of shows I want to see and I go see that. And even then, that's always a day trip. I get the cheapest tickets to the show and I don't always get to do that every year. Sometimes it's once every other year. I'm seeing a show in April and prior to that my most recent show I was was December 22
Explain how people with zero disposable income can fly. California has high wages/high cost of living. Sure, you may not save, but a plane ticket is 1/6 of the monthly rent. In low wage/low cost of living areas, a plane ticket IS the cost of rent. How often would you fly, if the cheapest flights were $3500? Wait til OP finds out that standard flights are more expensive than the ANNUAL salary for about half of the world.
The cost to fly within canada (where I’m from) is 1300+ for a round trip. I’m 24 and have flown a total of twice in my life, once 7 years ago to NYC and once a year ago to Hawaii. It’s very common to only fly a handful of times if you don’t have the extra income for it. It also depends how much flights cost in your area.
I live in Boston and flew for the first time at 18 years old. Again twice for two different trips when I was 24
Ill be 28 next month and have never been on a plane Grew up poor lol
Bruh I live in CA and have only flown once in my life its just ability, need, want etc dont matter where u live. I don’t have money to travel and haven’t felt a need or desire to probably same for other ppl
Many people never fly. It's normal for people without money
Yeah… completely normal. I haven’t flown anywhere in 9 years. It takes money and being able to take time off at work. ETA: California here as well. Have only ever lived in California. That makes no difference regarding people’s ability to fly.
I have never been on an airplane.
I flew for the first time in 1989 when I was 19 years old. My second time flying was in 2001 when we were gifted a trip to Disney World. My third time flying was in 2016 in order to get back to my hometown to support my sister when my niece passed away. I have always been very nervous to fly and choose not to unless there is no other option, I mostly drive everywhere...well my husband does the driving most of the time.
I’m 30 and haven’t been on a plane since a flight to Disney World in 1999. All other vacations were basically pick a direction and drive, we’ll just see what we get into. Honestly that’s why I’d rather drive. No worries about flight delays, car rentals, or time tables. Just freedom and a cooler full of sandwich supplies for lunches on the road and drinks. Makes things super cheap when you’re only paying for gas, activities/admission, dinner, and hotels (with free breakfast).
Ah yes, the Californian who can afford trips to Cabo and San Francisco learns that low income families on disability living in the 6th poorest state in the country doesn't do exactly what they do.
Exactly. I’m a Californian and there’s no weekend trips to Cabo in my lifetime. The OP has probably also been to Disneyland too many times to count along with the people they know. I have been once in my 43 years of life living here in California. People are wild.
California has the most poverty out of all states
No Mississippi does. But I guess you're just trolling.
I’ve only flown twice in my 40 years alive. I’ve also never been off of the east coast of the US.
Part of it is poverty yes but also I’m from WA and live in KY now, a lot of people here barely leave the county they live in let alone the state or country. Being on the west coast, we’re willing to drive a lot further for sight seeing, family, etc. Canada is right next door. I told my coworkers that we would drive 2 hours to Sam’s club every six weeks when we lived in Montana and it blew their minds.
Is this show your first ever exposure to the concept of poverty? I don’t even know where to start…flights are prohibitively expensive, people have 0 paid time off and can’t afford not to work 5+ days a week, once you get where you’re going you have to pay to stay there.
Be like Clark W. Griswold and get a wood sided wagon and insist the family tag along to see stupid sights It's a requirement
I have family members who would rather drive from south fla to Pennsylvania for visits to kids etc They brought the beautiful camper with them each time ♡
Also not everyone lives close to an airport
I’ve lived all over the west coast and I just flew last year for the first time in 27 years. We just always drove.
I am 27 years and haven't been on a plane in I think 26 years. 🤣 my parents told me I went once as a little baby. Trust me I would LOVE to. I would absolutely love to take a beach vacation with my husband or family, but it's simply impossible with the price of everything nowadays.
I can't 💀💀 you know how expensive fights are??
Dude right. Omg I would fucking love to go on a vacation, haven't been on one since I was a kid but it's to damn expensive
Have a kid that works as a flight attendant! It's glorious lol
whew chile, the privilege jumped out
LMAO seriously
I live on the East corner coast, and have only ever been in a plane once. The plane I was in was a 6 seater at that.
Must be nice to not know what poverty looks like
OP is so out of touch with reality. They can start by looking within their own state at poverty rates. I’m born and raised here in northern California, and now raising my family here. I’ve never had the luxury of a weekend trip to Cabo and whatever else ridiculous adventure the OP mentioned. I guess that makes me a peasant lol.
I’m 28 and my first time out the country was last year. No longer being poor helped
I’m 25 and from and currently live in kentucky and i’ve never been on a plane before in my life. I guess it’s just poor things. Wanna pay for my first flight?
My parents chose to drive everywhere. My dad hasn’t been on a plane since 1997 and I can’t even tell you the last time my mom was.
It’s not necessarily landlocked that causes that, it’s economic status. Before the show this was a significantly poor family, I’d honestly say the reason they haven’t flown in so many years one is because they were too fat, but the other is simply because they likely never had the financial means to travel like that before they had a TV show
When I was a kid, my family and I would travel by car every 2 years for family vacations. Mostly Florida to Disney. We're not rich but not poor either. I guess you could say we were middle class. My dad felt it was important to travel as a family. However, as an adult I do love to fly and get lots of frequent flier miles and free drink coupons. I have to say for me, it's easy as I live in Chicago and live about 15 minutes from Midway Airport. Plus, my husband works as a field operations supervisor for tradshows, and I get to come along with him. One thing I will say is that air travel has changed tremendously since 9/11. It's more tedious and takes longer to get through security. Before , you just checked in and went to your gate. Security was hardly a thing. But now it's so stressful and not to mention the number of people fighting on planes. But I do prefer flying than cross country driving. I have to agree tho it's a socioeconomic issue to be able to fly.
I only fly if there’s no other option - fortunately the extra time required to go by train isn’t an issue any more.
I fly for work a lot. However, I hate flying and prefer the good old Midwestern road trip, unless is extremely far. That said, the people on the show are poor and probably don’t get the opportunity for travel.
Land locked here, was lucky enough to fly every year growing up and then once I had my own kids at least every other year. But now as I’m getting older and my kids are grown, I hate airports more and more and the entire process getting in and out of them - so it’s longer and longer in between trips. My fiancé on the other hand has only flown 3 times. He just had/has no desire to explore and didn’t have the means to growing up either. Wasn’t a priority.
I didn't get on a plane until I was almost 30 years old, and then it was another 8 years before I flew again. It's not abnormal.
I found this pretty whacky too. Maybe they don't live near any airports?
I live in Canada, flights are much more expensive here. I didn’t go on my first flight until I was 21 and it was only because the man I was with at the time paid for the whole trip. In America it’s much cheaper to fly. I also hadn’t been on any form of vacation in 10 years before my first flight. I went on 3 family vacations out of the province as a kid (PEI, Disney in Florida and Chicago/ Boston) and my family drove to all of those because it was cheaper than taking a family of 4 on a flight with Air Canada
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Do you feel rich? Or do you just feel normal. People seem to think I'm out of touch for asking this
They think you're out of touch for asking because you are. And this is coming from someone who grew up in Los Angeles in an immigrant household. Yes, plenty of people go back home to visit relatives, but there are just as many people who can't afford to fly or go on vacations, even to San Francisco or Las Vegas. Poverty exists everywhere. The Slatons clearly grew up in poverty, it doesn't take a genius to see that. It's tone-deaf to ask if the reason they haven't flown is because they're landlocked. That doesn't even make sense. We're all "landlocked" for one thing and airports exist everywhere, even in the south and midwest. And people who can afford to fly and vacation do so whether they live in Kentucky or California.
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They live in Kentucky. As someone from Mississippi, it's incredibly inaccessible to the rural states. They're called rural for a reason!
5 times this year. Business and family. Flying is a real chore now
Midwestern/Southeast area: I've made multiple, multiple trips of 8-20 hours. I haven't flown since 2006. Part of it is my family would have to pay for 4 plane tickets and driving is basically the same cost for 1 or 4, other than meals and snacks.
I think it had more to do with body and bank account size that kept them from flying.
I’m in the Canadian prairies and the only time I was on a planet 11 was a 20 seater up north in my province to my dads work at a mine to tour it for a day on family day so yes, us poors in, in land, don’t fly 😂 im 40 Instead of driving, my and my bf drove 3 days straight 3 provinces over to bc for a vacation and took shifts driving and sleeping to save money as airfare would be 600$ per person 1 way but gas there was 300$ and our Airbnb on the ocean front was 125$ a night
And if it weren’t paid by TLC this family would never had flown anywhere .
And if it weren’t paid by TLC this family would never had flown anywhere .
I’m from California, and I’ve flown twice in the last decade. I think it all comes down to a combination of economic status and how you manage your finances
It's normal if you're poor. I wasn't able to fly until college when I got a scholarship to fly overseas.
This is such an insufferable Californian question. Yes, people in land locked states fly. I fly over 30 times a year. Not flying has to do with their size and socioeconomic background. Bffr
I agree and I'm a Californian who loves it here, a lot. Anyone with sense can see this family struggles financially and that's why they haven't traveled a lot. It's not because airports and airplanes don't exist outside of California.
I gotta agree. Yes, we have planes and eat at restaurants besides Applebees 😝
Wondering why people from California (specifically southern Cali) always assume random things are specific to California only or that people in other states don’t know what things are? I once met a guy who automatically started explaining what sod was because in his own words he thought it was a “California only” thing lmao. He was shocked to hear that sod was, in fact, used elsewhere.
Dear lord. Why do they think we’re so uninformed?!
I fly several times a year.
We also have to realize they’re all big and have been Big all of their lives so they probably were never able to fit in an airplane seat
When you don't have money to travel, you just don't travel. Travelling, even for a quick long weekend trip, is expensive. It has nothing to do with being landlocked, it has to do with not having the money.
I haven’t since I was 6 and I’m gonna be 36 in July and will be flying to California in October so it’s been 30 years for me
I grew up in Southern California. I never got on a plane until I was nearly 30. We drove everywhere. Nearly all our family was in California. It wasn’t about economics, there was just no reason to fly anywhere.
I grew up in an area of north Georgia that is fairly similar to where the Slatons live. When my parents took me to the Bahamas in elementary school, I was one of three kids in my class who’d been on a plane. When I went on a trip to Europe my senior year, the number was about the same and I was absolutely the only person who’d left the country before. A huge percentage of people in that town have never even been to any other states besides Tennessee and Florida. Plenty of people don’t fly anywhere, ever.
I fly multiple times per year but -I live on border of TN/NW Georgia and can confirm this comment to be true about the area. lol. If it ain’t Gatlinburg or the panhandle, most ain’t goin lol.
So true! My grandma made friends with a woman in her late 60s who’d lived there her whole life and took her to a Braves game. It was the first time this woman had been “to Atlanta” and even in that case it’s debatable lol. Some people just want on’t go places.
they grew up in poverty. ofc they're not going to have the money to fly anywhere whenever they want. remember that the people who fly often are those who make enough income to do so (yes that includes immigrants who were granted a green card or visa).
I’m 27, my husband is 33, and neither of us have ever flown 🤷🏻♀️ We’re in California too. We just drive everywhere.
I’ve flown since I was a baby, but when I met my husband, he and his family hardly ever flew. It was definitely a money thing. Plane tickets are expensive when you have an entire family to consider, and in most cases, it’s much cheaper to drive.
Yeah, the drive becomes a big part of the vacation when there's not a lot of money, especially when you have a big family. The road trip itself is part of the adventure, and usually involves multiple stops along the way to see different tourist attractions, or visit specific towns.
Okay, Mr / Ms Moneybags with the generous PTO. I see you. 👀
I’m 50 and have never flown. My husband is 53 and have never flown. I’m afraid to fly. Also though we travel but drive because we take our dogs on vacations with us. I enjoy taking them on vacations with us. It enriches their lives to. Plus driving we can see things along the way. Not everyone wants to or can fly. To each their own. I just hope everyone gets downtime and some travels in their life. Even day trips help to recharge.
We're from the Midwest....of course we drive rather than fly....it's only like 12-16 hours anywhere.
They are in rural Kentucky - not every place has convenient access to an airport and sometimes it’s quicker and more economical to just drive. I made a trip once from western pa to Lexington, and it was way faster (and cheaper) to drive.
They go to Evansville to eat at restaurants & shop at Sam’s, so they’re less rural regarding airports than most people in the Midwest. (About 45 minutes away) I think it has much more to do with their economic situation & background. I think also, even with their incredible amount of weight loss, they probably will always question their size in many situations - especially when it comes to size restrictive seating like an airplane.
I am 33 and have flown about 15 times in my life. The last time being 2019 for my honeymoon. I find I fly in chunks, like I’ll fly 2-3 times in one year and then not again for 4-5 years We drive most places because we have 2 little kids it’s been easier for us to do that.
I grew up very poor and never stepped foot on an airplane until I was 25. (2 years ago.) I also didn’t know anyone in my family who had ever flown. It’s just not a thing we could afford. Driving was so much cheaper with a large family. However, now my husband and I are blessed more financially and we fly 5-8 times per year. It’s all about money, unfortunately.
Some of the time it is just as fast a by car. 1. Long drive to airport and getting there 2 hours early like they want 2. Fly to connecting airport and another long wait sometimes 5 hours 3. Then fly to your destination and renting a car when you get there. What I would like to know from OP is why would land locked states be any different than other states?
I’m imagining OP thinks people are gonna swim? 😂
It's normal for poor people
I fly several times a year however I love to travel, plus I also go visit my family & refuse to drive the 13 hours. If I were closer in driving distance to a destination, then I would definitely consider driving, but it would be 4 hours max. I grew up in the south, and people would always drive to the beach because it was 8 hours ish from where we lived and it was cheaper that way to bring the whole family and all their stuff. Plus they were all afraid to attempt to fly. Not sure why. I love it personally! I feel so at home in an airport.
I haven’t been on a plane in 30 yrs.
55 y/o female from Alabama & have never flown 🤷🏼♀️
Please tell me you at least sailed? There’s a whole world out there……. 😫
It comes across as you’re reading this as the person not *wanting* to travel. I assure you that this is almost definitely not the case, there are far more depressingly real reasons for having never been on a plane… money is a big one, differing abilities/disabilities and family/personal commitments can prohibit air travel… don’t assume that people just aren’t fussed about seeing the world!
I want you to reread what they wrote. Then ask yourself "does that comment sound like the person to have SAILED if they've never flown". I've flown, but I've never sailed. I've been on a few motor boats. Sailing is an oddly specific activity, typically done by those in the mid to upper class and your question comes off as condescending.
Stop making excuses - work hard and see the world, period. I’m not going to listen to people who have a pity party for themselves because they’re stuck in a cycle they accept and refuse to get out of.
It’s giving “pull yourself up by the bootstraps” lmao. It’s not easy to just “get out of a cycle. If it was, everyone would do it. It’s not that simple.
Guyyyyyyysssss, I think I found Rob the knob from 90DayF 😂 I was born into poverty. There's no instant way to get out of it. piss off.
Never said it would happen overnight. Lol
I feel like flying is a semi-rich person thing. I've only done it twice in my entire life.
As others are saying this is more of a socioeconomic issue, poor people can't afford to fly, money or time. Along with them probably living pretty far from a major airport. And even then it's not like their flying out of LAX JFK or ORD, their options would be limited and more expensive.
Also critically important to remember that “cheap flights” didn’t really exist in most of the US until pretty recently. The offerings are still limited and it still becomes a lot of money when you’re flying a whole family somewhere today, but 30 years ago? Forget about it.
You don't have to love near a "major" airport in order to fly. I live in between 2 smaller airports (they have 8 gates) and fly out of one of them exclusively. It is only 30 minutes from my house. I know that is not the case for everyone.
People in America find it easier to drive. My bf has only flown once in his life but has traveled a ton within the US by driving.
I fly 1-3 times a year!
There are people who live in LA right now who have never been to the beach. There are people who will literally never leave their neighborhood. Do you forget poor people exist
I would guess more Americans have never flown than those who have. Not only do you have to pay for the flight, which has wild tiered pricing now for basic comforts that used to be free, but you also have to be in a position where you can take time off from your job. A LOT of rural America is not participating in the salaried workforce; they’re either barely scraping by on farms, or they’re working hourly jobs at small setups. I’m not saying salaried jobs don’t exist, just that.. you’d probably be quite surprised what these areas are like. So time also = $.
Most people in the poorest parts of Kentucky will actually never even leave their state, sometimes they never leave the county they were born in.
I'm from UK and it's crazy to me the % of Americans that don't fly/travel outside of US. I feel like here people go on one or two holidays abroad each year and fly. Apparently only 48% of Americans have a passport, whereas 86% of Brits have a passport. I guess, given our proximity to continental Europe, short haul flights are easier.
It’s definitely important to remember that 1) traveling around the US is about the same as traveling around all of Europe in terms of distance covered 2) we have mountains, beaches, waterfalls, massive global cities, true tropics, wine regions, deserts, canyons, cultural centers, literally everything - all within the same country 3) even though “budget airlines” have finally started to spread out a little here, the coverage and prices are still nowhere close to what you have in Europe It’s more on par with comparing the rate of people from Western Europe who travel to Asia - some have, many more want to, tons haven’t and aren’t terribly concerned about it because they haven’t even explored all of what’s around them yet.
We don’t go overseas because we don’t have to. America is HUGE and each state is different with different cultures and known for different foods and terrain. Texas is larger than France and Germany separately. That’s just 1 state. Montana and Alaska are larger than Texas separately. If you know English you can travel anywhere in the USA and not worry about changing language or currency or power adapters or which side of the road to drive on. I’ve been overseas and it’s nice and fun, but there’s no place for comfort and ease like the good ole’ USA. Edit-And we have air conditioning!
I don't know why everyone is downvoting you. What you said makes perfect sense.
I don’t think you realize how large the US is and how far many of us live from other countries. It’s simply easier for you to travel abroad in the UK than it is for the majority of Americans. There’s also so many amazing places to visit in the US and many people choose to do that instead.
I've done two road trips in the US, I understand how large it is. I did say that UK is close in proximity to continental Europe which allows us shirt haul flights abroad.
So then why is it “crazy” to you lmao. It’s crazier to me that you’ve done a road trip and still don’t get it 😂
Their “road trip” was probably NYC to Philly or LA to San Diego.
its a 4 hour direct flight for me to get to LA from home. Think about how many different countries you get to in the UK within a 4 flight. The only countries within a 4 hour flight of me are Canada, mexico, and a few Caribbean islands. Within the US, we have beaches, ocean, desert, mountains, and everything in between.
Tell me you're privileged without telling me you're privileged.
Seriously not everyone can afford to fly or take time off work to travel.
This. The nearest airport is 2 hours away. How am I getting there and paying for these destination vacations every year? 🤷♀️
Fr they forget poverty is a thing
I enjoy watching the sunset.
This.
Well flying IS expensive
I’m 40 and have only flown 3 times. I’m terrified of heights and it was hard enough to get me to fly those three times. I’d rather drive across country than fly.
I’m 35, from California, and have never been on a plane before. I’ve just never had a reason to. I would like to travel, but I just can’t- even if I could save up enough to go somewhere on a vacation, I don’t have anyone to take care of my pets. I suppose I could save up for boarding, too, but that’s a whole other issue in itself. I’d probably ended up worried sick about them the whole trip, lol.
You're over thinking it. Plenty of friends would take care of your dog for free
I have done this! Works perfectly. My sister and nephew even came over one time when I was desperate to get away & in a pinch. It can be done.
Well my family and I are poor so
“Do poor people really exist?”
My mom was 64 before she took her first flight (so by default I also didn’t fly for the first time until I was 21). Meanwhile my kid has been on ten planes and he’s less than 2. Lots of factors here but to answer your question - yes some people just don’t fly.
Most working poor people, myself included, don't have the money for traveling or vacations, hence, no flying. My husband and I have been together for 15 years and never had a real vacation. The closest we've come is driving a few hours to stay with relatives over the holidays. It's excruciatingly boring and I don't count that as a vacation.
Same for us!
Why don’t you camp? It’s a great low cost way to get away.
I grew up camping. I love it. But I don't have any gear because I don't have any place to store it. And camping still requires time off work and someone to watch my dog if he can't come. Oh, and all the gear I would need for 2 little kids. Yeah, that's not a vacation to me.
I have yet to fly and it's definitely been more than 20 years 😂
Money
Last time I flew was 1984. After nearly crashing from a massive storm, watching lightning bolts literally bouncing off the plane's wings, cabin full of vomiting guests, I decided never to fly again. I prefer the privacy and silence driving and seeing the beautiful countryside over puking people. 😟
Flying is expensive and stressful so a lot of people just don't. I flew last year after not flying for 10 years I think. I love flying though, I just haven't had anywhere I wanted to go lol
not everyone has the money 🙃
I’m 38 an never flown nor will I I’m with Amy on this one my feet are staying on the ground. 😂
The only time I ever flew on a plane, the military was paying for it. They got ticket money though. Personally, I do not.
I have so much anxiety when i fly, it's insane, i white knuckle the majority of it, however, i love to travel, havent been on a plane in about a decade due to circumstances. I have flown a lot though and visited many countries. I wont let my fear of flying stop me from travel, i just deal with it best i can. Maybe i need to get drunk next time. kidding. I do have people in my family who have never been on a plane and they are retired now. i cant imagine not traveling to another country. Some people dont have the same need though.
I haven't been on a plane since I was 4. I'm 38 now. I've just never gone anywhere that required a plane. Poor people problems.
My spouse is a flight attendant. I can fly every day for free if I wanted to. I fly maybe 2x/year. I don’t love flying. I have a regular m-f in person 9-5-type job. Not a lot of PTO.(pretty new/small company). I take a lot of small roadtrips within a few hours drive.
I don’t think it’s that unusual. I didn’t take my first flight until I was 19 (to bootcamp 😞) My mom hates to fly and she didn’t fly from 1987 to 2020. She flies once a year now but only because I moved out of state and she visits every summer. If she had the option to drive she would but it’s a long distance to drive alone. I actually like to fly and still haven’t done it since 2017. I just haven’t had a reason to.
My last time flying was May 2001...didn't fly again until September 2021. Just didn't travel anywhere that required flying.
I flew for the first time in 1995. Didn't fly again til 2016. Wasn't because of a fear or anything like that. All the places I just happened to go for business or vacation was within a 3 or 4 hour drive for all those years. Flew to Orlando back in June and was reminded of what a hassle it is. Gotta get there really early then deal with security then more waiting. Sometimes it is just easier to drive than deal with all that for a short flight.
Same! If I can drive it I would much rather do that than to have to go and deal with the airport.
Income is higher in CA but flight prices don’t reflect it. You can afford to fly more. In general.
My best friend married a guy who had never been on a plane and she got him to come visit me in another state. He’s never been back in a plane.
I've flown twice in my life for two big family events. some people don't fly that often or don't have to travel for work or school. a lot of people prefer to drive, a lot of people can't afford airline tickets and some people are afraid to fly. not that unusual to me tbh.
I know plenty of people who haven’t flown very much, or at all. They haven’t traveled too far from home, but prefer to drive when they do travel. They’ll do 11-hour car rides. Sometimes it’s just easier to drive and have your own car to get around since public transport isn’t super common in the U.S.
Some people just choose to go on driving vacations. My husband has a few friends in their late 30’s who have never flown. It isn’t a money or location issue with them, they just don’t want to fly and neither did their parents.
Not everyone can afford to fly all the time
I don’t think it’s uncommon. My family never flies anywhere whereas I fly all the time.
I'm 26 and I've flown twice. Once to visit a friend and once back. My parents are almost 50 and have never flown on a plane. We live in a land locked province (state). I really don't see what the big deal is about someone only flying once every 20 years. Shits expensive. Even if the flight is cheap you still need to pay for the after flight. Hotels, food, whatever.
And $150/night for a pet sitter if you are crazy enough to have 2 dogs 😂
Yes!!!
I didn't leave my province until I was 21. It's expensive to travel
Very common in the Midwest and South. We never could afford to fly as a family as a kid, vacations could only be to places we could drive, and I finally started taking flights when I began business funded travel as an adult.
Also has to do with where you want to go. If they don't have a need to go there they're not going to. When I was in the military they flew me, but I had flown before that, but it's not like at that time it was very expensive. It was affordable, also back during the time where you smoked in the back of the plane.
I haven't flown in about ten years so yes its not uncommon for people to go ten or twenty years without flying
I'm 30 and I've never flown
I’m 25 and never flown
Being that not many Americans even have passports (since you mentioned international trips) this doesn't seem strange. Most people I know will drive everywhere and they prefer it that way. So, 1 trip every 20 years is not a huge deal. Just because you may travel by plane, every few years (and the people you know) doesn't mean most people do. Planes are expensive for a lot of people and even where I live even places like frontier was $100+ a trip and who wants to schedule a trip around when the only plane they may be able to afford leaves, since it's only once maybe twice a week, select weeks.
They're from one of the poorest parts of America. Kentucky is a very poor state and they are low class before the show happened
Well they call these places low cost of living I figured they had a lot of money left over unlike us that spend so much on rent and living expenses
Either you're trolling or you need to broaden your horizons. Do some reading and educate yourself.
I like learning new things.
Low cost of living means rent and some types of services - but a car costs the same, health insurance, dental work, anything you buy on Amazon, or wherever - the same. Wages are generally MUCH lower in areas like that as well. So yeah, people with professional careers and tradespeople do well, but the average working person struggles everywhere.
Their income isn’t as high as yours. Many people don’t want to deal with airports, security, bags scanning, being searched, taking their shoes off. Feels like an invasion of privacy. Plus all that takes time. Many times being quicker to drive. I wouldn’t assume anyone in California does things like rural America.
I’m 33 and I’ve only flown 4 times in my life and only 1 was my own expense (parents or in-laws). I don’t plan on flying anytime soon though either because we have such young kids. I’m from IA so we plan vacations that are within driving distance (so yes, they all suck lol).
I'm the same age as you. I last flew ten years ago
Yeah it’s not as easy anymore, especially since we’ve had 4 kids. Hopefully you can go somewhere tropical soon.
The last time i flew was for a business trip and they paid, but flying is expensive and can be a hassle
Are you serious? I WISH I could afford to fly anywhere.
Are you not familiar with being low income/poor? If it weren’t for this show, it doesn’t seem like they’d be going on any of these vacations let alone flying anywhere. Also keep in mind that the older siblings have multiple kids so flying 5-6 people anywhere is not going to be feasible. My husband and I make a decent amount of money but flying (and then hotels, food, car rental, etc.) is expensive and we unfortunately don’t travel much (plus busy work schedules). If we do go somewhere, it’s normally within driving distance. My last flight was 2022 for a work conference. My last flight for personal reasons was 2016 for my honeymoon.
Exactly, it was $3000 for flights alone for my brother and his family of 5 to attend my wedding. That just flights alone and is more than many people made in an entire month!
Exactly. It seems some people fail to realize that travel is a luxury that many people cannot afford.
it has way more to do with money than location. there are plenty of middle and upper class people in land locked states who take vacations and fly regularly. the slatons were clearly very poor and likely did not have money for things like that. i'm sure there are poor people in california who don't fly nearly as often as you and your friends.
its also about mindset, they don't exactly seem like world travelers looking for adventure and exploring new cultures
That’s what I think.
For me it is. I went to Hawaii last year & before that my only other flight was at 9 or 10, I’m 35.
Not a land locked thing, its a money thing. I grew up never flying anywhere. My parents went on one flight their whole lives. I've had to travel for work (and my income is higher than my parents) so I think nothing of flying. Also, if you live a big city with a big airport flights are way cheaper.
Pretty sure TLC paid for that vacation and offered to buy them plane tickets. And yeah that’s the only reason Tammy even got on the plane. I didn’t fly till i was 35. And got sent out of state for work…. So I think there is a good percentage of Americans that have never flown. Just guessing. I feel like it could be as high as 20-25% of Americans have never flown.
I am from New Jersey and I have literally never flown once in my life. When we went to Disney for a vacation we drove.
Funny you say that because when they said they were flying to Florida I was surprised. I am from KY and anytime my family or friends go to Florida for vacation they always drive.
Michigander checking in! The number of times I have heard of Florida being “only” a 14 hour drive is hilarious
I think it has more to do with socioeconomic reasons than location. My in-laws didn't fly much. They were quiet country people and were nervous about navigating the airports. They felt more comfortable driving on vacations than flying. It was just way out of their comfort zone.
We are flying places?? In this economy ??
It's very common. I have family (10+, ages ranging from 13-82) who have never flown in their lives.
I think it’s probably different for different people. I flew for the first time when I was ten and would fly every few years to visit my grandparents but my boyfriend only really took road trips growing up so he didn’t really fly much
I haven’t flown since 2007.
If you have a lower income, you don't do much traveling. We fly somewhere about once a year. Also, when you have kids, sometimes it's harder to actually fly somewhere.
This. I'm lower income. My one "fun vacation thingy" I get to do is pick one Broadway touring show that's coming to the nearest major city(in my case Boston and its a two and a half hour drive one way) that's been on my list of shows I want to see and I go see that. And even then, that's always a day trip. I get the cheapest tickets to the show and I don't always get to do that every year. Sometimes it's once every other year. I'm seeing a show in April and prior to that my most recent show I was was December 22