Happier Abroad Forum Community

Question primarily for the Americans who have either moved or traveled abroad (but anyone is welcome to reply to this): Do you guys put much stock in the US State Department's travel website? Particularly the travel advisories that are posted for each country that's out there? Often times they will issue travel warnings or advisories alerting travelers to common crimes and con games, regional conflicts, terrorism, tips for going out, and will even recommend whether or not to travel to that country. However... I did get to wondering if a lot of what they say is true. Or if they might be... over-exaggerating a bit, for whatever reason. I know that often times people will discourage those of us that consider traveling and/or living abroad with fear-mongering tactics (ex: "You'll get robbed.", "You'll get kidnapped.", "Any woman that pays any attention to you at all is in all probability a hooker who is in cahoots with the local gangs looking to fleece you out of your life savings.", etc...). But I was just wondering if our own government was known to do that as well as the ignorant fools that live under them.

Also, if any of you guys out there do NOT put stock in the US State Department travel website, could you recommend any alternatives to it? For researching wherever one might consider visiting, and/or living? And what all to watch out for? And how to go about getting to there? If so, then I would appreciate it a lot.

Thanks in advance, guys!

Unhappily Single wrote:Question primarily for the Americans who have either moved or traveled abroad (but anyone is welcome to reply to this): Do you guys put much stock in the US State Department's travel website? Particularly the travel advisories that are posted for each country that's out there? Often times they will issue travel warnings or advisories alerting travelers to common crimes and con games, regional conflicts, terrorism, tips for going out, and will even recommend whether or not to travel to that country. However... I did get to wondering if a lot of what they say is true. Or if they might be... over-exaggerating a bit, for whatever reason. I know that often times people will discourage those of us that consider traveling and/or living abroad with fear-mongering tactics (ex: "You'll get robbed.", "You'll get kidnapped.", "Any woman that pays any attention to you at all is in all probability a hooker who is in cahoots with the local gangs looking to fleece you out of your life savings.", etc...). But I was just wondering if our own government was known to do that as well as the ignorant fools that live under them.

Also, if any of you guys out there do NOT put stock in the US State Department travel website, could you recommend any alternatives to it? For researching wherever one might consider visiting, and/or living? And what all to watch out for? And how to go about getting to there? If so, then I would appreciate it a lot.

Thanks in advance, guys!

Good post!

Yes, they exaggerate. They are full of shit in fact. Maybe not a conspiracy to keep us at home, though. Maybe just ass-covering. If someone gets mugged in New York, the victim just deals with it. If mugged overseas, the victim raises hell and State Dept catches hell. A theory anyway.

Ignore the US State Dept entirely. Everything. Vaccinations, crime, terrorism - all overblown.

If you want to be cautious and careful, try the British government's travel warnings. They are very careful but live in the real world.