Do You Have a Passport?

[NeedleCast]

Poll question: Do You Have a Passport?

For clarification, in regard to choice two...I am referring specifically to whether you've used your passport for foreign travel, not for general identification purposes in the U.S. or U.S. territories.

[meegbear]

1. Got mine in 2002 to expedite travel to Canada ...

use it now for domestic flights - helps speed things up here too.

[Richard D]

2. I would never not have a passport

And I keep it with me when I travel within the US. You never know.

[SidDithers]

3. We just got them for the kids...

My wife and I have had them for years.

Sid

[MedleyMisty]

4. I don't have one

Don't have the money to travel out of the US.

[Staph]

8. I got mine years ago.

One of my favorite movies is Breaking Away (1979), about a small-town kid obsessed with the Italian bicycle racing team. His mother in the movie, played by Barbara Barrie, has a passport that she has never used for travel. But she explains that she does use it at the grocery store, for identification when she writes a check. She says that it gives her the romance of being a world traveler, even if she never goes anywhere.

I use mine for similar purposes.

[Lucinda]

31. :)

I like that!

[frazzled]

10. It's good to have one anyway

Not just for extra ID purposes but for an emergency.

Perhaps as the granddaughter of families who had to flee their native countries I am a bit paranoid about that possibility. But hey, you never know

And then again ... who knows, someday you may have the opportunity to travel somewhere and you will be ready. I hope you get that chance!

I got my passport back in the late 1960s, when travel abroad was cheap (remember those Iceland Air flights, with stops in Reykjavik?), and climbing aboard a tramp steamer for a hippie journey to India or Tibet was all the rage.

[onehandle]

5. I was in Europe for over a month last year.

I like saying that. Wish I could say it every year.

sigh...

[limit18]

6. Had one...

I was on my way to Australia but plans changed.

[AlCzervik]

7. yes, we all do here.

yes i've used it twice in the past 4 years going to europe. Hopefully this summer it will be China and Japan.

[RobinA]

9. Got One

in 2005 or 6 when I was in my "This country is Germany in the '30s" phase. I'm glad I did, because these days it's the ultimate ID, with more and more documentation of everything required. I am now a documented citizen. (Not that this is a good thing.)

[NeedleCast]

19. China is on my short list as well

I spent a little time in Japan but would it was when I was in the military. I'd like to go back with time dedicated to just being able to vacation and explore.

[ieoeja]

11. I hid mine to keep it safe. Can't find it. Did I do a good job of hiding it or what?

Unfortunately, I am pretty certain it is now expired. Which means I have to go through the lengthy BS to get a new one instead of the simpler/cheaper renewal at some point.

[enlightenment]

12. Always, since I was 8 years old.

I look at passports the same way I do having training in CPR and basic first aid. You never know, regardless of your circumstances, what the future holds.

I know CPR and first aid because I don't want to find myself in the position of not being ABLE to help an ill or injured person, simply because I don't know how to help them.

Same logic for the passport. I may not be in a position to travel outside the country - or have any reason to do so. Today. Still, tomorrow I might be offered the opportunity to go somewhere. How tragic if I couldn't go because I didn't have a passport at hand?

Chances of either one of those things (needing the first aid or needing the passport) are rare - but I'd rather be prepared than not. It's a cheap investment, given how long they are valid.

[greenkal]

13. Surprised so many wealthy people here!

Wow, the vast majority of people here can afford an expensive passport and expensive trips out of the country. I thought this was supposed to be a place for normal people.

[AlCzervik]

16. normal people don't have passports? You seem a little bitter.

[Kali]

18. yes they have gotten expensive but travel out of the country does not have to be

you need them to return from Mexico now. I can stay down there as cheap or cheaper than here, even though that has gotten more expensive than it used to be - shit, you could stay there for almost nothing a decade ago.

edit to add: welcome to DU: a place as diverse as the rest of the world - some have more than others, some do more with less, some do for others and some are assholes.

[NeedleCast]

20. You can't be serious?

[GoesTo11]

24. I recommend EPCOT

It's just like traveling the world, but all you need is a passport to the Magic Kingdom. Fares and rooms for Orlando are very cheap these days.

[uppityperson]

28. You are a ts'd troll. Perhaps getting one and visiting even Canada or Mexico might open your little

mind? I need mine to see my dentist since I can't afford one in the usa.

[Bill McBlueState]

33. DU is certainly not a place for normal people

If it were, we'd all be like, "Illegal occupations are cool, as long as they don't hurt the economy too much," and all the other things normal Americans say.

But honestly, you're probably seeing a self-selection effect in the poll above.

[Raineyb]

36. You only need gas money to travel to Mexico or Canada depending on where you live.

You sound like freeper with that implied elitist bullshit.

[Retrograde]

40. or a working pair of feet

I walked from San Ysidro to Tijuana and back. Getting in to Mexico was trivial; getting back in to the US required a 30 second inspection of my passport, but there were several hundred people in line ahead of me so it took over an hour.

[Raineyb]

47. Touche

Several hundred people ahead of you? What did they do treat the border like the post office and only have one person working the station?

Regards

[Big Blue Marble]

37. Normal people do travel.

Travel is my passion. I drive a 15 year old car. My only TV is the same age. Every four or five years I save enough to
see the world. I have a great travel agent that can find bargains for additional savings. You can be
quite normal and expand your awareness to other cultures and peoples.

[Retrograde]

38. wealthy?

A US passport comes to $10 a year, admittedly you have to pay up front for 10 years. My last 'expensive' trip outside the US was to Canada (Buffalo to Toronto and back, a day trip) last summer and the passport definitely sped things up. Of course there's a lot of whining along the border about how mandatory passports are going to make it harder for fans of one city's football or hockey team to attend games in the other.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

41. "normal" people travel too. "normal" people can be immigrants.

"normal" doesnt have to mean someone who hasnt travelled

[nadinbrzezinski]

46. Curious people who are not provincial do like to travel

even if expensive...

[Raine]

50. What's your definition of "normal" ...

the inhabitants of the freak republic?? :silly:

[wickerwoman]

51. You don't have to be wealthy to travel- it's a question of priorities.

What most people choose to spend on gas and SUVs, bigger houses than they need, $30,000 weddings, dozens of pairs of shoes, more TVs than people in the house, the latest tech gadgets, (insert your passion here), I chose to spend on travel. And I wouldn't trade a second of it for any of those things.

I've never had a car or a dishwasher. Everything I own in the world fits in two suitcases. I don't have a TV (or DVD player/Tivo) or a digital camera or MP3 player or any of that crap. Not wealthy at all really, but I've been to five continents and really hoping to make it to the sixth soon.

[JI7]

54. so you thought Bush was "normal" and not wealthy because he didn't travel ?

[fortyfeetunder]

56. Did you forget the sarcasm tag?

I think you lost this :sarcasm:

[Red State Rebel]

14. Got mine last year for a week on a beach in the Dominican Rep. ahhhhh memories!

[KatyMan]

15. I have two...

A US and an Irish passport. We're back in the States now, but when we lived overseas I used my US passport to get in and out of the States and my Irish one everywhere else.

[vadawg]

44. i too have more than one passport, i used my eire passport for dodgy countries

and my others as and when needed. still need to get my US passport as well just in case.

[drmeow]

17. Presumably I've had one almost

since I was born since we went to live overseas when I was 6 months old.

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

22. I've had one since 1989...

I've used it 5 times.

[drmeow]

42. I used mine

about 5 times in 2007 alone (Hungary, Austria, and Slovakia on one trip, Australia and New Zealand on another).

I'd been to 13 countries before I was 13 and have been to 15 in the past 15 years (that doesn't include airport layovers :)). I've been very lucky to be able to travel so much.

[rrneck]

21. Yep. I'd go

back to Venice right now if I could. Maybe this year will be better than last year, but I doubt it.

[jdadd]

23. I had one....

But it's now expired. A vindictive ex wife kept it along with auto titles and other important papers following a divorce. It was easier to replace this stuff,than hassle with her...

[RFKHumphreyObama]

25. Not American but, yes, I have a passport which has been used frequently

And which I need to get renewed soon

[HughBeaumont]

26. I have one, but it's just for entry to Canada.

I cannot afford to travel in the U.S., let alone Europe. We had to save up close to 3/4 a grand just to go to Toronto and Ottawa for a week . . . and we drove . . . and we stayed at Days Inns. I just don't have the thousand(s) in cash that it takes anymore.

[benld74]

27. Me, wife and oldest got ours in 2002, for China adoption trip

[Lucinda]

32. Excellent reason to get one!

:)

[foxfeet]

29. I'm on my second one and it needs to be renewed.

Don't know if I'll ever make it out of the country again, but I'll be ready when the chance arises.

[Lucinda]

30. No...but I thought one would have been appropriate when I first moved to the South.

:)

[tabbycat31]

34. I have one from when I was a kid

it expired in 1995. I don't exactly have the $100 to get a new one, and am not planning on leaving the country anytime soon. I'll get one when I need it.

[greenbriar]

35. I, hubby and daughter all have one. We cruise a lot

and one year we had to fly to Kingston Jamaica and we were glad to have that passport!!!

[Delphinus]

39. Got mine renewed in 2003,

just in case I had to head north to the friendly land of Canada.

[Critters2]

43. Yeah. Damn Frenchies won't let you in without it.

It was also handy for getting into Zimbabwe, though I won't be using it for that again any time soon.

[upi402]

45. My 2nd renewal! n/t

[Lucian]

48. I have never had a passport.

I suppose I should get one. It's one of the million things on my "to do" list.

[Initech]

49. Yup, and I'm using it for the first time tomorrow.

:woohoo:

[JI7]

52. yes and i am not wealthy

[upi402]

53. 27% of Americans have one, fewer use them. n/t

[Thothmes]

55. Keep my passport current

even though I have not used it in 20 years. In case I loosw my wallet, have got some form of legal ID to get drivers licenses, ID cards, etc.

[Dorian Gray]

57. Yes.

I lived overseas for five years. I have a passport and have used it many times.

[davidpdx]

58. Yes, in fact I live abroad and have a residence visa which is year to year

and have lived here five years. I'm hoping to apply for a permanent residence visa later this year.

[mwooldri]

59. Our family all has them, having the need to travel to UK.

I really should consider getting the second passport for my son. That way when he and I travel together we can just whizz through the EU arrivals line rather than go through the non EU line when arriving at Gatwick.

[cobalt1999]

60. Have one, filled it with stamps, got the extention pages, filled those with stamps

Then they made me get a new one because there was no more room to stamp.

[raccoon]

61. Why do you care? Are you working for Homeland Security?

:silly:

Yes.

[alarimer]

62. Never had one.

Can't afford foreign travel.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

63. on my third one now.

[Bill McBlueState]

64. Whom do you think is more likely to participate in this poll?

People who have passports, or people who don't?

[agentS]

65. Got mine in college

It was 80 dollars back then. I hear it's 100 dollars now- so pricy...

How's it for kids under 16? Still under 100?