Travelers' reflections · United States

I’ve visited the U.S. four times myself, including two long road trips. The last one was just this past August...

I won’t be going back. I already felt guilty last August, but recent policies have finally convinced me: the humiliation of Zelensky, authoritarian excesses, Gestapo-like methods for detaining people of foreign origin, the murder of innocent people (a mother shot dead), corruption, insane "tariffs," skyrocketing healthcare costs for Americans, the abduction of foreign figures to secure oil, the requirement to disclose social media accounts, and now... threats and blackmail to forcibly take Greenland—a region that belongs to Denmark and thus the European Union!

The reality is that simply posting this could get me denied entry to the U.S.!

In this context, I just can’t keep spending money there. I loved my trips, but there are so many other countries with stunning landscapes to explore.

So I get why you’d want to travel there. I did, and I loved it. But once a country no longer respects any of the values that made us love it, why go?

How can we even consider traveling to a country that threatens to take one of our territories by force?

Hi everyone.

I’ve been wondering: Is it still reasonable to rent a car in the U.S.?

Apparently, since early January 2025—and very quietly—the most important insurance coverage, namely the driver’s civil liability, has seen its coverage amount drop from $1 million to just $300,000. This coverage is supposed to protect us from damages we might be responsible for while driving. We can go decades without a single scrape (especially if it’s our fault), but anything can happen in a split second. A motorcycle appearing out of nowhere, a misjudgment at one of those huge intersections with staggered traffic lights, and suddenly we could be deemed at fault for the accident. We’d then have to pay out of pocket for the other party’s medical expenses. Given what hospitals charge... it can easily exceed $300,000 and turn into a nightmare in no time!!! Plus, anyone who’s driven on American roads has seen those billboards for lawyers offering their services to accident victims. So on top of the sky-high medical bill, the lawyer will demand compensation worthy of a Hollywood movie!!!! So, is it even worth getting behind the wheel in America anymore? Well... that’s just my take! And on top of that, I haven’t found any insurance company that offers such high civil liability coverage. Chapka and others do offer coverage in the millions, but motor vehicles are excluded.... So here’s the thing... Unless I’ve "missed something," I’ve come to this conclusion: Renting a car in the U.S. is like playing Russian roulette! But maybe I’m being too pessimistic? What do you think?

For those who want to take a helicopter flight in New York:

In mid-April, a sightseeing helicopter flight in NYC turned tragic. A helicopter carrying a Spanish family of five and a pilot crashed into the Hudson River shortly after taking off from Manhattan.

Apparently, the loss of the rotor caused the sudden fall near the West Side Highway.

Despite rescue efforts, all six occupants died.

This has reignited the debate over whether helicopters should be banned for sightseeing flights in NYC or elsewhere.

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