The number of Americans with passports is at an all time high of 48%, and some of that is simply for convenience ID for internal flights.
I'd expect that if you look at your wealth instead of your income, you probably come to a similar conclusion. If you are in the top 20% income bracket but do not feel rich, my guess is that you are probably in a lower wealth bracket (i.e. you have a house but still a huge mortgage on that house and not a lot of other assets, putting you somewhere in the top 40-50% wealth bracket.
If your wealth puts you in a similar bracket as your income (i.e. top 20%) and you still don't feel rich, this is more a case of your perception being out of whack. Top 20% in terms of wealth in a society like Germany by definition makes you a very rich person. But even our millionaire future chancellor described himself once as "middle class", so this is a common mistake to make ;-).
Basically, 2-3 classmates of mine shaped 90% of my view on what a normal family vacation is supposed to look like. Whereas actually, half my class didn't leave the country in any given year, especially if they had renovations or car repairs going on. I later learnt some of the parents were financing even the bus and cinema ticket for one of the girls on a one-afternoon class trip.
And you need both time and money for a vacation. The average American family probably can't take 2-3 weeks off to travel every year, which makes their vacations shorter and cheaper.
I am very grateful for my current company's "unlimited" PTO policy, it's life-changing.
It can be a slippery slope for sure, I think it only works when the entire team buys into the notion that life is always more important than work (which can feel rare over here).
Happy to say this has been working for me and if the attitude started to change, I like to think I would speak up pretty quickly.
Also, Hotels and Airbnb's are incredibly expensive (even for me, working a decent job with a good income) for families. That's why i chose campings over hotels and bought a decent tent.
Yes, the vast majority of the US population has never traveled overseas. Many of those who do, do so once in a lifetime.
If you’re not rich, but spend more than rich people do on stuff, you’re going to have a hard time getting rich.
A lot of vacations also involve crashing at another family member or friends spare bedroom/fold out couch.
I grew up with family vacations like this (inflation adjusted) and I had a great time. It’s hard to wrap your mind around when you think vacations require significant travel.
Parents get the bed and me and my brother would decide between the sofa and the mattress (or share a second double bed)