The average American is lucky to get 11 vacation days from their employer each year.
In many parts of Europe, it’s common for workers to take off weeks at a time, especially during the summer. Envious Americans say it’s time for the U.S. to follow suit.
Some 66% of U.S. workers say companies should adopt extended vacation policies, like a month off in August, in their workplaces, according to a Morning Consult survey of 1,047 U.S. adults.
So you can go somewhere that isn't hot and shitty or so you don't have to work while it's hot and shitty (air conditioning is still very rare in Europe).
Old buildings are hard to retrofit a modern central air AC system into, and Europe has a lot of old buildings. Also, from an American viewpoint, Europe is much higher in latitude that the USA, so it's like Canadian weather which is usually believed to be cooler. The USA is more of in line with middle eastern latitude
While I don't know for most of Europe, almost everywhere I've been in Northern Europe has had a decent chunk of home have Inverter Heat Pumps installed.
Don't really ever see buildings retrofit a central AC system when separate heat pumps per unit do the job.
I traveled through Europe this summer during the heatwave. The hostels were fucking saunas lol. As a traveler I was not staying at people's houses where they might have a decent ac system
I've never been to a hostel, but I can see that type of cheap accommodation not having any sort of cooling yeah. Especially since it honestly hasn't been much of a need for the one week above 25c a year... Too bad that's now more like 3 months
Everyone crowding all the public places with their shrieking banshees at the same time just makes the idea even less appealing. I'd almost rather be at work than have to spend my vacation time around that.
I mean, I'd prefer to just have enough leave to actually take a month off when I want to take it off, rather than being told my office is closing for one specific month. Saying you don't want to have a forced vacation time with a million kids doesn't mean you buy in to the bullshit system in the US.
Nobody is forcing people, it's just the most common choice for the reason given above (also because a lot of people choose beach destinations for their vacations, and it's the best time for that). Everyone is free to use their days off when they want to and not everyone chooses summer vacation.
Sure, but we're talking specifically about the US. August is typically the hottest time of year in essentialy every part of the country, aside from maybe Hawaii and San Diego, where the weather barely changes.
I enjoy taking 4-6 weeks off when it is the hottest here in Europe, and going to the south of New Zealand for a nice holiday in cold temperatures.
Flights are also surprisingly affordable when you plan it 6+ months in advance!
Most Americans can't afford to vacation in another state, let alone another hemisphere.
You know that stereotype you guys have about Americans being untravelled and ignorant of other cultures? Well, it's accurate, but it's not because we're arrogant or don't give a shit; it's because 2/3 of us live paycheck to paycheck. The thought of vacationing overseas is absurd and fantastical when you're too busy worrying about the fact that you can't save enough to retire or afford to get your car fixed when it breaks down and gets you fired for missing work because you used both of your sick days last month when you were violently ill, which, by the way, you didn't get treatment for because it costs too much and your insurance only partially covers it.