Coming to America

December 1, 2007

I don’t think anyone really foresaw the speed, and the massive drop, that the American Dollar has taken in the past few months. As an American studying in Canada, I know all too well that current exchange rate. My first transaction at a bank a few years ago when I first came here was converting $100 USD into Canadian dollars. I received exactly $137.87. I remember that figure exactly; it’s burned into my memory, as a marker of my prudent decision making. “It’s like I’m only paying 70% for everything!”

That was three years ago. Oh how the times have changed. On my most recent trip to the bank, for $100 I got exactly $98 back– the closest to parity I’ve gotten all year. My prudence is no more.

I now face constant chiding from bank tellers all across the country.

But what does this mean in the larger picture? Well, when discussing travel, there has been no better time to visit the 50 States than now. Europeans have been flocking to New York for months now, taking full advantage of the weak American economy. No longer are ugly Americans traveling to the great cities across the world, flaunting their impervious green cash. Now more than ever, the world is coming to America, making us Americans salivate over their rainbows of currency as they exchange their strength for our weakness.

Couple relatively cheap airfare (as has been a trend in recent years) and you have the perfect mix for a wonderful trip. There has been no better time, at least in my lifetime, to visit the States.

I’ve always marveled at the diversity there too. A walk through New York or San Francisco is a walk around the entire globe. Everyone and every country is represented somewhere in the American tapestry. Instead of shelling out thousands of dollars to go to China, why not just go to China Town instead? Seems more prudent to me!