Government Shutdown: Time To Travel?

On the Delta Air Lines flight outbound, security lines moved as usual and a TSA PreCheck line had two officers handling the few people in that qualified queue, getting them through the screening in less than five minutes. The return via Air France proved to be just as seamless, despite the fact the shutdown had been in effect for full a week. The speedy arrival at LAX during what would be rush hour on a Sunday afternoon had the plane at the gate on time and some 300 passengers moving through the immigration lines well in time to catch the flights first pieces of luggage coming through the carousel. So while it is, on the surface, business as usual at most U.S. airports, a few looming disruptions do exist: passport agencies are moving in slow motion, federal safety inspector furloughs could contribute to potential cracks in airline safety, national park visits may have to be put off for another season, and some government checks that may have been allocated to ones travel or vacation budget may be slow to arrive. What happens as the days turn into weeks is another matter.

Travel can make you a better (or at least richer) artist

Key findings include: Adults who traveled saw benefits in their careers later in life: Fifty-two percent of students who took educational trips reported that their career choice was influenced by educational travel, and 89 percent reported that the trips had a positive impact on their education and/or career. Students who traveled on educational trips in their youth make nearly 12 percent more (or $5,000) annually later in their careers, than those who did not travel. Students who took educational trips had higher grades: Travel helped 59 percent of those who took educational trips achieve better grades. Students who traveled more likely to graduate and seek higher learning: Fifty-seven percent of adults who took educational trips as children and teens attained a college degree or went on to do post-graduate work, whereas only 33 percent of those who did not went on to higher education.

Educational Travel in Youth Linked to Academic, Career Success

Overall, trips to France had a significant positive effect on art prices 6.8 percent though the effect was far stronger before 1913. In the post-World War II era, "a visit to France was even a drain on productivity." Travel to Germany was extremely beneficial 21 percent through this was driven mainly by "two sequential strong sub-periods from 1914 to 1938," coinciding with the Bauhaus era. And so much for finding inspiration in Florence of Venice.