Help me settle an argument.Is flying to Argentina from Canada considered overseas travel?I said it wasn’t but the guy I was arguing with was very adamant in his position that it was and I normally find him to be a reliable source of information.
According to Wiki, your friend is correct:
FWIW…
Of course it is overseas. I leave here and go across the Red Sea, then the Mediterranean Sea, the North Sea, the Atlantic Ocean then the Caribbean Sea to get to BA.
Well,that was a very informative article.
Paul,I was fairly certain a trip for you to BA is considered overseas.
Nope. Remember, not all of Wiki is fully developed. It did say ‘considered for some countries to be synonymous with international’ (if that’s the case, the countries where that’s true should be listed) however dictionary.com says no, the travel has to be over a sea for it to be considered ‘overseas’. And that doesn’t mean that the plane flies over ocean along the coast.
I’d say it really has more to do with where in Canada you’re starting. If you look at this map (click “International” at top left-hand corner) of *Aerolineas Argentinas’ * routes, flights from New York to Argentina appear to me to be as “overseas” as a flight from Madrid (e.g.) would be. If you’re talking about flying from Vancouver (if direct flights exist)… maye not so much “overseas.”
P.S. you’re right about the Wiki article, of course… hence the FWIW in my initial post – still it jibes with how I’d use the language.
My own opinion is meaningless in the face of general consensus, but I’ll share it nevertheless: no, I don’t think that going from North America to South America is “overseas.” It isn’t “overseas” if you have the option of walking back home.
Which is what i argued,plus when does it stop being overseas? Texas? Mexico?Panama?
The international comparison doesn’t sit well either,certainly no one would consider Portugal to Spain or USA to Canada overseas.
France to China?
Nope. Not overseas. A really long stinkin’ way, but not overseas.
Okay, how about the flipside - London to Paris. You can’t walk there, but I’m not sure if I’d consider that overseas, since the channel is pretty narrow.
Yeah, that one is sort of a good question. Being an anglophile, though, and being interested in psychologically separating Britain from the rest of Europe, I would have to say that London to Paris is overseas. An opinion supported by dispassionate geography.
Hmm… what about France to Tunis or Algiers? Sure, you could walk there (and be sure to drop by when you go through Tel-Aviv! :D) – but, arguably, very few people will take the land route.
For that matter, how about Gibraltar to Morocco?
You wouldn’t call any of those journeys “overseas” though, would you?
Actually, I probably would… AFAIAC, from here (Israel) to Italy or France is overseas.
YMMV
I don’t think “overseas” is used so much in the UK, certainly compared to the very common “abroad”. This refers to everywhere outside the British Isles*. Fog in the Channel, Continent Cut Off - that sort of mindset.
*I don’t think I’ve ever heard a Brit refer to the Republic of Ireland as abroad.
What about the Panama Canal?
How about Long Island to Bermuda?
FWIW: “Overseas” is from one continent to another.
There’s at least three bridges you could walk over.
One part of Istanbul to another?
Cairo to Sinai?
Or, as I mentioned before, France to Tunis / Gibraltar to Morocco?
All of there involve going from one continent to another, but arguably only the third example (and I’m not sure about Gib./Mor., either) would count as “overseas.”
I really think the term is too nebulous to support a clear-cut definition… some trips are definitely “overseas.” Some aren’t. And some… it isn’t clear.
You don’t want to go there. You’re just restating the same problem. The idea of a continent is not well defined. For example, I’ve seen the following divisions of Earth:
Four: Oceania, Antarctica, Americas, Africa-Eurasia
Five: Oceania, Antarctica, Americas, Africa, Eurasia
Six: Oceania, Antarctica, Americas, Africa, Europe, Asia
Six: Oceania, Antarctica, South America, North America, Africa, Eurasia
Seven: Oceania, Antarctica, South America, North America, Africa, Europe, Asia