The Greatest Fears Americans Have About Traveling, Mapped

Plenty of people get nervous before taking a big trip, but not everyone fears the same thing. A new map based on data gathered by the home security company Your Local Security suggests that different regions have different fears about travel.

The company surveyed 25 travel experts and used Google Trends and the keyword research tool keyword.io to figure out what people get most anxious about. Surprisingly, only three states said “flying,” and they all share borders—Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming.

Some, like Nevadans, feared the very likely headache of flight delays, while others feared common annoyances like packing and a lack of Wi-Fi and cell phone service. Massachusetts residents worry about lost luggage, Alaskans are anxious about making it through customs, and Hawaiians, perhaps understandably given their location, are not happy about their likely jet lag. Oregonians and Missourians may take more road trips than cross-country or international vacations, because they were more worried about traffic accidents than planes. Some people fear language barriers the most—perhaps they should take a crack at DuoLingo? And in Texas, their biggest fear was getting homesick.

However, none of these fears should prevent you from jetsetting. After all, if you believe foreign travel warnings, America is full of crime, road rage, and unhelpful taxi drivers. Oh, and terrible plumbing. Meanwhile, many Americans find U.S. shower heads to be just fine, and don’t worry too much about their taxi driver’s directional sense—proving that sometimes, our fears about travel can be a bit overblown.