[00:00.16]A new study suggests many Americans have not visited
[00:05.02]the most popular places of interest around the country
[00:09.64]or even in their hometown.
[00:13.16]The study found that 25 percent of Americans
[00:17.88]have yet to visit "iconic landmarks" in their own cities.
[00:23.84]Twenty-three percent said they had not visited any of the nation's natural wonders,
[00:30.60]famous buildings or historic battlefields.
[00:35.48]The study was a project of the research service OnePoll and Zipcar,
[00:41.76]a car-sharing company.
[00:44.56]Researchers questioned 2,000 Americans.
[00:48.88]Only 33 percent of them said they had been to Niagara Falls
[00:54.46]and just 28 percent had been to Arizona's Grand Canyon.
[01:00.16]The study showed that only 30 percent had been to New York's Empire State Building.
[01:07.24]Only 22 percent had ever visited the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
[01:14.60]Many Americans say they would like to travel more.
[01:19.16]More than half of those questioned said they would like to get out more.
[01:24.40]Forty-nine percent reported being "creatures of habit."
[01:29.60]By that, they mean they generally do the same things in the same way.
[01:36.40]That would leave little time to visit local or national landmarks.
[01:42.84]The researchers found that the main reasons keeping Americans
[01:47.49]from exploring their cities or the country were money,
[01:51.84]lack of time and a lack of good transportation.
[01:57.76]On social media, one Twitter user reacting to the study
[02:02.68]named a few reasons for not visiting famous places.
[02:08.24]The writer noted that "most of us don't get paid days off,
[02:13.44]get punished for taking a day off,
[02:16.52]or simply can't afford to visit anything or go anywhere anymore."
[02:23.60]The Twitter user added, "Childcare costs more than College,
[02:28.40]College Loans costs more than a mortgage payment,
[02:32.20]and jobs don't even pay for one of those things."
[02:37.72]The study found that three of the places Americans wanted to visit
[02:43.04]were Grand Canyon National Park, Yellowstone National Park and the Statue of Liberty.
[02:51.36]The researchers also found that, on average,
[02:54.88]Americans go to a new coffee shop every five months,
[02:59.00]and a new restaurant every four months.
[03:03.04]They also spent time at a lake or near the ocean once every six months,
[03:08.76]and go to a park every five months.
[03:13.12]I'm Jonathan Evans.