I hear ya, but I'm surprised you haven't mentioned the more robust social safety nets that exists in the other countries you've mentioned. It's almost there between every line you write.
I think that the U.S., despite the existence of Social Security and Medicare, is more like China than a northern European country. We have a dog-eat-dog social structure and economy. One of the only reasons we have such a high standard of living is Brenton-Woods and it's subsequent replacement system, which heavily favors the U.S. because T-Bills are the most liquid place for the world to park their cash. So my point is: Sure, some of American's fear of extended foreign travel may be driven by unreasonable fear, but I'll bet a lot of it is driven by reasonable fear -- the fear of falling behind and not being able to catch up.
Yes, but to catch up to whom? Your neighbor with the bigger house and fancier car? People who play games of catch-up are never winners. This is exactly the kind of fear I think is _un_reasonable, and that holds us back from doing things like this, things we often claim we want to do but excuse as being "out of reach."
I think the truth is that taking just one year off (if it's within one's immediate means) will not set you back in the 30+ years you have left to you. One can save up with a trip in mind, quit their job, travel and return, and the world will still have turned, and for the most part, one can pick up where they left off. Maybe you'll be a rung or two down on the corporate ladder, but a resourceful and willing person (like those on these boards) will always make it happen for themselves.
As for social safety nets, I'm a born and raised American who works for himself and is uninsured (self-employed with pre-existing conditions). That hasn't stopped me from travel. If medical tragedy were to strike, I have money saved, my family would help support me, or worst-case is credit cards and medical bankruptcy. As I mentioned tragedy _has_ struck me while traveling: I was in an accident in NZ that required surgery, hospital time, and two months of physical therapy. Life goes on. That's just the ball game we play in America, but it doesn't mean (healthy) people should sit at home for fear of breaking a bone in a foreign country.
Anyway sorry to expostulate for so long on the topic, but it's one that's near and dear to my heart. Hopefully something of what's in this thread will inspire others to see the world while they can.
The fear of falling behind and not being able to catch up is unreasonable. The more cultured and experienced, with people of a different mind, you are the more dynamic and "out-of-the-box" your psyche is; I would argue that getting away from the social meme of not wanting to fall behind will get you further ahead than you think.
It has for me. Not just with travel too, it goes for other life experiences people aren't willing to let themselves have because of this action-oriented notion that in order to continue growing (whether it be personally, in business, or whatever) you must be doing something to meet a given end.
World travel is an action, but it's a sort of "pointless" action in the sense that there is rarely any end goal one is attempting to meet by aimlessly wandering about and experiencing what life has spawned. Sometimes I feel like it isn't "worth" my time when I think about backpacking (with no money) down to Argentina; but then I look back at my two months backpacking through India, or my year living on a commune in Kentucky, or being raised on my family ranch, or my month in Costa Rica and realize that all of those life experiences has turned me into an open-minded, dynamic, and powerful individual. I would NOT have accomplished what I have if it hadn't been for my "aimless" life experiences.
Also, many countries do not have more robust social safety nets than any other - that is a pagelong argument I won't get into ATM, but I will say this: compare the amount of freely available resources and recourses for help available in any developed country (if you're thirsty in the US, visit a gas stop bathroom and drink some tap water; can't find a place to stay, spend the night at a homeless shelter or in a park) with that of a developing country. You'll quickly find that any sort of travel is, really, about relying on yourself regardless of the country's technological status. The safety argument is an empty one.
I think that the U.S., despite the existence of Social Security and Medicare, is more like China than a northern European country. We have a dog-eat-dog social structure and economy. One of the only reasons we have such a high standard of living is Brenton-Woods and it's subsequent replacement system, which heavily favors the U.S. because T-Bills are the most liquid place for the world to park their cash. So my point is: Sure, some of American's fear of extended foreign travel may be driven by unreasonable fear, but I'll bet a lot of it is driven by reasonable fear -- the fear of falling behind and not being able to catch up.