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 techsoldaten wrote:
Another way to approach the problem...

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-11-nations-of-the-united-states-2015-7

The US breaks down into a set of cultural regions. Your experience will be very different depending on which regions you head to.

I live near DC, which would be considered part of New Netherland. I have also lived in Las Vegas and New York. Both of those places have their own distinct culture which is worth seeing.

My suggestion would be to pick 2 or 3 cities in different regions and go for it. Travel between Boston / New York / Baltimore / DC is pretty easy by bus or rail, but it's best to take a plane if you are planning to go further West. The quality of service for both bus and plane travel drops dramatically once you are outside this corridor.

If you are going to head South, a few towns to consider would include Charlottesville, New Orleans, Austin, St Petersburg, and Miami. Not saying the rest is bad, but these ones are definitely good.

If you are heading West, Los Angeles is driving distance from Las Vegas. Did the drive through the Mojave many times when I lived there. The drive up the Pacific Coast highway to San Francisco is legendary. Big Sur is an amazing place to spend time.

The midwest is less exciting. You have been warned.

Go West. Our nature is epic out there.

Ehhh - I don't know if it's just me but I find traveling to cities really lame. It's like.."oh look another human cultivating center - just like the last one" who cares about that gak? You want to see the buildings you can see it in a picture just as as well. You want to taste the food? It's not actually any better than the american food you've tasted in the UK. You want to meet the people? - They are just freaking people - some nice - some are jerks. You want to experience something really special? Go live in the Arizona desert for a week without supplies other than a flint knife - come out alive? Be a changed man with a new appreciation for life and everyone in it.

 Frazzled wrote:

 techsoldaten wrote:
Another way to approach the problem...

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-11-nations-of-the-united-states-2015-7

The US breaks down into a set of cultural regions. Your experience will be very different depending on which regions you head to.

I live near DC, which would be considered part of New Netherland. I have also lived in Las Vegas and New York. Both of those places have their own distinct culture which is worth seeing.

My suggestion would be to pick 2 or 3 cities in different regions and go for it. Travel between Boston / New York / Baltimore / DC is pretty easy by bus or rail, but it's best to take a plane if you are planning to go further West. The quality of service for both bus and plane travel drops dramatically once you are outside this corridor.

If you are going to head South, a few towns to consider would include Charlottesville, New Orleans, Austin, St Petersburg, and Miami. Not saying the rest is bad, but these ones are definitely good.

If you are heading West, Los Angeles is driving distance from Las Vegas. Did the drive through the Mojave many times when I lived there. The drive up the Pacific Coast highway to San Francisco is legendary. Big Sur is an amazing place to spend time.

The midwest is less exciting. You have been warned.

Go West. Our nature is epic out there.

The Western US is gorgeous. Having lived out West since 94, I have 0 desire to ever live back east or on the west coast. Nice to visit, but not to stay. However, out here everything is long drive from everything else. Land was cheap and plentiful, and it shows in how the Western US is laid out.

Yellowstone is well worth visitng, it gets lots of tourists, but you won't see anything like it anywhere else. The Grand Tetons and the Rockies are lovely, New Mexico is where the real 'old west' was mainly (the cattle/sheep wars were fought largely inside New Mexico).

Really though it depends on what you are interested in. The US has vast areas of amazing beauty, but it is all spread out.

 Xenomancers wrote:
Ehhh - I don't know if it's just me but I find traveling to cities really lame. It's like.."oh look another human cultivating center - just like the last one" who cares about that gak? You want to see the buildings you can see it in a picture just as as well. You want to taste the food? It's not actually any better than the american food you've tasted in the UK.

careful now. That was a dangerously mistaken thing to say.

You want to meet the people? - They are just freaking people - some nice - some are jerks.

Sounds to me like you are either a misanthrope or extremely introverted. There is a lot of cultural variety even in relatively small areas, and tons of people with stories to tell or pathologies to pretend aren't captivating you. I always recommend talking to the locals. Ask them about the craziest or dumbest thing the've ever seen a tourist do. Ask them about what they do for fun, or what crazy pranks the local kids get up to. Develop a conversation and learn to appreciate (or fear) their perspective.

You want to experience something really special? Go live in the Arizona desert for a week without supplies other than a flint knife - come out alive? Be a changed man with a new appreciation for life and everyone in it.

Hard to bring the kids on that one without the government wanting to ask all kinds of questions about your suitability.

Also going to the Arizona desert for week without water means You'll have wasted a full week. You'll be die by what Day Three?

 Frazzled wrote:
Also going to the Arizona desert for week without water means You'll have wasted a full week. You'll be die by what Day Three?

Well, he'd be dead inside the moment he crosses the state border. But I feel three days is generous in an Arizona summer.

We went down to Anza Borrego two weekends ago when the temperature was over a hundred, and we counted at least four separate ambulance sirens in about 4 hours, on a trail near a small town with plenty of amenities. We took a casual stroll, bringing plenty of water, and suffered from mild heat exhaustion in under two hours ( although I was carrying the water and then the kid, so that's my excuse). A full day in an Arizona desert in summer with no water should be enough to kill the average person.


We went to the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve/Mojave last weekend and took the scenic Lake Hughes Road through Spring Valley and past Lake Castaic, a journey with as much natural splendor and terror as any I've seen short of Yellowstone or Yosemite. You don't need to go full hermit in the middle of Arizona to surround yourself with nature.

Edit: and for Redleger, there were plenty of guys carrying knives and presumably guns in both places. There are even billboards out near Mojave reminding you not to let your child play with your gun. (And another that warns you about Syphilis, the Silent Killer.).

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:

 Frazzled wrote:
Also going to the Arizona desert for week without water means You'll have wasted a full week. You'll be die by what Day Three?

Well, he'd be dead inside the moment he crosses the state border. But I feel three days is generous in an Arizona summer.

We went down to Anza Borrego two weekends ago when the temperature was over a hundred, and we counted at least four separate ambulance sirens in about 4 hours, on a trail near a small town with plenty of amenities. We took a casual stroll, bringing plenty of water, and suffered from mild heat exhaustion in under two hours ( although I was carrying the water and then the kid, so that's my excuse). A full day in an Arizona desert in summer with no water should be enough to kill the average person.


We went to the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve/Mojave last weekend and took the scenic Lake Hughes Road through Spring Valley and past Lake Castaic, a journey with as much natural splendor and terror as any I've seen short of Yellowstone or Yosemite. You don't need to go full hermit in the middle of Arizona to surround yourself with nature.

Edit: and for Redleger, there were plenty of guys carrying knives and presumably guns in both places. There are even billboards out near Mojave reminding you not to let your child play with your gun. (And another that warns you about Syphilis, the Silent Killer.).

It isn't just Arizona, most of the Western US is at altitude. It is counter intuitive, but the sun is 'stronger'. With less air to filter through, UV exposure is higher at altitude, coupled with the dry climate and it is very easy to get dehydrated.

I live in Utah, and it is quite common to see tourist get altitude sickness or sunburn as a result of reacting as if they were still at home.

In terms of packing heat, depending on what state you visit and what you are doing, it is actually advisable to pack heat. Having done some light hiking in Alaska, if you are really going out they will tell you to be armed in some fashion to ward off wildlife. Almost every hiker we passed was carrying.

Remember folks, this is not the petting zoo. These animals are not tame and are not to be approached. Do NOT attempt to take a selfie (when last in Yellowstone the medics had just taken someone to the morgue that tried that with a buffalo), feed them, pet them, or other. My father has been chased by porcupines in the back country of New Mexico, I've had moose clearly let me know I'd invaded their territory, had to back off from rattlers on the trail, and been used to shaking my shoes out every morning to make sure there weren't scorpions in them.

I live in Utah, also, and recall a pair of Chinese tourists I encountered at Arches that were just starting into the park with one can of coke between them. Figuring they would have heat stroke within the hour if I didn't warn them,
I turned them around and brought them to my van where I loaded them up on a couple gallons of water and canteens. I told them it was a good way to die quickly to not have a good supply of water and possibly an umbrella and sunscreen for a hike like they were planning.
It seems a lot of people that havn't been in a Western desert don't realize how fast they can go tits up if they don't have the right supplies.

Arizona? For a pasty Scotsman? A pasty Scotsman that got blisters off the Cyprean sun through Factor Lots Sunscreen? Reckon Imma give that a miss, on account it'll likely turn me to Bacon, and then I'd probably be eaten. Possibly by Frazz. Who knows, not me, don't wish to find out!

As for Cities?

I disagree. I was born in Edinburgh, and now work in London - and the two cities couldn't be more different, despite being a mere 400 miles apart. (said differences are another thread).

There's definite cultural differences between cities - and I'd imagine it'll be even more pronounced in the USA given it's size.

Plus, cities tend offer a good mix - authentic local cuisine when you want it, recognisable brands when you don't have time to wander side streets.

Hence why I'm interested in a coach or train tour. I do have a nasty tendency to bore easily, so being on the move and having a strict timescale brings the best out in me (spesh at work, where my output is double my nearest colleague!).

Thanks for the contributions so far, and do keep them coming!

Personally if you want to see different, then I'd try and leave "the west" well alone. Try the far east (may not be too hot), or North Africa (probably too hot).

You'll find so much more in terms of cultural variety visiting somewhere like Japan, Beijing or Egypt.

NooB traveller, and not keen to spend half my hol on the bog with Delhi Belly I've usually got a gut of iron (like my Grandad) but I see no reason to push it when I've spent a lot of money!

I’m a big fan of the northeast.

If you like outdoors stuff, plenty of mountains for climbing/hiking, and shore for fishing.

If you want to see some of US history, there is a lot in the area. Boston is very good for that IMHO.

I know here in Upstate NY, there is a ton of food. Wineries, Breweries, distilleries, etc. Sneak over into Vermont, and you get one of the best cheese regions in the US.

If you want the big city experience, it’s there.

Unlike a large chunk of the US, we actually have a semi-decent passenger rail system, so you can take a train places. In general, we are also closer together then other parts, so you can see more.

South Beach, Miami, has the best assemblage of Art Deco/Streamline Moderne architecture in the world.