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Old 09-23-2012, 12:18 PM
 
3 posts, read 4,095 times
Reputation: 10

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Heey everyone,
Well im planning a road trip from the uk across america in a couple of years time when i finish school, but im really unsure on some aspects of the trip so, of course, i have created a list of questions i have:
Whats the best way to travel there?
Should i buy a car once i get to america?
Around how much money will i need on a monthly basis?
Any tips on where to start my trip?
Whats the best car to get for the trip?
Im going alone (and im female) any advice on that ?
Any personal advice greatly accepted
Ohh and im planning on working my way across america any advice on how to go about this?
How much luggage should i take with me (average)?
Should i be looking at staying in hotels, renting places etc?

Any other questions i should be asking myself let me know ,these are just off the top of my head. Please feel free to only answer a few

THANKS EVERYONE!
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Old 09-23-2012, 12:24 PM
 
Location: SW France
16,674 posts, read 17,444,965 times
Reputation: 29978
Try posting in the travel section.

And drive on the right!

Without wishing to be negative, if you're under 25 you won't be able to hire a car.

If you buy one you'll have to jump through quite a few hoops and possibly come up against a brick wall without a US address. Again insurance will be a big issue if you are young.

Hang on- does your name indicate that you are currently 24 years old?
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Old 09-23-2012, 12:38 PM
 
Location: The cupboard under the sink
3,993 posts, read 8,930,290 times
Reputation: 8105
Did they move America to the United Kingdom ?

If not, maybe you posted in the wrong forum....................
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Old 09-23-2012, 12:53 PM
 
2,025 posts, read 4,179,053 times
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Instead of buying or renting a car here, why not consider getting buying one at home and shipping it over? Not only will that help with the hoops you'd have to jump through registration and insurance wise, if you brought over something unusual you could find yourself in conversations all the the US whereever you stopped for gas, groceries or lodging. Anfd you could bring over a diesel and save yourself some money on fuel over a typical American car.
Also, you could camp. There are a whole countryfull of campgrounds here, state, federal, private, with varying degrees of amenities. And once again you get a better feel for a place by camping and sharing campfires, adult bevrages and stories than hoteling it, scarfing a frozen waffle and hitting the road.
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Old 09-23-2012, 12:56 PM
 
35,309 posts, read 52,336,651 times
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Welcome to the forum
Huge undertaking and something that will take a couple of months if you dont want your memories to be one big blur.Instead of doing a brief expensive scan of America in its entirety where you'll miss 95% of it why not break it up into several trips exploring a different quadrant of the continent each time.Transport is the big problem as buying a car has all kinds of problems attached with insurance,reliability, and buying and selling it on a moments notice, the way i'd do it is take the bus to various areas then rent a car and explore that area for a few days or so,back on the bus to the next area.Accommodation cost could be minimized by staying in youth hostels that are abundant in most cities.
My daughter just got back from a cross country bus trip from Montreal to Los Angeles where she stayed at a downtown LA youth hostel for 3 weeks (Hotel Cecil) She had a wonderful time..

heres a comparative size chart,move the red dot.
Europe and US Country Size Comparison Map - How Big is Europe Compared to the US?

Heres a site that will give you some destination ideas
Do send away for the free brochure,(Top Left) what they sent me was a 300 page book.America's Byways®: National Scenic Byways Online

Last edited by jambo101; 09-23-2012 at 01:09 PM..
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Old 09-23-2012, 01:01 PM
 
Location: SW France
16,674 posts, read 17,444,965 times
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With buses you get to chat to others and also get to look at the scenery without driving off the road.

I lived in Texas and one big issue with driving across State is concentrating and not falling asleep at the wheel. I've seen a road sign saying 'Next Rest Area 107 Miles'.
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Old 09-23-2012, 01:58 PM
 
2,025 posts, read 4,179,053 times
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Coffee. Lots of coffee, or the energy drink of your choice. But yes the plains and prairies can be a bit boring.

The concern with buses is that often the people riding buses are riding them because they can't afford a car...or basic hygiene or social graces. It's not like the UK where buses are clean, efficient and go to places you actually would like to go. Public transit here is a bit spotty for a cross country tour, which is the impression I get from the OP. Not to say it can't be done, but part of the experience of the US is the open road, captain of your own destiny, and the horizon a hundred miles away.
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Old 09-23-2012, 03:36 PM
 
Location: St. Louis, MO
4,009 posts, read 6,869,273 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jezer View Post
Try posting in the travel section.

And drive on the right!

Without wishing to be negative, if you're under 25 you won't be able to hire a car.

If you buy one you'll have to jump through quite a few hoops and possibly come up against a brick wall without a US address. Again insurance will be a big issue if you are young.

Hang on- does your name indicate that you are currently 24 years old?
Actually you can rent a car over here if you're under 25- you just have to pay extra
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Old 09-23-2012, 04:30 PM
 
35,309 posts, read 52,336,651 times
Reputation: 31000
Quote:
Originally Posted by GnomadAK View Post
Coffee. Lots of coffee, or the energy drink of your choice. But yes the plains and prairies can be a bit boring.

The concern with buses is that often the people riding buses are riding them because they can't afford a car...or basic hygiene or social graces. It's not like the UK where buses are clean, efficient and go to places you actually would like to go. Public transit here is a bit spotty for a cross country tour, which is the impression I get from the OP. Not to say it can't be done, but part of the experience of the US is the open road, captain of your own destiny, and the horizon a hundred miles away.
It could be very expensive to buy a car and do the trip as buying a used car in haste could have you buy ing a piece of junk that will eat all your money in repairs,then ntheres insurance to deal with and a major hassle if you happen to have an accident. then at the end of the trip you'll want to sell the car, that may not happen quickly and you'll need an address for potential customers.As said before i'd do a combination bus and rentacar.
Or maybe another option is a trans American tour.
https://www.google.ca/#hl=en&safe=of...iw=834&bih=479
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Old 09-23-2012, 04:38 PM
 
Location: sittin happy in the sun :-)
3,645 posts, read 7,155,631 times
Reputation: 1877
Whats the best way to travel there? car or bus
Should i buy a car once i get to america? wont be easy a license and insurance can be major hassle and hirng expensive
Around how much money will i need on a monthly basis? how long is a piece of string. Hotel every night ave $75, food per day say $20, gas etc you could blow 500 a week easy
Any tips on where to start my trip?
Whats the best car to get for the trip? the beginning? serioulsy start one coast end the other
Im going alone (and im female) any advice on that ? be VERY careful,
Any personal advice greatly accepted. think and plan carefully
Ohh and im planning on working my way across america any advice on how to go about this? it aint gonna happen, you wont get a visa 'just like that' and if they think you are going to work illegally you womt even get in
How much luggage should i take with me (average)? travel as light as poss
Should i be looking at staying in hotels, renting places etc? depends how lomg you plan to stay in one place. Most houses are a month min

Any other questions i should be asking myself let me know ,these are just off the top of my head. Please feel free to only answer a few

you do know your maximum stay on the VWP is 3 months right ?

THANKS EVERYONE!
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