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I have gathered research on another thread and have whittled it down to the states listed in the poll. I have never been to the USA before but don't want somewhere touristic. I come from Holland and want to experience the America portrayed in films and on TV.
Really all of those state are part of "Americana." But what does "Americana" mean to you? If you want to contrast America from Europe, I would recommend Texas.
If I had to chose one of these I guess I would suggest Kansas City Missouri. But really all of these states and the cities in them would make it difficult to do much without a car.
There are sets from places as diverse as NYC & LA to rural outposts .... while not all are necessarily true to the location, the general feel they are trying to get out is typically American
Really all of those state are part of "Americana." But what does "Americana" mean to you? If you want to contrast America from Europe, I would recommend Texas.
Arizona or New Mexico would be a far better contrast.
If by "Americana" you mean a small town in the middle of nowhere, cornfields, apple pie, etc, then I would recommend a state like Kansas or Oklahoma. If you actually plan on traveling around the state though, then I would recommend Illinois. You'll have a large and diverse city with Chicago, but the rest of the state outside of Chicagoland is predominantly rural and small town. The state's racial breakdown is also the most similar to the US as a whole.
If you aren't interested in a large city, however, then, again, I would say a state like Kansas or Oklahoma.
If by "Americana" you mean a small town in the middle of nowhere, cornfields, apple pie, etc, then I would recommend a state like Kansas or Oklahoma. If you actually plan on traveling around the state though, then I would recommend Illinois. You'll have a large and diverse city with Chicago, but the rest of the state outside of Chicagoland is predominantly rural and small town. The state's racial breakdown is also the most similar to the US as a whole.
If you aren't interested in a large city, however, then, again, I would say a state like Kansas or Oklahoma.
Most of Oklahoma leans too much towards the South to be tried and true "Americana". It certainly looks like Anywhere, USA, for the most part, but the same can hardly be said for the culture.
What a great question - their are a lot of flavors of Americana and you will surely find it in the states you have listed. The best way to see the Americana that you would like is of course, by car (i.e., a "road trip") and covering a large swath of the landscape. I would recommend minimizing driving on interstates and four lane U.S. highways. My preference is usually to take two lane state highways which are usually wide open, not so much covered in traffic, and will get you to the great places you are looking for.
I have been lucky enough to visit all of the states, and although not on your list, Iowa and Nebraska come closest to "Americana" for me. Places like Cedar Rapids and especially Omaha (visit during the College World Series in the summer) really impress me as strongly representing Americana.
Another option is to take the full route 66 road trip (many web sites dedicated to that) from Chicago to L.A., although unfortunately a lot of that is interstate now.
Here is a web site that might give you a few offbeat places to visit:
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