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...... I had a terrible time living in the middle of the Dutch Bible Belt - Calvinistic, conservative locals that could really lynch me if it was not punishable......
I'm surprised to hear that. What city in the USA was that? There's a big Pennsylvania Dutch farming community, but I've always found them to be polite. It's difficult to imagine them trying to lynch anyone. They'd be much more likely to try to sell you a jar of home made jam at their farm stands.
And which is it? Do you want to visit or are you looking for a place in the USA to live. You won't be able to live in the USA without getting a resident's visa, which is not easy to come by. Unless you happen to already be a USA citizen living abroad and about to come home.
I'm surprised to hear that. What city in the USA was that? There's a big Pennsylvania Dutch farming community, but I've always found them to be polite. It's difficult to imagine them trying to lynch anyone. They'd be much more likely to try to sell you a jar of home made jam at their farm stands.
And which is it? Do you want to visit or are you looking for a place in the USA to live. You won't be able to live in the USA without getting a resident's visa, which is not easy to come by. Unless you happen to already be a USA citizen living abroad and about to come home.
I believe it is an area of the actual Netherlands which is in the northern part of the country and is very conservative.
I'm surprised to hear that. What city in the USA was that? There's a big Pennsylvania Dutch farming community, but I've always found them to be polite. It's difficult to imagine them trying to lynch anyone. They'd be much more likely to try to sell you a jar of home made jam at their farm stands.
And which is it? Do you want to visit or are you looking for a place in the USA to live. You won't be able to live in the USA without getting a resident's visa, which is not easy to come by. Unless you happen to already be a USA citizen living abroad and about to come home.
Pennsylvania Dutch are not Dutch, but German. The name is a corruption of Deutsch. Different culture.
Dutch people settled in Michigan and Iowa, as well as the earliest Dutch in NY and NJ. The Dutch Reformed Church and its descendants, the Reformed Church in Ametica and the Christian Reformed Church, are Calvinists. Strict, dark version of Christianity focused on sin and hell and death. Very conservative.
For a visitor from out of the country, it seems some level of tourist developed rural attraction is needed.
Vermont seems the most obvious first choice. Bear in mind its closest international transatlantic service airport is Montreal (3 to 3.5 hours drive), although there is very slow (by Euro standards) rail service from New York City to the two largest "cities" Burlington or Rutland (two very different routes).
The area around Ithaca, NY tends to have smaller attractions that are not open outside a May-Sept (sometimes even June-August) high season, and less likely to see international visitors. The closest airports to Ithaca with meaningful transatlantic international service are Philadelphia and Toronto (four hours one way drive each), each slightly closer than the New York City airports (closer to five hours driving).
Possibly the easiest to reach rural USA attractions for the European would be Lancaster and Hershey, PA. These are in a more politically conservative area (although Hershey is in Dauphin county which barely voted for Obama and Hillary Clinton) but are Uber-ride distance from rail stations with what by USA standards is frequent rail service with one change to either Philadelphia or Newark (one of the New York City area) international airports. If driving, the most convenient to Lancaster and Hershey may be Baltimore (Baltimore-Washington International, BWI) followed closely by Philadelphia (either 1.5 hr drive plus traffic).
It really depends on what part of the state you are in as far as distance to a major airport although the general standard is a 2-4 hour drive to Logan International Airport in Boston I suppose someone could use Montreal International but most people just drive further to Boston or fly out of Burlington on a non direct flight.
Western Massachusetts would be another option for a liberal and rural area and is just under two hours from Boston and about 3 hours from NYC.
It really depends on what part of the state you are in as far as distance to a major airport although the general standard is a 2-4 hour drive to Logan International Airport in Boston I suppose someone could use Montreal International but most people just drive further to Boston or fly out of Burlington on a non direct flight.
Western Massachusetts would be another option for a liberal and rural area and is just under two hours from Boston and about 3 hours from NYC.
What about Albany or Hartford/Springfield as potential options?
Air Canada could be a good possibility for one-transfer flights across the Atlantic from the inland Northeast US. Flights from Toronto Pearson (YYZ) to the smaller "international" airports (such as Burlington VT or Harrisburg) clear US Customs in Toronto.
We all know that liberals tend to live in bigger urban areas. But what are some rural/country areas in the USA where there are liberal people? What if you are a liberal, a foreigner but you want to visit a farm?
Life in the Calvinistic protestant Dutch bible belt with conservative values has taught me that some rural places tend to be very friendly... as long as you're a local. But I felt relieved when I moved to a larger city in the more liberal Southern (Catholic) Netherlands.
Well, I definitely have much better understanding of English than Dutch, but I bet as a guy from Eastern Europe they might notice some discrepancies in my speech, etc. and make me feel excluded or make fun of me. I am apolitical, yet my views are mostly aligned with liberalism, especially after going abroad and becoming "the Other". I know from first hand what it means to be excluded, locals to give you angry looks and brush you off with offensive hand gestures as you have an accent.
I am going on a vacation to the USA and in addition to the Big Apple I'd also like to visit a typical American farm with barns, bales of hay, huge fields, etc. However, I realize that rural area residents are often intolerant to outsiders, not to mention foreigners. But I love nature and farmlands, the lush green or yellow fields, you name it. Village-like towns are welcome as well. My ideal thing would be something of a hippy rural community with less drugs lol. Any ideas?
Since it sounds like you're going to be in the eastern part of the U.S. explore parts of Vermont, New Hampshire and western MA.
Generally speaking you will not find that people are intolerant of you in rural New England. New England is a relatively small area and even the rural parts are, generally speaking, sufficiently plugged into metro areas and aren't as provincial as many other rural areas of the country.
Explore the Connecticut River Valley. Dartmouth College is on the New Hampshire side of the connecticut river in Hanover, N.H.. That entire valley is lush and beautiful.
Explore Middlebury Vermont and the surrounding areas.
And / or western Massachusetts .... google Smith College, Hampshire, University of MA (Amherst).
I'm suggesting these college towns / areas so that you can experience some lovely rural, pastoral areas of New England that are in proximity to good colleges so that you might feel a bit more comfortable due to the prevalence of educated people and people who tend to be liberal / tolerant / open etc.. This is not to suggest that other areas of New England would be intolerant. It's just that college towns in rural areas might feel more familiar to you .... somewhat orienting if you know what i mean.
Some images of rural New England : https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...k1.eUwNqtGV_J8
Agree about all five of those city choices and Vermont. Have visited both Duluth and Northfield. Know a former co-worker that moved to Asheville.
The Mankato-St. Peter region of Minnesota also qualifies IMO. Both are college towns. Democratic politicians are competitive locally and nationally. Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter hosts an annual Nobel Conference that features acclaimed speakers in many fields including science, medicine, politics, demographics, economics, etc. It started back in 1965; 19 years before the more publicized TED conference in Aspen, CO.
There are a lot of moderates and liberals in that area. There are farms and pastoral scenery in the region and even a few wineries. There are some rolling hills and the Minnesota River valley, too. It is not all flat land.
As a bonus: If you like bicycling, the Mankato area has an excellent trail system. If you like quality beer, the town of New Ulm, known for its German heritage festivals and not too far away, has the second oldest brewery in the US open for tours and tasting: August Schell's Brewery.
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