Which state do you think has the best reputation abroad and which has the the worse (law, rated)

[ABQConvict]

In my experience, Europeans, at least the British at any rate, are familiar with Mississippi as the home of the Blues. This gives it a good reputation.

But there is also the notion that it is very poor and more religious on average than a country that already has a reputation for being religious. That is the bad part.

That's just my experience, though. Having spent a lot of time abroad I have often been the 'American' with the duty of answering to every question and criticism my hosts can muster :-)

[ragnarkar]

Originally Posted by C24L

I think California and New York have a good reputation overseas.I bet Texas has a bad reputation overseas.

I would think that Texans are, on average, friendlier than New Yorkers and Californians that they'd have a better reputation overseas.

[Dyadic]

Originally Posted by Enean

Please.....I doubt most foreigners know there is an Indiana.

I'm certain they heard of the Indy 500. Where you are willing to believe it or not, it is one of the most popular WORLD sporting event. Open wheel racing is wildly popular around the world and the Indy 500 is the largest and the granddaddy them all. It is also the largest single day sporting event in the world and the largest sporting facility in terms of capacity.

[Maintainschaos]

My guess is that California probably has the best overall reputation and Texas probably has the most stereotypical reputation (partly true and partly not).

[KathrynAragon]

Originally Posted by Ebck120

I just got back from a trip to Portugal & Spain and did discuss American cities with the locals as well as some folks from France and England.

I mentioned where I lived and the below were the reactions:

NYC - They've all been before and loved it. Some mentioned it's too busy for them. One of them even said it's "very American".
SF - Some have visited and the rest really want to visit. One of them mentioned that SF was always considered "cool" but lately it's become more popular.
Atlanta - Crickets... neither good nor bad.
DC - Some have visited while visiting NYC and others want to visit and then it turned into a Trump discussion. They say all of the visitors from America hate Trump.
Chicago - Not a lot of opinion. One of them visited as a day layover between NYC & SF and said it was nice.

Others they mentioned that they want to visit and see were the Grand Canyon, Miami and basically all of California.

Encourage them to visit Bakersfield.

[KathrynAragon]

Originally Posted by Enean

I lived in Chicago...for a number of years. In that time, I met plenty of foreigners, who loved the city. You can say what you want, but unless you lived there and experienced the reaction of visitors, you really can't say now, can you. I met people at coffee shops, events, lectures, seminars and dinners. I visited with foreigners on boat tours, and at Navy Pier. I feel I might, perhaps, be a little more qualified to speak on this, just as you might be more qualified to speak on Hawaii.

Exactly. I live near Dallas. The face to face reaction of people visiting Texas from overseas is nothing like the assumptions I'm reading on this thread.

Also, whenever my husband and I travel overseas, and people find out we're from Texas, their faces literally light up and they start barraging us with questions - mostly along the lines of cowboys and the TV show "Dallas" which apparently has been popular in many EU countries for many years. No, we don't ride horses to the store. No, we're not all rich. Yes, Tex Mex food is fabulous and we have plenty of it. Yes, our yards and homes tend to be bigger than average. No, we don't all work in the oil and gas industry. Yes, the cost of living is great. No, not all Hispanics mow yards for a living or are illegal immigrants. That sort of thing.

We have some European friends who love Texas and the south so much that they make it a point to fly into Texas, rent a car, and travel through the south every five years or so. They've been to many other parts of the US, but the region they keep making a point to come back to is Texas and the south. They even looked into moving here but it's difficult to consider leaving adult kids behind, so they decided not to eventually. But they still visit every chance they get.

[KathrynAragon]

Originally Posted by ragnarkar

I would think that Texans are, on average, friendlier than New Yorkers and Californians that they'd have a better reputation overseas.

This Texan has lived and traveled a lot overseas and people tend to be delighted rather than dismayed when they realize we're from Texas. It's a great conversation starter. Maybe they're just being polite but the vast majority of comments have been positive - maybe stereotypically a little ignorant sometimes (for instance, I regularly have gotten questioned about whether or not we ride a horse to the store and whether or not everyone is carrying a gun around) but overall the reaction has been very positive.

[C24L]

Originally Posted by ragnarkar

I would think that Texans are, on average, friendlier than New Yorkers and Californians that they'd have a better reputation overseas.

Well there's some stereotypes about Texas and some of them are negative but not all of them.I would not know from experience since I have never been out of the US before.

[A.J240]

Originally Posted by ragnarkar

I would think that Texans are, on average, friendlier than New Yorkers and Californians that they'd have a better reputation overseas.

Most people aren't really meeting that many Americans to make or even care about such distinctions. If they meet a friendly American from Texas, that would be applied to all Americans. A rude New Yorker, that would be applied to all Americans. People mostly get the image of people from specific states from US media.

[Vanderbiltgrad]

I think New York and California get over rated a bit due to NYC, LA and SF. I believe I saw a poll on Europeans and what states they liked the best and they liked Hawaii the best of any state and then Colorado.