It's A Pity That 1st Time US Visitors "Perceive USA" Thru NYC & LA (homes, agricultural)
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I don't like cities anyway, so to me, New York was dirty dingy and smelled bad, Frisco and LA were full of strange people, expensive, and watch where you step
Savannah or even Milwaukee are far better destinations if you're interested in the people or county if you have to be in town. A friend of mine from Brest France told me, "All Parisians are French, but not all Frenchman are Parisians". Very true, and also applies to New York and LA as Americans.
I spent a year in Europe, some big towns, some small, but the villages allowed me the best view of the people and culture. Being invited into their homes, talking to them, seeing how they live, that was better to me than all the old museums and overpriced restaurants on the whole continent.
Tourists go to NY or LA because those are the names they hear. Also, Europe is small. You can drive across whole countries in a couple hours, so they can have trouble getting their mind around how big the US really is. My state of Montana is bigger than several European countries.
Because they don't account for the size, they may not have time budgeted to see more than a concentrated area. Yellowstone had 4,000,000 visitors this summer. Glacier park was crowded too, and if you go, there are folks from all over the world there.
Yeah, I'd prefer foreign tourists see more than Times Square or The Golden Gate, but if they're happy with their trip, it's all good. I just wish they could see more of the magnificence of the country instead of just the concrete canyons.
Great post, MTSilvertip. There's so much to see and the country is vast in size.
I thought of a good place to relax and also see genuine Americans. It's the state of Maine.
They could land in Boston and spend a couple of (expensive) days there. The hop on/hop off bus, and then the US Constitution aka Old Ironsides is interesting to see for most people. Then hire a car and drive on up to the state of Maine. In Maine "Life as it Should Be" they can shop at the outlets and then stay at a B&B near a lovely beach--and much more!
There are a lot of quaint little towns to look around in, there are lighthouses to see, the ocean is beautiful there and if they want a real beach, there's gorgeous York Beach with a wide sandy shore.
Easy driving up rte 1 or 1A, stopping wherever they want for old fashioned genuine eating places--get great hotdogs, the best hamburgers, homemade ice cream, fresh sea food--no chains, just real family owned eateries that have been there forever. They can stop and enjoy the views of the ocean, stop and look in little shops, just keep meandering up the coast.
There are places where they can take a nice boat ride around the harbor. If they're into it, the Ogunquit PlayHouse has great shows. Everything is easy to get to and the people are genuine and it's a homey type of place. Maine--best in July, August, and September. It's a down to earth place.
I don't like cities anyway, so to me, New York was dirty dingy and smelled bad, Frisco and LA were full of strange people, expensive, and watch where you step
Savannah or even Milwaukee are far better destinations if you're interested in the people or county if you have to be in town. A friend of mine from Brest France told me, "All Parisians are French, but not all Frenchman are Parisians". Very true, and also applies to New York and LA as Americans.
I spent a year in Europe, some big towns, some small, but the villages allowed me the best view of the people and culture. Being invited into their homes, talking to them, seeing how they live, that was better to me than all the old museums and overpriced restaurants on the whole continent.
Tourists go to NY or LA because those are the names they hear. Also, Europe is small. You can drive across whole countries in a couple hours, so they can have trouble getting their mind around how big the US really is. My state of Montana is bigger than several European countries.
Because they don't account for the size, they may not have time budgeted to see more than a concentrated area. Yellowstone had 4,000,000 visitors this summer. Glacier park was crowded too, and if you go, there are folks from all over the world there.
Yeah, I'd prefer foreign tourists see more than Times Square or The Golden Gate, but if they're happy with their trip, it's all good. I just wish they could see more of the magnificence of the country instead of just the concrete canyons.
I like cities, BUT I agree. You have to get out of them and visit the smaller towns to really get a feel of a country.
My usual breaking point is 4 days in a larger city, like Paris. Then I HAVE to head out to the less stressful, cheaper, and is some ways more interesting places in France.
Great post, MTSilvertip. There's so much to see and the country is vast in size.
I thought of a good place to relax and also see genuine Americans. It's the state of Maine.
They could land in Boston and spend a couple of (expensive) days there. The hop on/hop off bus, and then the US Constitution aka Old Ironsides is interesting to see for most people. Then hire a car and drive on up to the state of Maine. In Maine "Life as it Should Be" they can shop at the outlets and then stay at a B&B near a lovely beach--and much more!
There are a lot of quaint little towns to look around in, there are lighthouses to see, the ocean is beautiful there and if they want a real beach, there's gorgeous York Beach with a wide sandy shore.
Easy driving up rte 1 or 1A, stopping wherever they want for old fashioned genuine eating places--get great hotdogs, the best hamburgers, homemade ice cream, fresh sea food--no chains, just real family owned eateries that have been there forever. They can stop and enjoy the views of the ocean, stop and look in little shops, just keep meandering up the coast.
There are places where they can take a nice boat ride around the harbor. If they're into it, the Ogunquit PlayHouse has great shows. Everything is easy to get to and the people are genuine and it's a homey type of place. Maine--best in July, August, and September. It's a down to earth place.
I'm former Navy, so when I had to go to Boston on business, I made a pilgrimage to visit the USS Constitution. Inspiring!!!
Maine would be a great choice. It's one of the few states I haven't visited, but I do know some folks there. It would be a great place for someone to get a better feel for the people and culture of Old New England.
Personally, I like Rural Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Kentucky, even Rural Illinois is great, (I purposefully avoid Chicago at all costs).
Love the Midwestern feel of Missouri and Iowa. Missouri is prettier, but the folks in both are great. Wisconsin is good too, Michigan is beautiful outside of the population centers, and the U.P. is gorgeous!!
The plains states of South Dakota, Wyoming, Kansas and Oklahoma have some of the best people anywhere, and are each different in landscape and beauty.
Montana and Idaho are hard to beat for mountain majesty, Utah has some fantastic places, love the state of Jefferson too.
Love Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, even northern Louisiana, the old deep south, in the winter anyway, far too hot during the summer....
The food, the people, the beauty are beyond description.
I guess I could say just about anyplace you want to go in this country has it's own charm, beauty and culture within a culture.
My family has been here since the Mayflower, and as much as I travel and study history and people, I know I'll never get my fill, so for someone coming from Europe, the choices would be overwhelming.
I don't blame them for concentrating on the places that they've heard about all their lives and seem familiar, or where their friends have traveled before.
I like cities, BUT I agree. You have to get out of them and visit the smaller towns to really get a feel of a country.
My usual breaking point is 4 days in a larger city, like Paris. Then I HAVE to head out to the less stressful, cheaper, and is some ways more interesting places in France.
Same holds true for Germany and Italy. Most of the time I was over there I was in Eastern Europe, LOVED IT!! The people, the history, the cultures, it's so ancient over there.
Seeing people using a horse and wagon as their main means of transport and work, the way folks lived much as their ancestors did hundreds of years ago, it was so different from the American mindset, it was a real refreshing way to see how we live here and how lucky we are in so many ways.
I was really struck by how tiny the houses were and how many people are packed into such a small place. Took a while to get over the feelings of claustrophobia!
Only got picked up by the cops in Macedonia, otherwise, the rest of my time there was fantastic
Yes, but anybody who flies in from a foreign country thousands of miles away isn't going to feel that LA is that far from Vegas.
Personally though, I would recommend a national park like Sequoia or Yosemite for a broader experience time permitting.
True but it's not really a day trip either. If they're staying for a week or more and have the money, some tourist go to Vegas for a night or two but no one makes that journey twice a day.
And yes, the National Parks are a great thing for foreign tourists.
If you've been on the ground in any country, you have pretty much seen the country. If you're in Singapore and you go over to Johor Baru for a day, that's as Malaysia as it gets. I once had a German rider whose first look at the USA was the Walmart in McAllen, Texas. There wasn't much more of America left to discover.
There are a few exceptions, like a gated beach hotel in a Carbbean islnd, but generally, if you're free to move about, you get the character of a country pretty uniformly.
That´s not really true.
The US has some great examples of neoclassical architecture. The US also has great modern architecture.
I said the US doesn't have beautiful architectecture like Old Europe and that's my opinion so it's true to me. Yes on modern architecture in the US but most modern architecture just leaves me cold.
I'm currently back in Budapest and loving it here.
I said the US doesn't have beautiful architectecture like Old Europe and that's my opinion so it's true to me. Yes on modern architecture in the US but most modern architecture just leaves me cold.
I'm currently back in Budapest and loving it here.
If US architecture was just like that of Europe, then people would say that the US is nothing but a copycat.
Double-edged sword.
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