Disneyland - nothing else in the world like it. Even EuroDisney is an utterly different experience. Soak in the fake atmosphere. Revel in theatre of it all. LOL at the long lines to rides. And most importantly, just try not to be moved by the whole shebang.
New Orleans - You might've seen Treme but you haven't experienced anything like NO. Imagine a place which seems utterly alien to the American experiment; very little commercialism beyond some restaurant chains (most of which are local anyway) and a couple of weirdly out of place Ca$inos and in place of the built-up-ness of most other cities you have a really strong and vibrant dirty music scene, from Jazz to Blues to women getting naked at the chuck of a beaded necklace and funeral processions you only hear about in countries Spain and Mexico only this case something different again and utterly specific to New Orleans. And that's just the touristy stuff. The real meat n taters is the vibe of the place and it's something I still can't properly describe after living there for a while.
San Francisco - All of it. A real protest city. A real commercial mecca too. A real weird dichotomy. That's SF.
Hoboken, New Jersey - OK, think of this. You're in a little deli getting some pressed, smoked fleshed and you can see New York City through the window only it feels like you're Alice on the wrong side of the Looking Glass because NYC seems a world away. Best experienced, really hard to describe in better detail.
Oh and EAT ALL THE THINGS because you don't have such things in the UK.
Last of all, the grass is a totally different green.
@SeriouslyNow: I thought Disney Land sucked, it was totally underwhelming compared to Universal, if anything that screams America more than anything else. Just look at all the comic book shit all over the place. It's glorious.
If you want wildlife, it's San Diego hands down. You not only have the San Diego Zoo, which is probably the best zoo on earth, but also the Wild Animal Park which features a massive savannah area that you can take a tram around and watch Rhinos and such hanging out in a pretty close approximation to their natural settings. Both are great, and the city itself has a ton to see.
@SeriouslyNow: I thought Disney Land sucked, it was totally underwhelming compared to Universal, if anything that screams America more than anything else. Just look at all the comic book shit all over the place. It's glorious.
Well I did both. Many times. Even in the 80s when Cylons blew up! I still say Disneyland wins.
I also have to say Universal in Orlando was more fun than Disney World (never been to Land and don't care to after World) when I was 12-14 ish. Disney is for pre-teens and people over the age of 25, with little for folks in between. I'd love to go back to Disney World now though and scope out all the crazy themed clubs and bars.
Well I was going to say Chicago off the top of my head--my favorite city--but looks like you've got that covered. I'd recommend that you go somewhere not easily duplicated in the UK, like the Southwest. Arizona, the painted desert, Grand Canyon, stuff like that. The Northwest is really cool, but it would be more like home. Go see something new.
@Seedofpower: Wrighteous86 mentioned Austin TX last night, I was surprised because when I hear Texas I don't think of great things. My sister has lived in Florida my whole life and I've never visited, if they lived somewhere else I might have.
Austin is the exception, a very cool city in a not so cool state.
@Seedofpower: Wrighteous86 mentioned Austin TX last night, I was surprised because when I hear Texas I don't think of great things. My sister has lived in Florida my whole life and I've never visited, if they lived somewhere else I might have.
Austin is the exception, a very cool city in a not so cool state.
This is called prejudice.
edit: @DuskVamp don't come to America. We have enough bigots and we don't need more to visit.
LAS VEGAS! Vegas is a pretty cool place, has a bunch of wildlife parks and hiking trails too. Really pretty. It may not seem like it, but its a neat place.
Go to Seattle the same week that PAX Prime is going on. If you really want to do some outdoors kind of stuff, you can also go out to the mountains before or after PAX. That time of the year it doesn't rain so much and is actually very sunny.
@Seedofpower: Wrighteous86 mentioned Austin TX last night, I was surprised because when I hear Texas I don't think of great things. My sister has lived in Florida my whole life and I've never visited, if they lived somewhere else I might have.
Austin is the exception, a very cool city in a not so cool state.
This is called prejudice. edit: @DuskVamp don't come to America. We have enough bigots and we don't need more to visit.
No, it would be prejudice if I'd never been there. I have. And I don't like it. So it's called not liking Texas. It would also be prejudice if DuskVamp takes my word for it. Which she shouldn't. And I'm not hating. I live in Detroit, brother. You'll notice I made no mention. No hometown whistles here.
@Seedofpower: Wrighteous86 mentioned Austin TX last night, I was surprised because when I hear Texas I don't think of great things. My sister has lived in Florida my whole life and I've never visited, if they lived somewhere else I might have.
Austin is the exception, a very cool city in a not so cool state.
Pretty much, I went for SXSW and the city is nothing like what the rest of the state represents.
@Seedofpower: Wrighteous86 mentioned Austin TX last night, I was surprised because when I hear Texas I don't think of great things. My sister has lived in Florida my whole life and I've never visited, if they lived somewhere else I might have.
Austin is the exception, a very cool city in a not so cool state.
This is called prejudice. edit: @DuskVamp don't come to America. We have enough bigots and we don't need more to visit.
No, it would be prejudice if I'd never been there. I have. And I don't like it. So it's called not liking Texas. It would also be prejudice if DuskVamp takes my word for it. Which she shouldn't. And I'm not hating. I live in Detroit, brother. You'll notice I made no mention. No hometown whistles here.
Right, you've been to a city that's within the political boundaries of Texas, therefore anything you say about it cannot be prejudice. That's like saying "I know a black dude and he's a piece of shit. Ergo blacks = bad."
And DuskVamp started with it, so she already has it programmed into her head.
@Seedofpower: You don't know so stop lying like you do.
@MrKlorox: Hearing bad things about a place and being wary is not the same thing as saying "I hate all Texans". Are all Texans people that fit the stereotype? No. But there are plenty that do.
George W. Bush set the precedent for how the rest of the world views Texas. It will take a while to wash that initial impression off. You're judged by the company you keep unfortunately.
People talk about Chicago and the mob all the time still. Al Capone died 80 years ago. All of our politicians are supposedly corrupt. I don't get offended when people say it.
@Seedofpower: Wrighteous86 mentioned Austin TX last night, I was surprised because when I hear Texas I don't think of great things. My sister has lived in Florida my whole life and I've never visited, if they lived somewhere else I might have.
Austin is the exception, a very cool city in a not so cool state.
This is called prejudice. edit: @DuskVamp don't come to America. We have enough bigots and we don't need more to visit.
No, it would be prejudice if I'd never been there. I have. And I don't like it. So it's called not liking Texas. It would also be prejudice if DuskVamp takes my word for it. Which she shouldn't. And I'm not hating. I live in Detroit, brother. You'll notice I made no mention. No hometown whistles here.
Right, you've been to a city that's within the political boundaries of Texas, therefore anything you say about it cannot be prejudice. That's like saying "I know a black dude and he's a piece of shit. Ergo blacks = bad."
And DuskVamp started with it, so she already has it programmed into her head.
@Seedofpower: You don't know so stop lying like you do.
No, I've been all over Texas. And Austin's the only place I really liked. Dallas was OK. Abilene and Houston are where I've spent the most time, and I didn't like either. Especially Abilene. What a shithole. That's just my experience. I'd recommend Arizona to a British person touring the American Southwest for the first time. Again, nothing to get upset about. Like I said, I live in Detroit. It is what it is.
Go to Seattle the same week that PAX Prime is going on. If you really want to do some outdoors kind of stuff, you can also go out to the mountains before or after PAX. That time of the year it doesn't rain so much and is actually very sunny.
or if you need to stay continent side, Zion National Park in Utah (you can also go to the Grand Canyon which is somewhat nearby). It's absolutely gorgeous
There is no place in the world quite like the America West. Any person visiting America would likely really appreciate seeing the legendary National Parks.
@DuskVamp: try the northwest my picture might make me seem biased but san francisco is great, clean air great sites to see, oregon has some great parks but it can seem like your a little too far from civilization unless your in portland which is a really cool city, also seattle will have good weather this time of year never been there though
@DuskVamp: one more thing to keep in mind is i heard the atlantic beaches tend to have warmer water then ones over here in the pacific but when its 90 degrees who cares i guess
I lived in Austin for about nine years and while it's definitely a great place to live, it doesn't really offer that much in the way of tourist attractions, though the food is pretty fantastic. I would also recommend the Grand Canyon, if you don't mind the heat.
@DuskVamp: You have to keep in mind how freaking big the US is. The UK is slightly smaller than Oregon. If you only have one week of travel and you want to go somewhere with a beach you'll pretty much need to fly there. If you want to travel cross country it's either: days of driving, days of train travel which will be expensive (the US does not even have close the same level of a rail system as Europe does), or getting on a plane. If you want somewhere with a nice beach you'll want the Southern to Central California coast, I'd say from Santa Cruz south. Or maybe the south east coast, somewhere in Virginia maybe.
It's a city of the perfect size, only minutes away from the majestic Rocky Mountains. You can go to a show and go skiing in the same day. You can also leave the great mountain ranges, and head south for the breathtaking red rock cliffs. Only California has more national parks than Utah, and it's more than double the size. So, we win for being more compact.
Anywhere you can get a box of Cookie Crisp. I spent my childhood here in Canada watching those commercials and being told that they are "Only in the States". In my child mind "The States" was a magical place where cookies could be breakfast cereal and for some reason Smarties were different.
I always love going to see my grandparents in Bozeman, Montana. It's a really cool city that has lots of great nature stuff really close by and Yellowstone is only like an hour away. Also, I've only been there for PAX, but Seattle has always seemed like a really cool place too.
LA's my favorite place I've been to in America, but that was a few years ago, so I may be a bit blinded by nostalgia. New York City's pretty great, too. Can't go wrong with that.
I may be biased since I live here, but honestly I love Chicago. Sanibel island Florida is pretty nice too if you want beautiful beaches, bring water shoes though as the beaches there are made almost completely out of Sea Shells, it's gorgeous, but painful without proper footwear.
I only went once, but from what I saw of it Portland was a beautiful city. San Francisco isn't as aesthetically pleasing but it is probably my favorite place in the US.
Log in to comment