What is your opinion on the USA?

[DelW]

I’m sold!

Though it can vary - pictures taken three days apart on an earlier trip:

 

[GS250]

As we're at it, taking a long distance Amtrak is still possible. These services have often been at risk of withdrawal but they soldier on. They are still not bad value overall although I'd always get a roomette of which includes free meals. The catering is hardly Pullman dining but it's more than adequate.

If you want to meet the average, more down to Earth American, Amtrak long distance is a great way.

 

[Ediswan]

Queen Mary 2 used to make crossings every two weeks or so through much of the year (taking around five - six days each way). I've used it twice westbound and once eastbound, it's very painless compared with flying, but a bit more expensive .

That sounds about right. My colleague said that compared to airline business class, the price was never an issue. He used to do company work during the crossings. Also took advantage of the generous luggage allowance and several times returned with a new bicycle.

 

[edwin_m]

Americans must be in the top 5% of gregarious cultures, I have no idea why this surprised you!

Brain fade - meant to type "experience in the UK"!

 

[Thirteen]

I've been to the USA a fair number of times and have always enjoyed my visits, it is different to here but that's to be expected although I find New York is closer to London in that it's doesn't feel alien, the Subway with surly commuters is just like being on the Tube and it's bliss.

I've also been to Australia as I have family out there and it's not as good as you'd imagine but Sydney and Melbourne are both great cities to visit although I do marginally prefer Melbourne.

 

[MikeWM]

Washington State in general is very pleasant too. Seattle quite interesting although some very interesting examples of citizen about.

I lived in Seattle for a couple of years back at the turn of the century, and would agree it was interesting (and also that it had some interesting characters, and indeed interesting areas, though I never felt in any particular danger). Living somewhere superficially similar to England but with many differences was quite fascinating. There were no railways (except the couple of Amtrak services) at the time, but it did have an excellent, reliable and good-value bus network. There's quite a bit of light-rail been built since then.

I've also spent a bit of time in Boston too over the last 20 years or so, and found both the 'T' and the commuter rail network to be of considerable interest.

Would like to go back for a holiday at some point and see what has happened to Seattle in particular, and also to see something of the south/mid-west to experience how it contrasts with heavily 'blue' (ie. Democrat) areas - though I don't like heat or humidity, so that limits my options somewhat. In any event, I won't be going again until they lift their ludicrous covid vaccination requirement, assuming they ever do.

Controversial opinion : I think US sports are significantly better than UK sports I'm quite the fan of baseball and am happy to watch American football too. Watching a baseball game is a particularly enjoyable experience - very friendly, relaxed atmosphere, and because they play so many games in a season it is usually easily to find extremely reasonably priced tickets.

 

[Thirteen]

It's always interesting to me riding on American public transport. The NY Subway is a bit grim but I do like the L Train in Chicago and the T in Boston. The cable cars and light rail in SF was also fun to use.

 

[Strathclyder]

I've only been to the US once, when I went on a family holiday to Florida in the summer of 2007, specifically in/around Tampa. My main memories of those 3 weeks was the pool at the villa we stayed at (was in it practically every day), the searing heat (it was Florida in the summer after all), the most violent thunderstorms I've ever experienced (no hurricanes mercifully), the visit to Sea World in Orlando (Shamu included, not a aspect of the trip I look back on all that fondly now, to say the least), a few trips out into the Gulf of Mexico on a distant relative's boat (even got to briefly take the wheel when the boat was at near full speed out on the open water, ever so slightly unnerving for 12 y/o me!), the fact we went through 3 hire cars* (elaborated on below) and the jetlag (this was my first flight experience period, let alone my first transatlantic one, so the jetlag did a number on me both times). A visit to Disney World was on the cards, but for a number of reasons, it never happened.

While there are many things about the US I dislike (the current political system, many aspects of it's culture & society etc), there are many others I do like: the history/historical sites, the scenery, the people (the people I interacted with during my Florida holiday were very friendly and approachable), the incredible diversity in scenery (the Great Lakes, the Grand Canyon & The Rockies to name 3 examples), some of the museums on offer (the aviation and railway museums in particular), to say nothing of the industrial/ heritage. A few of the major cities have long been on my list of places in the US to visit, New York being right at the top of the list for a number of reasons. Though like other members here have done on their US trips, I'd also want to get away from the big cities and take in the more isolated/rural parts of the country, to gain a broader perspective if nothing else.


*: my dad had never driven in the US before, so he ended up wrecking the clutch on the first one less than 5 miles from the airport, resulting in a overnight hotel stay and a late arrival at the villa. As for the second car (the best of the 3 by far, we all agreed), he lost the keys to it on a small sandy island in the Gulf during one of the aforementioned boat trips a day or two before we were meant to fly back to Scotland. Our car hire company got another car out to us in commendably short order.

 

[DelW]

*: my dad had never driven in the US before, so he ended up wrecking the clutch on the first one less than 5 miles from the airport, resulting in a overnight hotel stay and a late arrival at the villa. As for the second car (the best of the 3 by far, we all agreed), he lost the keys to it on a small sandy island in the Gulf during one of the aforementioned boat trips a day or two before we were meant to fly back to Scotland. Our car hire company got another car out to us in commendably short order.

It's unusual to get a manual hire car in the US. I've driven half a dozen, from small hatchbacks to a full size SUV and a Mustang 5.0 V8, and all came as automatics without having been requested as such.

I much prefer automatics when driving LHD cars, it's easy to remember to change gears right handed on quiet country roads, but less so when you've got too many other things to think about. I've been in situations in Europe driving a manual LHD car, in heavy traffic in busy urban areas, trying to navigate and deal with unfamiliar laws and signs, and ended up with my left hand trying to find a gear lever down by the door pocket. The only thing with an auto is making sure to keep your left foot well away from the brake pedal!

 

[nlogax]

Ex-resident here, decades of varied experiences with the country, thus over the years I've been able to boil it down to 'fantastic place to visit, wouldn't want to live there - again'. If I needed to base my life out that way once more then Canada would be my pick. Few observations.

• Service is a cut above what you'll get here in the UK but it shouldn't be lost on anyone that a tipping culture exists for a reason when minimum wages can be so low.
• The days of dirt cheap fuel are disappearing in the rear-view mirror but a long distance roadtrip is absolutely essential for anyone that's visited but not ventured outside of a large city.
• Scenery is so varied and the travel options so vast that it's hard to know where to begin. Everything you want out of nature is catered for, every climate you feel comfortable in exists. You just need a plan.
• Driving is ridiculously easy there. Wide lanes and automatic gearboxes make things effortless. In general the density of traffic isn't nearly as bad outside of major cities as it can be here. As for public transport..stick to major cities for that. Or take Amtrak cross-country, that is a must especially for anyone on this forum. Do Greyhound once and then decide whether you want to stick at it. Long-distance coaches will test your resilience.

Am sure I've got a ton more recommendations but there isn't enough coffee to begin to get through them all.

 

[DelW]

San Fransisco was awful when I went about 8 years ago, full of vagrants and people hassling you for money ("panhandlers" as they call them over there). I hear it's even worse now. Every single Muni Tram I had gone on had people acting strange.

People have evidently had quite different experiences there. I stayed for five days in San Francisco in 2015 without encountering anything like that. My visit included travelling on BART and the historic PCC cars (as well as the cable cars) and I don't remember being hassled for money at all. TBH that's happened to me more in Europe, and indeed in London, than in the US, though I've spent a lot more time in London so the comparison is unfair.

My memories are entirely positive, with visits to the streetcar museum, the cable car museum and winding house, and the ferry to Sausalito and back, being among the highlights. The historic streetcars, from Europe as well as the various PCC cars, were in my opinion more enjoyable than the better known but usually packed cable cars.

Maybe I was just lucky, but it shows how individual experiences can colour our outlook on a country.

 

[Simon11]

I worked in US for 2.5 years a few years back. In summary, the US is great to visit and travel, but terrible to work!

Work wise:

• Terrible annual leave policy as everyone knows- two weeks + bank holidays is standard
• No work security- two weeks and you could be out the job with no severance and no money
• Long hours- especially with america having different time zones, meaning calls start at 8am and finish at 6pm.
• Travel times are long with senior managers making lots of flights weekly
• Tax policy, where everyone hides their tax status from workplace and thus has to do self assessment at the year end
• Private healthcare system where you still pay after having treatment despite paying a monthly fee

The key reason which pushes us to return back to the UK was to have a family, definitely not possible in the US!

A few Americans understand these issues, however they all seem fairly happy to keen going which shocks me!

America is built and run for businesses, not for the people.

 

[nlogax]

In summary, the US is great to visit and travel, but terrible to work!

The at-will employment rules do vary from state to state, and vacation policies vary by company to company. By the time I left my most recent US employer I was at four weeks p/a of annual leave though I appreciate that wasn't the norm.

If you have a decent job then quality of life is on the surface pretty good but yes, the sacrifices are too numerous to mention. For those without social safety nets barely exist.

 

[jfollows]

I've lived in the USA and I would live there again - in the end it came down to a choice between where I and my partner (US citizen) would live, and the UK gave him right to reside, so we're here and don't regret it.

The healthcare system is painful, for sure, and with increasing age it's better for both of us to be in the UK.

"Small town" America is a bit weird, I think, and you see that in national election results which are pretty polarised between these areas and cities/suburbs.

I lived in Boulder,CO & Raleigh, NC, and both were good experiences. However if I were to live in the US again I would go for San Francisco, Boulder or New York. I find the comments about San Francisco in this thread a bit baffling, I lived there for a couple of months and found it a very "human" city. Maybe things have changed a little since then (1996)? I don't think so, substantially, since I've been back since. However I found that, as a generalisation, many Americans I spoke to either described it as a fascinating place or as a cesspit.

I think it's the greatest country in the world, but with faults, which are unsurprising. I didn't find the "gun thing" to be a problem personally, although I know it's a big problem statistically. I do find the views of the right-wing unsettling, more so than in most countries, but I therefore tended to like and live in places where their views weren't dominant.

 

[Ediswan]

Terrible annual leave policy as everyone knows- two weeks + bank holidays is standard

I believe that was true for my US colleagues. However, they were also entitled to take a significant amount of unpaid leave. So as a package, combined with higher salaries, they didn't feel hard done by.

 

[matacaster]

As we're at it, taking a long distance Amtrak is still possible. These services have often been at risk of withdrawal but they soldier on. They are still not bad value overall although I'd always get a roomette of which includes free meals. The catering is hardly Pullman dining but it's more than adequate.

If you want to meet the average, more down to Earth American, Amtrak long distance is a great way.

Southwest Chief last year LA to Chicago 46 hours. Fortunately got a roomette which does as you say include free meals in a proper dining car. Beware of coach class, much cheaper, but since COVID you cannot use the restaurant car, only the buffet. The roomettes are very small, but worth it if you can afford one -toilets and showers at end of carriage never had to queue (or more extravagantly a room which has an ensuite shower and toilet)

 

[dosxuk]

One word of warning some longer range single aisle planes have recently become available, and some budget style airlines have started some transatlantic routes, cheaper but not going to be spacious.

757's were doing the transatlantic routes 30 years ago - single aisle isn't a new thing. Flights to New York aren't really long haul though - my last flight back from NY took less than 5 hours gate-to-gate - hardly any longer than a flight to the Canaries.

One thing i very much like and respect about the USA is their constitution and in particular their first amendment which gives a right to freedom of speech. In the USA you can say pretty much whatever you want no matter how controversial or offensive it is and you would never be arrested or charged. They are probably the one and only western country to have full freedom of speech.

The First Amendment doesn't give you a right to freedom of speech - something that a good many people seem to have gotten confused about over the last few years. The First Amendment only protects you against the Government restricting your speech - and even that is not an absolute - there are many exceptions. It gives you zero rights against private companies or individuals - who are quite free to block / ban / bar you from interacting with them over things you've said. Twitter banning people for using what Twitter define as hate speech is not a violation of the First Amendment, however much certain parts of the internet wish it was.

 

[jfollows]

757's were doing the transatlantic routes 30 years ago - single aisle isn't a new thing. Flights to New York aren't really long haul though - my last flight back from NY took less than 5 hours gate-to-gate - hardly any longer than a flight to the Canaries.

Agreed, I don't think of flights to the east coast of the USA as "long haul" and I've used the 757 services from Manchester about ten years ago without complaint - I didn't find them any worse than wide-bodied jets for the services.

 

[GS250]

Agreed, I don't think of flights to the east coast of the USA as "long haul" and I've used the 757 services from Manchester about ten years ago without complaint - I didn't find them any worse than wide-bodied jets for the services.

Depending on how busy flights were, it was actually fairly common to see a BA 747 on this route too. I could be wrong, but there may be the odd A380 working this route from time to time.

However the majority of transatlantic flights are 777, 787, A330, A350.

 

[Iskra]

I’ve done Manchester-Chicago on a BMI 757 (I believe) and Doncaster-Sanford also on a TUI 757 (I believe). I also did Manchester-New York on an A321LR this year and it was perfectly acceptable, as already said by someone New York isn't that far and on a day flight you aren’t likely to attempt sleeping. I would be more picky about aircraft and cabin layouts on the way back if it’s a red-eye flight however.

 

[dosxuk]

Depending on how busy flights were, it was actually fairly common to see a BA 747 on this route too. I could be wrong, but there may be the odd A380 working this route from time to time.

However the majority of transatlantic flights are 777, 787, A330, A350.

BA flies the A380 daily to Dallas, Miami, San Franscisco and Washington DC. In the summer they also fly daily to Boston and Chicago. The 747 was the mainstay of the BA transatlantic fleet for many years, but they have all now been retired.

 

[nw1]

I've been there five times now (1996, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2011).

It's definitely an interesting and very varied place, and most people I've met have been fairly friendly - the exceptions being the border guards (who are often very abrupt, and many of whom seem to have an almost paranoid distrust of foreigners) and some of the Greyhound bus drivers can be a little grumpy. One tip for avoiding the former is to travel via Canada on a Canada-US internal flight, as they seem to treat Canadians with more respect than other foreigners, and even if you are non-Canadian they treat you with respect because it's the "norm" for that flight.

The main issue I would have with actually living there is the health system, which seems like something out of the ark. It's worrying that the health system is setup to prioritise the welfare of directors and shareholders over that of patients, and people can be bankrupted through needing medical treatment. Much as the USA often seems a more exciting, bigger and more varied place than the UK, this would really put me off ever living there.

However I did enjoy visiting, and have been to various places though much of it is still untouched. Specifically I have been to California (Bay Area and LA), New York, and Colorado - and have travelled down the west coast from Canada to LA. Have also travelled round some of California including Yosemite.

The variety, and larger scale and greater grandeur of the scenery is definitely a plus. However on the minus side there is more of a "private property" attitude than in the UK and much of the rest of Europe, which means it can be difficult to walk in the countryside outside the national parks and other wild areas. Plus countryside access even in the national parks can be much more bureaucratic than Europe, with permits needed in some areas - ironic for the "land of the free".

The weather of much of the USA is of course much better than that of the UK, though of course some areas are subject to dangerous tornadoes and hurricanes.

I have generally focused on Democrat America, I have to admit
I can claim that I still have not visited a Trump-voting state, other than to change planes.

 

[SuspectUsual]

I think I’ve been to the USA 9 times now. The bits I enjoyed most:

- New York. I remember the first night I stayed there being unable to sleep and listening to the noises outside. Sirens, subway trains, people shouting. It was like being in Hill Street Blues. And good for sport too, as they have two teams in each of the big sports so more chances to go to a game

- Utah / Arizona / Nevada. There’s a heck of a lot in a small(ish) area. Grand Canyon, Zion Canyon etc, Death Valley, Moab and the wonderful Arches National Park. The yanks do a good national park for sure

- The rural Deep South. I did a drive Atlanta - Montgomery - Biloxi - New Orleans - Dallas - Little Rock - Memphis - Birmingham - Atlanta, generally not on interstates, and it was the absolute best fortnight I’ve ever had

- New England. Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont are beautiful

 

[Railsigns]

It's definitely an interesting and very varied place, and most people I've met have been fairly friendly - the exceptions being the border guards (who are often very abrupt, and many of whom seem to have an almost paranoid distrust of foreigners)

I've been quite lucky in that regard, with four entries under my belt. I got a "welcome to the United States" from one, and another was having a laugh like telling us to put our toes on the fingerprint scanner after doing our fingers.

 

[SuspectUsual]

Apropos border guards, on my last trip to the US I crossed into Canada at Niagara because I wanted to revisit Niagara on the Lake, which is on the Canadian side. The Canadian border bloke asked where we’d landed in the US, and was most perplexed when I told him New York Stewart, which is what Norwegian called the place about 60 miles from New York that they flew into. He’d never heard of it. He then asked how long I’d be in Canada, to which I replied “about an hour and a half”, which did make him smile and say he hoped I’d enjoy every minute of my stay

 

[jfollows]

I've been quite lucky in that regard, with four entries under my belt. I got a "welcome to the United States" from one, and another was having a laugh like telling us to put our toes on the fingerprint scanner after doing our fingers.

Expect the worst but often get the best .... I once went to do a piece of work for the National Science Foundation (NSF) and got a grilling to ensure that I wasn't working illegally or stealing someone else's job (I was only being paid expenses) so when I went again I prepared better and had an official letter (written by me but signed by someone in the NSF) and of course the border guard couldn't have been more pleasant and charming and wasn't in the least bit bothered like the previous one had been.

 

[Iskra]

I've been quite lucky in that regard, with four entries under my belt. I got a "welcome to the United States" from one, and another was having a laugh like telling us to put our toes on the fingerprint scanner after doing our fingers.

I've found they've got better over the years. I did once get questioned and my luggage searched through in Chicago Airport for 45 mins while transferring flights to Canada, but that was 2004 when things were heightened after 9/11, and I was staying on an army base in Canada and learning to fly at the time, so I can understand the red flags, but there were many stupid questions; I was going Skiing, but the border guard couldn't understand why I didn't have any ski's with me! Just a random search I believe, but they let me on my way once I'd explained everything and rifled through my suitcase. I do always dread dealing with US border guards, but once you're in the country everyone is always incredibly friendly. Luckily the New York border guard person was nice when I visited this year, I think in more tourist places they are slightly more chilled and less-defensive.

 

[jfollows]

Also the border guards don't seem very good at understanding "foreigners", or maybe the one I came across once was just a bit dim .... Mexico-US land border at Nogales (Arizona, border with Nogales, Sonora) she really couldn't comprehend why I had a US entry stamp for San Francisco. I'd arrived there, and then gone to Tucson, and then we'd gone on a day trip to Nogales in Mexico, and the US-Mexico crossing is essentially a rusty gate round the back of the border post next to the rubbish bins, nobody cares or takes note when you leave the USA to go to Mexico basically. I think she had to think about it ten times before she reluctantly let me back into the USA.

 

[GS250]

Also the border guards don't seem very good at understanding "foreigners", or maybe the one I came across once was just a bit dim .... Mexico-US land border at Nogales (Arizona, border with Nogales, Sonora) she really couldn't comprehend why I had a US entry stamp for San Francisco. I'd arrived there, and then gone to Tucson, and then we'd gone on a day trip to Nogales in Mexico, and the US-Mexico crossing is essentially a rusty gate round the back of the border post next to the rubbish bins, nobody cares or takes note when you leave the USA to go to Mexico basically. I think she had to think about it ten times before she reluctantly let me back into the USA.

I think virtually all border guards are convinced every visitor to the USA wants to live there. I even told one quite bluntly once that although I admire the USA and appreciate the sometimes brotherly relationship we have, I'd never trade my place in the UK for the USA.

 

[nlogax]

I even told one quite bluntly once that although I admire the USA and appreciate the sometimes brotherly relationship we have, I'd never trade my place in the UK for the USA.

Brave