#I'd like visit a lot of other major cities in the us tho. maybe live there for a stint if i turn out to have a bohemian soul

[alientitty]

i really do love california and being from the la area you know it's not like i moved to nyc because i hate it here. but i hope to appreciate what new york has to offer, which is a lot, and to one day have fond nostalgic memories of there too

[kyidyl]

I've been all over the US literally, I took 2 months off one time and drove around the country, so here are my reccs:

For natural things: moab, Utah. It's in the middle of a lot of national parks, including the grand canyon. The American southwest is frikkin gorgeous. Also the standard stuff like Yellowstone. But prepare yourself - i was there in June and there was still snow and avalanche warnings. There are natural parks all over the country tho so wherever you visit you'll be able to find something natural to do. Another option here - and hear me out - is Vegas. Vegas is fun in and of itself but is within driving distance of the Hoover dam AND a number of national parks like Joshua tree and death valley.

For the beach: Sanibel or Anna Maria islands, Florida. The gulf makes for a much more pleasant swimming experience bc its warm and doesn't have waves. Sanibel is more touristy than Anna Maria, but thats not necessarily a bad thing. There are more accommodations and the beaches are maintained. They are far enough south to see that whole teal water/white sand thing. Lido key in Sarasota is another good beach, but parking is a nightmare during tourist season.

For a city: New York is my incredibly biased choice here because I'm from long Island, but it's New York! A good second option is Chicago. I loved Chicago, and it had some really excellent museums and whatnot. Plus there's a large lake, lol. I've been to all the west coast major cities too, and I don't like them as much, but if you wanted to visit a city on the west coast personally I'd choose San Francisco. It's unique, picturesque, and has a lot to do. Plus it's a short drive to the pacific. I couldn't begin to give you directions but there's a coop farm there that grows the best strawberries I've ever eaten in my life and they're pay what you'd like as far as cost goes. Plus they're across the street from the pacific ocean. Skip Portland. People who live there are gonna be like "Portland is awesome!!" But as a tourist there isn't that much to do, driving there is a shit experience because of the apparently suicidal bikers, and the weather sucks. Plus it's one of the whitest cities in the US so there isn't a lot of cultural diversity to experience.

Americana: Washington DC as an entry point. Plus it's near a bunch of other stuff. Annapolis is in driving distance (although imo there's not much to do there other than visit the naval academy. I worked at the academy for a few years so it seems boring to me.). Harper's Ferry is in driving distance, and thats a good place for history, plus the Appalachian trail literally runs right through it. Its not really more than a day trip tho. And I can't remember the name of the town, but one of the space shuttles is on display to the public in VA and within driving distance of DC. Baltimore is also nearby, and if you come in august-october then you can go to the Renaissance festival in Maryland. You can also easily drive out to the Appalachians and spend a bit of time hiking if you wanted.

History: there are a lot of great museums and stuff all over the US, but here we do this thing where instead of living in our historical buildings we mark them as historical and then have people dress up in period clothes and use them for education. So Williamsburg and Gettysburg are good options here. Both aren't all that far from DC. But historical stuff is more of an east coast thing simply because its been part of the country longer. There's no revolutionary or civil war stuff in Oregon, yknow? Plus if you wanted to learn about how Scottish immigrants influenced American culture, you could do that on the east coast. Especially if you were here for any of the gatherings (grandfather mountain is the biggest in the US and one of the biggest in the world.) Or Scottish festivals (idk maybe skip these. They're not that different than the ones you have in Scotland. The biggest difference is the inclusion of like...clan genealogy.).

So yah...depends on what you wanna do but we've got a lot. Personally I'm of the opinion that you should pick a large city and use it as like a home base to go and see both it and smaller sites that are in the area.

Ah, have you ever been to the United States? If you haven't and you somehow got a chance to go, what would you like to see or experience? (I ask because I think my short visit to Scotland Changed My Life(tm) and I would love to go back.)

I unfortunately haven’t yet but would like to someday.

To be honest I’d love to do the Appalachian trail or visit some of your national parks. I don’t really have any particular state/city in mind, except Boston probably.