Visiting America. Maybe. Help!

first thing you do when you arrive at the airport is look for the most internet-savvy looking person you can find, affect your thickest british accent, and say you're going to get a cheeky nando's.

5 bucks says they run away screaming.

 

What activities do you like? Do you want to bar hop or see the sights or shop or what?

New York City is amazing and has almost anything you'd like. It is also very expensive.

The rest of New York (State) is nice, but probably not that exciting.

You might wish to browse (or buy a copy of) Lonely Planet: NYC for good advice on cheap places to stay and things to do.

I like NYC, especially the various museums and communities like China Town, SoHo, etc. Public transpo is a bit confusing but not too bad if you ask for help.

I fear that NYC's hotels and other costs will eat that up very quickly. You may wish to look and see if you can get a cheap air ticket in combination with hotel accommodations or look at a 'package trip' that includes more.

Are you set on NYC? I found that there are cheaper packages to places like Las Vegas or New Orleans that could be very fun.

What are you looking for?

 

Come to Sunnyvale in California July 30-Aug 2....I am there and there is my Association Expo! It's invite only but I can squeeze in a MAP buddy!

 

A few great places off the top of my head

NYC
Boston/Cape Cod
Maine
Southern Utah
Jacksonhole, WY
Yellowstone also in WY (mostly)
Lake Chelan in Central Washington is absolutely gorgeous.
Cali off course. Napa Valley, San Fran abd in SoCal LA and San Diego. San Clemente 1 hour north of SD is great if you surf.
I loved Puerto Rico if non-continental US territories are on your list
I also love Southbeach Miami though that's not for everyone. Tampa Bay and Clearwater, FL are also awesome but again not everyone likes FL. The Keys are overrated IMO.

Vegas: Personally no interest in it. It's loud, bright, boisterous, it's full of degenerate gamblers, drunks and bachelor(ette) partiers...so unless you like that kind of atmosphere, I'd skip it.

 

It depends on what you want to do with the time you've got. Honestly mate, a couple of G's isn't going to get you very far in somewhere like NYC if you're staying there for a few weeks (think London prices). My advice would be Florida for your first trip - stay in one of the less touristy areas to keep costs down, hire a car if you can, and get yourself to Tampa (Busch Gardens), Orlando (Disneyworld!), Miami (hot babez), and Coconut Creek (where American Top Team are based).

I've spent a lot of time in the States so I've become jaded with the more popular cities. LA is horrible. My favourite place is Florida hands down, but Wyoming and Montana are also a lot of fun if you like outdoorsy stuff.

And get yourself to a shooting range!

 

New York City is insanely expensive, I wouldn't plan on spending more than a few days there if you can help it. It will drain your money dry, but there's a few things you should do there. One thought is that with your budget you might do something outdoorsy like hiking a portion of the Appalachian trail. Camping is a lot cheaper than hotels. Worth remembering that there are buses between NYC and Philadelphia or Washington DC for $5-10 US. Check out airbnb for reasonable accommodations and the chance to get a kitchen - cooking your own food will save you a lot of money, but splurge every once in a while.

Oh man, you should go to New Orleans. Food, music, beautiful city, great aquarium, great zoos, great INSECT zoo, it rules! Definitely one of the places to splurge on food and one of the places that has truly unique cuisine, will not find anything like it.

Nashville - another insane music town. Just incredible talent all in one area. It's mostly country/bluegrass/rock, but even if that's not your thing it's worth a try. Some of the best BBQ on the planet.

 

If you have the coin to stay in Manhattan, Hotel Yotel is pretty kickbutt but yeah, NYC is very expensive.

 

This music video says so much about Florida - great weather, stunning beaches, amazing food, beautiful girls, working out on the beach, and friendly people who will walk up to you on the beach and strike up a conversation.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7drvhZwPcs[/ame]

 

Nothing to add. Just here to say I'm so freaking jealous, and have a great time ;p

 

Thumb down on Orlando. It's a pit just like most inland FL places IMO. New Orleans I hear is great though I've never been. Sounds like you're looking for a blend of city (for the shopping) and outdoors activities? Though I love the Tampa and Southbeach area, Southern FL is insanely hot and humid in the summer FYI... San Diego would be a great spot. It's a big city and very outdoorsy with surfing spots right there. Traffic is heavy but not comparable to LA. If you have a car and feel like making a 2 hr drive to LA, you can visit some of the movie studios which is pretty cool but yeah, LA highway traffic sucks.

 

You're friends with Jack Reacher?

 

Speaking from my own fairly limited experience......

The best bit of NYC for me was the twin towers, and they've gone. I know there's plenty to see and do there, but for me personally there were far more pleasant places to go in the USA.

I much preferred Boston. It's far more laid back than NYC and it's pretty compact, so you can walk around most of the sights. They've got something called the Freedon Trial, but it isn't just a tour of fast food outlets, it actually takes in all the sites in the city which were associated with the American Rebellion. It's literally a line painted on the ground, so you can't go wrong. It's brilliant. And you can also do stuff like whale watching, which is a blast, as you can get almost within touching distance of whales.

Another city I liked a lot was San Francisco. Didn't spend as much time there as Boston, but there seemed to be a lot to see and do.

Las Vegas is a bit of a novelty, but unless you're a gambling addict then it gets boring pretty quickly. But it does serve as a departure point for the Grand Canyon, which I would VERY strongly recommend.

Colorado is a really nice bit of the country, with plenty to see and do. But anywhere in rural America you'll need your own transport of course.