Travel in US

[Returning_Indian]

Recently traveled to east coast and visited DC, NYC etc. I was courageous to rent a car and travel all around on my own. More of it was forced due to luggage we were carrying and using public transportation didn't sound very appealing. So just rent big SUV and drove everywhere. Parking everywhere is super expensive. $50 each time you use it. But I guess I knew that beforehand. This was first time for me to visit east coast and it's not as pretty as I thought it would be. Very industrial everywhere and very crowded. Driving in south or west coast is big pleasure and landscape is simply amazing. While in east coast it's all about ugly refineries, warehouses etc etc. But then again that's what driving their economy. Compared to this driving in UK is lot prettier. Everywhere you drive, you are always mesmerized by the beauty of the country. People are certainly nicer in UK.

Driving on wrong side of the road was not as challenging as I thought it would be. One thing I love about US is that they make everything dumb proof. There are lights, signs etc everywhere. And then there is Google maps to fill in the gaps. I felt my instincts that I developed while living there kicked in right away and only took few honks and I was driving like a native. But people in east coast are very rude. Now I understand the meaning of southern hospitality. People in south are just kind, patient and lot more accepting/forgiving. Ofcourse this was just a short trip of 2weeks and I have not fully covered east coast but given a choice I would prefer south or west coast as landscape is lot more open and spacious. Maybe if I go to rural areas I may find some good landscape there.

[r2somewhere]

Recently traveled to east coast and visited DC, NYC etc. I was courageous to rent a car and travel all around on my own. More of it was forced due to luggage we were carrying and using public transportation didn't sound very appealing. So just rent big SUV and drove everywhere. Parking everywhere is super expensive. $50 each time you use it. But I guess I knew that beforehand. This was first time for me to visit east coast and it's not as pretty as I thought it would be. Very industrial everywhere and very crowded. Driving in south or west coast is big pleasure and landscape is simply amazing. While in east coast it's all about ugly refineries, warehouses etc etc. But then again that's what driving their economy. Compared to this driving in UK is lot prettier. Everywhere you drive, you are always mesmerized by the beauty of the country. People are certainly nicer in UK.

Driving on wrong side of the road was not as challenging as I thought it would be. One thing I love about US is that they make everything dumb proof. There are lights, signs etc everywhere. And then there is Google maps to fill in the gaps. I felt my instincts that I developed while living there kicked in right away and only took few honks and I was driving like a native. But people in east coast are very rude. Now I understand the meaning of southern hospitality. People in south are just kind, patient and lot more accepting/forgiving. Ofcourse this was just a short trip of 2weeks and I have not fully covered east coast but given a choice I would prefer south or west coast as landscape is lot more open and spacious. Maybe if I go to rural areas I may find some good landscape there.

Traveling in US is too expensive. Europe is much better value for money. I have only been to Europe on short visits. But I want to take a sabbatical and stay in Southern Europe for 2-3 months and slow travel.

[SAPPORO]

Recently traveled to east coast and visited DC, NYC etc. I was courageous to rent a car and travel all around on my own. More of it was forced due to luggage we were carrying and using public transportation didn't sound very appealing. So just rent big SUV and drove everywhere. Parking everywhere is super expensive. $50 each time you use it. But I guess I knew that beforehand. This was first time for me to visit east coast and it's not as pretty as I thought it would be. Very industrial everywhere and very crowded. Driving in south or west coast is big pleasure and landscape is simply amazing. While in east coast it's all about ugly refineries, warehouses etc etc. But then again that's what driving their economy. Compared to this driving in UK is lot prettier. Everywhere you drive, you are always mesmerized by the beauty of the country. People are certainly nicer in UK.

Driving on wrong side of the road was not as challenging as I thought it would be. One thing I love about US is that they make everything dumb proof. There are lights, signs etc everywhere. And then there is Google maps to fill in the gaps. I felt my instincts that I developed while living there kicked in right away and only took few honks and I was driving like a native. But people in east coast are very rude. Now I understand the meaning of southern hospitality. People in south are just kind, patient and lot more accepting/forgiving. Ofcourse this was just a short trip of 2weeks and I have not fully covered east coast but given a choice I would prefer south or west coast as landscape is lot more open and spacious. Maybe if I go to rural areas I may find some good landscape there.

All you had to do was to drive 30-40 miles in any direction from Manhattan and you could have enjoyed scenery like mountains of north jersey, rolling meadows of upstate NY, shores of long island and so on. Southern hospitality is a myth at least in the US although it might be true in India

[Razz R]

i don't know about southern hospitality.. but i used to live in Atlanta, GA a long time ago and there is a certain languor in the southern states.. you can experience this in places like Memphis, Tennessee,noo Aarleens, in places like savanna Georgia, where in the summer time, it's hot, there is a hard lemonade or spiked ice tea on the porch and life slowly moves on.. insert a lazy buzzing fly into the picture and you get it.. even Atlanta for all it's big city buzz was like that - with boiled peanuts being sold in gas stations.. I remember filling up my gas tank for under $10. I swear I'm not making this up.. gas was less than a dollar there when i got off the boat in 98. people talked slow and moved even slower in the summer heat.. you can almost imagine the plantations and a certain way of life.. time seemed to move slower down south..there were rednecks and race cars - camaro RTZ i'm looking at you.. Horse races- kentucky derby anyone ? so yeah it's a lot different than NYC or places up north.. randomly (ramblingly) i miss my Kerouac and steinbeck paperbacks..

[SAPPORO]

i don't know about southern hospitality.. but i used to live in Atlanta, GA a long time ago and there is a certain languor in the southern states.. you can experience this in places like Memphis, Tennessee,noo Aarleens, in places like savanna Georgia, where in the summer time, it's hot, there is a hard lemonade or spiked ice tea on the porch and life slowly moves on.. insert a lazy buzzing fly into the picture and you get it.. even Atlanta for all it's big city buzz was like that - with boiled peanuts being sold in gas stations.. I remember filling up my gas tank for under $10. I swear I'm not making this up.. gas was less than a dollar there when i got off the boat in 98. people talked slow and moved even slower in the summer heat.. you can almost imagine the plantations and a certain way of life.. time seemed to move slower down south..there were rednecks and race cars - camaro RTZ i'm looking at you.. Horse races- kentucky derby anyone ? so yeah it's a lot different than NYC or places up north.. randomly (ramblingly) i miss my Kerouac and steinbeck paperbacks..

My DD has been working part-time in retail for a few years now. Her opinion based on personal experience is that people here in FL are vicious, entitled and intimidating bunch to the point of getting nightmares and people in NJ were nothing like it. Some might argue these are the bad ones that moved from up north to Florida!
Yes, gas was cheaper than a gallon of water back in 1990s all over the country and I used to spend less than $10 to fill up my Corolla.

[old-spice2]

All you had to do was to drive 30-40 miles in any direction from Manhattan and you could have enjoyed scenery like mountains of north jersey, rolling meadows of upstate NY, shores of long island and so on. Southern hospitality is a myth at least in the US although it might be true in India

Southern hospitality in US? May be it is good if you are white, not for colored people like us. Never been to deep South. Just heard and read about racism in Alabama, Mississipi and S Carolina. Desis better stay in diverse areas like BA, SoCal, Chicago, NY/NJ and DC Metro.