Traveling the USA

[Cid_MCDP 0]

Just visit the East Coast bawan man, you're wasting your time anywhere else. Everything west of Pennsylvania could sink into the ocean tomorrow and I wouldn't bat an eye.

 

Start at NYC (forget Boston, it's a shithole) and work your way down to Florida.

 

Kurdistan isn't a country yet and probably never will be (argument for another thread I know), but you're better off telling people you're from there as they'll have no idea where it (supposedly) is.

 

Hey! It's a good damn thing I'm a strong swimmer...

 

He's right though. Aside from the random Rock and Roll Hall of Fame or that crazy ass Creationist museum for a laugh, there really isn't much here in the mid-west. You're much better off staying along the coasts. Be a lot of driving involved too which is something folks from across the pond can't always get their head around. For the most part, if one of us tells you it takes 12 hours to drive somewhere, we mean it. That 12 hours is you driving, primarily at interstate speeds, and little else. Not stopping to arse about for a couple hours at some town, then driving some more, etc. You don't want to fly all the way over here then spending it driving.

 

If you're in big metropolitan areas you might run across a few people who've heard of Kurdistan, but most people will just nod and classify you as foreign and leave it at that. Or a few like me might ask you if that's near Kazakhstan since Borat was kind of big over here.

 

If you make it to Florida, check out the Ripley's near Jacksonville and be sure you do the exhibit where you check out whether you're in the 5% of people who can do odd things with their face like touch their tongue to the tip of their nose.

[Asprilla 96]

Just visit the East Coast bawan man, you're wasting your time anywhere else. Everything west of Pennsylvania could sink into the ocean tomorrow and I wouldn't bat an eye.

 

Start at NYC (forget Boston, it's a shithole) and work your way down to Florida.

 

I spent a month doing that in 1993.

 

 

Amtrak do zone railcards which are good value. Mine lasted the month and I could get on any Amtrak train in the eastern third of America.

 

Started in New York and stopped at Washington DC, Savannah Georgia and Miami. I stayed in youth hostels which were cheap and everywhere. Sometimes they were in pretty dodgy areas though...

[Steve 0]

Of course I'm going to advocate going to Australia instead. Do the working holiday, even though I bitch about England there is nothing better than experiencing life in a different country. But my advice is DO NOT FRUIT-PICK. It's really shitty work, shitty pay and for the most part it's in the arse end of nowhere. Some of these farms are huge and a little remote. Stick to the coasts.

 

Forget America.

[Kid Dynamite 7169]

Just visit the East Coast bawan man, you're wasting your time anywhere else. Everything west of Pennsylvania could sink into the ocean tomorrow and I wouldn't bat an eye.

 

Start at NYC (forget Boston, it's a shithole) and work your way down to Florida.

 

Kurdistan isn't a country yet and probably never will be (argument for another thread I know), but you're better off telling people you're from there as they'll have no idea where it (supposedly) is.

 

Hey! It's a good damn thing I'm a strong swimmer...

 

He's right though. Aside from the random Rock and Roll Hall of Fame or that crazy ass Creationist museum for a laugh, there really isn't much here in the mid-west. You're much better off staying along the coasts. Be a lot of driving involved too which is something folks from across the pond can't always get their head around. For the most part, if one of us tells you it takes 12 hours to drive somewhere, we mean it. That 12 hours is you driving, primarily at interstate speeds, and little else. Not stopping to arse about for a couple hours at some town, then driving some more, etc. You don't want to fly all the way over here then spending it driving.

 

If you're in big metropolitan areas you might run across a few people who've heard of Kurdistan, but most people will just nod and classify you as foreign and leave it at that. Or a few like me might ask you if that's near Kazakhstan since Borat was kind of big over here.

 

If you make it to Florida, check out the Ripley's near Jacksonville and be sure you do the exhibit where you check out whether you're in the 5% of people who can do odd things with their face like touch their tongue to the tip of their nose.

 

 

Its a lot more fun driving in America though. I did a couple of 15 hour drives but the weather, the huge lanes, the decent radio stations and the ever changing scenery makes it a lot more fun than driving down the A1 for 6 hours looking at the bumper of the car in front.

[Kid Dynamite 7169]

Just visit the East Coast bawan man, you're wasting your time anywhere else. Everything west of Pennsylvania could sink into the ocean tomorrow and I wouldn't bat an eye.

 

Start at NYC (forget Boston, it's a shithole) and work your way down to Florida.

 

Kurdistan isn't a country yet and probably never will be (argument for another thread I know), but you're better off telling people you're from there as they'll have no idea where it (supposedly) is.

 

Hey! It's a good damn thing I'm a strong swimmer...

 

He's right though. Aside from the random Rock and Roll Hall of Fame or that crazy ass Creationist museum for a laugh, there really isn't much here in the mid-west. You're much better off staying along the coasts. Be a lot of driving involved too which is something folks from across the pond can't always get their head around. For the most part, if one of us tells you it takes 12 hours to drive somewhere, we mean it. That 12 hours is you driving, primarily at interstate speeds, and little else. Not stopping to arse about for a couple hours at some town, then driving some more, etc. You don't want to fly all the way over here then spending it driving.

 

If you're in big metropolitan areas you might run across a few people who've heard of Kurdistan, but most people will just nod and classify you as foreign and leave it at that. Or a few like me might ask you if that's near Kazakhstan since Borat was kind of big over here.

 

If you make it to Florida, check out the Ripley's near Jacksonville and be sure you do the exhibit where you check out whether you're in the 5% of people who can do odd things with their face like touch their tongue to the tip of their nose.

 

 

Its a lot more fun driving in America though. I did a couple of 15 hour drives but the weather, the huge lanes, the decent radio stations and the ever changing scenery makes it a lot more fun than driving down the A1 for 6 hours looking at the bumper of the car in front.

[Cid_MCDP 0]

Just visit the East Coast bawan man, you're wasting your time anywhere else. Everything west of Pennsylvania could sink into the ocean tomorrow and I wouldn't bat an eye.

 

Start at NYC (forget Boston, it's a shithole) and work your way down to Florida.

 

Kurdistan isn't a country yet and probably never will be (argument for another thread I know), but you're better off telling people you're from there as they'll have no idea where it (supposedly) is.

 

Hey! It's a good damn thing I'm a strong swimmer...

 

He's right though. Aside from the random Rock and Roll Hall of Fame or that crazy ass Creationist museum for a laugh, there really isn't much here in the mid-west. You're much better off staying along the coasts. Be a lot of driving involved too which is something folks from across the pond can't always get their head around. For the most part, if one of us tells you it takes 12 hours to drive somewhere, we mean it. That 12 hours is you driving, primarily at interstate speeds, and little else. Not stopping to arse about for a couple hours at some town, then driving some more, etc. You don't want to fly all the way over here then spending it driving.

 

If you're in big metropolitan areas you might run across a few people who've heard of Kurdistan, but most people will just nod and classify you as foreign and leave it at that. Or a few like me might ask you if that's near Kazakhstan since Borat was kind of big over here.

 

If you make it to Florida, check out the Ripley's near Jacksonville and be sure you do the exhibit where you check out whether you're in the 5% of people who can do odd things with their face like touch their tongue to the tip of their nose.

 

 

Its a lot more fun driving in America though. I did a couple of 15 hour drives but the weather, the huge lanes, the decent radio stations and the ever changing scenery makes it a lot more fun than driving down the A1 for 6 hours looking at the bumper of the car in front.

 

See, I wasn't sure if you lot dig driving or not.

 

Don't have time to do it anymore, but when I was younger and bored, my friends and I would just pile in a car and go. Somewhere. Anywhere. We'd drive out to Interstate 64 and as we neared the exit, we flipped a coin- tails West, heads East. End up in St. Louis or Louisville or Virginia a few hours later.

 

If I can get up on my "Get off my lawn" soapbox for a minute, that's something I think kids miss these days with their facebooks and their myspace and their game consoles. I've probably driven over a million miles in the nearly 20 years I've had my license. Driven from various points in the mid-west to Chicago (tons of times), Louisville, Dallas, Austin, St. Louis, Nashville, Memphis... God, you name it and if it was within a day's time, we probably drove there.

 

Longest driving trip I ever made was Austin, TX to Crown Point, Indiana (vicinity of Chicago). Took me like 19 hours and 45 minutes. Stopped only for gas, TBH.

Edited April 12, 2009 by Cid_MCDP

[luckyluke 2]

If you go to Australia you can get a 12 month working visa which allows you to get temporary jobs while you're there (upto 3 months per job) which obviously makes it more affordable.

 

My stepsister's doing this at the minute. She's been there since September and has done loads of fruit picking/sorting etc. Shite work but it pays (much like my own job ).

I'd give that shite a miss tbh. Loads of jobs like barwork and so on are easy to get and much less strenuous. Also those jobs tend to be in the middle of nowhere.

 

I wouldn't do it either, but she wants to work on her tan.

Fair point. There's no way she could do that in Sydney or somewhere like that

She should be careful like. My sis worked with someone who got skin cancer from (almost certainly) fruit picking in Australia.

 

The way you say that makes it sound like the actual act of fruit picking gave her skin cancer, as if she touched a radioactive banana or something.

 

Oh and Bawan contrary to what somebody else said I doubt saying Kurdistan will go down well much better; in fact if anything hearing '-istan' is likely to make customs officers even more twitchy than hearing 'Iraq.'

[PaddockLad 17643]

Just visit the East Coast bawan man, you're wasting your time anywhere else. Everything west of Pennsylvania could sink into the ocean tomorrow and I wouldn't bat an eye.

 

Start at NYC (forget Boston, it's a shithole) and work your way down to Florida.

 

I spent a month doing that in 1993.

 

 

Amtrak do zone railcards which are good value. Mine lasted the month and I could get on any Amtrak train in the eastern third of America.

 

Started in New York and stopped at Washington DC, Savannah Georgia and Miami. I stayed in youth hostels which were cheap and everywhere. Sometimes they were in pretty dodgy areas though...

 

I did that the following year and eneded up in hostels in Harlem (terrifying local vagrants) New Orleans (heard gunfire every day for a week, first burst was as we were getting our bags out of the taxi when we first arrived! ) and Anaheim (cab driver who couldnt speak a word of English crashed his cab on the way to the hostel after running a red light, nearly killed us) And most of the septics thought English was my second language.....fuckin cheeky twats

 

Having said all that.................to me, its a great place, full of interesting things in a way that huge,dull dustbowl Austrailia just can't measure up to. The people I came across were overwhelming great as well with just one or two exceptions

[bawan 0]

I'll just fucking say I am British If and when I do go, I wanna enjoy my trip. But it's looking more likely than ever.

 

I dont just wanna do the East Coast, I wanna go straight through America, NY to San Fran sounds amazing

[Guest alex]

You go for it mate. Sounds class.

[The Fish 10963]

Amtrak Travel Passes

 

http://tickets.amtrak.com/itd/amtrak/selectpass

[Tom 14013]

Just visit the East Coast bawan man, you're wasting your time anywhere else. Everything west of Pennsylvania could sink into the ocean tomorrow and I wouldn't bat an eye.

 

Start at NYC (forget Boston, it's a shithole) and work your way down to Florida.

 

Kurdistan isn't a country yet and probably never will be (argument for another thread I know), but you're better off telling people you're from there as they'll have no idea where it (supposedly) is.

 

Hey! It's a good damn thing I'm a strong swimmer...

 

He's right though. Aside from the random Rock and Roll Hall of Fame or that crazy ass Creationist museum for a laugh, there really isn't much here in the mid-west. You're much better off staying along the coasts. Be a lot of driving involved too which is something folks from across the pond can't always get their head around. For the most part, if one of us tells you it takes 12 hours to drive somewhere, we mean it. That 12 hours is you driving, primarily at interstate speeds, and little else. Not stopping to arse about for a couple hours at some town, then driving some more, etc. You don't want to fly all the way over here then spending it driving.

 

If you're in big metropolitan areas you might run across a few people who've heard of Kurdistan, but most people will just nod and classify you as foreign and leave it at that. Or a few like me might ask you if that's near Kazakhstan since Borat was kind of big over here.

 

If you make it to Florida, check out the Ripley's near Jacksonville and be sure you do the exhibit where you check out whether you're in the 5% of people who can do odd things with their face like touch their tongue to the tip of their nose.

 

 

Its a lot more fun driving in America though. I did a couple of 15 hour drives but the weather, the huge lanes, the decent radio stations and the ever changing scenery makes it a lot more fun than driving down the A1 for 6 hours looking at the bumper of the car in front.

 

Didn't you find it hard to navigate?

[Tom 14013]

Just visit the East Coast bawan man, you're wasting your time anywhere else. Everything west of Pennsylvania could sink into the ocean tomorrow and I wouldn't bat an eye.

 

Start at NYC (forget Boston, it's a shithole) and work your way down to Florida.

 

Kurdistan isn't a country yet and probably never will be (argument for another thread I know), but you're better off telling people you're from there as they'll have no idea where it (supposedly) is.

 

Hey! It's a good damn thing I'm a strong swimmer...

 

He's right though. Aside from the random Rock and Roll Hall of Fame or that crazy ass Creationist museum for a laugh, there really isn't much here in the mid-west. You're much better off staying along the coasts. Be a lot of driving involved too which is something folks from across the pond can't always get their head around. For the most part, if one of us tells you it takes 12 hours to drive somewhere, we mean it. That 12 hours is you driving, primarily at interstate speeds, and little else. Not stopping to arse about for a couple hours at some town, then driving some more, etc. You don't want to fly all the way over here then spending it driving.

 

If you're in big metropolitan areas you might run across a few people who've heard of Kurdistan, but most people will just nod and classify you as foreign and leave it at that. Or a few like me might ask you if that's near Kazakhstan since Borat was kind of big over here.

 

If you make it to Florida, check out the Ripley's near Jacksonville and be sure you do the exhibit where you check out whether you're in the 5% of people who can do odd things with their face like touch their tongue to the tip of their nose.

 

 

Its a lot more fun driving in America though. I did a couple of 15 hour drives but the weather, the huge lanes, the decent radio stations and the ever changing scenery makes it a lot more fun than driving down the A1 for 6 hours looking at the bumper of the car in front.

 

Didn't you find it hard to navigate?

[Kid Dynamite 7169]

There were usually 3 or 4 of us and we just used mapquest to print off directions. All the major towns and cities are connected by highways and interstates so you cant really go wrong. Interstate 95 runs from Boston all the way down the East Coast to Miami. Puts the A1 to shame!