Me and a chap at work were discussing the frightening trend that is the United States of America, and our mutual desire to visit these rebellious colonials ourselves, possibly convincing them to resubmit themselves to the rightful authority of the British Crown. However, we have a disagreement - we only want to go for a short time, visiting one city.
I want to visit New York, because, well, it’s New York. The capital of the world! The sights, the sounds, the…er…smells. He thinks it’s crime-ridden, overpriced and over-rated.
He wants to visit Las Vegas, the gambling capital of the world. No deny that if you’re a gambler it’s the place to be, but I’m not, so I don’t think there’s gonna be much in it for me.
All in the very, very early stages, might not even happen, but help us settle our differences.
Don’t get me wrong - I think everyone should visit Las Vegas - I love it here, there is lots to do and it is really fun!
However, for a first time visit to the US, you really should go to NYC. It is a perfect picture of the US. You have everything in NYC - all ethnic groups and cultures, great food and nightlife, amazing museums and art galleries and Broadway shows, tons of shopping (both cheap and high end), fantastic architecture and history. NYC is everything there is about America in walking distance.
Again, you certainly wouldn’t bored in Las Vegas and it is certainly an experience you won’t forget, but Vegas is adult Disneyland whereas NYC is, well, New York City!
Should you opt for Vegas, I am attaching a link to my woefully outdated website (I have every intention of updating over Christmas break), but my vote for a first time visitor to the US is NYC.
Relocated Brit here. There’s not really anything to see and do in New York that you can’t see or do in London, why is why I don’t particularly care for it. There’s Harlem, but my wife wouldn’t let me. Now, Vegas, on the other hand… it’s hot, clean and vulgar. Kind of like Blackpool with nice weather and no raw sewage.
New York is a real place where people live. It is overpriced, but remember London is where New Yorkers go to get shocked by overpricing.
Las Vegas is a vacation destination. It is casinos and buffets and live entertainment. Other Americans are there to get away from their American lives.
If you are looking for that kind of vacation, by all means, go to Vegas (it is awesome). I think New York is better for experiencing (some of) the things that people think is great and interesting about the U.S.
Obviously, real people live in Vegas but I think it’s much harder to experience Vegas “like a local” unless you know people there and made a real effort.
It depends what you like, I think. Chicago or San Francisco are good if you like cities. Miami if it is that time of year when you need a break from being cold (especially in combination with a trip to the Florida Keys). Boston, if you like history. New Orleans, if you like anything (also has riverboat casinos if you must). If you are coming in the summer, camping in our national parks is an amazing experience, particularly out West (the parks in the East are terrific too, but I think the Western parks would be especially striking for someone coming to the US for the first time).
Such a twisted pair of choices for a first visit. Neither one will give you any kind of idea of what 99% of the US is like. You will go home and start posting threads about what defines the American mindset. Americans will get offended and pit you.
Having said that, I hate New York with the fury of a thousand burning suns. Go to Vegas.
Washington D.C. is the only other city that I think competes with NYC on a “If I only get one trip, where do I go?” basis, with the possible exception of Boston. I’ve heard Chicago is lovely, but is essentially New York on a more manageable scale.
Probably not at all like the trip you had in mind, but if you like camping, you might want to consider one of the National Parks in lieu of a city.
I honestly don’t think New York is that different than London. Same plays, same ethnic diversity, Sam hustle and bustle. They really do feel pretty similar.
I would go with San Francisco, which is truly like no other city in the world.
New York! It is a little expensive but you can avoid a lot of the overpricing by leaving the Times Square area and exploring a little. As far as crime goes I’ve lived here for 4 and a half years and I’ve never been a victim of any crime. Get some pizza at Grimaldi’s, visit the AMNH, see a Broadway show, go get 6 dumplings for a dollar in Chinatown, see the Statue of Liberty, etc. You’ll have a great time!
I’m more into history and the sights, my mate isn’t really into all that and prefers just to have fun (hence Vegas). I’m not a huge fan of cities, but I’m only judging that on British ones which are by and large grey, samey and depressing. Miami looks great on CSI (when people aren’t being brutally murdered) and unlike anything in Blighty, might suggest that. Boston and New England, I don’t know if it’ll hold my mate’s attention. I love Delta Blues and Jazz so I think I’d love New Orleans, but again I’d have to fly it past. Personally I’d also love somewhere like Zion or Yellowstone or something, but some of the wildlife might put me off…bears and whatnot.
Shit, like London? I hate London, too polluted, crowded, rude. A friend whose been to both tells me that NYC makes London look like a backwater, was I a fool to believe her?
Thanks for the ideas guys, loads more suggestions on the list. I still think there’s no place like NYC, though.
I agree that NYC is America’s “greatest” city, if by that you mean most cosmopolitan. But is that what you want?
You can experience a little bit of everything in New York. But by the same token, it is not at all representative of America as a whole, and as noted, is a feature of other global, cosmopolitan cities such as London and Paris and whatnot.
If you think of America as the Crossroads of the World, where you can rub shoulders and armpits with people from a gazillion different backgrounds from all over the world in a single day’s stroll, well then that’s New York, the traditional melting pot gateway (especially from Europe).
But if you want the feel of Americana, of what things sprouted from the USA first and exists nowhere else, that’s not really New York’s bag. It’d probably have to be something scenic out West, amid the canyons and prairies and what not, and involve a lot of driving… Like a Yellowstone-to-Grand-Canyon trip. As a native New Yorker, taking a road trip like that when I was 16 was a real eye opener. It was like going to another world. It was far more unfamiliar than traveling to Paris would be later in my life in many ways, and yet very, very American.
New Orleans might be your ticket, then. It has plenty of history and sights, and also lots of adult fun that your friend might like. It’s small enough that you can easily plan one or two days trips during your visit (even a short visit) to get out of the city and see some of the surrounding Gulf coast and river country areas.