# What's so special about the USA, that tourists won't be able to get elsewhere **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 3, 2012, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629 "2012-02-03T05:05:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629/61 "2012-02-03T18:49:27Z")
A lot of European tourists I’ve known have been fascinated by driving trips through the deserts of the American west. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629/62 "2012-02-03T19:09:00Z")
My daughter has taken two European boyfriends from California to the East (at different times 🙂 ) and the space is what impressed them the most. You can tell a European who has never been to the US when he proposes popping from SF to LA for lunch or something. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629/63 "2012-02-03T19:14:28Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > I don’t think there’s a more diverse country anywhere. Of course, it’s too big to actually take in all that diversity, so you have to see it a little bit at a time. > [@jjimm](#): > > I wouldn’t say that personally: China and India definitely give it a run for its money. There’s no question that India, China, and Russia are at least as if not more diverse than the United States geographically. They are all a lot more diverse than the United States culturally. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629/64 "2012-02-03T19:30:15Z")
Actually, for landscape diversity, (as well as sheer open space) I think Australia can give the US a proper run for its money. It has everything from tropical reefs, deserts, one of the oldest forests in existance, ancient culture, freakish plants and utterly weird wildlife… By the way, Americans over in Europe get really easily ‘wowed’ by things being old… It’s totally normal to us to have a road or a wall that’s been there for thousands of years. We see time differently, the US, Canada and Australia see space differently 😉 Really, the only reason I’d put visiting the US on my destination list is some aspects of the culture; everywhere has its ‘must see’ landscapes, and amazing museums, and the ones there are no more ‘must see’ or amazing than the others. But as several other people have said, I’m not going until the border controls get less insane- and that’s not just paranoia, 2 of my friends have been refused entry and sent home, at different times. Apparently they’re convinced anyone associated with fire performing is going to be working illegally… I’d have no trouble getting in anywhere else, so why risk it? ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629/65 "2012-02-03T19:36:26Z")
Europeans think 100 miles is far; Americans think 100 years is old. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629/66 "2012-02-03T19:41:08Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > There’s no question that India, China, and Russia are at least as if not more diverse than the United States geographically. They are all a lot more diverse than the United States culturally. The US is more geographically diverse than Russia for sure, it is also more biologically diverse, being one of 17 countries described as “megadiverse” The US spans many many climate zones, and five of the 10 cities with the largest immigrant populations are in the United States. The idea that the US is not as culturally diverse as China or India is completely wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629/67 "2012-02-03T19:46:00Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > The US is more geographically diverse than Russia for sure, it is also more biologically diverse, being one of 17 countries described as “megadiverse” The US spans many many climate zones, and five of the 10 cities with the largest immigrant populations are in the United States. The idea that the US is not as culturally diverse as China or India is completely wrong. Pockets of immigrant culture in the United States don’t contribute diversity to American culture nearly the way that it exists in day-to-day street life in India. Immigrants have a strong tendency to assimilate in the United States, meaning that a huge portion of the potential diversity becomes either isolated in private, closed cultural groupings or gets quickly eroded. Walking down the street in all but maybe a handful of American cities is a very culturally uniform experience, completely the opposite of what exists in a place like India, where cultural diversity is unavoidable. ---
**Author:** ![manila](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@manila](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manila)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629/68 "2012-02-03T20:35:07Z")
I’m pretty ambivalent about visiting America and have turned down 3 jobs because it would have meant me working out of Houston. I kinda figured it would be like Dubai, nice facilities but souless and characterless where the positive aspects are just a scale thin veneer covering an empty box. But in retrospect I think that my opinion was actually coloured by my impression of the people who were offering me the jobs and to which my previous description equally applies! Am a city guy at heart and prefer to see my natural environment on a 45" LCD screen. (yes I know I am working in the African Jungle at the moment) But I always think that people make places and I have met many members of the former US colonies in my job or in my travels. I would like to visit New York. But not as a tourist. I want to see it through the eyes of a resident and experience being part of that city.I have only met two New yorkers but they have both been wildly dry and cynical and very witty which appeals to my sense of humour. I’ve lived in London and Istanbul and enjoyed my time there but figure if I could get the chance oir make the chance to go somewhere else for a few years then NY should be it The natural beauty of Yellowstone, Grand Canyon and the rest you can ram it! thats what the Discovery channel is for! ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629/69 "2012-02-03T21:06:28Z")
> [@manila](#): > > The natural beauty of Yellowstone, Grand Canyon and the rest you can ram it! thats what the Discovery channel is for! You just think that because you haven’t seen them. The Grand Canyon is something which honestly hast to be experienced. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629/70 "2012-02-03T21:30:46Z")
> [@manila](#): > > The natural beauty of Yellowstone, Grand Canyon and the rest you can ram it! thats what the Discovery channel is for! That’s why I don’t plan on going to the UK, I have BBC America! ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629/71 "2012-02-03T21:44:34Z")
Good Mexican food. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629/72 "2012-02-04T00:44:23Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > The US is more geographically diverse than Russia for sure, it is also more biologically diverse, being one of 17 countries described as “megadiverse” The US spans many many climate zones, and five of the 10 cities with the largest immigrant populations are in the United States. The idea that the US is not as culturally diverse as China or India is completely wrong. I dispute this. You can find as much immigrant cultural diversity within the tiny UK as you can in the US, and I’d hazard as much indigenous diversity too. The US, for its size, is comparitively homogenous. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629/73 "2012-02-04T01:22:38Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > […]I think Australia can give the US a proper run for its money. It has everything from tropical reefs, deserts, one of the oldest forests in existance, ancient culture, freakish plants and utterly weird wildlife… …99% of which is more venomous than an Ann Coulter speech and actively trying to kill you 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629/74 "2012-02-04T01:43:55Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > I dispute this. You can find as much immigrant cultural diversity within the tiny UK as you can in the US, and I’d hazard as much indigenous diversity too. The US, for its size, is comparitively homogenous. It depends on where you are. Iowa, maybe. But my town has a major Afghani center, tons of Indian groceries and video stores, and a theater, a Sikh temple, Chinese shopping centers with restaurants and groceries where Chinese is predominantly spoken, a significant Iraqi population, and of course Pakistanis, Vietnamese, Koreans, and even a few Mormons thrown in for bleaching. 😃 I grew up taking the bus to Flushing to catch the subway to New York. Flushing is a hell of a lot more culturally diverse now than when I was a kid. ---
**Author:** ![Mdcastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@Mdcastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mdcastle)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629/75 "2012-02-04T03:21:26Z")
You can experience uncanny valley as a US resident traveling to a different part of the US too. I was driving from Durham to Charlotte with my sister, and she remarked about how it looked a lot like Minnesota but was just “off” enought to be creepy. Like maybe subtle differences in the plants. Or the Waffle Houses at every exit. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629/76 "2012-02-04T03:23:22Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > It depends on where you are. Iowa, maybe. But my town has a major Afghani center, tons of Indian groceries and video stores, and a theater, a Sikh temple, Chinese shopping centers with restaurants and groceries where Chinese is predominantly spoken, a significant Iraqi population, and of course Pakistanis, Vietnamese, Koreans, and even a few Mormons thrown in for bleaching. 😃 > I grew up taking the bus to Flushing to catch the subway to New York. Flushing is a hell of a lot more culturally diverse now than when I was a kid. I’m not saying it’s not culturally diverse, I’m saying there’s at least as much cultural diversity in the UK. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629/77 "2012-02-04T03:28:29Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > I’m not saying it’s not culturally diverse, I’m saying there’s at least as much cultural diversity in the UK. ok, and? Is this going to be another “the patch of dirt I was on when I slid out is better than the patch of dirt you were on when you slid out” argument? ---
**Author:** ![Mdcastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@Mdcastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mdcastle)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629/78 "2012-02-04T03:44:03Z")
As far as shooting guns: in the US you can go down to the range and shoot pistols, shotguns, rifles, and even machine guns (some ranges will have special machine gun shoots periodically where licensed dealers will bring them in to rent out, one range I’ve been too the owner even has a couple that you can rent at any time). I understand it’s harder for Europeans (except for the Swiss) to actually own guns, but can they get to a range and rent to get the experience of shooting them? I do know it’s hard to do in Japan, to the point that going to shooting ranges in Hawaii is something Japanese tourists do. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629/79 "2012-02-04T03:46:23Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > How feasible would that be for a tourist? Presumably they wouldn’t be able just to rock up, buy a gun and go out shooting deer - if they were allowed to carry a weapon, I’m guessing they’d have to pay an organisation to escort them. Your ‘nobility’ scenario, by the way, isn’t true for all of Europe - there’s plenty of free shooting in Portugal, Italy, Germany, Spain(?). Well certainly, if you know a person in the states with more than one shotgun, more than one rifle, and more than one bow, or more than one fishing pole, (Which is really most of the Hunters and Fisherman I know), all you have to do is buy the hunting license and maybe the tags to go on the hunt. Then you have an instant guide… I’m sure many wouldn’t even charge you “guide fees” but would take you on the hunt. Of course, It helps and is practically necessary that you have some basic functional and safety knowledge of the weapons. Not many Hunters want to get their ass shot off accidentally, so they are at least going to famialirize you with things. Shoot some rounds at some cans, bottles, and targets, and teach proper gun safety. Something I’m willing to do for any friend, free of charge. Hunting can be very affordable, here if you do it right. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629/80 "2012-02-04T03:46:25Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > ok, and? Is this going to be another “the patch of dirt I was on when I slid out is better than the patch of dirt you were on when you slid out” argument? Please scroll up to post #9 where I enumerated all the reasons I think the US is special, unique, and why I think it’s a great tourist destination. All I am saying is the level of immigrant cultural diversity isn’t something that makes the US _unique_ per the OP’s question, because other countries share similar levels of diversity. I’ve noticed you in a few threads getting all defensive about the US. You need to have a bit more confidence in your country; it speaks for itself perfectly well without you interpreting comments as attacks. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-the-usa-that-tourists-wont-be-able-to-get-elsewhere/611629.md?page=5)