where in USA? (1 Viewer)

[Lazy Lankan]

i'm considering travelling to America in dec '07' ... has anyone been? where did u go? if I go in dec i'll only be 20, meaning that I won't be legal, so Vegas is no real point. but what do u guys recommend, in terms of: what states? what attractions etc.? im more interested in the american lifestyle - as in city life, times square etc. not really into the whole historic stuff or political (Washington DC is out).

atm im thinkin New York and LA, but browsing online many say that LA is pretty much dead afta 5 on weekdays and everything is far apart so is crap if u dont drive/have a rental car. im thinkin sumthin like mid dec to late jan, so something like 4-5 weeks.

I can either stay in NYC and explore it like fully ... i.e statue of liberty, empire state building, times square, central park etc etc the list goes on and on ... OR I can just get a taste of a couple of states by staying for only a couple of days in each .... what do u guys reckon??? any advice would help. and for 4-5 weeks how much do u reckon i would need to save for accomodation/expenses?

cheers!

 

[Orange Juice]

go and stay within the college regions... they have heaps of parties. Just make sure you go during their semester.

 

[aussiechica7]

i spent 2 days in nyc and saw every "site" u can imagine. i also went back a few times and took time just 2 sit in central park during the lunch hour, etc. it was nice.

DEF do nyc. if u can, go to colarado and go skiing (expensive i know). LA the city is crap but areas like santa monica/hollywood/etc. r nice.

new orlenes was interesting pre katrina, idk about now.

florida is really nice, esp. miami and the keys.

umm idk. apparently chicago's good but its v. windy and it'll b FREEZING that time of yr.

mexico- i know its not part of the U.S. but u can get in pretty easily. same 4 canada.

btw book stuff early cuz it'll b expensive, and make sure u dress warmly enough .

so just curious, y america?

 

[cro_angel]

I loved America.. had a great time when I went to LA and NY.
The LA winter is like ours.. still sunny and you can wear a t shirt around. NY was freezing and it snowed which was awesome.. make sure you have a decent jacket and shoes (but you can just buy them cheap there anyway.. clothes shopping is awesome in America and cheap!).
LA was awesome because I stayed in a hostel with a bar so we had many drunken nights.. it was funny because everyone staying there was aussie too hehe.
I have my photos on this site if you want to have a look
http://spaces.msn.com/cro-angle2/

 

[Lazy Lankan]

cro_angel, about the shopping in America being cheap, are you talking in terms of day-to-day wear or like designer clothing? Because from online research ive come across quite a few designer outlets (woodbury common outlet or something by that name) and famous streets for shopping in both NY and LA, like 5th Avenue, the Boulevarde. I’m really keen to do some designer shopping there (depending on price, and budget). I probably won’t do a hostel because I need my own space, LOL. So hopefully I can find a “cheap” hotel somewhere.

aussiechica7, were you seriously able to do EVERYTHING in two days?? I was thinking it would take atleast 1 week to see everything comfortably. And yea ive been reading through travel guides and online etc I might be adding Miami to the list, we’ll see how it goes. And as to Y America? Don’t really know y ay? I’ve always wanted to go, ever since I was young. Just always thought of it as “the place to be” …

so right now im thinkin SYD > LA (one week) > NYC (2-3 weeks) > Miami (or if not Miami, then just back to Sydney).

 

[aussiechica7]

Hey also consider the Bahamas or some other random islands around there. Its cheap from America, and why not?
Yeah my 2 days in NYC were REALLY packed lol- think 6am to midnight sightseeing. But it was cool because I could do all the "been there, seen that" stuff when I got home. The subsequent trips we just kind of relaxed, soaked up the vibe, saw a few Broadway productions, went window shopping, ate breakfast outside of Tiffany's (lol), went to ChinaTown and bought unidentifiable food, sunbaked in Central Park (on a summer trip)... just enjoyed the city for the beauty that it is. So yeah 1-2 weeks there would be plenty.

One time we stayed at the Hilton in New Jersey to save money. It was over NYE and New Years Day and it would have cost 10 x as much to stay at the Times Square Hilton. So if you're short on funds (doesn't sound like it, but a few weeks in NYC can be REALLY expensive) consider commuting from NJ.

Upstate New York is somewhere I forgot to mention- freezing but beautiful. Forest and snow everywhere- gorgeous.

 

[Tulipa]

Aussiechica you're a freak of nature or you did not do everything. I spent five days in NYC non stop sightseeing and I know I didn't see everything.

To the threadstarter, how much do you want to spend? That's a big factor. Also decent hotels in NYC are expensive. Don't bother commuting in from NJ though, that place is a hole and around winter time it won't be fun. If I were you I'd spent the most money on hotels there and try to do as much as possible in about a week or so. Any more and it gets too expensive, any less and you don't see enough. NYC around Christmas is meant to be gorgeous too.

Skip LA, it's muggy, dodgy and San Francisco is closer and much cooler. Seattle is awesome if you're into that music scene. Chicago is okay but it'll be absolutely freezing. If you want to go skiing Colorado is good but Canada is better. If you want to stay in the USA there's this great little town a few hours out of Denver called Winter Park that's not too expensive and a lot of fun.

Don't bother with Florida or Miami. It's God's waiting room and the Gulf of Mexico is like freaking bathwater. Miami is just... blah. You're not able to drink so you can't go out and enjoy their apparently fun nightlife. The beaches aren't that great and in December/January it's really busy because everyone who hates snow is done there enjoying semi-nice weather.

I wouldn't really bother with anywhere in the South but Texas is funny if you see the humor.

I hate flying in snow so I could never go in winter but be aware that not only will it be busy (Christmas is the second busiest time to fly) but that the weather is unpredicatable and you can get caught out in snow storms.

 

[Lazy Lankan]

cheers for ALL the replies ...

Tulipa, still undecided on how much I want to spend on the entire trip, hence the reason I started the thread, to find out how much u guys that have been there think it'll set me back. At the moment im thinkin coz the flight (return) is approx 2k and each night in NYC is atleast $150 (US) a night ... I'll need about 10k. That's not even factoring in the shopping I want to do there. So it might be pushed to 15k.
The only reason I was thinking about staying in LA a bit longer was because it will most probably be my stop over neway. If I were change the stop over to any other place (San Fran or Chicago) then the flight would cost even more!

aussiechica7, in reply to your comment - "so if you're short on funds (doesn't sound like it ..." - that's hilarious! I am so short of funds it ain't funny. But from talking to heaps of people that have travelled, this is the TIME for me to go. I need to go before I finish my degree (After this year I'll have one year left) - after next year I won't have time to travel because I'll be looking for a job etc. That's where banks come in!

Just an update, been doing more research and spoke to a guy from a Student Flights Centre in Parra ... afta all your replies now I'm thinkin that LA will literally be a stop over like I might not even leave the aiport kind of thing, and Miami is out. Then I can just focus on NYC. I love snow so maybe thats my best bet.

But another thing - can anyone recommend me a hotel in NYC? Looking online there are soo many where like 3 separate rooms share the one bathroom - those are definately OUT. That's the only thing I really care about, just need my own utilities, or whateva the word is - bathroom, kitchen etc etc. Don't care about the star rating or extra facilities or breakfast or any of that. Thanx.

 

[Uncle Jonny]

so you want sort of a serviced apartment type thing? not necessarily a hotel?

 

[Tulipa]

Okay I'm not sure what you mean by the flight cost. You can organise pretty cheap flights internally in the USA. I think you should figure out where you want to go first then plan out how much time you want to go for.

I wouldn't recommend getting a suite in NY. There are plenty of little lunch spots and restaurants. Plus if you're going with someone, mains are big enough that you can share it between two people.

I think you'd want to stay in midtown around Times Square if you're going for around a week. They're expensive but central to a lot of things. Plus it's quite safe with all the tourists.

 

[Lazy Lankan]

Uncle Jonny, I got no idea what you mean by a "serviced apartment". I need a place to stay and that's it. A place where I have all the stuff you need like when your at home. Oh lol now I think I get what you mean, yea and I think you've got it right. Just a place to stay really, no need of fancy Hilton type stuff.

Tulipa, flight cost - I want to book everything from here before I go there. Because that time of the year you can't really rely on anything, so I want it all pre-booked. So I don't want to have to book an internal flight. I know that NYC is a definite!! the question is do I want to see LA as well. Those two cities are the places in the USA I've always wanted to go to my whole life. But in saying that ... I would choose NYC over LA and I don't want to compromise how much I can see in NYC just to fit two cities into the one trip. I don't see the point of going all that way for only 1 week. So it would be something like > 4 weeks. And itll definately be a solo trip. You say you wouldn't recommend a suite in NY, yet then you say to stay around Times Square if im going for a week coz its expensive. So if im going for a lengthy period like a month, where do u reckon then?

 

[Uncle Jonny]

Uncle Jonny, I got no idea what you mean by a "serviced apartment". I need a place to stay and that's it. A place where I have all the stuff you need like when your at home. Oh lol now I think I get what you mean, yea and I think you've got it right. Just a place to stay really, no need of fancy Hilton type stuff.

yeah serviced apartments usually have fully stocked kitchens (plates, cups, cutlery, cooking utensils, things like that). Linen may or may not be supplied so make sure you check that there is some. They are also better for staying longer, as they are usually cheaper than a hotel would be, and you can cook yourself so you dont have to go out to eat whenever you are hungry.

 

[Tulipa]

God why bother going to one city for a month? Boring much? I mean you'd see all you wanted to see there within at least two weeks. Definitely try to go somewhere else as well. I'm not saying LA but you could definitely fly to San Fran then fly over to NY after a week or so.

Plus solo trips are never the best thing but if no one else wants to go with you them I guess you should try to make the most of it.

In regards to flights I didn't mean organise them when you get there I meant that you can get cheap flights internally in the USA. ie flying from LA-NYC.

 

[christ_ine]

New York City wins - hands down.

 

[Lazy Lankan]

God why bother going to one city for a month? Boring much? I mean you'd see all you wanted to see there within at least two weeks. Definitely try to go somewhere else as well. I'm not saying LA but you could definitely fly to San Fran then fly over to NY after a week or so.

Plus solo trips are never the best thing but if no one else wants to go with you them I guess you should try to make the most of it.

In regards to flights I didn't mean organise them when you get there I meant that you can get cheap flights internally in the USA. ie flying from LA-NYC.

Do you seriously believe that going to one city for a month would be boring?! I mean, personally, just from browsing online and talking to people, NYC is HUGE! So much to see and do - and plus, in my initial post I noted that I'm more interested in seeing the way of life kind of thing - city lifestyle. Something that I believe could take even more than a month. And I wouldn't go to any other state (other than LA) just to "kill time". If anything, it would be LA.

The whole point of the trip is that I go solo! given that I can't afford to move out of home just yet, a month in another country, away from relatives and everything is my best chance of "independence" and just getting away from it all (atleast for a month!)

Yea sorry I misinterpreted what you said about the flights ... but yea I figured that it would be cheaper internally ay.

 

[Tulipa]

Okay I get that it's not to be touristy, you'll probably take a week or so to sightsee.

Plus you know, you could take side trips along the east coast. Boston, Washington DC etc.

It wouldn't be boring but it might get lonely especially around the holidays.

 

[Lazy Lankan]

yea i mean if i did get "bored" or "lonely" then at the time I can easily decide to go somewhere on the coastline ... im hoping that ill meet someone there in my same situation, whether that will actually happen ... who knows?

 

[pete_mate]

bahah, your planning a year in advance.

i just booked my one month america trip this morning, decided where i was gonna go (dates etc.) yesterday and im leaving on saturday.

get a delta america pass, 5 flights for $500 US aaanywhere in the us


my return flight over there and all my domestic flights cost me just over $1000

staff travel owns.


but yeah, im going to salt lake city to ski, (colorado is for posers who cant actually ski because it is flat compared) san fran, nyc, and LA (for 1 day). Tis all you need

 

[Tulipa]

bahah, your planning a year in advance.

i just booked my one month america trip this morning, decided where i was gonna go (dates etc.) yesterday and im leaving on saturday.

get a delta america pass, 5 flights for $500 US aaanywhere in the us


my return flight over there and all my domestic flights cost me just over $1000

staff travel owns.


but yeah, im going to salt lake city to ski, (colorado is for posers who cant actually ski because it is flat compared) san fran, nyc, and LA (for 1 day). Tis all you need

totally agree.

staff travel is teh shit.

but I'm booking my trip now for june pretty much cause it's hectic busy then

 

[Lazy Lankan]

the only reason i'm planning this far ahead of time is because at that time of the year, and looking for accomodation for such a lengthy period of time - in such a popular part of the city (times square) - things are gonna be booked fast! supposedly flight schedules for dec/jan are only set in around March - so i wanna book everything by like march/april.

pete_mate, your return flight cost you just over $1000? how? return flight to NY is like $1700 from what I've seen. And btw what is "staff travel"?