I’m from Europe and this summer I’m going to visit America for a couple of days or a week so I’d like to ask which state I should visit first but not simple like New York or Washington, I really want to learn something unique about Americans and American culture 💞

22 comments

  1. Do a mountains to sea tour of North Carolina. You’ll get a taste of Appalachia, the piedmont, and tidewater regions and their scenery and culture, and there are plenty of modern, cosmopolitan cities like Asheville, Durham, Raleigh, and Wilmington to visit.

  2. That’s kind of up to you man. A lot of people are going to tell you their favorite places or their favorite vacation spots. But what do you want to start with? Skiing, beaches, some massive city, the prairies, desert or badlands, etc.? It’s cliche but there’s a lot here. Take your pick. As for the people, that’s way less diverse than Americans think. Certainly less diverse than the scenery. But you’ve got several regions you can get a feel for. Unless you’re going for local flair. Your choices are in the thousands there.

  3. Might be biased but I’ll say Virginia. You have easy access for a day trip to DC to see the monuments and museums and then can check out the rest of the state during the remainder of your trip. Go to beaches on the coast, historical villages from colonial times in the South East, go brewery hopping in the blue ridge mountains, and a UNESCO world heritage site at the University of Virginia.

  4. First thing you’ll learn is that there is no one “American Culture”. The deep south, northeast, west coast, appalachia, midwest, and even smaller regions have their own culture. Also I wouldn’t consider New York or Washington simple at all.

    I would reccomend Philadelphia or Washington D.C., as both cities have a lot of U.S. history that can give you insight to how U.S. culture was formed. I’d reccomend New York or Miami if you want to see just how multicultural we are with both cities being incredibly diverse.

    Those cities also have excellent public transit as well (though im not sure about Miami) which is uncommon for many cities in the U.S. If you want to see nature you’ll either have to book a bus trip or rent a car.

  5. I don’t know how “Culture” educational it would be but my first thought was Yellowstone.

  6. As echoed by other commenters, there is no real set culture that is uniform across the country. That being said, I’d say go to Massachusetts and stay in Boston. Great city with amazing history + culture (public transportation, too). Also, if you want to hit other states it is pretty easy to do a day trip to Maine/Vermont/New Hampshire. A lot of great small towns and beautiful scenery, plus the seafood is excellent.

  7. I’d go with Massachusetts. Boston has the food, history, sports, culture, and diversity. It also has an international airport and a pretty good public transportation system that makes it easy to get around. It’s a big city that has most anything you could want to do or see. Plus, you can take the train up to Salem if youre into the spooky & weird stuff or you can take the ferry to Provincetown if you want some beachfront partying.

  8. Boston is fun, lots of history, good public transit, lots of stuff to do. Massachusetts people aren’t as friendly as most Americans (called massholes for a reason) but that part of the country has good seafood (even if they can’t do barbeque) it’s a fun little example of New England culture + Boston has some Irish subsections that are fun. It’s also not very hot and as such you don’t have to worry about it being too hot to get out during the day (looking at you Houston).

    If you like sports, go to a Red Sox game, Fenway is an iconic stadium and both the team and stadium have a ton of history (even if it isn’t very modern) I don’t know about the Red Sox, but generally regular season MLB tickets are cheap because there are 160+ games.

  9. I would say that Waisconsin is a solid bet. It can give you an experience that feels very American in a sense of going to sporting events and the like. While you could also go to some of the less cultivated wilderness that exists in the US, like the upper peninsula of michigan. And then if you are traveling anywhere else in the US it is a solid go between to many other areas. It is also popular, but not SUPER popular and big like some of the other touristy sites.

  10. Its cliché, but it rings really true. You need to come up with something more specific you are after.

    Do you want city? Rural? Wilderness?

    Everywhere has their own culture. You’re dismissing NYC and DC, but they are cultural hubs for the entire country. However, they also will have a completely different experience from a cabin on the Kentucky backwoods or lakehouse in Minnesota or ranch in Wyoming.

  12. Texas. Lotta history there. Plus Barbecue. And bluebonnet season in the Spring. Everything from wide open spaces, mountains and the big city within a few hours drive.

  13. I agree with u/spicynuggies take, but I would be remiss if I didn’t suggest Colorado. Denver is a vibrant city and there’s a decent amount of culture to experience there (it’s no New York or Miami, but I digress). It’s right on the doorstep of everything outdoors you could ever want to do. Mountains to the west, prairie to the east. Colorado has a rich Native American heritage, and a day trip south to the Four Corners and Mesa Verde is definitely worthwhile. If you want the “American West” experience, Colorado is your spot.

  14. Im in Western Washington (Seattle) and Ive always felt lucky to be able to drive 2 miles and get to a beach and 20 miles to get to the Mountains. Dont bother going to eastern Washington tho, I grew up there Its mostly a hillbilly shit show.

  16. You’re going to get a lot of recommendations to visit places that are unique within America, like NYC or Washington, DC. I’d argue that if you want to really see what America is like, you might want to visit somewhere that’s a bit less of an outlier and come visit Ohio. Ohio is kind of the Goldilocks state and would give you a pretty good idea of what average America is like. In fact, a few months ago, someone asked what the most “average” state was, and Ohio was the universal answer.

  17. If it were me, I’d visit someplace in the north east. The rest of the country is a miserable, hot, humid mess or it’s on fire during the summer

    The north east is still hot but not as bad and while we do get forest fires, they’re not as bad as out west

    Burlington Vermont is very nice in the summer. Right on lake Champlain, close to nature, close to Canada so you could visit Montreal on a day trip, cute little town plus they have maple syrup flavored everything

    If you go, get maple syrup in your coffee, maple flavored ice cream and maple sugar candies

    Also rent a boat and go on the lake on a hot day. It’s a cold lake, so it’s cooler out there than on land. Just make sure you have shade or else you’ll get a sun burn

  18. I live in the state of Massachusetts, and I will tell you that one of the most amazing states in America is Arizona. Mostly because I’m an outdoor enthusiast but also there is lots of rich history of the Southwest. Hiking, photography, horses, food, star gazing.

  19. If you only visit for a couple days, you’ll probably spend your entire time jet lagged and honestly it isn’t worth the visit unless you’re really into that 24-48 hour travel stuff, or you’re pairing a stop in the US with going on to travel elsewhere in North or South America. Even for only a week, I only really adjusted to Spain’s time by the end of my first week there.

    Honestly I wouldn’t recommend coming unless you can get two weeks here. And if you can’t do that, plan for a time when you can do that.

  20. Literally anywhere that isn’t New York, California, Florida or Texas.

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