Req: Tips 4 students on travelling to the USA

Hi there!

Before I go any further, I'd first like to introduce myself! I'm a 22
year old student from The Netherlands. A week ago I was sitting at a
bar with a couple of friends of mine when we suddenly got to the idea
of travelling to the USA. We argued a little about the places we could
visit, and the things we could do. We'd really like to drive the Route
66, or at least, get to know America a little better. (read: Spending
3 weeks in Disneyworld doesn't sound that exciting to us). The only
problem we're coping with is time and money. It seems that renting a
car for this purpose is almost impossible. Most *cheap* car-rental
companies don't offer the possibility to return the car to another
location, and if that isn't the problem, the mileage is.

So it seems that the whole Route 66 idea undoable with the
restrictions we're coping with. I'm wondering if somebody could tell
me what good and inexpensive alternatives we have. Staying at home
isn't an option :P

Which state would be the most interesting to visit? Is it legal to
camp beside the road? Should I rent a car? What's the beer like? What
are the American girls like? What are the clubs like? What are the
bars like? What's K-mart like?

Well ok, I hope somebody will be able to tell me a little about the
(im)possibilities of this magnificent country. :P Thanks in advance!

Best regards,
Robin

So it seems that the whole Route 66 idea undoable with the
restrictions we're coping with. I'm wondering if somebody could tell
me what good and inexpensive alternatives we have. Staying at home
isn't an option :P

You don't mention what kind of transportation budget you have but
purchasing an inexpensive used car might work for you. I don't know
the legalities of doing this.

Which state would be the most interesting to visit?

If you want to meet people, eat, drink and be merry, I would suggest
Louisiana. If you want to look at rocks and trees and things I would
suggest Arizona or California.

Is it legal to camp beside the road?

You can sleep in your car at "rest stops" but it is not adviseable
since criminals and other bad people often commit crimes upon
travelers there. There are many "campgrounds" in the US, but they are
usually not much less expensive than a cheap hotel.

Should I rent a car? What's the beer like?

I prefer American beer to European beer, but most people would
disagree with me.

What are the American girls like?

They are pretty much like girls everywhere, I think. Except it would
be a good idea to study up on American popular culture via the
internet, because if you don't know about American music, television,
movies, and celebrities, most young people under the age of 30 don't
have anything else to talk about.

What are the clubs like?

Everybody stares at the television and hardly anybody talks to each
other. There is usually a lot of screaming and cheering at the
television when there is a sport event on.

What are the bars like?

Same

What's K-mart like?

They are big stores that sell lots of cheap junk made in China.

Well ok, I hope somebody will be able to tell me a little about the
(im)possibilities of this magnificent country. :P Thanks in advance!

If you want to learn about America, go to small towns, preferably
where there are a lot of poor people. People who aren't particularly
interested in impressing everybody with how much money they have or
how much crap they can buy. The south is full of wonderful, caring
and genuine people who love life and still know how to have a good
time (Louisiana especially). And the food is a lot better too!

By the way, the Route 66 idea is a good one. It's a great drive.

Good luck and have fun.

Em


-----
When in trouble or in doubt,
Run in circles, scream and shout.

So it seems that the whole Route 66 idea undoable with the
restrictions we're coping with. I'm wondering if somebody could tell
me what good and inexpensive alternatives we have. Staying at home
isn't an option :P

You don't mention what kind of transportation budget you have but
purchasing an inexpensive used car might work for you. I don't know
the legalities of doing this.

Which state would be the most interesting to visit?

If you want to meet people, eat, drink and be merry, I would suggest
Louisiana. If you want to look at rocks and trees and things I would
suggest Arizona or California.

Is it legal to camp beside the road?

You can sleep in your car at "rest stops" but it is not adviseable
since criminals and other bad people often commit crimes upon
travelers there. There are many "campgrounds" in the US, but they are
usually not much less expensive than a cheap hotel.

Should I rent a car? What's the beer like?

I prefer American beer to European beer, but most people would
disagree with me.

What are the American girls like?

They are pretty much like girls everywhere, I think. Except it would
be a good idea to study up on American popular culture via the
internet, because if you don't know about American music, television,
movies, and celebrities, most young people under the age of 30 don't
have anything else to talk about.

What are the clubs like?

Everybody stares at the television and hardly anybody talks to each
other. There is usually a lot of screaming and cheering at the
television when there is a sport event on.

What are the bars like?

Same

What's K-mart like?

They are big stores that sell lots of cheap junk made in China.

Well ok, I hope somebody will be able to tell me a little about the
(im)possibilities of this magnificent country. :P Thanks in advance!

If you want to learn about America, go to small towns, preferably
where there are a lot of poor people. People who aren't particularly
interested in impressing everybody with how much money they have or
how much crap they can buy. The south is full of wonderful, caring
and genuine people who love life and still know how to have a good
time (Louisiana especially). And the food is a lot better too!

By the way, the Route 66 idea is a good one. It's a great drive.

Good luck and have fun.

Em


-----
When in trouble or in doubt,
Run in circles, scream and shout.

On Mon, 27 Dec 2004 03:48:59 -0600, Auntie Em
wrote:

So it seems that the whole Route 66 idea undoable with the
restrictions we're coping with. I'm wondering if somebody could tell
me what good and inexpensive alternatives we have. Staying at home
isn't an option :P

You don't mention what kind of transportation budget you have but
purchasing an inexpensive used car might work for you. I don't know
the legalities of doing this.

This is virtually impossible to do legally unless you have a residence
in the US. You can't register the car unless you have insurance, and
(depending on the state) sometimes also a Social Security number and
an address in the US. You generally can't get insurance without a
legal address in the US.


--
Barbara Vaughan

My email address is my first initial followed by my last name at libero dot it.

(R. van Remortel) wrote in
om:

Hi there!


You need to decide what you want before you start asking these
questions. Beach-Florida or California
Rocky Mountains, Colorado Idaho Wyoming
forested mountains, New England
Prairies, Middle of the country with a lot of subtle variation.

Most people go for SW for desert, Colorado for mountain, LA San
Francisco, New York for city. but hey it is your vacation.

Which state would be the most interesting to visit?
Overall interesting? Answer this for me, which country would be more
interesting, Germany, France, or Italy? Now ask someone else. OK Wyoming
will not get a lot of votes but the mountains there are awesome. It
really depends on what you are looking for.

Is it legal to
camp beside the road? Should I rent a car? What's the beer like?
Those in the "know" drink Heinekin (sp?)
What
are the American girls like?
A lot like dutch girls except they can't speak anything but English.

What are the clubs like?
You can find a little of everything except of course for Amsterdam's
famous coffee house type. For Clubs try New York, Miami LA or San
Francisco, would you go to Volendam for the club life?

What are the
bars like?
see above
What's K-mart like?
go to any Eurpoean version such as the French LeClerc. (actually this is
a bit more like Wal Mart but you get the idea.

Well ok, I hope somebody will be able to tell me a little about the
(im)possibilities of this magnificent country. :P Thanks in advance!


Again what do you really want we are bigger than Western Europe, ask any
of your questions thinking fothe whole of the EU and you get the idea.
Best regards,
Robin

"B Vaughan" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 27 Dec 2004 03:48:59 -0600, Auntie Em
wrote:

So it seems that the whole Route 66 idea undoable with the
restrictions we're coping with. I'm wondering if somebody could tell
me what good and inexpensive alternatives we have. Staying at home
isn't an option :P

You don't mention what kind of transportation budget you have but
purchasing an inexpensive used car might work for you. I don't know
the legalities of doing this.

This is virtually impossible to do legally unless you have a residence
in the US. You can't register the car unless you have insurance, and
(depending on the state) sometimes also a Social Security number and
an address in the US. You generally can't get insurance without a
legal address in the US.


--
Barbara Vaughan

My email address is my first initial followed by my last name at libero
dot it.

Correct - Buying a car would be almost impossible under the circumstances.
What about a One Way RV Rental ? This would take care of transportation,
lodging, & Route 66.
http://americanrvrentals.com/oneway.html
http://www.cruiseamerica.com/
http://www.elmonterv.com/specials.htm

Could you give us a little more information, such as...

* When will you be visiting here? (travel will be more
difficult in some areas during the winter)

* How long will you be staying? (you imply 3 weeks, but
I want to be sure)

* The U.S. is a very large country so we really need to know
your interests. You mentioned a couple things in your post,
but it would be helpful if you were more specific about your
priorities. Visiting big cities like New York? Small towns?
National parks like the Grand Canyon? Historic locations?
Meeting girls at bars and clubs? Lying on the beach? The
more specific you are the better we could offer some
advice.

Jim

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Remove "NOSPAM" from my address when sending me e-mail.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
-

I agree, the South generally has best quality people.

I assume that you're a male since you're asking about the girls. I
visited the Netherlands in 1985 and had a wonderful cross-country
bicycle tour. I thought it was a good idea to accommodate my desire to
bicycle cross-country by choosing a small country! Anyway, I loved The
Netherlands, especially the smaller cities that see fewer Americans.

I think that Dutch people are somewhat more outgoing and more innocent
than American young people. While in Dutch bars, I had no trouble
striking up conversations. That isn't as easy in US bars in many parts
of the country. But then again, I was the exotic foreigner. When
traveling here, you will be the exotic foreigner and will become very
attractive to most people that you meet. Unlike the image of our
current national leadership, I think you will find most Americans to be
curious and interested about you and your country. You will also
encounter some "USA, USA" screaming me-first type yahoos. Ignore them.

Look for cities and towns with universities. Many have youth hostels.
The most interesting cities to visit would probably be Boston, New
York, New Orleans, San Francisco and Washington. Smaller cities with
large universities offer interesting experiences, such as Amherst,
Mass;, Ithaca, NY;, Madison, Wisconsin; Ann Arbor, Michigan and others.

The Green Tortoise idea seems like a good one for seeing the country on
the cheap. I've never done it but it sounds like a great deal of fun
with compatible people.

As for the beer: Dutch Heineken is much better than the stuff that the
import to the U.S. And, in my opinion, Heineken in the Netherlands was
not as good as some of your local brews. However, there has been a
growth in micro-breweries in the U.S. in the past decade. Nearly every
area has some good local brews. You may want to try the popular mass
produced beers such as Bud and Miller just to confirm the inferiority
of mass-produced U.S. beers. But if you go into a good bar, ask if
there is a good regional beer.

Auntie Em Auntie Em wrote:
What are the American girls like?

They are pretty much like girls everywhere, I think. Except it would
be a good idea to study up on American popular culture via the
internet, because if you don't know about American music, television,
movies, and celebrities, most young people under the age of 30 don't
have anything else to talk about.

Robin has near-perfect idiomatic English. I am guessing he's very familiar
with all these things...

What are the clubs like?

Everybody stares at the television and hardly anybody talks to each
other. There is usually a lot of screaming and cheering at the
television when there is a sport event on.

Hm? I've never seen a club with a sporting event on TV. If there's a screen,
it's showing some pseudo-psychedelic computer-generated animation.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos from 32 countries on 5 continents: http://travel.u.nu