A Different Perspective

[NightskyeB4Dawn]

I found this article and it reminded me of the first time I traveled abroad. The most common question I got from the locals was, "What one State can we visit that will give us the true American experience?"

Having lived my whole life, prior to the trip, in America, the question gave me great pause. Each State has its own personality, flavor, and great things to see, but at the same time it was America, one and the same.

This article kind of helps put this idea into perspective for me. The one thing that always made America special to me, was knowing that no matter where I went in America, I was home. 

It also made me realize that if I visited a different State every year, it would take me 50 years to accomplish that simple quest. I have been to most already, I only have six more to go. All but two should be off the list by next October. That would leave only California and Hawaii. 

The Mercator map is widely used for navigation because of its ability to represent lines of constant course. A line drawn between two points on this map would provide the exact angle to follow on a compass to travel between these two points. It also preserves the shape of countries. However, it's less practical for world maps because the scale is distorted. And that's where the Internet comes into play. Imgurian and map lover Mkyner has compiled a series of overlapping maps showing countries from all over the world on top of the United States to give everyone a better understanding of just how huge it actually is.

https://www.boredpanda.com/country-size-...h-america/

[beez]

It'll always be Wyoming for me.

That's the one state where my family usually vacations.

Love that state.

[PLOTUS]

I would say New York. You want to see Money, self, crime, illegal activity, every food, rats, trash, skyscraper residents, ghetto too. New York has it all good and bad. A place most can't afford to live is NYC. Los Angles would be second followed by San Francisco and Portland. The most Liberal progressive Hip locales. The 'America" that someone from another country is likely to see as past wonderful is on a postcard or in old LOOK magazines or OUTDOOR LIFE magazines. It is long gone.

""What one State can we visit that will give us the true American experience?" 

[NightskyeB4Dawn]

It'll always be Wyoming for me.

That's the one state where my family usually vacations.

Love that state.

There is something special about each of the States. Some have left many with fond memories, some with not so fond ones, but I have never visited a State where I didn't feel at home. 

It may be why I can have as much fun vacationing in State as out of State. Distance isn't what makes the moment for me. 

I do get a kick out of knocking one off my list, but that is just a personal quest. My trips abroad have changed from enthusiasm about seeing new places and trying new things, to just crossing places off my travel list. Being a tourist in unfamiliar places has lost its appeal for me. Old age, too much travel, and a lot of money spent, has changed my perspective on tourism.

[F2d5thCav]

@"NightskyeB4Dawn" 

I would be interested to hear your impressions of Hawaii if you go there.  That was the one state where it felt distinctly different than the continental USA.

Cheers

[Mystic Wanderer]

I would have to vote for Tennessee.

Tennessee has been called "the three states of TN":

West Tennessee offers more of the high crime (Memphis) and city life like NY. The land is more level.

Middle Tennessee (Nashville) has more hills and The Grand Old Opry, yet has lots of country outlying the city. So, you get city life and country life close by.

Move on to East Tennessee and you have large, majestic mountains and tourist towns, like Gatlinburg, Piegon Forge, and Cades Cove. The Smoky Mountains draws thousands and thousands of tourists each year. The further East you go, the more "country" the people are and the larger the mountains become. Life there is mostly simple with friendly people. The largest cities in East Tennessee are Knoxville, and Chattanooga to the South. Knoxville has lots of traffic because interstates I-40 (East to West), and I-75 (North to South) merge right through the middle of it, making it a preferred stop-over for people on a road trip; easy access to the interstate.

So, if a person wants to experience "life in America", they can do it all by visiting only one state. Tennessee has it all.

[Moonmagic]

Never been to America, and I don't even know what every state looks like? but from a pure beauty perspective I'd love to live/see New England (show me a more beautiful place in Autumn) Washington state, and Oregon.

Not in the Cities though, I live Rural in England, I don't enjoy Cities, I like Nature around me!

I have a bit of a Romanticized thing for America in the 50's (obviously beyond the bad stuff) , small towns, the way people lived, dressed, the Music, the Cars, everything! I absolutely adore it and to me that is what I think about when someone says America!
Now I don't know how real all that was, Movies, Music and people forgetting the bad things and only preaching the good when telling stories is how my love and views of that period were shaped, nevertheless I look back and dream about that America with nostalgia, even though I never experienced it.

[Wallfire]

Reminds me of a joke
An american is visiting Europe, he is surprised about how small everything is, so he says to his European friend
"Everything is so small here, at home I can jump into my pick up , drive all day and never leave the land I own"
His European friend says to him
" Yep I understand you, I use to own a car like that too "

[F2d5thCav]

@"Mystic Wanderer" 

making it a preferred stop-over for people on a road trip

When we overnighted, it was in Jellico.  Been on I-75 in TN ( SEE ROCK CITY) many, many times.

Cheers

[NightskyeB4Dawn]

Never been to America, and I don't even know what every state looks like? but from a pure beauty perspective I'd love to live/see New England (show me a more beautiful place in Autumn) Washington state, and Oregon.

Not in the Cities though, I live Rural in England, I don't enjoy Cities, I like Nature around me!

I have a bit of a Romanticized thing for America in the 50's (obviously beyond the bad stuff) , small towns, the way people lived, dressed, the Music, the Cars, everything! I absolutely adore it and to me that is what I think about when someone says America!
Now I don't know how real all that was, Movies, Music and people forgetting the bad things and only preaching the good when telling stories is how my love and views of that period were shaped, nevertheless I look back and dream about that America with nostalgia, even though I never experienced it.

It is about perspective. The America you see in your mind's eye is based on expectations bases on information supplied in movies, books, and experiences shared by others.

I could take you to places in America that you would feel like you never left your rural England. Even Americans forget just how large America is, and how diverse it is.

My city relatives used to tease me as a child about living in the woods with dirt roads, no sidewalks, and no street lights. It was worse that we were about 75 miles away from any real city life. Yet we never felt like we were different or foreign.  

There are still tiny towns in America that still has the ability to being back those feelings of nostalgia.  

The majority of America is not what you see in movies and TV. Even the cities near me look nothing like what you see in the media. Boring, bland, quiet, and normal, don't make for heavy veiwing or clicks, so you won't see the true, normal and average America in the media on a regular basis.

[GeauxHomeLittleD]

Though I've been a Kentuckian for going on 7 years now I will always have a special place in my heart for my native state of Texas and if I had to recommend just one state for a foreigner to visit to get a feel for the USA Texas would definitely be the place!

[NightskyeB4Dawn]

Though I've been a Kentuckian for going on 7 years now I will always have a special place in my heart for my native state of Texas and if I had to recommend just one state for a foreigner to visit to get a feel for the USA Texas would definitely be the place!

I am begining to believe that place that defines America to us, is different in each of our minds. 

I was a military brat. We changed stations about every two years. It created a wanderlust and itchy feet for me in my early years. Now in my older years I am content to stay put, and have many beautiful places I call home. 

Since I can only pass on memories, some good, some bad, I guess it will depend on what the visitor is looking for, their own mind's image of what America they want to see. We have a lot to offer and a lot of ground to cover, so I think if they choose right, they won't be disappointed.

[PLOTUS]

I suppose I have found my Mecca, the place of my dreams in North Carolina. It's difficult to suggest a perfect state all American and desirable. Tennessee or Kentucky also. Seems they might reflect the most accurate Americana. After 9-11 something was lost. I would suggest that they querry someone much younger than me though, and then they might a more accurate answer.

[Antisthenes]

. That would leave only California and Hawaii.

I think the very best way to see both Cali and the big Island is to take the Highway numbered 1 in Cali and 19 in Hawaii and make jaunts that deviate from there only to go back to the main highway and continue on. To truly see Hawaii...IMHO, you must go to Hawaii. Oahu, Kuai and Maui are fun but pale if you want to see the real Hawaii. Cali is so vast that you want bang for your buck and that is the Coastline from Santa Barbara to Eureka.
Both will astound and beguile you and will give the opportunity to see the best in the most relaxed and organized fashion.

[NightskyeB4Dawn]

I suppose I have found my Mecca, the place of my dreams in North Carolina. It's difficult to suggest a perfect state all American and desirable. Tennessee or Kentucky also. Seems they might reflect the most accurate Americana. After 9-11 something was lost. I would suggest that they querry someone much younger than me though, and then they might a more accurate answer.

I love the mountains of North Carolina and Virginia. I also love the Mid West.  

I love the enormity of it, the beauty and the variety of it, from sea to shining sea.

[NightskyeB4Dawn]

. That would leave only California and Hawaii.
 

I think the very best way to see both Cali and the big Island is to take the Highway numbered 1 in Cali and 19 in Hawaii and make jaunts that deviate from there only to go back to the main highway and continue on. To teuly see Hawaii...IMHO, you must go to Hawaii. Oahu, Kuai and Maui are fun but pale if you want to see the real Hawaii. Cali is so vast that you want bang for your vuck and that is the Coastline from Santa Barbara to Eureka.
    Both will astound and beguile and will give you the opportunity to see the best in the most relaxed and organized fashion.

I just put your suggestions in my notebook.  

Thanks.

[kdog]

I am biased, but after living there for 8 years talking to many people from overseas, I would have to start with Charleston, South Carolina. But, to truly experience the American spirit, I would then head up Interstate I 26 , then pick up I 40 and head west. 

I did this when I was 25 years old by myself in my Ford Ranger, camping gear, cooler and a mountain bike. I got to spend time in Memphis, Tennessee , The Grand Canyon, Hollywood. And many points in between. This around 1990. 

It was an awesome experience.

[NightskyeB4Dawn]

I am biased, but after living there for 8 years talking to many people from overseas, I would have to start with Charleston, South Carolina. But, to truly experience the American spirit, I would then head up Interstate I 26 , then pick up I 40 and head west. 

I did this when I was 25 years old by myself in my Ford Ranger, camping gear, cooler and a mountain bike. I got to spend time in Memphis, Tennessee , The Grand Canyon, Hollywood. And many points in between. This around 1990. 

It was an awesome experience.

Did Arizona, all the surrounding areas, including Mexico with my Mom for our birthdays. The Grand Canyon was an experience we will never forget.  

I don't care how any times you have seen it in the movies or in pictures, it just does not do it justice. It is definately a sight you have to see and experience for yourself. It is awesome and unforgettable.

[Ninurta]

To be honest, I don't think there IS a "typical" America. The country is so varied, there is no one place you can say "THIS is America!"

I was raised in the Appalachian mountains in Southwest Virginia. I left at 17, and everywhere I went - I mean EVERYWHERE, was a foreign land, in which I was treated like any other foreigner. I saw no real difference between South Carolina and Panama, New York and Amsterdam, Kansas City and London, etc. All were "foreign" places, and although folks spoke differently in every one, they all talked as funny from my perspective as I talked from theirs.

Every place, wherever you go on Earth, has it's own character stemming from culture, language attitudes, etc. It doesn't matter if it's just across the state or around the world, every place one goes will have a different character.

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I did love the article. It gives one a new perspective on just how much stuff of world-shaking impact can happen in small areas of a big world.

.

[NightskyeB4Dawn]

To be honest, I don't think there IS a "typical" America. The country is so varied, there is no one place you can say "THIS is America!"

I was raised in the Appalachian mountains in Southwest Virginia. I left at 17, and everywhere I went - I mean EVERYWHERE, was a foreign land, in which I was treated like any other foreigner. I saw no real difference between South Carolina and Panama, New York and Amsterdam, Kansas City and London, etc. All were "foreign" places, and although folks spoke differently in every one, they all talked as funny from my perspective as I talked from theirs.

Every place, wherever you go on Earth, has it's own character stemming from culture, language attitudes, etc. It doesn't matter if it's just across the state or around the world, every place one goes will have a different character.

------------------------------------------------------------

I did love the article. It gives one a new perspective on just how much stuff of world-shaking impact can happen in small areas of a big world.

.

Maybe because no matter where I went, I was the odd one out, but I learned to adapt very quickly. You are right that the accent was a dead give away, so I learned to pick up the local accent in just a few hours.
 A trait that I still have to this day, that I have to fight to keep in check.  A few seconds talking with someone and I start to adopted their accent. Unchecked I will have it down pack and almost flawless.

It saved me a lot of grief as a child, but it can be kind of embarrassing as an adult.