How many of you have been to America?

[Forever Fulham]

I'm personally touched so many of you have generally positive things to say about the States.  This board is such an interesting collection of fans from all walks of life. 

[The Rock]

Lots of times: find the immigration officials so bloody overly officious that I regret coming back straight away.
Some stunning scenery and really weird people in parts):Alaska springs to mind.Lack of "culture" hits you and can see why they like Europe : but then they've never heard of Junker.

When people at my company were going there, I used to have to write letters (for visas) as their employer certifying that they had a job to come back to and were expected to return. As if!

Yeah I have to do that when working in London. It's actually a letter to ensure you aren't engaging in work where you profit and the respective government doesn't receive taxes. Also the UK especially doesn't want people from outside of the UK taking jobs that someone in the UK can perform.

[The Rock]

As a Londoner I would include New York City as one of the very few cities I have ever visited that I would actively consider living in as an alternative to my native soil concrete. Actually I probably mean Manhattan, as South Bronx wasn't all that special when I was there in the 80s - I believe it is quite survivable nowadays.

Big place, America. I've never been to South America, but I'd put in a word for the biggest bit of North America. The people I have met in Canada have been, almost without exception, friendly, polite, helpful (even in Quebec if you're prepared to try a bit of French) and great company. A vast place of unlimited potential with a comparatively tiny population. Too cold for me, though.

NY sucks unless you like living with the cockroaches. Sincerly, The Rock.

[Holders]

Lots of times: find the immigration officials so bloody overly officious that I regret coming back straight away.
Some stunning scenery and really weird people in parts):Alaska springs to mind.Lack of "culture" hits you and can see why they like Europe : but then they've never heard of Junker.

When people at my company were going there, I used to have to write letters (for visas) as their employer certifying that they had a job to come back to and were expected to return. As if!

Yeah I have to do that when working in London. It's actually a letter to ensure you aren't engaging in work where you profit and the respective government doesn't receive taxes. Also the UK especially doesn't want people from outside of the UK taking jobs that someone in the UK can perform.

I understood it to be a certification that the person was expected to return and not stay there.

We employed a US citizen who surprised me by saying that she had to send some of her earnings there as tax. That's different from Eastern Europeans sending benefit payments home.

[..Kya.ffc..]

Only once, but will hopefully be back one day as I have unfinished business there.

Did around 750 km on the AT(Appalachian Trail), before unfortunately being called home due to serious family illness.

[The Rock]

Lots of times: find the immigration officials so bloody overly officious that I regret coming back straight away.
Some stunning scenery and really weird people in parts):Alaska springs to mind.Lack of "culture" hits you and can see why they like Europe : but then they've never heard of Junker.

When people at my company were going there, I used to have to write letters (for visas) as their employer certifying that they had a job to come back to and were expected to return. As if!

Yeah I have to do that when working in London. It's actually a letter to ensure you aren't engaging in work where you profit and the respective government doesn't receive taxes. Also the UK especially doesn't want people from outside of the UK taking jobs that someone in the UK can perform.

I understood it to be a certification that the person was expected to return and not stay there.

We employed a US citizen who surprised me by saying that she had to send some of her earnings there as tax. That's different from Eastern Europeans sending benefit payments home.

Well a passport is good for 6 months - I think it is expected you have to go to your home country at some point, you can't just stay forever and ever on paper. Sadly, yes, US citizens often get dinged with paying US taxes, then in your example UK taxes, and in many cases VAT as well, though I know some can be evaded so you don't get double dinged if you will, but it's a complete headache as you can imagine.

[Marinelloguthrie]

Been to L.A. and Florida in 84 with parents liked L.A.

Florida again 2008 with wife, daughter 7 and niece 14 got to say loved it but don't get to see real life as such.

We went to New York 2 years ago for 5 days absolutely loved it. As on earlier post reminds me of London and I think you either like big cities or don't.

Want to go back for couple of weeks and just chill not do the tourist things but try and mix in with normal life a bit if makes sense..

[Fulham Tup North]

Only once, but will hopefully be back one day as I have unfinished business there.

Did around 750 km on the AT(Appalachian Trail), before unfortunately being called home due to serious family illness.

There's a Good book to read regarding the Appalachian Trail, "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson.  It will make you smile :)

[Southcoastffc]

Only once, but will hopefully be back one day as I have unfinished business there.

Did around 750 km on the AT(Appalachian Trail), before unfortunately being called home due to serious family illness.

There's a Good book to read regarding the Appalachian Trail, "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson.  It will make you smile :)

Walk in the Woods has also been made into a film, released in the UK last year or the year before.

[Stoneleigh Loyalist]

We took two of our grandchildren to Disney, Florida in 2010, but our great experience was when we drove 2800 miles in 2005.

Phoenix, flagstaff, the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Death Valley, and then down to a distant
Cousin's for a week in Yucca Valley, close to Joshua Tree National Park and Palm Springs.
In Farenheit the temperature varied from 35degrees in the Grand Canyion to 115degrees in Palm Springs.

As keen walkers their trails out there are brilliant, although in that heat you have to keep the routes short
24 days of oh so different experiences.

[Stoneleigh Loyalist]

I forgot to mention that we drove over to Santa Barbara for two nights at the time that George Galloway was addressing the Senate and telling them a few 'home truths'.

It was funny how on hearing our accents, several Californian Democrats approached us and wanted to know who this Galloway guy was' as they were so impressed by what he had said.

It was not easy to find a sensible answer!

[FFC1987]

I forgot to mention that we drove over to Santa Barbara for two nights at the time that George Galloway was addressing the Senate and telling them a few 'home truths'.

It was funny how on hearing our accents, several Californian Democrats approached us and wanted to know who this Galloway guy was' as they were so impressed by what he had said.

It was not easy to find a sensible answer!

Explains a lot....

[YankeeJim]

Ah! You learned about California politics. My fair state is somewhere to the left of Lenin. We are the largest state economy of all 50 states and in the top ten in the world amongst countries. Sadly we going broke despite a tax bases that makes most places seem like pikers. Gotta love the stupidity of socialism. Yet we have the finest weather in the world.Quite a paradox.

[Holders]

I forgot to mention that we drove over to Santa Barbara for two nights at the time that George Galloway was addressing the Senate and telling them a few 'home truths'.

It was funny how on hearing our accents, several Californian Democrats approached us and wanted to know who this Galloway guy was' as they were so impressed by what he had said.

It was not easy to find a sensible answer!

Sad and worrying if Democrats think that!

[Logicalman]

Florida 8 times
Arizona 3 times
California 3 times
New York 3 times
South Carolina
Hawaai
Las Vegas
Los Angeles

.. and the Mid-West, what about the Mid-West then?   :008:

The Midwest is where you'd meet old school Americans. Not Chicago or St Louis. Both are utter arm pits these days. The stretch from North Dakota down to Texas pretty much feeds the world. The ONLY sport is pointy ball. They can and do put 50k people in the stands for a high school game in the more populated areas. The large colleges sell out every week. Nice, polite folks. And endless roads bypassing wheat and corn fields. There are numerous exceptions, notable the St Louis suburbs which are a hot bed of real football. Winters are cold. Summers are hot and the wind blows constantly. But like I said in my previous post, go have a flat tire and see who you meet.

Fair points all, my friend. The eastern Mid-West is so vastly different from the great plains though, and gladly so!

I lived in Fort Wayne for nigh on 11 years before a little jaunt down to MS, resulting in my beating it back to civilization again after just 18 months, in the form of Indianapolis. Now that's a City I enjoy. Has one of the biggest active Ex-Pat Brit groups about (outside of NY and FLa of course) that I personally know of. Weather-wise, hot summers, cold winters, though this far south in the middle of the state we avoid the lake-effect snow I used to enjoy (?) in Fort Wayne - we had some 2-3 feet drop & blow in 24-hours one winter, whereas I had to dig my drive so I could get the car out to go to work, and then dig my drive again when I got home so I could get the car in again!

Central Indy is much better, good nightlife, great eating and drinking spots (yep British beer on tap) and some excellent diverse restaurants, all without the high taxes of other places, though it is heavily GoP values, they can be ignored for daily life.

Close enough to Chicago to use O'Hare, and far enough away to avoid the spill-over.

[WokinghamWhite]

I lived in San Francisco for four years from 1996 to 2000. I got a season ticket for the San Jose Clash (now renamed Earthquakes) and ended up in their "Ultras" section  called "The Casbah" and even made it to a few away matches. Seemed to me that being a supporter was in some ways more intense than in England because it's still a minority sport so there's almost a sense of being an ambassador for football.