Like Yahillwe I'm also a bit late to this thread - I tend to read FT when I'm not at home (), but I picked it up last night on my mobile. I just didn't fancy responding on my mobile.

Swanhunter has asked an interesting question. I've often wondered myself why I ended up going to the US of A. Especially since I don't normally go back to the same place twice on holidays. But I guess the enormity and variety of the country answers that, and I should change my policy to not go back to the same state twice. In that case I'm pretty spot on, except perhaps for going to the Grand Canyon twice - once many years ago, recently married, and once recently to show the kids.

I must admit that the changes in immigration procedures have put me off. In 2005 we (including two under-10s) ended up in Miami immigration for an extra four hours after landing. The immigration officials simply ignored me, and weren't open to reasoning. I had to try very hard not to get angry because I know that doesn't help, but this experience has caused me to travel less on holidays to the States. I don't always have a choice for work, and will avoid Miami Airport like the plague even going as far as transferring through Antigua or Barbados for Caribbean destinations.

Interesting to read that the lack of language barrier seems to attract so many people. I see holidays more as a challenge, and language barriers don't faze me. Having said that, not being English I speak a few more languages than just English and that really helps. In fact, since I often end up in the southern US for work (Florida, Texas or California) I find that my Spanish is much more useful than my English, and also gives me a more enriched experience of the US because I can pick up on other things. And I absolutely agree with Vinyl Slider - while Houston or Dalles can be given a wide berth, Austin and San Antonio are two of the most interesting cities I have visited.

So, to go back to the OP's question - There are enough interesting place to see and visit in the States, but not to the exclusion of anywhere else.