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Old Jul 11, 2011 | 3:08 am
  #294  
thegoderic
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Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Scotland
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I've done a fair bit of the US on business and pleasure and will continue to visit. To my mind there are pros and cons, but the pros do outweigh the cons.

Cons

Close to being a monoculture - shops, hotels, restaurants are more or less the same everywhere
Although some cultural hotspots, not an awful lot in most places
Some of the major cities are to be avoided at all costs from a tourist perspective

Pros
Staggering diversity of landscape and scenery - from the forests of Maine via the Rockies to the deserts of the South West
With thought, you can access come of the above scenery in places that are almost empty of tourists.
Excellent National Park network - some do get crowded, but walk a mile from a trailhead and you're alone
Diversity and splendour of wildlife. As a birder, I am staggered at what you can see and how easy it is to see most of it.
A few world class cities - NY, SF, Chicago, with a supporting cast of other smaller but excellent places such as Seattle, Boston, DC.

In summary, I've visited 40+ times on business and leisure and have barely touched the surface of what there is to be seen.
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