[brianmark]

I’d like to spend 12 months and live in 12 different cities or towns in the USA. What are the 12 coolest places you would choose for excitement, women, interesting people, activities, and quality of life? Which cities or towns in the USA are the most colorful and will offer the coolest experiences? Which ones would you choose for your 12 months and why? If you can't come up with 12, just give me your top 3 or 4.

[Hypno]

Really depends where you are from and what you like and what your budget is.

When I have traveled in Europe, I saw the capitals and big cities but enjoyed most the places in between the big cities.

With a year, you could buy a used car or van and really see the places between the big cities, and sell it at the end of your trip. Something like a Honda Odyssey minivan with 100K miles is likely to be reliable and affordable.

If you are young, I would go to the big college towns.

In addition to the obvious places like New York, LA, Miami, you might want to visit Texas (Houston Dallas Austin), Nashville, and some of the national parks. Yellowstone is the most popular but there are many excellent ones.

But if you are from Austria for example seeing our mountains will not impress you.

[TIOT12]

Top cities would look something like this:

NYC
Las Vegas
Chicago
Miami
LA
New Orleans
Atlanta
Dallas

Mid-tier cities:
Nashville
Charleston
Kansas City
Austin

I would also leave room for whatever kind of activities that you like to do. So if it is go to the beach add in some more beach spots like San Diego. If it is outdoor activities, you want to key on places like Denver, SLC, maybe someplace in the Pacific Northwest or something like Montana or California to visit national parks. And of course if you are willing to visit Alaska and Hawaii, I think both those places are worth visits as well although they will tack on extra costs. Or maybe you would just like to experience life in a small town and then you could pick out something in the midwest or look to the Northeast in places like Vermont.

[Heart Break Kid]

Vegas and New Orleans for partying. Not sure how living a month in those cities would feel like, might get boring in NO. Either way, worth a shot.


NYC, Chicago, Atlanta - Flagship economic centers with good night life and all that

San Diego - I think LA sucks, but either way you should check out SoCal if you're in America.

Dallas - Mainly to check out the rest of Texan culture. Not really a fan of Austin but they got a good music culture so you could spend a month there also. Houston is big but kinda cultureless, so I'd pass on that.

Minneapolis - Nothing all that unique about it, just seems like a cool and quaint midwestern city.

Nashville - A lot of music culture and prob good bbq. Never been personally.

Philly - Smaller New York. For general touring it sucks, but if you're 'living' in a place for a month, Philly is good.

DC - Worth visiting, not sure if I'd stay for a month but it's a good tourist city...stay a week and then drive somewhere else. Living there would kinda suck, it's too expaty.

Phoenix - A lot of hot chicks are in Arizona. Maybe drop outs from the universities there or something.




I don't like Florida. Never been to San Fransico and hope I never will.

[Fecal de Gallo]

LOL at people recommending LA. Probably the least appealing city in the world.

That being said:

NYC
Chicago
Boston
DC
Miami
Atlanta
Charleston
Dothan
Biloxi
Stillwater
Omaha
New Orleans
Camden

[Adrenaline]

^ Camden? As in #1 most dangerous place in the US Camden lol. Maybe if you’re on a suicide mission, or filming a documentary on gang crime.

[Off The Reservation]

When will you start this trip? Is this imaginary on your part, in the planning stages, you are ready to leave, or just a though exercise?

How much money do you have right now for this?

Do you have the right to enter the US for 12 months currently?

Did you ever do the travel writing thing you posted about?

I've been to all 50 states and extensively within them, and would be happy to answer but would just like to know if you are going to do the trip.

[brianmark]

(02-07-2018 08:06 AM)Off The Reservation Wrote:  

When will you start this trip? Is this imaginary on your part, in the planning stages, you are ready to leave, or just a though exercise?

How much money do you have right now for this?

Do you have the right to enter the US for 12 months currently?

Did you ever do the travel writing thing you posted about?

I've been to all 50 states and extensively within them, and would be happy to answer but would just like to know if you are going to do the trip.

Off the Reservation and others thanks for the info.

This is how the idea for this adventure came about. I’ve been to 49 states in my life, all but Alaska. I’ve always been interested in road trips. I read “On the Road” and loved it. I read many travel narratives. The longest road trip I’ve ever done was LA to Chicago. I would like to have done longer ones but was always working.

Last springl I went to a friend's wedding in California. I decided it had been many years since I’d done a road trip in CA. I had been playing around with the Roadtrippers.com website. Which I highly recommend. I put together a 10 day trip to hit some places that I’d never been, but had always wanted to see. So I flew into Reno and out of LA. I hit Reno, Virginia City, Carson City, Lake Tahoe, Sacramento, Lodi, Gold Country, Yosemite, Hearst Castle, then LA. The places were unbelievable. I liked Reno, and thought Virginia City, Carson City, and Sacramento were very laid-back places I could live. Even Tahoe was very affordable out of season. Gold Country was very historic and laid back and is getting people with vacation homes escaping the big cities. Traveling out of season everything was very affordable. Right across from the capitol in Carson City, I saw $500 studio apts. Reno has the last of all the old 1950s hotels with neon signs. In Vegas they’ve all been knocked down to make room for the mega theme hotels. I thought Reno must have a lot of inexpensive housing. I was also amazed by the lack of traffic in Eastern CA and NV. After the trip was over, I thought many of these smaller cities are very livable and not like the traffic hellholes people always recommend living in. In all the towns I visited, I went to bars and restaurants and talked to people to get their thoughts about the places. So, I thought wouldn’t it be interesting to try out 12 cities to live. With many jobs being done remotely, you could live almost anywhere there is good internet.

I thought this would make an interesting book. For interesting stories, you need colorful locations that have interesting people living there though. Maybe a better book would be a road trip book though, but for it to be interesting you need an interesting cast of characters that travel with you or you meet along the way. I’ve been planning a long road trip for quite a while. I’ve got a great southern route planned out to the West Coast and would love to put together a good northern west route too. It’s a big country with many great places to see.

You asked about time and money. I’m an American so there is no limit to how much time I can spend. As far as how much money I want to spend, I prefer to spend less than more. I don’t feel I’ll get any exciting experiences staying in high rent properties. The low rent cheaper places attract a more interesting crowd. I’d rather meet strippers and artists than corporate executives. It’s all about the experiences.

You asked did I ever write any travel books like I mentioned that I was planning on writing. I had a blog back in 2012, when I did that post. I thought about making money that way. After traveling for an extended period of time, I went back to work in good paying high tech corporate job. I realized, the blog and books would pay almost nothing. The corporate world is only interested in one dimensional workaholics and is not fond of men who write about partying, traveling, and shagging girls. I shut the blog down and went back to the corporate world and worked and saved. You can only see so much of the world in 4 weeks of vacation a year, so I decided it’s time to spend more time away from work to travel. As far as the books go, the closest I have to a completed book is a 100+ pages about my travels in India. I’m still working on it.

[brianmark]

(02-07-2018 01:59 AM)Heart Break Kid Wrote:  

Vegas and New Orleans for partying. Not sure how living a month in those cities would feel like, might get boring in NO. Either way, worth a shot.


NYC, Chicago, Atlanta- Flagship economic centers with good night life and all that

San Diego - I think LA sucks, but either way you should check out SoCal if you're in America.

Dallas - Mainly to check out the rest of Texan culture. Not really a fan of Austin but they got a good music culture so you could spend a month there also. Houston is big but kinda cultureless, so I'd pass on that.

Minneapolis - Nothing all that unique about it, just seems like a cool and quaint midwestern city.

Nashville - A lot of music culture and prob good bbq. Never been personally.

Philly - Smaller New York. For general touring it sucks, but if you're 'living' in a place for a month, Philly is good.

DC - Worth visiting, not sure if I'd stay for a month but it's a good tourist city...stay a week and then drive somewhere else. Living there would kinda suck, it's too expaty.

Phoenix - A lot of hot chicks are in Arizona. Maybe drop outs from the universities there or something.

I don't like Florida. Never been to San Fransico and hope I never will.

Heart Break Kid, thank you for your suggestions.

NYC, Chicago, Atlanta - I'm familiar with all 3. Yes they all have a good night life and a lot to do. Chicago is a Midwestern NYC. Atlanta has a descent night life, which was better in the past, but is a hellhole of traffic. I lived in NJ in the past so did some Manhattan partying. If I went back I’d have to live in Brooklyn to get the feel of what that side of NYC is like.

San Diego is top of my list to checkout. I have friends who recently moved there and they love it. I like the proximity to Mexico too. It would be one of 12.

LA, people hate it or love it. I have friends there and I’ve stayed there a few times. It has hell traffic. Is it a good place to meet chicks or are they just all gold-diggers looking for people that can get them a movie roles? It’s seems like ground zero for the #metoo movement. Are there any good women there still or are they all crazy?
.
Dallas: I flew through here recently and thought it had good looking friendlier girls. Thought it had potential.

Minneapolis: Never been, except at the airport. I’ll wait to summer to visit.

Nashville: At the top of my list of places to checkout soon.

Philly - Yes. It’s is a mini NYC. I like Philly and used to play in the bars on Delaware avenue. I always thought the girls were friendly. It’s a manageable city with potential.

DC is a working city. One of my friends swears by it and says there are girls from all over the world here and that they are available and eager. I used to play here and thought the girls were not that eager.

Phoenix, I’ve been there once. A bunch of dropout hot chicks appeals to me. I made my career in corporate America and hate “sophisticated” corporate women, because most are asexual. What do these hot dropout chicks do?

San Francisco and the Silicon Valley, I've heard are dudefests and have bitchy girls so will pass too.

[Heart Break Kid]

(02-08-2018 12:07 AM)brianmark Wrote:  

Phoenix[/b], I’ve been there once. A bunch of dropout hot chicks appeals to me. I made my career in corporate America and hate “sophisticated” corporate women, because most are asexual. What do these hot dropout chicks do?
[b]

Work in clubs. A lot of them are in the clubs in Scottsdale.

[brianmark]

(02-07-2018 01:46 AM)TIOT12 Wrote:  

Top cities would look something like this:

NYC
Las Vegas
Chicago
Miami
LA
New Orleans
Atlanta
Dallas

Mid-tier cities:
Nashville
Charleston
Kansas City
Austin

I would also leave room for whatever kind of activities that you like to do. So if it is go to the beach add in some more beach spots like San Diego. If it is outdoor activities, you want to key on places like Denver, SLC, maybe someplace in the Pacific Northwest or something like Montana or California to visit national parks. And of course if you are willing to visit Alaska and Hawaii, I think both those places are worth visits as well although they will tack on extra costs. Or maybe you would just like to experience life in a small town and then you could pick out something in the midwest or look to the Northeast in places like Vermont.

NYC – discussed in the reply to Heart Break Kid

Las Vegas – Been here 2 times, unfortunately with girls both times and didn’t get to check out the single scene much. Did spend one night out alone and felt there were a lot of girls of all levels here: everything from fatties to hotties. Lots of dudes too. Easy to blow a lot of money. Does LV produce results or does it just have a lot of partying?

Chicago – like a small NYC in the Midwest, with a little less to do and a lot cheaper, but a brutal winter.

Miami - used to spend a lot of time here and in south Florida. I did a lot of partying in the past here. Used to like it. Where are most of the tourists from now, the Northeast, Latin America, or Europe? I’m overdue for a trip here to see what it’s like now.

LA – discussed in the reply to Heart Break Kid

New Orleans – Used to love this place. It’s one of the most unique cities in the USA. Did 4 Mardi Gras here. My crew got lazy, old, or married so I haven’t done one in while. Planned to move here in the past, but lived overseas right after this time. How is living in NO now? It would definitely be one of my 12 places to live. I feel I have unfinished business here.

Atlanta – lived in Atlanta so will try somewhere new. A good night life, lot of restaurants, pretty girls, fairly fun, too much traffic. Don’t think it’s that wild anymore, but that may just be all of America now.

Dallas – discussed in the reply to Heart Break Kid

Mid-tier cities:

Nashville – on the top of my list to visit soon.

Charleston – been here once. I like the look of it. What makes it better than Savannah which has a big St. Patrick’s day?

Kansas City – never been. What special about it?

Austin – Lived here before. Good place, but it’s gotten so much PR, I’m not sure it that special anymore.

As far as the USA goes, I know east better, from Texas and Nebraska east. I am less traveled in the West. The states I’ve seen the least and want to spend more time in are: CA, I have never been north of San Francisco. Also need to spent more time in Oregon, and Washington. I need to see more New Mexico, CO, UT, WY, ID, MT, SD, ND, AZ. I’ve only been through them once to see the sights. If you know of places I shouldn’t miss or should live, please let me know.

What is the best college town in USA? One where there is a lot of “townies,” people who never leave after college. I love college towns.

What’s the best artsy town?

What’s your favorite beach town? Favorite West Coast beach towns?

What’s your favorite mountain town that is fun? One with a night life?

I have been to most of Florida. I think Key West is one of those special exotic places, but it very expensive. Yes, I’d always prefer an affordable place to a more expensive one. The idea is not working and not having to blow a ton of money just to have a good time. I was hoping to hear about some towns I’ve never heard about. You’re favorite, some place that is not yet already over played.

[brianmark]

(02-07-2018 02:06 AM)Fecal de Gallo Wrote:  

LOL at people recommending LA. Probably the least appealing city in the world.

That being said:

NYC
Chicago
Boston
DC
Miami
Atlanta
Charleston
Dothan
Biloxi
Stillwater
Omaha
New Orleans
Camden

Fecal de Gallo, thank you for the input.

LA, NYC, DC, Miami, Atlanta, Charleston, New Orleans, I already discussed above. You have quite a few unique ones. You have quite a few unique ones I'll give my thoughts on below.

Boston is a great city with a lot of history and color. I used to work here and enjoyed it. It’s not a cheap place to live and I didn’t think the girls were that friendly. Kind of similar to NY girls.

Dothan, Alabama. I’ve been through there. I think they have a condom factory there. What does it have to offer? Hot girls? Horny girls?

Biloxi - I spent the night here too once and went to the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino. I think I went to Jefferson Davis’s house too. What does Biloxi have that I should checkout?

Stillwater, OK - this is one I don’t hear every day. What it famous for? Why should I go here?

Omaha, is not a bad city. I like Nebraska. The people are friendly.

Camden, NJ, this is an interesting choice or are you talking about Camden, Maine which is a beautiful historical port town. I’m guessing your talking about Camden, NJ. I once dated a cute dumb redneck Jewish girl who was a prude. It’s a horrible combination, which didn’t go anywhere. That’s my only experience with the place. What am I missing there?

[TIOT12]

(02-08-2018 12:27 AM)brianmark Wrote:  

Las Vegas – Been here 2 times, unfortunately with girls both times and didn’t get to check out the single scene much. Did spend one night out alone and felt there were a lot of girls of all levels here: everything from fatties to hotties. Lots of dudes too. Easy to blow a lot of money. Does LV produce results or does it just have a lot of partying?

I feel this depends on who you run into. Most of the folks here will say the best results come from pool parties and the clubs. The bar scene is limited on The Strip.

(02-08-2018 12:27 AM)brianmark Wrote:  

Charleston – been here once. I like the look of it. What makes it better than Savannah which has a big St. Patrick’s day?

Never been to Savannah. I get the impression it is a little more dressed up than Charleston.

(02-08-2018 12:27 AM)brianmark Wrote:  

Kansas City – never been. What special about it?

I posted my experience in the KC thread. The advantage of going here is it is middle America and offers reasonable prices with nice people. A month would be a long time here but you are centrally located where you could easily get to a number of interesting cities for long weekends like Lawrence, Kansas (big college town), Little Rock, OKC, Omaha (could be fun during the College World Series), etc. So it ends up being a good place for logistical reasons and offers you a different look at America than the others places being mentioned.

(02-08-2018 12:27 AM)brianmark Wrote:  

As far as the USA goes, I know east better, from Texas and Nebraska east. I am less traveled in the West. The states I’ve seen the least and want to spend more time in are: CA, I have never been north of San Francisco. Also need to spent more time in Oregon, and Washington. I need to see more New Mexico, CO, UT, WY, ID, MT, SD, ND, AZ. I’ve only been through them once to see the sights. If you know of places I shouldn’t miss or should live, please let me know.

I think what you are highlighting here is where you want to go so I would tailor your list with it in mind. Just recognize that many of these places have low populations compared to the East Coast so they may be more scenic than for other purposes. That being said, I liked my time in Salt Lake City but it was only for a week. I would take a hard look at Park City in Utah as a possible mountain town destination. You could probably fit both those cities in and enjoy some good outdoor activities as well.

In terms of artsy towns, I have no direct knowledge but Boulder, Seattle and maybe a city in New Mexico like Albuquerque come to mind. And there are probably a number of liberal college towns that fit this bill too.

Some other out of the box ideas could include parying at Lake Havasu in Arizona, boat parties in the Upper Peninsula in Michigan, or some small resort town. For example, I had a friend that thought Gig Harbor, Washington was like heaven on earth.

[Off The Reservation]

What is the outcome you want to achieve from this trip?

[Jetset]

Phoenix is great not just because of the hot chicks, but because it's an excellent jumping-off point for the American desert. "Great American Roadtrip" stuff. The mountain towns in the north up through Flagstaff, the Grand Canyon and Havasupai, Death Valley, Zion National Park, Monument Valley, all that. Spend a few weeks in the spring or fall in Scottsdale, partying in luxury and exploring the Phoenix area (a sprawl nearly the size of New Jersey, one of the fastest growing in the country), then get on the highway. Don't go in the summer or winter if you want to do this, since it gets icy on the mountain roads in the winter and is just too hot to be outdoors and active in Phoenix in the summer.

San Diego is busy in the summer, lots of girls, people come in from everywhere to escape the desert heat and it's basically mild beach weather year-round.

Vegas is Vegas.

Charleston is beautiful, bigger than Savannah, and more upscale. There's no reason not to see both, but I don't know if I'd spend a month in Savannah.

NYC, do it. Do Brooklyn, like you said. It's where a lot of the action is now.

Boston is great, Denver is great but feels smaller and more isolated than you'd think, Seattle has flawless summer weather.

[brianmark]

(02-08-2018 11:34 AM)Off The Reservation Wrote:  

What is the outcome you want to achieve from this trip?

Probably 2 goals:
1. See the country in more detail.
2. Choose a new place to make a home base.

The goal of asking on the RVF is to get some other peoples ideas of where they like and maybe even find some places I had not thought of.

What I don't want is driving city with horrible traffic. I used to think Tampa / Clearwater area was good, but the last time I was there the traffic was hell during the day. I'd like to find a place that is still good and not past its peak. Cities go in cycles. None stay the same. They may go from: not much action, up and coming, everyone wants to live there, already peaked, to hellhole of traffic and hassles. I think for the most exciting life, if you can do it. I'd say change cities every 4 years. Even most good cities will get boring after a while.

[brianmark]

(02-08-2018 12:03 PM)Jetset Wrote:  

Phoenix is great not just because of the hot chicks, but because it's an excellent jumping-off point for the American desert. "Great American Roadtrip" stuff. The mountain towns in the north up through Flagstaff, the Grand Canyon and Havasupai, Death Valley, Zion National Park, Monument Valley, all that. Spend a few weeks in the spring or fall in Scottsdale, partying in luxury and exploring the Phoenix area (a sprawl nearly the size of New Jersey, one of the fastest growing in the country), then get on the highway. Don't go in the summer or winter if you want to do this, since it gets icy on the mountain roads in the winter and is just too hot to be outdoors and active in Phoenix in the summer.

San Diego is busy in the summer, lots of girls, people come in from everywhere to escape the desert heat and it's basically mild beach weather year-round.

Vegas is Vegas.

Charleston is beautiful, bigger than Savannah, and more upscale. There's no reason not to see both, but I don't know if I'd spend a month in Savannah.

NYC, do it. Do Brooklyn, like you said. It's where a lot of the action is now.

Boston is great, Denver is great but feels smaller and more isolated than you'd think, Seattle has flawless summer weather.

I will definitely have to check out Phoenix again. Thank you for the seasonal info about the best time to go. I wouldn't have thought Arizona got ice. A decade ago, in September, I did an Arizona road trip and traveled from Bisbee, AZ in the south to Las Vegas in the north. I did all the places you mentioned in southern Utah on an earlier trip. None got the time they deserve. All the places you mentioned are amazing. I've had a long time fascination with the Southwest. Besides the natural scenic beauty, why do you think Scottsdale attracts so many hot chicks? how's the traffic in Phoenix? I'd also like to spend some time in New Mexico. It seems to get so little coverage. Why is that?

I've found that most non-Americans that think of seeing America think of cowboys and Indians and drive-in movies. This is something unique to America. Occasionally someone will say they want to go to Disney World.

I've recently had friends move to Denver so that is definitely on my list of places to checkout.

San Diego is a definite too. I only hear good about the place. Both Denver and San Diego, I've only spent one day in each, so I definitely need some time there to explore.

Anybody got any info about how Portland compares to Seattle?

[tj1588]

(02-08-2018 01:13 AM)brianmark Wrote:  

(02-07-2018 02:06 AM)Fecal de Gallo Wrote:  

LOL at people recommending LA. Probably the least appealing city in the world.

That being said:

NYC
Chicago
Boston
DC
Miami
Atlanta
Charleston
Dothan
Biloxi
Stillwater
Omaha
New Orleans
Camden

Fecal de Gallo, thank you for the input.

LA, NYC, DC, Miami, Atlanta, Charleston, New Orleans, I already discussed above. You have quite a few unique ones. You have quite a few unique ones I'll give my thoughts on below.

Boston is a great city with a lot of history and color. I used to work here and enjoyed it. It’s not a cheap place to live and I didn’t think the girls were that friendly. Kind of similar to NY girls.

Dothan, Alabama. I’ve been through there. I think they have a condom factory there. What does it have to offer? Hot girls? Horny girls?

Biloxi - I spent the night here too once and went to the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino. I think I went to Jefferson Davis’s house too. What does Biloxi have that I should checkout?

Stillwater, OK - this is one I don’t hear every day. What it famous for? Why should I go here?

Omaha, is not a bad city. I like Nebraska. The people are friendly.

Camden, NJ, this is an interesting choice or are you talking about Camden, Maine which is a beautiful historical port town. I’m guessing your talking about Camden, NJ. I once dated a cute dumb redneck Jewish girl who was a prude. It’s a horrible combination, which didn’t go anywhere. That’s my only experience with the place. What am I missing there?

Don't sleep on Dothan, Alabama. The girls there are young, dumb, and full of cum.

[brianmark]

(02-08-2018 05:37 PM)tj1588 Wrote:  

(02-08-2018 01:13 AM)brianmark Wrote:  

(02-07-2018 02:06 AM)Fecal de Gallo Wrote:  

LOL at people recommending LA. Probably the least appealing city in the world.

That being said:

NYC
Chicago
Boston
DC
Miami
Atlanta
Charleston
Dothan
Biloxi
Stillwater
Omaha
New Orleans
Camden

Fecal de Gallo, thank you for the input.

LA, NYC, DC, Miami, Atlanta, Charleston, New Orleans, I already discussed above. You have quite a few unique ones. You have quite a few unique ones I'll give my thoughts on below.

Boston is a great city with a lot of history and color. I used to work here and enjoyed it. It’s not a cheap place to live and I didn’t think the girls were that friendly. Kind of similar to NY girls.

Dothan, Alabama. I’ve been through there. I think they have a condom factory there. What does it have to offer? Hot girls? Horny girls?

Biloxi - I spent the night here too once and went to the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino. I think I went to Jefferson Davis’s house too. What does Biloxi have that I should checkout?

Stillwater, OK - this is one I don’t hear every day. What it famous for? Why should I go here?

Omaha, is not a bad city. I like Nebraska. The people are friendly.

Camden, NJ, this is an interesting choice or are you talking about Camden, Maine which is a beautiful historical port town. I’m guessing your talking about Camden, NJ. I once dated a cute dumb redneck Jewish girl who was a prude. It’s a horrible combination, which didn’t go anywhere. That’s my only experience with the place. What am I missing there?

Don't sleep on Dothan, Alabama. The girls there are young, dumb, and full of cum.

I'm guessing I can find the Dothan girls down in Panama City partying too. I'm guessing this is their profile: about 22, maybe graduated from high school, had a kid or two, not married, does drugs?

[brianmark]

(02-07-2018 08:06 AM)Off The Reservation Wrote:  

I've been to all 50 states and extensively within them, and would be happy to answer but would just like to know if you are going to do the trip.

You said you've traveled to all 50 states and could give me more info about where I should go see or live. I've posted more about what I'm looking for. Any suggestions of places that you think I should definitely go?

[Off The Reservation]

Youve been to 49 so this seems like you are scratching to find something that makes sense.

Why not pick a theme and follow that on your travels and write a travel book based on that, rather than a meaningless zig zag of cities. Maybe you could actually do a successful book, acknowledging you said you prefer the everyday to glitz, there should be many to choose from.

For example, motocross. You spend a year going all over America staying near motocross circuits getting to know the cast of characters.

For example boomers living in rv's. You spend a year hopping around meeting rvers who actually have no other home, w their stories etc.

For example house flipping, you buy a $30,000 pos house in the midwest, fix flip and move on.

Etc.

[Off The Reservation]

When are you leaving?

[Jetset]

(02-08-2018 05:11 PM)brianmark Wrote:  

I will definitely have to check out Phoenix again. Thank you for the seasonal info about the best time to go. I wouldn't have thought Arizona got ice. A decade ago, in September, I did an Arizona road trip and traveled from Bisbee, AZ in the south to Las Vegas in the north. I did all the places you mentioned in southern Utah on an earlier trip. None got the time they deserve. All the places you mentioned are amazing. I've had a long time fascination with the Southwest. Besides the natural scenic beauty, why do you think Scottsdale attracts so many hot chicks? how's the traffic in Phoenix? I'd also like to spend some time in New Mexico. It seems to get so little coverage. Why is that?

The mountain back country, "high desert" gets snow and can make for sketchy driving. Flagstaff is actually a very snowy city, can easily get below freezing temps half the year and it's a popular ski destination from Phoenix. This is the first GIS result for "sedona in winter":



In the old days, Phoenix used to be "the city" and Scottsdale was quieter and more "western". Now they've grown and are stitched together. Old Town Scottsdale has a reputation as the party/club scene, so hot girls who want to go out naturally land there, and it's extremely competitive. Always dolled up, getting skin treatments, fake tits, etc. (If you want something more down-to-earth and can do the college-age scene, visit Mill Avenue in Tempe.) People complain about the traffic, but it's mostly just a local complaint from people who have it pretty good: driving is extremely fun and efficient compared to almost any other big city I've seen.

New Mexico is less popular because it suffers from the same problem as Nevada: there's really one metro area (the Albuquerque/Santa Fe area) that is nice but smallish and not really booming, and then the rest of the state is relatively empty. I haven't been to these places, but people tell me the desert sights like Chaco Canyon, the Petrified Forest, etc., are definitely worth it if you're going to go, though. If I had three months to set aside, I wouldn't hesitate to spend it working my way across NM, AZ, and CA.

[MANic]

OP please keep us updated should you eventually go on the trip. I've always loved good old roadtrips and often wondered why more American posters don't travel more domestically (roadtrips were the traditional modus operandi of old time slayers).

I've done a few nature roadtrips (South Africa -Namibia and South Africa-Northern Maputo being my favourites), unfortunately, my country and neighbouring countries have much lower numbers of Tier I, Tier II and Tier III cities (and diversity) so they are unsuited for gaming trips. I"ve always though at some point, sooner rather than later I hope, I'd just buy a Toyota Hilux or a Ford Ranger and hit the road for a year. Guaranteed memories and more exciting than more convential slaying holidays.