KimikoPi

Well here are my favorite places in the US that I hope some Europeans will love, too: Cape Cod (I'm from LA but I adore the beaches and pictureseque houses here), San Francisco (except when it's too cold). I don't like Las Vegas, but the food and shows are great - I saw Siegfried and Roy before the mauling.
Still, I think most cities lack charm and flavor because there's a Walmart, BestBuy, Starbucks almost every 3 blocks. I wish there were more cutesy mom and pop shops like in Europe. So far my favorite city in the world is London.

sarge56

PS I worked as a volunteer at the Ballpark here for the All-Star game a few years ago. You would not believe the number of foreigners who were there! We had great trouble deciphering Japanese driver licenses to verify age for beer sales! We had people from Japan, Germany, France, Australia and England buy at our food booth. Who knows how many other countries were represented? We met a man from Japan who told us he spent every vacation day coming to America...his goal was to visit every major league baseball park in America! We were only #14!

pspercy

DavidBailey
Start a business here, a friend told me that a green card was his for the asking. I suspect there's some sort of minimum dollar requirement tho'.

I agree with you, when I was last in London I thought it was horrible compared to twenty years ago let alone when I was a kid.

arthur_haven

Well, Sarge, you are a good civic booster. But you do have a point. The guest books in the Dallas museums have messages from many cities in the USA and from many foreign countries.

And your basic point is valid... San Francisco and Boston are popular cities, true, but there are many other towns and cities in America that have things worth seeing. And if someone is pursuing a special interest, such as the Kennedy Museum in Dallas, the battles of Stalingrad, or architecturee in Chicago, they don't need to be told their taste is no good, they should go to Las Vegas or London or Orlando instead.

Here in America, we have cities where the vast majority of the city area is new, built around the automobile. We consider European cities as "charming" or interesting because their cities are different from ours. But Europeans don't necessarily want to see the same things they have back home... they want to see how America is different.

Is history a factor? And does it have to extend a thousand years in the past to be interesting? No. I think the story of how something came to be over the last hundred years is intriguing enough. For example, San Francisco. Its historical sites and buildings mostly date from the earthquake in 1906... but it still has a history.

woodysagoodboy

Sarge56, I think you've done more for Texas tourism in the last few hours than most could in a lifetime. But I'm not wearing those baby blue cowboy boots. Woody

dgg

Sarge, having lived in Dallas almost 3 years, we have had many friends and relatives visit us...once. Mostly out of curiosity and to see the new house.

The fact is, they all live in cities with nice ballparks, museums, aquariums, restaurants, etc. too. The only reason for them to come to Dallas is to see us. Don't get me wrong, I like Dallas, but generally speaking, why would someone from Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, Chicago, etc. get on a plane and spend their hard-earned money to "vacation" in Dallas? In one form or another, they have pretty much everything we have here, in a lot of the cases, much more? I think Minneapolis and Kansas City are nice places, but I'm certainly not going to book our next family vacation there.

The folks in Dallas seem to have a big chip on their shoulders. Just enjoy your city and keep up the improvements that have been made over the next several years. I don't care if Dallas isn't a top international tourist destination. It doesn't hurt my feelings one bit!

dabber

dgg
I did say what I thought at the end of my trip to Dallas thread,both my wife and I enjoyed it very much,hopefully when I plan a trip to somewhere else in the States it wont be too controversial

sarge56

Well, I guess to each his own. I DO try to enjoy every city I end up in. I think if you look for it, you can find those things unique to that city and its' history that make for a pleasant/interesting stay. I've been to Atlanta, New York, DC, Philly, San Fran, San Diego, LA, Seattle, Denver, Phoenix, New Orleans, etc. You get the idea. I found something I loved about each city. I think I'll keep my rose-colored glasses on, and hope some of you discover them, too. I don't think Americans spend enough time "visiting" America. If we can get the price of gas down, perhaps they will be encouraged to do so.

schnauzer

bbqboy, no we don't have Walmart in Australia and no we can't go into a shop and buy guns!!Most people wouldn't even think of owning a gun, sure the country folk have them for shooting roos etc, some for rifle shooting as a sport, and yes the criminal fraternity have them, but the average person, absolutely not.

baybee510

My bf (from the Netherlands) LOVES to shop when he vists me here (California). He says that clothes here are much cheaper than over there and especially likes the discount retailers that carry desinger names. With the exchange rate as it is right now he saves even more money. Last time he was at Loehmann's I seriously wanted to cry from having to hold his clothes and wait around for so long.

arthur_haven

Dgg,

I think the answer to your question as to why someone from Atlanta or Boston would visit Dallas is... every city's museums, neighborhoods, attractions, etc are somewhat different. The Dallas museums have things the San Francisco and Boston museums do not... and vice versa. I've also been to Boston and Atlanta... once... and I saw what they had. I have no interest in returning because I've already satisfied my curiosity about ATL and BOS, and there are many other interesting cities to visit.

Another point to make is that metro Dallas is more populous than every other USA city (except NYC, LA and Chicago), and has more of everything, a better selection of museums, restaurants, neighborhoods, cultural opportunities, sporting events. And the weather is better (except for last night's hailstorms -) )

Sports facilities? The Rangers ballpark is one of the most interesting in the USA, the American Airlines Center is the most expensive arena in the USA and looks it, the new $600 million Cowboys stadium will be equally splendid.

Actually, I enjoyed visiting Kansas City, and I'm looking forward to checking out Minneapolis. I've been to many other cities, too, and each new city is a fresh and enjoyable experience for me.

To continue with the subject of this thread, however, we can apply this principle to Europeans visiting the USA. There are so many interesting cities in America, and they are so different from European cities, that Europeans would have an opportunity to spend many months in our country, enjoying especially the geographical and cultural variations in the parts of America.

crefloors

When I was in Paris last year, I was shopping (what else?) and the sales girl turned out to be an American expat from San Francisco. Her husband was French and he just loved to visit Reno when they came over to visit her mom. He loved one of your coffee houses called Deux Gros Nez and she said he would be just devistated when I told her it had just closed. So, I guess they come for all kinds of reasons, just as we go to Europe for all kinds of reasons.