Best Town in Us

You've gotten some great advice already, but I wanted to add that the fall colors you talk about plus red brick houses and clear lakes - that's Vermont and New Hampshire. You could find some of that in the Midwest, but if you want the typical American landscape that Kinkade painted, take a train or fly to Boston, then rent a car (or go by bus) north to New Hampshire or Vermont.

I second the advice to travel by train. You'll see so much! If getting to the far Northeast is too much, then you can find a lot of what you're looking for in western Colorado, or Nebraska, Wisconsin or Indiana.

The cheapest flights anywhere in the country are USUALLY to/from New York City.

Which is conviently located near Vermont (fall leaves), as well as in the the NE itself. Also has the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, etc.
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USA has some very distinct regional zones this is SUPER simplified, since each area has smaller areas in it

Northeast = temperate forest and medowland (fall leaves, winter snows, warm springs, hot summers. Old villages and farm houses, big cities, trains, brick houses). 4 very clear seasons.

New York City = Unique Mega City (unique for the area, like every other mega city in the world).

South = swamps and bogs and bayous and beaches... Plantations/farms/wooden everything. Humid and warm most of the year. Lots of beaches (north Carolina to Florida).

Midwest = Plains/grasslands/farm country. Mostly small towns. Hundreds of miles to the nearest gas station between small towns.

Texas = Blend of Midwest & Southwest

Southwest = You're there. It's much the same everywhere. Stucco & adobe. Dry heat. 2 seasons (spring and summer), with a super short spring. Strong Latin/Mex influence.

Southern California = LA-SanDiego. Similar to southwest, but its own Mega City culture (similar to how NYC is its own unique thing in the Northeast), but Surburbia Mega City instead of skyscrapers, Beaches. Entertainment industry. Gangs. Desert.

Rockies = Mountains. Lots and lots and lots. Very few people. Ranches. Large towns, and tiny (pop 12 tiny) towns. Lots of national parks and tourists.

Badlands = Northern desert. Like the Southwest without people.

Northwest =Temperate forest & cold rainforest. Evergreens. 2 seasons (fall and spring). Grey skies & rain the norm. Medium cities.

Alaska = I haven't been there, so can't comment. Half the size of the US mainland (huge)

Hawaii = Pacific Islands. Tropical. Island culture. Huge Japanese American Polynesian

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The part of the country you're talking about is EITHER Northeast (NYC, Washington DC, Philidelphia, Boston), or Ohio (Americana.... Blend of NE and Midwest in one magical state)

This country is so BIG, that even most Americans don't grasp it, nor how diverse it is (culturally speaking). Flying just goes from city to city. Driving or taking a train, though... Really lays out how HUGE and how VARIED it is.

We're ALL the 'real' America, though. It's just that we live in very different regions... With very different local culture.

My in-laws recently took an Amtrak train journey to visit us. They traveled from Northern California to Chicago, so they passed through many states. If they wanted to, they could have even made stops along the way so they could spend some days at the towns along the route before continuing their journey to Chicago. They LOVED their trip. They bought a room, so they had beds, access to bathroom/shower, and 3 meals a day included in their ticket price. They are also immigrants to the US and have never taken a train or a bus before, so they were in a similar position as you. They were very impressed by the scenery and the people they met on the train.

If you are interested, there is a route between AZ and the Midwest. I will try to add specific towns later when I can think about it a bit, but I wanted to be sure to get the links to you.

http://www.amtrak.com/southwest-chief-train
http://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/750/317/Southwest-Chief-Sched...

I'll just throw this in. My cousin married a woman from Germany, they flew to Florida (where his Mom lived) then drove from there to Minnesota where the rest of the family lives.

She was ASTONISHED at how BIG our country is. She made a point to say if she'd driven that far from her home in Germany she'd probably be halfway through Russia by the time she got done :)

If you want to see fall color, you could look to your north in Flagstaff or a city in Colorado. It's much closer to you than going all the way to the NE.

http://www.flagstaffwebcam.com/fall-foliage-guided-tour

If I were in your position, I'd start with a smaller trip. Yes, what you are seeing in photos is in the NE (Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire) but it is a LONG way from Arizona. We drove to Phoenix once from MN and it took us 3 full long days. And to get to the East Coast is even further. Another two days for sure. Gas prices are so high, you'd have to figure out what the price would be for gas and compare that to flights.

Great question! Good luck!

Eleni:

I have not read the other responses, so if I repeat, I'm sorry.

Since I don't know how much money you have to spend nor how much time you have to travel. it will be hard to give a good answer.

1. I would travel by Amtrack - a train - and not Greyhound. That's MY personal preference. http://www.amtrak.com/home
Amtrack DOES have a service where you can bring your car with you. Yes, there is an extra fee involved. But you can use your car when you get to your destination.

this is about taking your car.
http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?c=Page&pa...

this is for tour packages.
http://www.amtrak.com/regional-rail-tour-packages
If you want to see "fall colors" - Colorado is great (and it's not far from Arizona).

The BEST place to see the fall colors (also called Fall Foliage) New England - states like Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Maine.

http://www.caravan.com/tour/usa-new-england?gclid=CP6b89W...

http://www.discovernewengland.org/driving-tours/

http://voices.yahoo.com/three-great-cape-cod-lighthouse-t...

I don't know how long you are going to be in the United States. If you are going to be here for a few more years? I would pick a section of the U.S. to do each year.

If you want to follow Thomas Kinkade...or his works..
then for Lighthouses? Maine and The Carolina's

Parks? Central Park in the Fall...New York City is NOT cheap. However, if you FLY there - I would stay in New Jersey across the river, where things are cheaper.

Going in your car and taking a tent with you is a GREAT idea. Use KOA
http://koa.com/ (Kampgrounds of America) and find out where they are, how much they cost and what things there are to see and do around them.
I personally love the Devils Tower (the one from Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind). There is a campground on the park grounds and a KOA outside the National Park gates...you can walk around the Tower and climb over rocks, etc. And yes, people do climb it.
http://www.blackhillsvacations.com/activities/parks/suppl...
And 1.5 hours to the East is Mount Rushmore.
http://www.nps.gov/moru/index.htm

There is much to do in the United States. Start by finding out how much money and time you have and then pick an area and go.

It sounds like you are describing the midwest. You get about a half an hour out of here and that is life.

I must warn you most of this area had a massive drought this summer so you are not going to get the fall colors you usually see. The trees are tired. We went out to wine country, Augusta/Herman yesterday and there were some fiery red Maples changing but a lot of brown.

The suggestion of a train is great! Just be warned sometimes the trains are as expensive as the planes. Still you see so much more by train.

It sounds like you're describing the most of the midwest. I thought Riley did a nice job overall of describing the country, but I would have to say there aren't hundreds of miles between small towns. Most small towns, even in very sparsely populated areas would be no more than 20 miles apart. I do remember driving through parts of Utah and Nevada that had signs saying, "No serves for 200 miles." Wow! But that's the desert, not the midwest.

I think you would find some small towns in Californian (definitely in central and northern California) you would like. You might find something if you look about 100 miles outside a big city. You could look on-line for Bed and Breakfasts. Those are always located in beautiful places, as most of the people who like to stay there also love nature and hiking and outdoors activities.

You are actually quite far from what you are describing, so this trip might take a little creativity. But I bet you'll come up with a good plan.

Good luck! And have fun :-)

America is huge :) You haven't mentioned what your budget is. So I am guessing you wouldn't be able to fly to the east coast. The red yellow leaves is fall season that is right now :) Colors are changing in midwest , it's beautiful! The problem with fall is the peak colors(the way you see in pictures) are for a very very short time, sometimes a span of few days. Also the colors are affected by lot of factors - weather, rain etc and if you are planning to come from AZ , your timing might not be always right. If you come early the colors would be just starting to change or it might be past peak if you are few days late.There are websites which track the colors , so you might want to google for that before you book any tickets for watching fall colors. Also when you are on a budget , you really don't want to plan somewhere just for fall colors. There is no guarantee you will catch it at it's best.
California is beautiful!!!!!!! You have greenery, ocean views ... beautiful landscape. The drive by the ocean (i think it's hwy 1) is AMAZING!! There are lot of things to do in that state - visit wineries, sight seeing, whale watching cruises etc etc. It's a beautiful state with lot of things to see and do.
The pacific northwest is good too. I haven't been there though.
You can go to Colorado ... rocky mountains .. you might catch some fall colors there, if not the landscape is just beautiful. But go here before it starts snowing.
There's a lot more to see and do in the east coast, south east, midwest - every place is different. But since you haven't seen much of America at all, I would say pick one part and go there. It's impossible to see all of America in one short vacation:)
Also, if you are making the trip now , you need to be aware of the weather. It's very HOT where you live but most of the country is getting ready for winter. It starts getting chilly during fall(that is starting september). Visiting midwest or east coast during the fall is awesome(if you get to visit at the right time!) but otherwise don't visit after mid october. It gets extremely cold , it had snowed in the midwest on Oct 11th couple years ago. Snow is beautiful too, you can try skiing and other winter activities, but the cold might not be bearble to someone who isn't from this side of the world.

Are you close enough to Phoenix to fly out of there? That's Southwest's hub and they are usually a bit better on pricing!!

You can fly from Phx to Denver and then drive down to the Colorado Springs area for some different scenery than desert - and there is much to see!

Or you can fly from Phx to Louisville (where the Kentucky Derby is run) - but don't try that near that first weekend in May as the cost will be much more and everything else also goes up in price!

KOA camping might be a good idea - check out that site and see if there is one near where you might want to try! If you prefer a rental car - watch and see if you can catch some deals that some places offer!

I know you are looking for somewhere to travel to next spring, but why not go now? When I lived in Gilbert, I would go just for the weekend to Northeast Arizona to enjoy the fall colors and beauty. Sedona is full of changing leaves, as is Flagstaff and Show Low. They are only a couple of hours away by car, and if you rent a car you could even make it just a one-day trip, with a picnic and maybe some hiking. We always found it to be welcome to get away from the heat and the big city and just enjoy the beauty of nature.

Also, each of these three towns have lakes and/or streams nearby to enjoy.

Camping if the way to go. Due to budget constraints. I would go to Colorado in the fall. Sept is usually a good time. I think you will find what you are looking for.

Trains are outrageously expensive unless you do coach only. Remember once you get off the train you Needvto have a plan so I do not think trains would work. My husband and I love to travel by train but we are retired. When you get to a city, you need a hotel. Dragging camping equipment on a train does not work. We only travel by train so if you have questions, send me a message. There is not anything I do not know!!!!

Camping in Colorado would be my suggestion. You can also take in some
Other surrounding states depending on how much time you have.

I hope you get to take this trip. America is beautiful. Soooo much to see.

If you travel in coach on trains meals are not included. There is one bathroom per car and no shower facilities.

Pigging backing off of what Castle Mom said, I have a friend who lives in the Midatlantic region and she spends winters in Florida. She takes a train that carries her car on it. Not every train does this, but this one does. She is able to relax and get to her destination without driving the car, but once she gets there, she has her car waiting for her so that she can get around. I don't know if that is an idea for you, but you could check it out.

Fall leaves are beautiful in the southern states and up in New England.

Hope you have a wonderful time!

Dawn