Things You Should Know Before Visiting The USA

1- The US is big – 3.8 million square miles big

To put it into flying-time perspective: it takes roughly the same time – give or take an hour – to fly from NYC to LA or to London. Also, two-hour daily commutes? Completely normal

2- It’s the United States of America – remember there are fifty of them

Is it called soda, pop or soft drink? A subway sandwich, hoagie, hero or grinder? Depends on which state you’re from. Regional differences across the US extend to accents, food, drink, laws and politics.

3- Everything’s open 24/7, if you know where to look

The hungry beast of commerce ensures that you can probably find a 24/7 joint willing to satisfy your need for a 2am Slurpee, a 3am Double Quarter Pounder (see Supersize It!, below) and a 5am Venti with quintuple espresso shots and a caramel drizzle – especially in the big cities. When travelling through smaller cities and rural areas, you’ll need to plan ahead for earlier closing times or keep a sharp lookout for the odd 24-hour dinner.

4- The country’s national parks are spectacular

The US’s national parks – which cover 84 million acres across every state – can claim many superlatives: The lowest point in the Western Hemisphere (Death Valley California); the highest point in North America (Mount McKinley in Denali National Park, Alaska); the longest cave system in the world (Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky); and the largest gypsum sand dunes in the world (White Sands National Monument, New Mexico).

5- There’s a festival for everything: roadkill, fungus, garlic – you name it

America is the land of weird and wonderful festivals, from the Chainsaw Carving Festival (Pennsylvania) to the Testicle Festival (Montana). Plus, deep in the heartland, state fairs are their own special brand of weird, where you can sample essentially everything deep-fried: Twinkies, butter, pig ears, White Castle burgers, bubblegum, Kool Aid and beer…

6- Americans are relentlessly friendly

But that can be more a mode of communication than a personality trait. A chirpy “How are you?” isn’t necessarily meant to be answered. And, the ubiquitous “have a nice day!” is often just another way of saying bye-bye (and perhaps receiving a touch higher tip…).

7- Speaking of tips, Americans give them out generously

Maybe you never tip in your country, waitresses and waiters where you are from get paid enough and you should only tip when you're being treated especially well! In the US, the issue is a bit muddled - servers are not paid comfortably to live without tips in most places, and…it is generally expected that you tip regardless

Officially: Tipping is absolutely voluntary. Unofficially: 15% to 20% in restaurants is the norm, given that minimum wage is low, and tipping makes up for this.

8- You can always Supersize It!

Not only does fast food still dominate large tracts of the culinary landscape, but it has given rise to such intellectually stimulating phrases as, “Supersize it!” “Where’s the beef?” and “Do you want fries with that?” When in doubt, say yes. All that said, Americans work out with equal fervor – the US consistently tops the list of countries that exercise the most.

9- The US doesn’t use the brilliantly logical metric system like the rest of the world

Height is measured in feet; football fields in yards; distances in miles. Though the “use of the metric system has been sanctioned by law in the US since 1866” according to the CIA website, widespread use has been slow, to say the least. The US isn’t entirely alone: two other countries also don’t use the metric system – Myanmar and Liberia.

10- Baseball is America’s pastime

The rest of the world has soccer. America has baseball. During baseball season – April to September – there are few more classic American experiences than cheering on your favorite team (go, Yankees!) under the warm spring sunshine, enjoying a hot dog and beer (or five).

11- The American Dream is still going strong

No, the streets aren’t paved with the gold but the belief in the American Dream? Still going strong (especially if your last name is Rockefeller).

12- Never interact with strange children

Don't pull the cheeks/hug/peck a child which is not yours. Its a big no-no to shower affection on someone's child without their consent (quite common in Asian countries).

13- Have extra money for taxes

It's all one big marketing scam to make people feel like they are paying less. The price you see on a menus or stores are nothing compared to what you'll actually pay. Except few states, you have to pay 7-10% taxes

14- USA Flags, so many flags, everywhere

There isn’t an item that can’t be made better with a flag pattern on it. Hammer pants? Do it! Prom dress? You’ll be stunning. A postage stamp-sized flag bikini? Why not?

15- Go to Walmart, yeah just go to Walmart

It is more than shopping center, it is reality show, it is life...

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