Would you consider going to the World Cup?

[clubchamp98]

I’d go to Canada but am giving the USA a wide berth.

 

[Sid Rixon IV]

I’d rather crap in my hands and clap!

Out of curiosity, how did you feel when you first did that?
A bit of a turd I imagine?

 

[The Squirrel]

I’ve done loads of USA road trips and they have all been wonderful. There is a vast country away from the obvious tourist centres and the people within it are worth getting to know - it’s so huge that you can travel endlessly and never run out of interesting places to visit.

I haven’t felt I could do that recently and likely won’t set foot in the place for at least another 3 years either. Very sad.

Politics (everywhere) tends to go in cycles with a reaction then a counter reaction, so I’m hoping the current lunacy eventually abates and with the benefit on hindsight the insanity of the worst excesses becomes more apparent and can be remediated (again … the normal pattern everywhere, not just US).

 

[Tashyboy]

Last year when we did Japan, whilst talking to others on the cruise. Two places that were mentioned that are must see were Norway and Alaska. Suffice to say we have booked both.
I have said to Missis T “ that if I had known what was going off, I would not of booked it”. Looking forward to it but it is sticking in my throat. I could change it but there no where else I fancy at the moment.

 

[Slab]

Nah I've never seen the US as a 'go to' destination, football isn't gonna change that

 

[WorldHandicapSystem]

Nope. But then I wouldn’t go to a World Cup anyway.

Would I go to the USA on holiday. Not a chance while the current administration is in office. We won’t be going on our NYC Christmas trip this year, or for the foreseeable future.

I’m surprised the US hasn’t been put on the notice safe to visit list.

 

[Orikoru]

No, for multiple reasons. Firstly, this will be the worst World Cup in history, too many times diluting the quality and diluting the importance of any match until the latter stages. Secondly, I've never had any inclination to spend money travelling to a World Cup I could watch on TV anyway. Thirdly, I have no inclination to travel to the USA at all. A madcap country where everybody carries a gun and more than half of them voted for an orange megalomaniac pathological liar to run their country.

 

[The Squirrel]

Nah I've never seen the US as a 'go to' destination, football isn't gonna change that

Debate is fun, so I'll bite

Not sure what you consider as a "go to destination" but as far as the USA goes
It has some of the world's great cities (New York, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago) with all the culture and entertainment opportunities that go with that.
It has unarguably the world's greatest concentrated collection of outstanding museums (Smithsonian cluster around the mall in DC). It's not even close. Did I mention they're all entirely FREE!!!
It has some of the world's greatest natural wonders (Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, etc)
It has National Park (and less heralded but often just as good State Park) systems which are actually a jewel in its crown
It has some of the world's great road trips (Pacific Coastal Highway, Blue Ridge Parkway, Route 20)
It has some of the world's great explorable wildernesses (Death Valley, Idaho, Everglades)
It has sites linked to some of humanity's greatest and most unique achievements (Kennedy Space Centre)
It has the best preserved historic battlefields and key sites on earth (even Waterloo pales compared to Gettysburg/Antietam/Harper's Ferry)
It has endless near perfect beaches (for every urbanised crazy-busy Miami on Spring Break or Santa Monica/Venice in LA there are 100s of pristine and near deserted beaches such as Edesto, half of Georgia or the Outer Banks, or smaller town beauties like Santa Barbara or Cannon)
It has (as we're on this forum) lots of the world's best golf courses available for anyone to play. Pebble Beach and the whole Monterey peninsula, Sawgrass. Plently of absolute gems at much lower price points if you don't want a prestige destination too.
It has the world's biggest leisure/fun complex (Orlando/Disney/Universal)

Nobody will like EVERYTHING on that list (Orlando sticks out as the obvious marmite), but can you really suggest that not any single one of those things above is "go-to".

 

[cliveb]

I'll echo Squirrel's point that the USA is crammed full of fabulous things. It pretty much has everything. And most of the people I've met over there seem nice and welcoming. We hear about the crazies but presumably they are a fringe minority, like you get anywhere in the world.

One downside is the food, especially when you eat out. I think it must be stuffed full of all kinds of dubious additives. If you go into a supermarket, healthy stuff like vegetables is insanely expensive, while the junk is cheap. I fear they've got a serious nutrition time bomb waiting to overwhelm their (broken) healthcare system.