Travelling in the US

[MechEng]

I'm here since last month and I would love to see the rest of the country in my free time in future. How do ICFers in america travel around the country? I don't have a driving license right now, will have to take learner's test offered by the state in the future. So which is the most sensible option?

 

1.) Amtrak trains and buses.

2.) Flights.

3.) Stop being lazy, go get your license.

 

P.S. I'm in Texas.

[sandeep]

13 minutes ago, MechEng said:

I'm here since last month and I would love to see the rest of the country in my free time in future. How do ICFers in america travel around the country? I don't have a driving license right now, will have to take learner's test offered by the state in the future. So which is the most sensible option?

 

1.) Amtrak trains and buses.

2.) Flights.

3.) Stop being lazy, go get your license.

 

P.S. I'm in Texas.

Texas is a bad spot to be in without the ability to drive.  My advice, pick one coast of the country,  that you want to "see" based on the amount of time you have, and the sights you are interested in.   Outside of the coastal areas, mass transit connectivity is sub-par in the US.  

 

Ideally, if time and resources permit, you should definitely get that license.  No matter what choices you make, the ability to rent a car and drive yourself gives you the flexibility to really make the most of the time and resources you will spend to "see" the US.  

 

[maniac]

17 minutes ago, MechEng said:

I'm here since last month and I would love to see the rest of the country in my free time in future. How do ICFers in america travel around the country? I don't have a driving license right now, will have to take learner's test offered by the state in the future. So which is the most sensible option?

 

1.) Amtrak trains and buses.

2.) Flights.

3.) Stop being lazy, go get your license.

 

P.S. I'm in Texas.

Well if you were in the east coast or west coast, I would have suggested driving to cover a lot of spots driving but just look out for flight deals...this is kind of off season with the last holiday in summer being just over so you might get some cheap flights between now and Thanksgiving/Xmas

[dial_100]

Option 3.

Drove lots of miles in last 2 decade. But I have not covered everything but done fairly enough in last 2 decades. These are some of the road trips i have taken.

• Tx - FL - 4 round trips
• Tx - NY - 2 RT
• Tx - GC - 1 RT
• TX - Wyoming 1 RT
• TX - Atlanta 1 RT
• San Jose - LA - 10+ RT
• San Jose - GC+Vegas - 1 RT
• MA - CA - 1 T
• NH - Buffalo NY - 7-8 RT
• CA - NY - 1 T
• and numerous trips withing CA & TX

If you are comfortable driving then go ahead and take your license and start driving. Make sure you get the basics of road trips. You always remain focused behind the wheel. Thats it. Rest is all easy. Good luck.

Quote

 

 

[Texan]

59 minutes ago, MechEng said:

I'm here since last month and I would love to see the rest of the country in my free time in future. How do ICFers in america travel around the country? I don't have a driving license right now, will have to take learner's test offered by the state in the future. So which is the most sensible option?

 

1.) Amtrak trains and buses.

2.) Flights.

3.) Stop being lazy, go get your license.

 

P.S. I'm in Texas.

How are you commuting in Texas without a driving license?

 

Depending on where you want to go, there are multiple options. In Texas, assuming you are in one of the big 4 cities, if you want to visit the other 3 big cities or go to Galveston or visit Arkansas, New Orleans or so, driving would be the best option. Flights for short distance travel tend to be expensive and also you need to rent a car/take a Taxi or Uber at your destination.

 

If you are planning to visit some other cities far from Texas (say Vegas, SFO, NYC or so), best option would be to take a flight and use Uber or local mass transit at destination. Driving a car in NYC or SFO can be a pain and parking costs can really add up.

[MechEng]

14 minutes ago, Texan said:

How are you commuting in Texas without a driving license?

 

Depending on where you want to go, there are multiple options. In Texas, assuming you are in one of the big 4 cities, if you want to visit the other 3 big cities or go to Galveston or visit Arkansas, New Orleans or so, driving would be the best option. Flights for short distance travel tend to be expensive and also you need to rent a car/take a Taxi or Uber at your destination.

 

If you are planning to visit some other cities far from Texas (say Vegas, SFO, NYC or so), best option would be to take a flight and use Uber or local mass transit at destination. Driving a car in NYC or SFO can be a pain and parking costs can really add up.

I love walking, I've walked really long distance here till now. Yeah it's tough but that's all I can do.

 

Plus I'm not sure if I can get my license this semester or the next, depends on the workload of my course if I have free time. Can I get a license during winter/spring breaks? I'd be definitely free at that time.

[Tibarn]

If you're planning on visiting the big cities, take a plane there and once you're there, you can get everywhere with trains, taxis, and Ubers. 

 

If you want to travel outside of big cities, especially outside of the northeast, you should probably get a license.  

Edited September 6, 2017 by Tibarn

[gattaca]

6 hours ago, MechEng said:

I love walking, I've walked really long distance here till now. Yeah it's tough but that's all I can do.

 

Plus I'm not sure if I can get my license this semester or the next, depends on the workload of my course if I have free time. Can I get a license during winter/spring breaks? I'd be definitely free at that time.

You should be able to get license anytime except for the usual long weekend and weekends. Just get a learners permit. If you have idp some states allow but getting a learners is not tough you can download the booklet online and study for few hours max. They do give crazy questions some times like you have to remember speed limits on county roads etc. one more thing I forgot if you have ssn always apply for credit card. Don't delay lot of people do that. Don't overspend on credit card just use it like debit card.building credit history and diving history is most important thing in US.

Edited September 6, 2017 by gattaca

[coffee_rules]

Dl gets you freedom in US. Even with Indian DL and passport, you can rent a car , if you have a credit card. .I did it in NJ, not sure about Texas. I could do it in an airport. Getting a DL through LL + drive test is tougher. You can get a DL all year long.

Edited September 7, 2017 by coffee_rules

[veer]

As other said, Texas is a bad place to be without car..

 

However, i would suggest two places to go where you won't need car driving..

 

1. Las Vegas - fly to Las Vegas and you can easily spend 2-3 nights (or more if you are into gambling).. transportation within Las Vegas strip is easy

2. New York - fly to NY and live in cheap hotel around Time Square, lots to see there.. staying for 2 nights is good enough. I insist on staying around Time Square since, even if hotels are bit expensive there but it saves you money and time at the end in train trips.. book open bus tours if you prefer guided tour

 

I may suggest few other things if you are interested in these sort of trips..

 

[coffee_rules]

^^ You can even visit cities like Chicago, San Francisco, DC, Seattle in a similar way. They all have v good local transport if you live in downtown. Plus cabs are affordable. Haven't done this in LA, not sure how good metro is in LA.  

[veer]

49 minutes ago, coffee_rules said:

^^ You can even visit cities like Chicago, San Francisco, DC, Seattle in a similar way. They all have v good local transport if you live in downtown. Plus cabs are affordable. Haven't done this in LA, not sure how good metro is in LA.  

Cool.. i haven't tried those cities so not sure... by the way, my parents just visited a lot of east coast cities/states recently through bus tour. It included Washington/PA/NJ/NYC/Niagra falls

[cowboysfan]

On 9/6/2017 at 10:52 AM, dial_100 said:

Option 3.

Drove lots of miles in last 2 decade. But I have not covered everything but done fairly enough in last 2 decades. These are some of the road trips i have taken.

• Tx - FL - 4 round trips
• Tx - NY - 2 RT
• Tx - GC - 1 RT
• TX - Wyoming 1 RT
• TX - Atlanta 1 RT
• San Jose - LA - 10+ RT
• San Jose - GC+Vegas - 1 RT
• MA - CA - 1 T
• NH - Buffalo NY - 7-8 RT
• CA - NY - 1 T
• and numerous trips withing CA & TX

If you are comfortable driving then go ahead and take your license and start driving. Make sure you get the basics of road trips. You always remain focused behind the wheel. Thats it. Rest is all easy. Good luck.

 

I love driving in the US,the Scenery is specatacular.My favorite is one in college in a minivan  with my friends. we almost did 21 days moslty camping in national parks other than some hotels in LA.las vegas and Flagstaff.We went from TX-NM-AZ-CA-NV-UT-CO-WY-MT and back.

If you want to experience america then you have to visits its national parks which are beyond description.If you like hiking then i would suggest Grand Tetons,Zion in UTah and ofcourse Yosemite If you have to visit one state for its natural beauty then  i would suggest Utah without question.The time to go is now before it gets too cold.

[Wapas]

On ‎9‎/‎6‎/‎2017 at 8:29 AM, MechEng said:

I'm here since last month and I would love to see the rest of the country in my free time in future. How do ICFers in america travel around the country? I don't have a driving license right now, will have to take learner's test offered by the state in the future. So which is the most sensible option?

 

1.) Amtrak trains and buses.

2.) Flights.

3.) Stop being lazy, go get your license.

 

P.S. I'm in Texas.

Take it easy on rental vehicle which is more cheaper till you get use to,with our regulation plus.I do not know of your Budget but I recommends you to catch Flights, yes one more important thing you need to remember make sure you have CC of American bank with you all time

 

Cheap air offer you great deals on two way fly, if you not wants to bother your relatives to pick you up from airport you can Download Apps of Uber so you can travel at your time from one location to other with ease. very cheap.YOU NOT BOTHER ANYONE TO PICK YOU UP FROM THE AIRPORT.

 

Do not take ride of airport taxi which is very expensive.I did same in Florida last month.I travel lot by plane, you not believes but sometime you can get ticket from 50-89 bucks which normally charges 238 bucks.you need to subscribe your email to gets all deal.you must need Cell phone connects with internate otherwise Uber or Lift will not work, very important because Hotspot not accessible most time plus Yu need to makes adjustment or turn to airport taxi, who can robs you =Charge dbl.

[The Outsider]

Get a license. You can drive with Indian license for six months - use it to rent a car in the meanwhile. In all aspects - variety of places you can go to, cost, and time - driving is the best option in the US. Till you do that you can visit cities like San Francisco, New York, Boston, DC where you can do a lot of sightseeing without driving. But for even sort trips outside of urban centers, driving is the best option. Public transport in the US is pathetic in general.  

[Wapas]

On ‎9‎/‎8‎/‎2017 at 5:22 AM, The Outsider said:

Get a license. You can drive with Indian license for six months - use it to rent a car in the meanwhile. In all aspects - variety of places you can go to, cost, and time - driving is the best option in the US. Till you do that you can visit cities like San Francisco, New York, Boston, DC where you can do a lot of sightseeing without driving. But for even sort trips outside of urban centers, driving is the best option. Public transport in the US is pathetic in general.  

If you not know much of US driving, you better avoids Driving on US highway.

[coffee_rules]

Time to repeat the famous adage, If you have driven in Indian cities, you can  drive anywhere 

[zen]

35 minutes ago, coffee_rules said:

Time to repeat the famous adage, If you have driven in Indian cities, you can  drive anywhere 

Not accurate if it includes "driving properly". First folks would be driving on the different side of the road. Second, one needs to actually obey the traffic laws (which can be a challenge for many). Third, Indian driving can be about creating convenience of your own self, in many of the other places, one needs to think about convenience of others as well including leaving some distance when following a vehicle, parking, etc. Lastly, driving in many of the western countries, one needs to look far ahead. While in Ind, people are more accustomed to looking at the car in fronts and pot holes on the roads

 

 

[coffee_rules]

26 minutes ago, zen said:

Not accurate if it includes "driving properly". First folks would be driving on the different side of the road. Second, one needs to actually obey the traffic laws (which can be a challenge for many). Third, Indian driving can be about creating convenience of your own self, in many of the other places, one needs to think about convenience of others as well including leaving some distance when following a vehicle, parking, etc. Lastly, driving in many of the western countries, one needs to look far ahead. While in Ind, people are more accustomed to looking at the car in fronts and pot holes on the roads

 

 

From a personal experience, driving in India was helpful to drive in US. First of all, the side of the road confusion is a myth. You don;t drive on the side of the road subconsciously. You drive based on where others are driving and follow them. I have driven in US, and in Europe/UK, the side of the road was never a problem. Only thing to follow here is to know who has the the right of way. It's not too hard to understand. 

[zen]

10 hours ago, coffee_rules said:

From a personal experience, driving in India was helpful to drive in US. First of all, the side of the road confusion is a myth. You don;t drive on the side of the road subconsciously. You drive based on where others are driving and follow them. I have driven in US, and in Europe/UK, the side of the road was never a problem. Only thing to follow here is to know who has the the right of way. It's not too hard to understand. 

Ability to turn the wheel, accelerate and brake are among many components of driving. How you interact with the driving environment including abiding traffic laws is another 

 

Your post mentioned about how you found it easy. Another component to driving properly is "how others found your driving" on these roads. You could have posted danger / inconvenience for others w/o even realizing it 

 

I have seen many folks from Ind get nervous at the "left turn", not use signals properly, follow too closely, drive like they are always in a rush, etc. In their minds since they knew how to handle the car and avoid hurdles, they knew driving (and could drive anywhere). Learning their driving in Ind hindered their ability to adjust and be a proper (or complete) driver 

 

Many driving instructors tell to forget what you learned about driving in Ind if you want to pass the driving test quickly. Besides the right of way, there are techniques to follow when you parallel park, park downhill, park uphill, etc., along with knowledge of what to do when an ambulance / fire truck / police has sirens on, when the school bus has all lights flashing, when the tram stops in its lane, .... .... In Canada, one has to deal with snow and black ice too

 

If you know all that, it is great. But not everyone does and therefore the generalization that "if you can drive here, you can drive anywhere" is not accurate 

 

Edited September 10, 2017 by zen