USA branch FAQ
Replies: 279 - Last Post: Apr 16, 2013 10:54 PM Last Post By: nutraxfornerves
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BOSTON - NEW YORK TRAVELThe cheapest way to travel between Boston and New York is the various Chinatown buses, which travel from Boston Chinatown to New York City Chinatown, usually for $10 each way with no advance purchase.
Two (of the many) lines are
www.luckystarbus.com
www.sunshineboston.com/bustours/nyc/
They both run big buses. There are innumerable other ones as well
In both cities Chinatown is at the heart of the city and convenient to public transit
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working in the wilderness in the USFor those of you who are looking for ways to experience beautiful backcountry areas in the U.S. without having to pay a fortune, and who don't want to do it alone, a friend of mine just turned me on to Wilderness Volunteers.org. (Wilderness Volunteers.org)you still have to pay a minimal amount to cover mgt.costs, etc. - but it is less than $200.they build trails and service America's wild areas in affiliation with organizations like the BLM (Bureau of Land Management), the National Park Service, and the National Forest Service. their trips are graded in 4 levels from "moderate" to "challenging" depending on your physical condition, experience , and willingness - but you decide which level you want. trips are a week long, usually with long hiking daily and work, and a few free days for independent exploring. Each trip is described on the website, and you can pick and choose which ones you want to volunteer for and find out what is available. in other words, you apply for each specific trip. they tell you what you would be required to bring.
there is no age bracket, but you must be at least 18.
to me, it looks great...if you don't mind a little work!
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Some links I've found useful in the past...Urgent Matters...
Disasters: http://www.fema.gov/
Hospitals: http://adams.mgh.harvard.edu/hospitalwebusa.html
Police: http://www.usacops.com/
Diplomatic Missions: http://www.embassyworld.com/embassy/inside_usa.htm
Misc...
US Federal Government: http://www.firstgov.gov/
State Government: http://www.statelocalgov.net/index.cfm
Museums: http://www.museumsusa.org/
Employment: http://www.allstarjobs.com/jobbanks/
Universities: http://www.utexas.edu/world/univ/state/
Public Libraries: http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Libweb/Public_main.html
Banks: http://www.thecommunitybanker.com/bank_links/
Transport & Communications...
Airports: http://www.landrum-brown.com/LBweb/Avinfo/usa.htm
Urban Transit Systems: http://routesinternational.com/transit.htm#usa
Intercity/Charter Lines: http://routesinternational.com/buslines.htm#charters
US Postal Service: http://www.usps.com/
Newspapers: http://www.refdesk.com/paper.html
Radio: http://www.radioguide.com/cities.html
TV & Radio:http://www.tvradioworld.com/region1/usa/
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in the U.S., many major music concerts and sports events are sold through Ticketmaster, particularly in the NYC region. you can go there and type in a region and find out what events sold through ticketmaster are going on at any given time.50
For those who are driving cross-country in the US:http://www.byways.org
You can search the site by state or by name. Plus they have links to a ton of other local sites for everyone from bicyclists to RV'ers.
Scenic Byways
Scenic byways can be designated at the local, state or national level. Some are called 'heritage routes.' Others may be called 'rustic roads' or 'backcountry byways,' although some of these designations differ slightly. The U.S. Forest Service began its National Forest Service Scenic Byway designation program in 1988. In 1991, the US Department of Transportation established its National Scenic Byways program.
What Are America's Byways?
Under the National Scenic Byways Program, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation recognizes certain roads as National Scenic Byways or All-American Roads based on their archaeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic qualities. There are 95 such designated byways in 39 States. The Federal Highway Administration promotes the collection as America's Byways.
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to get from Newark airport to Manhattan, you can take theAirtrain (monorail) to Newark Liberty International Airport station, where you can get a NJTransit train to Manhattan's Penn Station ($11.55.) - app. 20 minutes. Or, you can also take the Olympia Trails bus, which is about $10, and may take about 1/2 hour.53
For a comprehensive, though not all, listing of hostels, go tohostels.com
In regards to AAA, remember that the vendors listed in it are paying to be listed! Though I do have AAA myself, by no means do I limit myself to these tour books.
Their map service is free. However, I've found that Rand MacNally makes far better maps, and in some areas it's best to purchase a local map when you get there.
But, if you are going on a roadtrip, you really can't beat their towing service.
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The diamond-rated hotels and motels in the AAA guides have certain requirements regarding safety, cleanliness, etc. I would never limit myself to any one source of information, but AAA gives alot more options than any guidebook would and includes towns that I'm pretty sure aren't listed in guidebooks nor on websites like Expedia. Not all of the vendors listed get a "diamond" rating, perhaps only half of hotels and very few restaurants. I think their guides are quite useful for someone going on a serious road trip and end up stopping in places that are off the beaten path.I won't argue about AAA maps, if you want detail, you definitely want to pick up a local map wherever you are.
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Changes to the Diversity (Greencard) LotteryThe instructions for the next Diversity Lottery were released in August. The biggest change to note is that the lottery will now be conducted via a State Department website (so there's even less reason to pay someone to enter it for you - it is free to enter and easy to do). The website will be accepting applications between 1 November 2003 and 30 December 2003.
The instructions for entering the Diversity Lottery can be found on this State Department web page. The website taking the applications is not yet up, but the address is www.dvlottery.state.gov.
For those who may not be familiar with the Diversity Lottery, it is a US government program to give out 55,000 greencards each year. See my post (no. 33) in this thread for the basics of who can enter and the scams to watch out for.
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Are you looking for the best place to live in the USA?Try FindYourSpot.com. It's an online quiz that helps determine good choices for where to live based on your personal preferences.
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In addition to the above post, looking for the best place to live in the USA? Here are some resources. Of course, always keep in mind the sponsors and the methods used for collecting data:Forbes Best Cities for Singles (2002 survey)
CNN/Money Magazine's Best Places to Live
Utne Magazine's Most "Enlightened" Cities
"Best", "Most Affordable" places to live and "Best places for those under 40"
PETA's Top Ten Vegetarian Cities
Forbes Best Places for Careers and Business (2003 survey)
Homefair's Lifestyle Optimizer
Employment Review's Best places to live and Work
America's Safest Cities
Employment Spot.com Relocation Links
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Ah ha! I found it! For the answer to the question, what's the weather like in ___city___ ___time of year___, go to Washington Post’s historical weather database. All you do is type in the city name and indicate whether you want C or F and it gives you oodles of historical averages and high and lows, precipitation, etc.59
Online annex for NYC-related information, gathered from posts on the Thorn Tree by risen_feenix:http://www.geocities.com/risen_feenix/html/NYGuide.html
