USA family summer holiday trip - but where?

[Travelfoodi]

We are planning a trip to the US for 10-14 nights during the UK summer holidays end of July or August. We are a family of four (kids aged 6 years and 1 year).

I have heard that Boston is a good option with kids. However there are no direct flights from Manchester where we are and I feel it is a bit of a pain having to either drive to London and stay there or fly to Dublin first. There are direct flights to New York. We are wondering whether to stay in New York for a couple of nights before going somewhere more geared towards young families like Boston.

I have heard that there are some picturesque sights/beaches up the East coast but honestly don’t know where to start. We would be happy to do another domestic flight if necessary.

We do want to have a more laid back holiday for at least half of it. Young kids and bit cities don’t exactly bode well.

My questions are:
• where is good to go with young children in the US (ideally near New York) that doesn’t require too much heavy travel?
• what type of accommodation would you recommend?

Things we like as a family:
• beach, walks, picnics, amusement parks, child-friendly museums, parks
• good food
• bit of downtime
• bit of shopping

I would also like to note that we aren’t too fussy about where we go, as long as we won’t get too bored. The main thing for us is getting to experience some of the US which we have always dreamed of. We aren’t well travelled and want to tick a trip off the bucket list.

@drspouse We weren’t! Fairly remote Wyoming and Montana.

@haggisaggis We found it excellent too. Stayed at an old inn though.

How does that explain the fact I can’t MOVE for tourists in NYC? 🧐 A relaxing stroll through Central Park (my local park) is practically impossible right now, and that is one massive park.

@Crushed23 Because most Brits only know about the Brit bubble! They have no idea what Chinese tourists will do! Or anyone else really. It’s not going to make much difference to anything.

I apologise in advance for adding another handful of tourists in the park in a few weeks 😁

It’s also the coolest place with shade. I’d avoid NY in the summer - full stop!

Would have been preferable but unfortunately the only time everyone could make it 😒 will be having lots and lots of cold drinks and ice cream 😃

@TizerorFizz
The permanent population of Jackson is only about 10,000 and because tourists' taste can be a mystery, restaurants stick to tried and true sellers. Nobody is going to make a special trip there to try out a bougie place.

@mathanxiety It also has some of the highest real estate prices in USA, according to them. I don’t want “bougie” rubbish! I want a restaurant that understands small plates and actually cooks well. I’m amazed that an all year round resort (it is) had nothing like that at all. I assume visitors have mostly undeveloped taste in restaurants. That surprised me given the cost of staying there. It’s not a place where visitors are short of money!

Resort towns are their own economies, and often disastrous. Aspen can't get doctors because they can't afford housing! The quality of services suffers in these high priced tourist towns.

@knitnerd90 Well I didn’t need a doctor but many visitors want a restaurant. You would think better restaurants would be there to cater for a variety of tastes.

Another vote for Canada. The situation in the US could change very rapidly (and the current indications are not positive).

I mean, a “5 course tasting menu of small
plates” is bougie, literally. We spend money on good food but it doesn’t always come in the form of small plates with added ponce 🤣 I think we got over that nonsense by 2005 thankfully.

The US isn’t exactly known for its restaurant style cuisine is it? Strange to go to somewhere like Jackson and expect Raymond Blanc to pop up. You’ll get a decent chunk of steak down the Cowboy Steakhouse but they won’t serve it in bitesize pieces with a pretentious jus and “chefs foam” 🤢

There is demand. The doctors were an example of how extreme the affordability issue is. One reason for restaurants having issues is that they cannot get staff because no one can afford to live there.

@knitnerd90 Well paid high level Michelin chefs could. They simply are not opening restaurants there. I suspect the best chefs are private chefs. Even when a restaurant looks a bit different it’s average. Not sure what the answer is but we were surprised. We truly thought we would be able to get better thought out menus there.