Go to my SO's home with him during Christmas?

[underthewater]

Thanks a lot everyone! Well NYC is one of the few places that I have some ideas in the States, I guess you guys are right, the rest of the country is probably very different. It's the cheapest to fly to NYC though, I guess it's just because it's a big city.

I'm very sure that I need a visa and I know tons of stories of people from my country who got rejected by the US embassy even they just want to travel there or attend their children's wedding:< I think people who hold a passport of a "developed" country are really lucky as they can travel with a lot more flexibility. Sigh!

[Moon]

If you're living in an Islamic country, that may very well be true, as unfortunate as it is in your case. You might have a better chance traveling as a woman on a tourist visa though, so don't be too discouraged. If it's just from a nation that's less developed, you'll have an easier time I think.

If you fly into NYC, it's very easy to catch a connecting flight to where you need to go, I've flown in and out of JKF and it's not bad at all. There are a lot of cheap flights within the US right now, you can probably find a very inexpensive connection to the west coast.

[underthewater]

I checked the plane tickets during Christmas...from London to New York: 400 pounds (600 dollars), from New York to a city near his hometown: 350 pounds! I'm so surprised!

[Michelle]

I think it is a misconception that everyone in the US has been to the major cities. I think it's from all the American movies, many of which are filmed in NYC. I've been here my whole life and have never, NOT ONCE been to New York City. And I live on the east coast. Not the west coast (which is quite far away from NYC). Many people from outside the US don't understand how HUGE the US is until they realize how many hours they'd have to drive from this state to that state.

So anyone that lives in the USA would not understand why you'd want to visit this city or that city, especially if your boyfriend lives nowhere near it. Plus he'd be so far from his family around Christmas time - which his family probably won't like at all and would much rather see you the first time you visit the states, instead of knowing that your all the way across the country in NYC with their son.

I would first meet the people that are important in his life. Christmas time is a good time to meet all of them too! You'll get to see where he's from as well (completely different than NYC).

Once you've met the family and seen where he's from then you can think about vacationing around the states together.