The “Northeast Corridor” train network (and revenue) supports the rest of the money-losing and slow/unreliable Amtrak network. Delays are largely due to the fact that freight lines take precedence.
Between DC and NYC, particularly, the train is superior to flying or driving. So the prices can be pretty high.
During the last administration, with the passing of the Infrastructure Bill, there was a plan to establish and strengthen regional train networks, e.g., Chicago–Milwaukee etc.
Who knows what’s going on now…
Delivery servics are popular in the US for groceries. But so is shopping. There are plentiful large supermarkets with giant parking lots near most suburban areas outside big or small cities. People don’t lug. They wheel out store carts and pack into the trunk and drive into a garage.
In NYC where cars aren’t practical, people still lug shopping carts aka “granny carts” as many older women use them as an alternative to walkers. Many years ago, the store carts had hooks on them and people could attach their small carts to the large carts and wheel freely around the stores. The hooks disappeared at some point. Stores often have signs telling you to put the goods in a basket and NOT in your personal cart, so you’ll see people pushing carts AND carrying baskets or having the baskets balanced on their carts. I bought some hooks (cantilevers) and attach my cart with those. Recently in a supermarket in Venice – where you can’t have a car - I noticed that people brought shopping carts but left them on a trust basis inside the store near the exit. I would not do this in NYC as the cart would be stolen.
I use delivery extensively, but there are some stores I want to shop in person, whether Trader Joe’s in the U.S., because of the serendipity that’s built into their inventory, or say markets abroad, when I want to explore products and packaging hands on. That’s part of a travel experience to me.
I’m a Trader Joe’s fan. They also specifically hire friendly personable people which I think adds to the serendipitious experience. It’s about 0.7 miles from my house so I take my granny cart and cantilevers. I have this as a “recommended” place/experience/shopping for sitters.
I’ve brought foreign visitors, who insist on returning to TJ’s each time they come. Even seen tour buses at locations in a couple of states.
I sat for a Scottish host who mentioned loving TJ’s and planning to return on her trip to NY.
One of the things is, they have state or city designs that you can get only at those locations. 99 cents a reusable bag that you can use or share as gifts. The designs are bold and fun.
Tangentially, I love that some markets in Italy have shopping carts for shoppers with dogs. There are signs so you know not to use them unless you have a dog.
The dogs tend to be well behaved here and they can go to many places.
In the US and the sits I’ve chosen here have been walkable to groceries and restaurants. When I have wanted to explore further, I typically take an uber or the subway if available.
I wouldn’t fly to the US to do just one sit and leave the country, how can I go about from one to the next? Owners’ cars wouldn’t work in that case, I’ll have to rent a car which can be returned to another place?
You could rent. Many rental car agencies have a range where you can drop the car. For farther distances, you pay an extra drop fee. Or you could fly and rent a car when you get to the new location.
Depends on how far apart sits are and what your resources and priorities are. It’s the same in all countries if you do sits far apart.
BTW, when I started sitting, I did a few sits along the U.S. West Coast. I flew from the East Coast, where I lived at the time, sat in San Diego, California (where my hosts loaned me a car). Then flew up to Seattle, Washington state, where I rented a car. Then drove the rental to sit in a resort town a few hours away. Then drove the rental back to Seattle and sat there. Returned the rental car at the Seattle airport before flying home.
What I did wouldn’t be any different had I flown in from abroad or from elsewhere in the U.S.
Travel in the U.S. is quite different from travel in the U.K., and that’s part of what makes the experience interesting. Domestic flights are also a much more common way of getting around in the U.S., mainly because of the country’s size, whereas they are less common in the U.K.
Do you already have a plan for which places you’d like to visit and how long your trip will be? Will you only be house-sitting, or are you planning to do other things as well?
If you’d like suggestions, forum members can help with routes, places to visit, and the most suitable modes of transport — or you can ask AI for ideas too.
If you want suggestions Forum members can give you suggestions on a route , places to see, most suitable mode of transport - or you can ask AI
Reading some of this and the responses. While I don’t think now is a great time to visit the US for many reasons, in terms of planning a trip whether it’s slow travel with sitting in different places over a couple of months or just a couple of weeks, because of the country’s size, you can’t see everything. Different regions or even cities will be very different in terms of stuff like transportation options and much else.
@Travelerthiswld you have an impression of the US from some of the sits you’ve browsed, but I’m curious where the sits were. We’ve sat in California but only in San Fransisco a city where a car is not necessary. But if I were to travel to or take a sit in Los Angeles, I’d likely rent a car or borrow the owner’s (not that likely because I don’t like to do that). In New York City a car is absolutely a pain in the neck and not a good idea, but if you managed to find something a couple of hours away in New York state’s Hudson Valley, you’d need one even if the sit was located in a village near a store or restaurant. The country is large and there are very few overnight train options, so yes air travel between distant regions is common. If I were going from NYC to Boston, however I’d take the train as it is less expensive, and given airport security, delays, etc, not significantly slower. We don’t have high speed trains on long (legacy) routes so from NYC to Chicago the train would take almost a day but the plane ride is short and not very expensive. (Buses would be the cheapest but sound unbearable.)
You also won’t get an impression of how people live in the US by simply visiting one place. It’s like saying “Italy is this way” when you’ve only been to Rome.
