Besides, there is so much to do as is, like learn assembly. =)
Most places in the USA are unremarkable; as my mother would say when my father talks about visiting a new state park, "seen one tree, seen 'em all". Cities nationwide are relatively the same beyond superficial differences. I spent a week in Rhode Island a year ago, and today I couldn't tell you any way it was meaningfully different from the Silicon Valley besides 'it had old buildings'.
On the other hand, visiting Japan as a teenager was really cool.
I'm curious why you thought Japan was cool. Could you explain?
Where in Rhode Island were you? What did you do there? Who were you with? Did you meet anyone?
Visiting Japan (suburbs, not city) was like visiting a sort of parallel universe. Everything was fundamentally similar, but totally different. Additionally, I was learning Japanese at the time, so it was rather exciting just trying to converse with native speakers. It was quite a while ago so I can't think of much in the way of specific examples of the 'bests', but they have a number of cultural aspects and traditions I preferred over their western equivalents, such as sleeping accommodations and choice in breakfast foods. (always found most western breakfasts beyond cereal/oatmeal and toast despicable)
Providence. Spent the week with a girl, roaming around the city a bit.
I imagined Prov to be somewhat different from SV. Isn't SV composed of some smallish towns (PA, etc) and then vast modern suburbs? Isn't Prov an oldish city by US stds? Multi-story buildings with shopfronts, apts above, more pedestrians, less cars, narrower streets, different building materials, a harbor, more mom & pop shops, than SV? Granted, it's not Japan, but what did you expect?
edit: I forgot about onigiri, that stuff was amazing too
Providence is most definitely different from SV. I wasn't disappointed or let down either- I expected pretty much what I got. I guess you could say besides the weather (rain) I felt I could have had pretty much the same experience in any of the US cities I've been to. Japan was different, because I was discovering the place rather than living in it. So, perhaps my lack of fascination with Providence stems from the fact that I am not enamored of m&p shops and old buildings. It was nice, but nothing to write home about.
I stayed with a family in Japan. The dad was American, the Mom was Japanese, and they ate cereal and toast every morning. The dad said that's pretty much what all the kids eat. Another popular snacky thing is onigiri. It's a rice ball with a mystery filling (usually tasty), wrapped with dried seaweed. I ate them quite often for breakfast when I was on the road.
EDIT: Silverstorm's link is exactly the type of futon I slept on.
On the other hand, visiting San Francisco as a teenager was really cool.
When I go traveling, I like to learn about the regional differences in a few of my interests. Those things are: The outdoors, food, music, and idle chitchat. I think the US provides a lot of diversity in these things. It's weird going to a random small fry rock concert in Seattle and watching the crowd stand around and listen. The music is blaring, it's good, and the crowd is going wild, intently staring at their feet, enjoying themselves. Why do they do it? I don't know, you don't see it so much in Portland, it's just how we are in the damp, dark city of Seattle.
I could go on about the millions of delicious hamburgers I've eaten everywhere, the blues guitars, the beer and everything. But I guess I'm just trying to say the the U.S. can be fun, and you just have to get to know the people in order to notice the differences between the cities.
But, I guess that's only if you like traveling :D. Fortunately there are more experiences which don't require leaving your hometown.
I am happiest when I can sit in my office and be left alone. I don't like traveling, I don't particularly like the "outdoors", and I'm not big on vacations.
A couple years back I spent three months on a photography expedition in the Atacama desert, and while it was a rewarding experience, I'd have been just as happy spending that time alone in my apartment; but then again I'm somewhat of a hermit.
I think it's probably a useful generalization that people on average prefer experiences, but like all generalizations, it's certainly not true for everyone.
No disrespect meant to your preferred lifestyle. Just saying that when you do next pop out you might try somewhere less hostile like the Galapagos or Easter Islands. Kind of a moot point, as the next place more hostile than the Atacama is probably the Moon.
As to Galapagos or Easter Island, I have zero desire to visit either. I find nothing interesting about the natural world (which sounds awful, and I don't mean it to).
I just got back last week from taking my girlfriend to the Dominican Republic for her birthday (which was a much more traditional vacation). I didn't take my laptop (something she was keen to require); but our hotel had Wifi. I found myself using my iPhone 4 to keep up on things as much as I was able. If it had been up to me, I'd have sat in the hotel bar reading RSS feeds all day.
For a few hours of hassle, you get life changing experiences. That's why we invented Valium :) Anyways, that's my .02. Experiencing another culture first hand changes you, it makes you see your world differently.
You can learn Assembly on the way, if you must.
That said, I think I'd enjoy living in a unique place 3-5 months out of each year.