[tanaysn]

My first impression of the USA was quite okay. I had travelled to NY last year for work and roaming in the subway, walking down the streets did not impress me either. Or maybe my prejudice about US was a bit overhyped.

I had an impression (from the pictures/movies) about how they portrayed the Times Square to be so beautiful and clean but reality check was is was just about okay.
Comparing any "clean" and posh locality of Indian metro cities it wouldn't be that far away from NY.

Taking a wall around the streets of Rashtrpati bhavan and comparing it with going around the White House was not much different for me to be frank.

Drivng in the US was a bit boring for me as on the freeways everyone is doing the same speed and with the stricter limits with the car in cruise control there is not much to enjoy about. Agreeed you get to buy/drive good powerful cars but not faster than 70mph..! (if I remember correctly. Driving is India is more lively and engaging for me.

[smooth indian]

Having stayed in the US for decade and a half, mostly in the midwest (Ohio) and a little in the Bay Area, my first impression of the US was the bright and clean airport and brisk pace of cars on the highways. Everywhere the roads are well organized and generally of a good quality. Stores like Walmart, Kroger, Meijer e.t.c. were huge. Houses and apartments didn't always seem to be large but everything seemed standardized. City and suburban roads pretty much didn't have too many hard medians (dividers) no matter what their width. There is enough trust on the road; drivers are orderly and generally pedestrians are given preference. All cities big and small have ample amount of parks and recreational green spaces. Large cities like NYC, SF and Boston are expensive to live are primarily due to high rents/property prices not unlike Mumbai, Delhi or Bengaluru; But the large cities often offer more avenues for lifestyle and career. Mid-size cities like Pittsburgh, PA and Nashville, TN often ofter some good option for lifestyle or career but not as much as big cities; The mid-size cities are often much cheaper to live since rents/house prices are way lower and open spaces are easily available. However no matter what the size of the city, you still have good basic amenities like roads, power, water, parks e.t.c. Food portions are huge and gas prices are lower than India. It's a car oriented country and having a car at your disposal really improves the quality of life by several notches. If you have a reasonable income a good used car or even a nice commanding motorcycle can be bought for a very mouthwatering price. Of course as someone mentioned before, all the charm of material property wears off after some time. As time progresses one also gets to know the dark side of the society. Despite some much land homelessness is a problem particularly in large cities. The high cost of higher education and medical expenses puts a lot of Americans in an endless cycle of debt. With increased economic pain and breakdown of social trust as well as poor leadership in many aspects of life, extremist tendencies have grown. The next few months will reveal how Americans reorient or disorient their country.

[mmxylorider]

Another first impression is the sheer diversity in people. In India, you will see people in shades of brown. But here, it's a completely different demographic. African-Americans and East Asians are not commonly seen in India, but are omnipresent here. Add the east Europeans, Hispanics and it's quite a melting pot.
One more first was the dressing sense. All kinds of attire and not necessarily conservative.

[pgsagar]

Visited US/Canada as tourist twice and loved every bit of it. Sure, there are minuses but like most here, pluses far outweigh minuses, for me. The biggest minus was sight of panhandlers and homeless in big cities. Especially, LA, NY and DC. But then, I think there isn't a single country in the world which doesn't have a share of its own homeless. Now, the pluses. More than infrastructure and higher standard of living, what I find most endearing is people don't stare at you, respect your personal space, they don't come within 2 feet of you. No loud talking over cellphone, no loud conversation in public places, no honking at all (except NYC). No one judges you and doesn't care what you wear or how you look.

Then their infrastructure. Wide roads, spacious parking spaces, rolling manicured meadows by the roadside and pretty much everywhere with sprinkles. Leafy suburbs with their 2-car garages and side-walk . We don't see this in any city in India. Then sheer sizes of their Walmarts and other stores. In Canada, we went to big outlets of Canadian Tire and Ikea. Super huge. You get everything from a potted plant to hardware to tractor.

Been to only LA, LV, Denver, NYC, DC, in US. Liked west coast and west for highways. Enjoyed drive from LA to Grand Canyon via LV thoroughly, in our rented F150. But landscape of Calif., Nevada, Arizona was barren and hot. I am not a fan of this landscape. I like greenery. So, I liked lush-green dense vegetation of eastern states, NY state, NJ, Virginia, Maryland. The house we stayed at Westchester County in upstate NY was out of picture post card. Surrounded by lush-green trees, mowed lawns and in quiet spacious neighbourhood. So, serene and super-silent. Hardly any street traffic or pedestrians.

But NYC was far from it. Sure, it may have impressive skyscrapers and it may be financial/banking/commerce capital of the world but it is very un-Americanly chaotic. I actually felt at home with all that traffic and even honking, although not as bad as my town in India. Anyone who visits only NYC and comes back and says he's been to US is wrong. It is hardly representative of the US. More like representative of the world. You hear all kinds of languages on the streets. But, yes, I didn't feel as unsafe as I was told back in India. We stayed on the Upper East Side and me and wife even took long walks after dinner at nights exploring surroundings of central park and other streets and avenues. Didn't feel unsafe at any point. My cousin says the infamous muggings of 80s/ 90s are almost a thing of past now since gentrification of NYC some 2 decades back. Well-heeled folks who once had abandoned NYC have started moving back and all the rundown buildings are being turned into loft apartments, trendy restaurants, art galleries etc.

I found no difference between Canada and US except that US uses miles while Canada is KMs like us. Canada has plastic dollars while US has paper currency , like us. And, Canadians appeared more polite. Canada didn't appear as ethnically diverse as US. I was to visit these 2 nations again this Sept. but Covid put paid to my trip. May be next year. So, that's about my impressions of the US. And, last but not the least, I would say this. If you are an automobile enthusiast and you like cars and open highways and if you absolutely love the sheer variety of cars and trucks there is to see, then there is no place in this world which can beat US of A. Second spot would be Dubai, I guess. Heck, I want to keep going back again and again until I get bored. But, right now, I am not.

[airbus]

First time I visited USA in mid 2007. First impression was great infrastructure, clean places and disciplined people. Personally saw how people truly follow right of way for pedestrians and lane discipline. Motorcycles were rare that time. Almost all places were having facilities for differently abled people.

[mmxylorider]

I believe first impressions are greatly dependent upon multiple factors - age, year, purpose, family, exposure. Let me elaborate...
Combining 1,2,3 above: A graduate from India in late 90s coming to study in the states will have a different way of looking at life as opposed to a married couple in late 2000s v/s a family of 4 in 2010s. The exposure aspect is different and so are the priorities. I have had multiple colleagues travelling first time and experiencing things differently. For the millenials now, the physical infrastucture is the only thing that makes an impression. Lifestyle in some case is more forward in India. A couple looks at the opportunity to travel and see the sights. A family with children are impressed with the care and attention that the education system provides. I've been through some of this and there is always something new that you find out.

Also coming as a tourist and staying longer are completely different situations. Stay longer and you experience the 'smaller yet significant' things.