Long term stay in US - 6 weeks - Family in tow

Hi all, I'm looking at a potential business trip to the US that'll last for maybe 6 weeks or so, and thought it might be nice to have the family out there at the same time (likely to be UK school summer vacation period in July/August).

Can anyone recommend a good way to stay in the US for 6 weeks, preferably somewhere nice, with good airport network link so I can fly around the US relatively easily. Anyone got any creative ideas?

Thanks...

[ChuckC]

Wow, vizbiz. This is a big challenge without just a tad more information. Let's start with the general geographic area of the country where you'd like to be located; I'm assuming you'll want to be near an airport that is a hub or has great regional connections, but beyond that, well ... what's your preference? Do you like heat and humidity? August has plenty of it in certain parts of the USA. Do you want comfortable days and still fairly cool nights? Big cities? Smaller towns? How old are the children and what activities do they prefer? Where will the majority of your work take you?

If you give some answers to the above, I know our clever USA members (and many from elsewhere!) will be right back at you with recommendations and ideas.

Regards,
Chuck-

There are some hotel-like places that are made for extended stays. Sure they may not be the nicest looking places but they might be your best bet since they are made for your situation.

http://www.extendedstayamerica.com/
http://www.extendedstayhotels.com/

If you need good connections to US airports you have got to be looking around on of the big hubs, ORD or DFW, and of those two I know which I prefer (simply on weather tho) and that would be DFW. I have friends who live/work nr DFW and it appears to be fairly cheap.
As 6 weeks isn't actually that long I would be seriously tempted to put myself somewhere like MIA, MCO or if I could stomach the CAL way of life then LAX or SFO.

Paul

Thanks for the suggestions so far.

The additional info is 2 children aged 5, correct about wanting/needing to be near a hub. I'm probably over the course of the 6 weeks going to be covering the entire US - probably 12-14 major cities dotted all around, and for 2-3 days each, although the family larely needs to stay at the main residence/base for the 6 weeks.

Warm weather a big plus, but really hot or humid a big minus.

Not wedded to the idea being in a city - towns are usually nicer for families.

Originally posted by vizbiz
Thanks for the suggestions so far.

The additional info is 2 children aged 5, correct about wanting/needing to be near a hub. I'm probably over the course of the 6 weeks going to be covering the entire US - probably 12-14 major cities dotted all around, and for 2-3 days each, although the family larely needs to stay at the main residence/base for the 6 weeks.

Warm weather a big plus, but really hot or humid a big minus.

Not wedded to the idea being in a city - towns are usually nicer for families.

San Francisco is a most excellent town , and by then Virgin America might be flying..

It gets kind of cold in the summer though.

Originally posted by sky
It gets kind of cold in the summer though.

I take it you're joking?

Paul

[Scrooge]

Originally posted by p17blo

Originally posted by sky
It gets kind of cold in the summer though.

I take it you're joking?

Paul

Depends where your comparing it to.

[ChuckC]

Yes, indeed. SFO is quite cool in the summer. Right around October it's terrific, however. Actually warm. Then it's back to cool. I lived there for three years and loved it.

But for low cost airfares you would probably want to check out OAK across the bay versus trying to navigate the fog and higher fares at SFO.

Chuck-

Originally posted by vizbiz
Warm weather a big plus, but really hot or humid a big minus.

Not wedded to the idea being in a city - towns are usually nicer for families.

A very under-rated city is Chicago ... in summer it is beautiful with hot weather, miles of beach (yes fabulous beaches), lots to do, great architecture, fantastic restaurants and especially good for communications to anywhere in the US via ORD or low cost via Midway.

It's also very child friendly, lots to do with museums, parks, outdoor stuff, the river and lake, and more outside the city.

Can you guess I love it!

One big downer ... we're waiting for VS to announce when it will fly there again.

Slinks

An additional question is simply this; which are the best airports for internal connections within the US. I assuming Chicago and LAX, and a New York one are all good. Which ones would you recommend to give me the best choice to get to as many larger cities as possible?

Denver looks fairly central for instance but I have no idea which airlines/hubs are really best for choice and frequency of flights to other major cities are concerned...

Thanks again for the input!

If you prefer your domestic USA flights to earn Virgin miles or tier points you may wish to consider cities that are hubs for Delta, Continental, or perhaps America West airlines. (America West has merged with US Airways and I do not know how this will ultimately affect the realtionship with Virgin.) Delta's primary city is Atlanta, Georgia and Continental's primary city is Houston, Texas, but both have other hubs. Atlanta and Houston will be hot and humid during the summer, but Atlanta should cool down at night. Houston also presents a hurricane risk.

American Airlines flights can be credited to BA. They have hubs at Miami, Florida (humid, hurricanes), Dallas, Texas (well inland, hurricane unlikely), New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

As others have mentioned, several hotel chains operate "extended stay" properties, typically under a separate brand. These are essentially furnished apartments with cooking facilities. Bear in mind that most US metropolitan areas (except in the northeast) have weak public transportation and your spouse will probably need a car while you are travelling.

dennis

Originally posted by vizbiz
An additional question is simply this; which are the best airports for internal connections within the US.

More local V-Flyers will be better able than me to answer, however I should think that Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas and the main East Coast cities are all good candidates, together with LAX and perhaps San Francisco - all others being good but probably B-list to these. I wouldn't recommend Dallas or Atlanta however unless you like it hot, hot , hot! Though can't comment from any knowledge of Denver - just about to start some work in Colorado Springs however so might know more in a few months!