The United States of America – Land of the Free, Home of the Brave – it is more or less impossible to not already know most everything about the world’s last remaining superpower, with the country enveloping the rest of the planet in its own brand of culture, food and style. The word ‘brand’ being key in that sentence, mind, with the US home to the biggest brand names in the world – Coca Cola, Disney and the countless others that have spread far and wide. Sitting with coasts on the Atlantic, Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico, the USA shares land borders with Canada to the north and Mexico in the south, whilst the islands of Hawaii and state of Alaska sit away from the main landmass. A vast country covering many types of climate zones, the US is a country that holds something for all – the cosmopolitan city life of New York, the laid back deep south or any of the chilly mountain towns, with every other lifestyle crammed in somewhere along the lines for those living there or simply visiting to enjoy.

Early history of what is now the USA stretches back to descendents of the people now known as Native American Indians – most theories stating the people travelled from regions in and around Mongolia and walked across what is now the Bering Strait, around 20,000 years ago. These people were left to develop as they saw fit until 1492, when a disorientated Columbus ‘discovered’ the country purely by accident – though it wasn’t until the mid-16^th century that the immigrants arrived in any great numbers from Europe, looking to either get rich or to simply colonise and start a new life, away from the religious persecution of home. After debts following the French and Indian War mounted, the British looked to recoup some monies through higher taxations on the American colonies – this soon lead to the American War of Independence, which saw the Constitution drawn up and the Declaration of Independence signed. The birth of a nation. Years of asserting itself followed, with the US borrowing, buying and taking regions, landmasses and whole states for themselves, leaving the country more or less as it is today by the mid-19^th century, bar Alaska and Hawaii. Disagreements over the right to own slaves served as a catalyst to the American Civil War which broke out in 1861, after the Confederate south seceded from the Union. Fighting raged for four years until the Union prevailed – America’s bloodiest conflict was resolved. Something of an isolationist period followed, with the US attempting to form more solid infrastructure in the nation and a more uniform foreign policy – it wasn’t until the victory over Spain in 1898 that the world began to sit up and take notice. Intervention in the First World War in 1917 announced the country’s arrival as a superpower, and further aid in WWII (including the first and second, and only, use of atomic bombs aggressively) went some way to cementing this position on the world stage. 1920 saw the introduction of Prohibition, and by 1929 the country saw the Stock Market Crash – both events took their toll on the young nation, though for very different reasons. By the end of the Second World War things were finally looking up – prosperous and powerful, America soon entered into another conflict: one more in tune with the newly-entered Nuclear Age. The Cold War ‘raged’ on for decades, fuelling both the US and the USSR with paranoia, witch hunts and the stockpiling of ‘preventative’ nuclear armaments. Tensions came to a head in the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, though clever, aggressive wrangling between the nation’s two leaders saw disaster averted. Amidst the Cold War background, which remained in place until 1991, many changes took place in the US – the 50s and 60s saw profound social change, with Martin Luther King Jr’s dream coming to fruition – at least in part – with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 signalling the beginning of modern America, free of prejudice. On paper, at least. The decade of free love brought about free thinking youths in the 60s and mass protests of the war in Vietnam showed that the people of the US, at least, were not as warmongering as the country’s reputation would suggest. The ultimately fruitless conflict lasted from 1959 to 1975, with US intervention in the region stepping up in the mid-60s and conscription forcing millions of troops halfway across the world over the years. The US saw patriotism hit an all-time low thanks to Nixon and the Watergate scandal, a surge in conservatism through the 80s and the presidency of ex-actor Ronald Reagan and military action in the Middle East and Central America under president Bush Sr. The end of the Cold War came about in 1991 with the fall of the Soviet Union, and the US saw a period of economic growth through the 90s under the Clinton administration. Involvement in international matters didn’t take a back seat, however, and successful intervention in the conflict in Bosnia restored faith in US foreign policy. Scandal for Clinton soon followed with the Lewinsky affair, but the president weathered the storm and finished his second term smelling of roses – more or less. The year 2000 saw one of the most hotly-contested election results of all time, with George Bush Jr. coming out on top by around 500 votes (still argued to this day) – the inauspicious start of Bush Jr. soon saw one of the biggest challenges any world leader has seen, with the terrorist attacks of September 11^th 2001 shaking the core of America as people knew it. The War on Terror that followed has divided public opinion almost as much as the Vietnam conflict and public opinion has been turning against the action in Iraq for a number of years now. Failure to react quickly to the flooding of New Orleans in 2005, a faltering economy and growing public dissent have seen President Bush’s two terms both hated and mocked in equal measure, though the American people remain as strong, pleasant and positive as ever, with the US maintaining its position as the land of the free and attracting millions upon millions to its soil every year.

The USA is an economy like no other, and the superpower is the richest and most powerful nation in the world. Whilst the economy has taken something of a drubbing over the last few years, things look to be turning around, slowly at least, and standards of living remain as high as ever. The number of people moving to the country has been consistently high over the years and, owing to the size of the country, there really is something for everyone across the Atlantic. Whilst property prices are sure to not be blindingly low, there are sure to be bargains around for those that look hard enough. The US is a beautiful country, home to wonderful people and where people can live the dream.

The standards of healthcare in the US are excellent. Health insurance is essential, as treatment can prove very expensive.

Mobile phone coverage stretches across the country. Landlines are widely available and lines are of an excellent standard. Internet cafes are widespread throughout the country