Great comment, thanks for sharing your thoughts. It certainly is a big country so it’s hard to quantify it all without really looking at the specific places one will be visiting.

Note: Strangely, I found the opposite to be the case in Canada (specifically British Columbia which I toured extensively). Lots of solo travelers, decent hostels, and somewhat better backpacker infrastructure.

Now for the positives, which may outweigh the negatives depending on what you seek when you travel:
Vast expanses of open land are something that Europeans can only dream of. Every climate zone exists in the US. If you’ve never been to a swamp, go to the southeast. If you’ve never been surfing, or to a desert, or in the mountains…go to the west. Every corner of the country has a different culture and can be quite interesting if you travel through it without an airplane.

I would recommend finding a travel buddy in advance. Then travel the northeast coast (the original American states) by public transport. After that, buy a car, get car insurance, and drive west or south and then west. Whatever you do, don’t skip New Orleans! Or fly west to denver or san francisco and buy a car there and start the tour around the west from there. (Although I’m from Chicago and love Chicago, I do condone skipping the middle states.)

I traveled the west coast states in the goal of exploring the beautiful landscapes, national parks, and roughing it in the wilderness. With only a car, a tent, some hiking gear, and a cooler, I managed to make the trip pretty cheap. I also did it in the off-season (i.e. travel the southwest in the spring when temps aren’t steaming hot and tourists aren’t everywhere). Insider tip: outside of the summer season, some campgrounds may be unmaintained and officially closed but leave their gates open to people legally allowing them to stay for FREE! I found this quite a lot in Canada and Alaska in September. I love the liberal states/provinces!

At the end of your trip, if your car is in good shape, post on some travel sites, either in the states or in Germany or the Netherlands that you’re selling your car and you might get back all the money you paid for it in the first place! This year will be a great year to do the trip as gas prices are under $3/gallon in the USA right now.