I haven't been to that part of the U.S. - just along the bottom southern states when my family drove across from Florida to California back in 1981. But I've seen pics of some of the awesome "autumn vistas" of parts of the U.S., and Canada - stunning!! A photographer's dream place to waste a few gigs of photos on!I like the warm earthy colors like those in the fall leaves up here in Pennsylvania.You will find all sorts of people in here. Patience and kindness really pays off. Try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, especially when you first meet them. God bless you.
I wholeheartedly agree on your points - have already run afoul of that on a thread I tried to start, unfortunately. Seems many of us have inadvertently developed "bunker syndrome" over the last decade or so...
As I've got older, I've not found it easy to balance graciousness with a need to be more assertive, as I've had a lot of "being pooped on" through life. Getting to that point of feeling one has earned one's stripes, and still getting pooped on, is a recipe for opening a door for Satan to get in, huh? 
