EyeShotFirst said:

Star Wars and Empire used nature and made them alien. Deserts and Tundra are all over the world, but they made them work. They sold regular things as irregular things.

Jedi just doesn't sell the woods of California as very alien, simply because most people probably drive by woods very similar every day or live near woods like that.

For what it's worth, I'm from the Southwest US, and Tatooine never seemed that alien to me. In fact, I think I liked Luke more because he grew up in a place that was so much like my hometown.

I thought Endor was the most amazing place I'd ever seen. I think I went to college in the Pacific Northwest because of a desire placed watching ROTJ when I was little.