Hit the Road

Texas declared one of the 10 best states for summer road trips

Deep in the heart of Texas.

You want to hit the open road? You're in the right place. According to a new report from WalletHub, Texas is one of the 10 best states for a roaming vacation.

For its list of the best and worst states for summer road trips, the financial website ranked the 50 states on 22 factors in three main categories — cost, activities, and safety. Texas comes in at No. 6 overall.

The Lone Star State is one of the most affordable regions for road-tripping, ranking No. 9 for cost. The average cost of gas is $2.20 per gallon, the 10th lowest in the country. You can also find some serious deals on accommodations, including a three-star hotel for less than $60 per night or camping for under $45.

We rank 10th for activities, proving there's a lot to do on the open road. The state boasts 444 attractions, 3,349 miles of shoreline, and loads of nightlife options. The only bad thing? The summer heat, which is the sixth worst in the U.S.

Texas needs improvement in the safety category, which takes into account quality of roads, car thefts, fatalities, and more. We rank in the bottom half, at No. 30.

If you want to take your road trip across state lines, Oregon, Utah, Washington, North Carolina, and Louisiana are tops.

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Turkey Day news

Houston plates up top-20 rank on list of best cities for Thanksgiving

Courtesy of Amrina

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Houston is sitting at the head of the table as one of the best places in the country to celebrate Thanksgiving this year, a new study has revealed.

Houston ranked No. 15 out of 100 of the largest U.S. cities in WalletHub's annual "Best Places to Go for Thanksgiving" report, published November 12. The city made a big leap over its 2023 ranking as No. 32, and is the third highest-ranked Texas destination for the holiday.

The study analyzed each city based on 18 metrics to determine the best places for Thanksgiving, such as the number of pumpkin patches per capita, the average cost of a Thanksgiving dinner, the number of volunteer opportunities, the average weather forecast, and more. The metrics were then organized into five overall categories to determine the rankings.

The categories that Houston ranked the highest in were the city's affordability (No. 15) and the average weather forecast during the holiday period (No. 19), while the lowest-ranked category was for safety and accessibility (No. 95). Other categories that determined Houston's overall ranking were the number of celebrations and traditions (No. 23), and a "giving thanks" rank (No. 30).

"The best cities for celebrating Thanksgiving all have an abundance of high-quality restaurants and places to buy festive decorations, and their residents get very excited for the holiday based on their Google search history," said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo.

By Thanksgiving on November 28, Houston will be fully decked out for the December holidays. Houstonians who will have extended family in town during Thanksgiving weekend can take in of all the marvelous Christmas lights brightening the city. Houston certainly goes all out for the most wonderful time of year.

Elsewhere in Texas, Dallas (No. 5) and San Antonio (No. 7) were the among the top 10 best cities to go for Thanksgiving, while Austin only came in at No. 39.

San Diego, California (No. 1) topped the overall list of best places to go for Thanksgiving this year, followed by its Golden State neighbors San Francisco (No. 3) and San Jose (No. 4). Atlanta, Georgia (No. 2) rounds out the top five.

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