North Carolina Home to One of the Best Places to Spend New Year’s
2023, is that you? That’s right, we are on our way to another year and it’s time to celebrate. But, how are we celebrating? I personally have not made any…

Happy New Year, Glittering burning sparkler against blurred city light background
Getty Images2023, is that you? That's right, we are on our way to another year and it's time to celebrate. But, how are we celebrating? I personally have not made any decisions so far for my New Year's plans, but I do plan to bring in the year with a bang. I do enjoy traveling, so maybe this list is the perfect place for me to start.
Veranda released its 14 best places to spend New Year's and one of the destinations is shocking. Of course, they have named places around the world like Cape Town, London, New Orleans, and more. But, there is one town that was listed as No. 1 that was a bit of a surprise. One North Carolina town made the list and here we are. Highlands, North Carolina was named one of the best destinations to spend New Year's. This dreamy winter destination is the perfect place for you to kick off a new year and kiss 2022 goodbye! Enjoy the natural surroundings, tasty food, spas, and more throughout the area. Enjoy a relaxing weekend getaway for New Year's and kick off the year in complete peace and tranquility. Whether you want to do that solo or with someone special.
Check out the full list here to see where you could maybe catch a last-minute flight for the new year.
Two North Carolina Cities Among Fastest Growing In U.S.
Does it feel like traffic keeps getting worse in Charlotte? There's a very real reason for that. According to WCNC-TV, the Charlotte metropolitan area was recently ranked as one of America's fastest-growing large metros.
A study by the Inspection Support Network shows the population changes among large, small, and mid-size U.S. metros based on census data to rank the fastest-growing areas across the nation. The Charlotte metro, which also includes Concord and Gastonia, came in at no. 6 on the list for large metros.
From 2016 to 2021, Charlotte's population grew by 8.1%, or 201,349 people. That brought the total population for the metro to 2,701,046. Where are all these new Charlotteans coming from? The research indicates that the most common point of origin was the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area.
Another North Carolina metropolitan area has been growing even more dramatically. The Raleigh-Cary area was the second-fastest growing metro in the U.S. from 2106 to 2021. Their population went up 11.1%, although the overall population is still much lower than in Charlotte. However, the Raleigh-Cary metro added most of its new residents from nearby areas, such as Durham and Chapel Hill.