These Are the Friendliest Cities to Visit in 2021

by Erica LoopMarch 18, 2021

Where are the friendliest places to travel? Even though masks may hide smiles, plenty of places are still filled with friendly faces—and Expedia has ranked them for you, based on user experiences.

The travel pros at Expedia sorted through reviews to find the highest number of friendly-factor mentions. Associated words and linguistic connections such as “friendly, friendliest, amiable” landed some cities at the top of Expedia’s list.

photo: Rodnae Productions via Pexels

Now that you’re ready to pack the family up and head out on your first getaway of the year, it’s time to pick a destination. If friendliness is an important factor, you have plenty of travel destinations to choose from. The top 10 friendliest cities, based on Expedia user reviews include:

Whitefish, Montana
Sister Bay, Wisconsin
Manitou Springs, Colorado
Easton, Maryland
Lihue, Hawaii
Sierra Vista, Arizona
Kennebunkport, Maine
Chincoteague, Virginia
Ogunquit, Maine
Provincetown, Massachusetts

Along with these friendly cities, other top 20 honors went to Carolina Beach, North Carolina, Kahului, Hawaii, Alamogordo, New Mexico, Manhattan, New York, Kapa’a, Hawaii, Bar Harbor, Maine, Grants Pass, Oregon, Deadwood, South Dakota, Hilo, Hawaii and Aspen, Colorado.

—Erica Loop

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These Are the Top 10 U.S. Cities for Hiking

by Erica LoopMarch 15, 2021

Is hiking your new fave family go-to activity? With indoor activities on the outs this year, plenty of parents are looking for outdoor ideas.

Whether you’re on the hunt for a new outdoorsy vaycay spot or just want to get outside for an afternoon of family-friendly fun, LawnStarter put together a list of the top cities in the United States for hiking!

photo: Nina Uhlikova via Pexels

LawnStarter chose 11 key indicators, grouped into four categories, to rank the most hike-able cities in America. These categories include “access” (the key indicators are number of hiking routes, number of camping sites, number of camping stores), “diversity” (the key indicators are variety of route difficulty), “climate” (the key indicators are yearly average number of very cold days), yearly average of very hot days, sunshine, average monthly precipitation, and air quality) and “safety” (the key indicators are natural hazards index and natural/environmental death rate).

After reviewing the stats, LawnStarter ranked the top 10 cities for hiking:

San Francisco, CA
Oakland, CA
Los Angeles, CA
San Diego, CA
Portland, OR
San Jose, CA
Huntington Beach, CA
Moreno, CA
Tucson, AZ
Long Beach, CA

If you’re looking for the city with the most hiking routes, Phoenix, Arizona is the top choice. Hikers who want the best variety of route difficulty will enjoy walking work outs in San Bernardino, California and Salt Lake City, Utah. Fams who aren’t into the chilly weather, should check out the cities with the lowest yearly average number of very cold days—Miami Florida and San Francisco, California.

Get the rest of the stats from the study on LawnStarter’s website here.

—Erica Loop

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This Study Reveals Just How Much Americans Have Cleaned in the Past Year

by Erica LoopMarch 11, 2021

Does it seem like you’re cleaning your home more than ever? OnePoll recently conducted a survey on behalf of Bounty of 2,000 American’s cleaning habits pre- and during-pandemic times.

Pre-pandemic, Americans spent an average of five hours and 37 minutes per week cleaning. Now that everyone is more aware of the germs around them, Americans have added a whopping three hours and 12 minutes per week to this number. This means 71 percent of adults are spending more time cleaning than ever.

photo courtesy of SWNS

The survey’s cleaning statistics show that the average American has spent nearly three weeks cleaning in the past year. This equals 458 hours or 19 days!

Increased cleaning time isn’t the only issue the survey revealed. According to the OnePoll stats, 79 percent of people were more aware of bacteria and cleanliness in general after the pandemic started. Seventy-eight percent of respondents reported they were more aware of their own cleanliness.

The survey also revealed the home spaces and places Americans believe are the dirtiest. These include handles and knobs in the kitchen (44 percent) and kitchen hand towels (18 percent). Jessica Rivera, infectious disease expert said, “Used dishcloths can provide a flourishing environment for bacteria. And what many do not realize is, when you wipe up a mess or dry your hands with a used, reusable cloth, you may be helping to spread bacteria.”

When it comes to other “dirtiest” areas of the home, the survey revealed that Americans also ranked kitchen sponges, bathroom faucet handles, kitchen faucet handles, coffee makers and bottled water dispensers at the top of the list.

—Erica Loop

Featured photo Karolina Grabowska via Pexels

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Spring Family Vaycay? These Are the Best Cities for Outdoor Adventures

by Erica LoopMarch 9, 2021

Where are you going on spring break? While packed indoor spaces are still no-go’s, outdoor destinations and attractions are the places to be this spring. With that in mind, LawnStarter rounded up the best of best cities for spring outdoor activities.

The website ranked the top 200 biggest cities for outdoor activities and safety. Factors included in the ranking are the number of public gardens, campsites and trails, along with the amount of spring sun in the city and walkability.

photo: Allan Mas via Pexels

The top 10 best outdoor cities for the spring are:

San Francisco, California
Portland, Oregon
Honolulu, Hawaii
Mesa, Arizona
Washington, DC
Tucson, Arizona
Los Angeles, California
Long Beach, California
Huntington Beach, California
Las Vegas, Nevada

Even though the nation’s capitol came in at number five on the list, Washington, D.C. was rated as the most walkable city in the country. It also outperformed other cities in its bike score, number of attractions and number of public gardens. If you live on the West Coast or prefer to travel to an ocean-side city, California, Oregon, and Hawaii all have top-pick places to consider for your fam’s outdoors adventures.

Before you book your vaycay, you might also want to consider how the weather could impact your outdoor plans. According to LawnStarter’s stats, Nevada cities have the least rain in the spring season—with a five-way tie between Paradise, Spring Valley, Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson.

—Erica Loop

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New Research Finds This Is the Best Place in the World to Raise a Child

by Erica LoopMarch 1, 2021

Nestlé recently released the results of the brand’s new Parenting Index—and the United States ranks fifth globally in the best places to raise children. The top countries to raise a child based on The Parenting Index are Sweden, Chile, Germany, and Mexico.

The beloved brand’s Index looked at parenting views from more than 8,000 moms and dads of children zero to 12-months in 16 different countries. After analyzing the responses, researchers were able to identify eight universal factors universally impacting parenting practices.

photo: Andrea Piacquadio via Pexels

Pressure ranked as the top factor impacting U.S. parents. Not only did American moms and dads feel pressure for their kids to “have it all,” but they also reported high levels of pressure from others. Other issues U.S. parents reported were social shaming (46 percent of parents), loneliness (30 percent), the baby blues (45 percent) and the desire for greater sharing of parenting responsibilities (51 percent).

Dr. Ming Cui, Professor of Family and Child Sciences at Florida State University and M.S. in Statistics and Ph.D. in Sociology, Fulbright U.S. Scholar, reviewed The Parenting Index methodology and findings. Of the result, Dr. Cui said, in a press release, “Today’s parents are increasingly parenting in a state of anxiety, which can be reflected from findings in this report, such as the external/internal pressure, lack of confidence and financial demands they say they are experiencing.”

Cui added, “Influenced by popular media along with technology advances, many parents from different cultures and socio-economic classes feel pressured to do it all.”

Even though the findings may highlight some of the not-so-great parts of parenting, the results weren’t entirely negative. American parents did report feeling positive in general. They also felt they have access to the health and well-being resources they need.

To learn more about the study’s findings, view The Parenting Index here.

—Erica Loop

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Curious What the Most Popular Valentine’s Day Candy Is? The Answer May Surprise You

by Erin LemFebruary 11, 2021

An intimate romantic dinner out while the kids are with a sitter may not be in the cards for you this year, but one thing that the pandemic can’t take away from Valentine’s Day: all the sweet candy. This year Americans are buying up candy like they did toilet paper, and estimates from CandyStore.com say spending on candy this year could potentially top $2 billion. But what exactly are Americans buying to satisfy that sweet tooth? Read on to find out the most popular Valentine’s Day candy by state and what candy trends to expect this year.

Curious what the top candy is by state? From M&M’s to heart-shaped boxes of chocolates check out 10 states below and then hop over to CandyStore.com for the full list or click the interactive map below:

Alabama: Candy necklaces

Alaska: heart-shaped boxes of chocolates

Arizona: M&M’s

Arkansas: Conversation hearts

California: heart-shaped boxes of chocolates

Colorado: heart-shaped boxes of chocolates

Connecticut: heart-shaped boxes of chocolates

Delaware: Hershey kisses

Florida: heart-shaped boxes of chocolates

Georgia: heart-shaped boxes of chocolates

Source: CandyStore.com.
Trends to look out for, according to CandyStore.com

• Conversation heart candy will make a comeback in 2021

• M&M’s ranked #1 in both Oregon and North Dakota. This year expect this chocolatey favorite to spike in popularity.

• Cupid Corn’s popularity may be fading away but only time will tell.

Some interesting Valentine’s Day candy facts, from Candystore.com:

• 47% of people said they will buy themselves a box of chocolates this year.

• 58 million pounds of chocolate are bought during Valentine’s Day week.

• The peak selling period for conversation hearts is only 6 weeks long. Wow!

• It takes manufacturers 11 months to produce enough for those 6 weeks.

• Vodka infused with candy remained popular with conversation hearts last year.

• Children receive 39 percent of all Valentine’s Day candy and gifts.

featured image: Laura Ockel via Unsplash

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Survey Says: This Is the Most Magical Time of the Year

by Karly WoodFebruary 4, 2021

A study conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Stuffed Puffs®, purveyor of chocolate-filled marshmallows, in anticipation of National Hot Chocolate Day has some new data on Americans and winter. Polling 2,000 people, results show that 67 percent of parents are looking forward to feeling like a kid again this winter.

Could it be that we are all focused more on the simple things in life in light of 2020? Regardless, 60 percent of parents agreed that winter just feels more magical than other times of the year.

photo: SWNS

In addition to enjoying the chilly weather, over 40 percent of parents agreed that they looked forward to sharing a cup of hot chocolate with their kiddos––marshmallows included.

“There’s something nostalgic about sitting by the fire on a snowy day and drinking a cup of hot chocolate,” said Carla O’ Brien, the SVP of Marketing at Stuffed Puffs. “We weren’t surprised to see that having a marshmallow-filled cup of hot chocolate was the top favorite thing about winter…”

Thirty two percent of hot chocolate drinkers admitted to drinking it on the daily during winter, with 60 percent agreeing marshmallows ranked in the top for toppings. So what else is bright about winter?

Adults shared they believed these activities ranked highest: enjoying a marshmallow-filled cup of hot chocolate, going outside to watch the first snowfall, sitting by the fire to warm up after a day out in the cold, building a snowman, celebrating the holidays, baking winter/holiday treats, skiing/snowboarding and ice skating.

––Karly Wood

Feature photo: Tim Gouw via Unsplash

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And the Happiest State in America Is…

by Karly WoodDecember 13, 2020

It’s no surprise that Google Trends have recently revealed that searches for moving services and the best state to live in have increased in recent months, given the pandemic. Luckily, ISoldMyHouse.com, a national real estate marketplace, has analyzed all the research for us and come up with the happiest state of all.

Nebraska has taken home the prize! To determine the results, ISoldMyHouse.com “used publicly available data across 10 different categories to create an index of the states where residents are the happiest, and where people may be most interested in moving to in 2021.”

Sunset over Scottsbluff National Monument at Gering Nebraska

photo: iStock

So what categories were analyzed? The platform researched crime rates, employment rates, school graduation rates, average life expectancy, sales tax, average annual sunshine, air quality, cost of living, quality of local hospitals and housing cost to come up with the happiest states. So who else ranked highly?

1. Nebraska

2. Iowa

3. North Dakota

4. Kansas

5. Maine

On the flip side, the unhappiest states were:

46. Kentucky

47. Mississippi

48.California

49. Nevada

50. West Virginia

Nebraska ranked in the top 20 for eight out of the 10 categories including crime (7th) and air quality (6th). West Virginia did not do well in the ranking, coming in the bottom 20 for seven out of 10 categories, including employment rates (48th), graduation rates (42nd), life expectancy (49th), sales tax (35th), annual sunshine (48th), air quality (48th) and quality of hospitals (39th).

Kris Lippi, founder of ISoldMyHouse.com states,“In one way or another 2020 has been an incredibly difficult year for so many people and we wouldn’t blame anyone for looking for a fresh start in a new state in 2021. In fact, our research shows that people are already doing their research on which state is the best to live in!

––Karly Wood

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These Are the Best States for Camping

by Karly WoodAugust 15, 2020

This summer caused a lot of families to press pause on vacation planning, and a recent survey conducted by InsureMyTrip proved that everyone is looking forward to planning their 2021 vacations more than ever. The survey showed that not only are nearly 90 percent of Americans hoping for a vaycay next year, but that bookings are already growing by as much as 500 percent in Europe and the U.S.!

As we all plan for a getaway, InsureMyTrip decided to rank all 50 states to show the good, bad and the ugly when it comes to camping. Keep reading to see how your state shakes out.

InsureMyTrip ranked each state by several categories that include campsite quality, species diversity, internet access, fuel prices and rainfall. So who made the top 10? With all the categories in mind, these states came out as the best:

Rhode Island
Utah
Maryland
New Hampshire
New Mexico
Minnesota
Colorado
South Carolina
Texas
Vermont

The worst overall were:

Wyoming
Montana
Nevada
Indiana
Idaho
North Carolina
California
Hawaii
Tennessee
Mississippi

The survey also ranked the best states for woodland camping, most convenient, and safest. To view the entire report, head over to InsureMyTrip’s dedicated page.

––Karly Wood

photo: Laura Pluth via Unsplash

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Are These the Best Cities for Families in the World? This Study Says Yes

by Erica LoopJanuary 26, 2020

Are you looking for a change? If you’re looking for a move on the international level, Movinga recently announced the top global picks for families!

After selecting 150 cities from around the world, the experts at Movinga reviewed each location based on criteria important to families—including housing affordability, living cost (by income), unemployment rate, safety, mobility, air quality, healthcare, kids’ activities, paid parental leave, family inclusivity and family friendliness.

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Not only did Movinga’s study include a review of the data, the family relocation pros also surveyed families who live in the cities. This means the cities aren’t just statistic picks, they’re the best places for families to live according to IRL parents.

So which cities scored the highest marks? The best cities for families in 2020 include:

Helsinki, Finland: This was the number one pick worldwide.
Quebec, Canada: The number two city in the globe for families.
Oslo, Norway: This city was number three overall and rated high on family-friendliness.
Tokyo, Japan: Rated the best for neighborhood safety.
Los Angeles: The highest number of kids’ activities.
Singapore: The highest education score.
New Yoork City: NYC ranked second in kids’ activities.

To view the full list and methodology, visit Movinga here!

—Erica Loop

Featured photo: Matt Hardy via Pexels

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