2023: Stick a Fork In It - The Best Food and Travel Cities This Year
Reflecting on Our 2023 Travels
The new year is here and it's time for Denise and me to look back on our travels in 2023. As the hosts of the Skip Town All Stars podcast, Denise and I have had some amazing adventures on the road this past year. We've experienced incredible destinations, met wonderful locals, sampled great regional food, and had plenty of laughs together.
But we've also had a few mishaps and challenges during our travels. As we reminisce about 2023, we thought we'd share the highs and lows of our journey with you.
Most Memorable Destinations
I'd have to say my most memorable travel experience from 2023 was visiting Luxor, Egypt. After spending time in the chaotic crowds of Cairo, arriving in Luxor was an immediate change of pace. The landscape is lush with agriculture rather than barren desert. And the history is beyond compare—we saw amazing ancient sites like the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. A hot air balloon ride over the city at sunrise is something I'll never forget.
For Denise, her top travel memory was our stay at the Laurel Hotel in Auburn, Alabama. The hotel itself is gorgeous, with upscale rooms and top-notch service. But it was the hospitality of the people of Auburn that really made it special. We made fast friends with locals who showed us amazing southern hospitality. It's easy to see why Auburn is one of the happiest cities in America!
Friendliest Cities
Speaking of friendly cities, we want to highlight some of the places where the locals really made us feel welcome. My picks are Savannah, Georgia—where almost everyone greets you with a smile and Southern charm; Bandera, Texas—even though we were only there briefly, the cowboys were very welcoming; and lower Mississippi—where folks wanted to chat us up everywhere we went!
Denise's friendliest cities were Savannah, Georgia, for the same reasons I mentioned; Auburn, Alabama, where we met many kind locals; and Guilford, Connecticut, though she admits having a local friend show us around may have colored her perspective.
Foodie Highlights
Of course, we can't talk about travel without mentioning the food! My top three food cities from our journey are New Haven, Connecticut, where you can't go wrong with pizza at Frank Pepe's and Italian pastries; Savannah, Georgia which offers almost any cuisine you can imagine; and Jersey City, New Jersey which has awesome Italian food.
Denise's favorite food destinations are Savannah, Georgia; Salt Lake City, Utah, which has surprisingly good ethnic cuisine; and Jersey City, New Jersey for killer Italian.
We've discovered local specialties like chicken spiedies in Binghamton, New York and boudin sausage in Louisiana. Let's just say we've never gone hungry on this road trip!
Navigating New Cities
We've gotten pretty good at navigating new cities, but some definitely pose more of a challenge. Cities that were easier for me to get around include Montreal with its excellent public transit, walkable Savannah, and compact New Haven.
Denise found Savannah and Gulf Shores to be easy driving cities. In Gulf Shores, you just have to follow the main highway along the coast to get anywhere.
More difficult cities to manage include traffic-laden Orlando, hilly Quebec City, and the infamous Beltway around Washington DC. Denise's one pick for toughest city is the Florida Keys with only one road in and out. We learned our lesson about avoiding traffic jams in the Keys!
Coffee Connoisseur Cities
As a certified coffee snob, I have strong opinions about the best coffee cities from our travels. The top three are Jersey City with its incredible selection of cool coffee shops; Savannah with local roasters like Foxy Loxy and Sentient Bean; and Salt Lake City, where I recently discovered the outstanding roaster, Salt Lake Roasting Company.
On the flip side, cities with terrible coffee include Corpus Christi, Lake Milton, and Hartford—none of which seem to have specialty roasters. I was seriously jonesing during our stays there!
Looking Ahead
While we had some frustrations, 2023 has been an amazing year on the road. Travel challenges are all part of the adventure. As we look ahead to 2024, we're excited to experience more hidden gems, meet welcoming locals, and continue our search for the perfect hometown.
We hope you'll follow along on our journeys this coming year. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast to join the ride!
10 Fun Facts About American Cities:
Chicago is home to over 7,300 restaurants and has over 39 million annual tourists.
Las Vegas has the brightest lights in the world with millions of bulbs on the Strip.
Seattle sees rain about 152 days per year, less than many other major U.S. cities.
Over 35 million people visit New York City every year to see sights like Times Square and the Statue of Liberty.
The Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles originally said "Hollywoodland" and was meant to be a temporary advertisement.
Philadelphia has over 1,500 murals around the city, more than any other U.S. city.
San Francisco's famous cable cars are the only National Historic Landmarks that still move.
New Orleans consumes more candy per capita than any other U.S. city around Mardi Gras.
Miami's South Beach has been home to over 800 movie shoots and 350 music video shoots.
The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk in California is home to the oldest wooden rollercoaster in the U.S.
10 Facts About Real Estate, Income, Crime and Lifestyle in America in 2023:
The median home price in the U.S. reached over $386,000 in November 2022.
The average hourly wage in the U.S. is around $32. But 10 states still use the federal minimum wage of $7.25.
Violent crime increased 4% in major U.S. cities during 2022 compared to 2021.
Over 1 in 3 Americans have put off retirement due to inflation and economic factors.
The U.S. fertility rate hit a record low in 2022 with only 1.65 births per woman.
San Francisco, NYC, Boston and Seattle ranked as the top cities for public transportation use in 2023.
2023 saw the highest U.S. murder rate in over 25 years with almost 22,000 murders nationwide.
The average rent for an apartment in the U.S. reached over $2,100 per month in 2022.
Obesity rates continue to increase, with 42% of Americans now considered obese.
2023 will see the first decrease in U.S. life expectancy since 2014, down to 76.1 years.