Here are the 10 best cities, from costs to safety, for ringing in 2022

Here are the 10 best cities, from costs to safety, for ringing in 2022

From the to the Bay Area, cities and towns across the country are expecting celebratory crowds come Friday as a pandemic-weary population looks to bid 2021 good riddance. Amid the latest, delta and infections, you might think more people than usual would be ringing in the new year at home, yet financial website WalletHub claims that's not the case. "Surprisingly, no," said WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzalez. "The percentage of people spending New Year's Eve at home is actually the same as in 2019." Sixty-percent of Americans plan to welcome 2022 with family or friends, compared to 24% attending public events or parties, according to the site's report — same as two years ago, before the pandemic struck the U.S. There were widely reported holiday travel snarls over the Christmas weekend, as worker-strapped airlines due to more employees calling in sick with Covid, but prior to the omicron wave, bookings for end-of-year holiday travel were up massively from last year, and even stronger than 2019. found that bookings for domestic flights were up 304% over 2020, and 53% compared to 2019. Car rentals were up 404% and 76%, respectively, over 2020 and 2019; lodging reservations rose 271% and 61%; and vacation