Chicken-Fried News: Summer numbers

For many, summer is a time to rejoice! School is out and the sun is shining.

They have put away those stuffy coats and stocked up on sunblock because it is time to plan that dream vacation getaway.

But where should they go? Fortunately for us indecisive and overanalytical types, personal finance website WalletHub recently released its 2017 ranking of best summer vacation spots!

The service developed its list using a methodology that ranks the United States’ 80 most-populous metropolitan areas in categories including travel costs, local costs, attractions, weather, activities and safety.

The top destinations won’t surprise any of us.

They are Las Vegas, which is ranked No. 1 overall, followed by Los Angeles; Orlando, Florida; and Chicago.

What might actually be surprising is where Oklahoma City falls on that list: No. 13!

Lucky us!

Don’t get us wrong.

Few rep OKC quite as enthusiastically as the fine (though admittedly snarky) staff at Chicken-Fried News.

But do we really believe the Sooner State’s capitol city is a top-15 summer destination?

There are still national parks and mountains and ocean-facing beaches in this country, right?

Has anyone checked in on Honolulu lately? (It’s No. 75, by the way — devastated in the rankings by high travel and local costs.)

Oklahoma City’s affordability seems to be the biggest boost to its ranking. According to WalletHub’s numbers, the city ranks No. 5 in travel costs and No. 1 in local costs. Our scoresheet was far from perfect, though.

WalletHub ranks OKC No. 75 in “activities,” a category that took into account things like the number of restaurants and amusement parks per capita.

What might be most bizarre is that WalletHub’s metrics show OKC as the nation’s No. 10 spot for best weather. Top 10 most extreme maybe, but best?

Even the city’s most cheerleadingest cheerleaders will tell you that our No. 13 ranking sounds a little optimistic.

If your dream summer weather includes heat indexes toping 109 degrees and potentially deadly storms, we would also strongly suggest tourists book a delightful visit to the desert planet Arrakis from Dune.

Regardless, OKC should push this honor on every potential tourist possible.

If the state legislators can’t get us out of our budget hole, maybe some analytical tourists can.

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