Sometimes you just gotta go.
Chicago is flooded with New Year's Eve parties every year without fail (check out this year's best), but there's a whole lot going on in cities elsewhere—well, pretty much everywhere. That makes it the perfect time of year to duck out of town and live up to those spontaneous plans you've been saying you'll make one day.
Maybe you've always wanted to watch the ball drop in New York, maybe some New Orleans-style debauchery is required or perhaps a quiet holiday on the beach is more your style. Whether you're staying or going, here's a little motivation to get out of Chicago and see something new once in a while. If you can't swing a New Year's Eve trip this year, how about a resolution for 2016?
Note: Prices reflect the time this article was written and are subject to change.
New York—$256
Photograph: Mauricio Lima/Flickr
New Orleans—$236
Photograph: Chris Litherland/Wikimedia Commons
Toronto—$362
Photograph: Greg Knapp/Flickr
Washington, D.C.—$203
Photograph: Nicolas Raymond/Flickr
Miami—$388
Photograph: Vladimir Kud/Flickr
Austin—$396
Photograph: Katie Haugland/Flickr
Montreal—$416
Photograph: Artur Staszewski/Flickr
Costa Rica—$535
Photograph: Armando Maynez/Flickr