It's the dead of winter but many of us are dreaming of warmer days. Even though it's early in the year people are thinking about and researching where they would like to vacation this summer. It's always a good idea to plan early.

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Massachusetts has many ideal destination offerings. Take the Berkshires for example. Berkshire County offers an array of art museums, homegrown restaurants, antique shops, and concerts galore including James Taylor at Tanglewood.

Maybe Boston is your thing. Exploring Massachusetts' biggest city can keep you busy for weeks. Whether you want to check out a Red Sox game, explore the Freedom Trail, or take in Boston Public Garden, the Bay State's capitol has something for everyone.

One big attraction that brings people to Massachusetts is our beaches. People flock to Cape Cod during the summer to enjoy the area's beautiful beaches, lighthouses, fresh seafood, and challenging golf courses.

If money is no object and you want to vacation at the world's most expensive beach destination, look no further than the town of Nantucket. As noted by TravelMag the town of Nantucket is the most expensive beach destination in the world based on the cost of lodging. This was based on a survey that was conducted by TravelMag. In addition, TravelMag stated the following regarding the average cost per night to stay in the town of Nantucket

Nantucket Town, located on the island of Nantucket south of Cape Cod, clearly leads the ranking at $694 per night.

Nantucket is about 30 miles south of Cape Cod and due to the high volume of vacationers, the population increases from about 15,000 to 18,000 people during the summer months.

Fun Fact: According to Wikipedia, the average sale price for a single-family home was $2.3 million in the first quarter of 2018.

LOOK: Here are the 50 best beach towns in America

Every beach town has its share of pluses and minuses, which got us thinking about what makes a beach town the best one to live in. To find out, Stacker consulted data from WalletHub, released June 17, 2020, that compares U.S. beach towns. Ratings are based on six categories: affordability, weather, safety, economy, education and health, and quality of life. The cities ranged in population from 10,000 to 150,000, but they had to have at least one local beach listed on TripAdvisor. Read the full methodology here. From those rankings, we selected the top 50. Readers who live in California and Florida will be unsurprised to learn that many of towns featured here are in one of those two states.

Keep reading to see if your favorite beach town made the cut.

Gallery Credit: Keri Wiginton

LOOK: Here is the richest town in each state

Just saying the names of these towns immediately conjures up images of grand mansions, luxury cars, and ritzy restaurants. Read on to see which town in your home state took the title of the richest location and which place had the highest median income in the country. Who knows—your hometown might even be on this list.

Gallery Credit: Meagan Drillinger

LOOK: 25 must-visit hidden gems from across the US

From secret gardens to underground caves, Stacker compiled a list of 25 must-visit hidden gems from across the United States using travel guides, news articles, and company websites.

Gallery Credit: Abby Monteil

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