If you have followed my writing over the years, you will know how obsessed (in a good way) I am with Newport, RI. I grew up about 20 minutes from Newport and traveled there often for baseball games, dates, concerts, I even worked there for a few years as a fitness center director. I love the yachts, the night life, the bars, the restaurants, the cobble stone streets, the history, the tourist season, the off season. Any person traveling to Rhode Island for business that asks me what I should do in Rhode Island, one of my first responses is “spend a day in Newport.” From Easton’s Beach to the Newport Bridge ramps, I always feel welcome in Newport. Like the sign…

So, I got to thinking and searching the internet for other areas of the country (and world) that might have a similar town, like Newport, that I could travel to virtually at first, then perhaps one day in person. I thought, well Newport, RI is so amazing and welcoming, how many other Newports are there that I could visit one day that would welcome me? I was shocked and surprised and excited to learn of a bunch of such places all over the United States and several more in the United Kingdom and Europe. Places like:

And:

And here are 8 Signs that would Welcome (me) To Newport:

Add in Florida, Texas, Mississippi, Indiana, Iowa, and several other US states that have a “Newport” city or town, and you clearly have one of the most welcoming places to go in the entire world. Newport, thank you for welcoming me to your town and I look forward to visiting you very soon.