Durham, NC
As part of my trip to visit my best friend from college, I was able to visit Durham. It's a smaller city in North Carolina but it was pleasantly busy. It might have something to do with it's new adaptive reuse of an old warehouse district, its performing arts center, the Durham Bulls baseball team, or perhaps the "little known" Duke University right in Durham's backyard. Whatever it was, the city seems to be in high demand partly due to its small town feel but with a twist of up and coming community. The aforementioned warehouse district used to be used heavily for producing tobacco products. Nowadays, it thrives with entertainment, dining, and other recreational options all within a few block of this historic section of downtown. Durham's warehouse district is probably one of the best adaptive reuse projects I've ever seen in my travels, and it was by far my favorite place to see in North Carolina.