• Proximity to growing urban centers. Vacation towns typically need to be within a two- to three-hour drive of a major city, or at least reasonably close to a big airport.
   
• Plenty of recreational opportunities. There has to be lots of stuff to do beyond shopping, which is why most thriving resort towns are near ski lifts, beaches or mountains. Some cultural cachet -- a theater or film festival, galleries or museums -- is also nice.
   
• Decent weather. You have to be able to get outside to enjoy all that recreation.
   
• Significant commercial investment. The old-timers may grouse about the new hotels or malls, but these are good indicators that others think the community is on the way up.
   
• The "it" factor. The community gets discovered by movers, shakers and celebrities -- or at least enough other folks like you -- for prices to get bid up.

10 emerging second-home markets

Here's another intriguing list EscapeHomes.com has concocted: vacation-home areas that are just beginning to get popular with its users. There is no guarantee any of these will become the next Myrtle Beach. In fact, given the more remote and generally northern location of many of these sites, you can pretty much count that out. But there could be some second-home price appreciation ahead.

• Burnside, Ky. Community boasts a Catfish Festival and bills itself as The Only Town On Lake Cumberland! Its near Lexington, Frankfort, Louisville, Nashville and Knoxville and not far from the Big South Fork National Recreation Area. 
   
• Caribou, Maine. Snowmobilers and cross country skiers venture down from Quebec and New Brunswick to enjoy the scenery in this northeast Maine town.
   
• Ely, Minn. The Gateway to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is a second home mecca for residents of Duluth and Minneapolis-St. Paul. 
   
• Island Park, Idaho. This area near Yellowstone and the Grand Teton national parks, is becoming an alternative to Bozeman, Mont. and Jackson, Wyo.
   
• Ketchikan, Alaska. This is a paradise for hunters, hikers and anglers, but you have to want to get there. Its more than 37 hours by road and ferry from Seattle, the nearest big city. Closer is Juneau, the states capital, but you still cant get from here to there by road.
   
• Lake Martin, Ala. Bass fishing is big in this town nestled in the southernmost foothills of the Appalachian mountains. Nearby: Birmingham, Montgomery and Atlanta.
   
• St. George, Utah. Speaking of gateways, this little town is near much of Southern Utahs most spectacular country, including Zion Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Cedar Breaks National Monument and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Closest cities: Las Vegas and Salt Lake City.
   
• Sisters, Ore. Another Central Oregon contender, Sisters is northwest of Bend. Its a former lumber town turned fishing and tourist mecca on the edge the Deschutes National Forest. Closest cities are Portland and Eugene.
   
• Waterville Valley, N.H. Tucked inside the White Mountain National Forest, Waterville Valley offers all the outdoor experiences you could want, and then some. Concord and Manchester, N.H. are nearby. Boston is about 2 hours south on Interstate 93.
   
• White Mountains, Ariz. A cooler alternative to Phoenix, about four hours away, the White Mountains region offers snow sports in winter, golf and hiking in the summer and picturesque Indian villages all year round.