Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos says he plans to make good on picking a city for HQ2 by the end of 2018, so the final countdown is on for making that choice.

“We will announce the decision before the end of this year,” Bezos told the Economic Club of Washington D.C. last month, as Bisnow reported.

Not surprisingly, despite dragging on now for more than a year, there’s still no shortage of speculation—alongside some fresh clues, maybe—about which city will win the coveted title of Amazon HQ2’s home.

At the moment, Chicago appears to be the frontrunner. Surprise!

According to The Dallas Morning News, the Windy City is a likely choice given that it’s home to the first cashierless Amazon Go store outside of Seattle, with two more on the way. Hmm.

The Washington Business Journal also names Chicago as a likely candidate, but it does so for a different reason: The city garnered a second visit from Amazon officials.

But then, so did Miami.

On the other hand, even though Boston hasn’t scored a repeat visit, comments by John Barros, the city’s economic development chief, while serving on a panel moderated by WBUR at the Hubweek business conference in Boston, seem to imply the city’s talks with Amazon have heated up since August.

Of course, all of that could be for naught if the results of a recent study by location and demographic data site Sperling’s BestPlaces turns out to be correct.

It named Oatlands, Virginia, which is located about 35 miles west of Washington, D.C. near the border of Virginia and Maryland, as the ideal candidate.

Although it wasn’t specifically included on Amazon’s shortlist of HQ2 candidates, it is located in Northern Virginia, which was listed.

Despite all of these reports, where HQ2 will end up really is anyone’s guess. Atlanta, at least for now, remains one of the top contenders.

According to many recent reports, an announcement won’t come until after next month’s midterm elections.

If that’s the case, one city may have a lot to be thankful for—or not—come Thanksgiving.

• This Week in Amazon-o-mania: At this point, all we can do is guess about HQ2. Feeling Chicago [The Dallas Morning News]
• This week in Bezos: The return to Amazon HQ2 ... again [Washington Business Journal]
• Boston’s HQ2 Talks with Amazon are Heating Back Up, Economic Development Chief Suggests [WBUR]
• Amazon’s New Headquarters Will Be in This Surprising Location [Sperlings’ BestPlaces]