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The Street

Samanda Dorger

The 25 Best Cities for Snowbirds

Fla Florida

Birds don’t have supermarkets, so when you see geese flying south for the winter, they’re looking for food. In winter, all the plants and bugs they like to eat are gone.

But face it, the geese probably really like the warmer weather, too.

For human snowbirds, it’s all about climate. Retirees (and some remote workers) who head to warmer states in winter, such as Florida, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Georgia or South Carolina, can continue to enjoy their outdoor activities year-round. All that golf, tennis, swimming, kayaking, walking and fresh air is good for your health, and you don’t have to shovel snow or worry about skidding off the road in an ice storm or your pipes getting frozen.

Snowbirding isn’t always a bowl of cherries. Housing in two places can be a significant expense, warns Snowbirding Central, a site dedicated to winter migrants. There can also be tax implications to living, working and owning a home in two states, plus there are the travel expenses.

These days, being a snowbird might be a lot about dodging some serious weather events.

There may be some human snowbirds who were fortunate enough to head south before the deadly winter storm that gripped much of the country before Christmas. Even winter-hardy Buffalo, N.Y., was reeling from the storm that dropped some 52 inches of snow and caused more than 39 deaths.

Snowbirds usually head back north before June and return in December to avoid the sticky heat and hurricane season. This year, Hurricanes Ian, Nicole and Fiona brought extensive damage to Florida’s coast and pummeled the state in the fall. Ian, in late September, killed at least 131 people, obliterated coastal communities, caused massive inland flooding, and leveled homes across Florida.

Nine of the top 25 cities on this list of best cities for snowbirds are in Florida, so before you pack your bags, remember that some of these communities were still pulling cars out of the water in January.

This list is based on data from 183 Sunbelt cities collected by personal finance site Finance Buzz.

They examined the data for four major categories related to snowbirding appeal— livability, affordability, culture & recreation, and temperature & climate. Most of the cities studied are south of the 38th parallel north, which runs across the U.S. along the northern borders of states like Arizona, Oklahoma, and North Carolina. Several cities north of that mark in more temperate states near that line such as Virginia, California, and Nevada were also included.

The livability category includes things like crime rates, the number of healthcare practitioners per capita, walkability and the percentage of people over 60.

Culture and recreation includes the availability of golf courses, restaurants, shopping, movie theaters, performing arts and museums.

Affordability factors in the cost of living in each city, as well as median rent and mortgage. Climate includes average temperatures for each month between November and March.

Based on the research by Finance Buzz, these are the best cities for snowbirds.