2 Florida Cities Just Named Best in America to Avoid Snow

Florida is a state that's known for having sunshine and warm weather, even during the winter months, so it's not surprising that two Florida cities have been named the best in America to avoid snow. If you're someone who loves snow, you'll want to be the opposite of a "snowbird" and head to a different spot to get your fix of the snowfall this season. But, if you're more like me and take any opportunity to avoid the snow, then you're in the right place in these cities.

So, if you really want to avoid the snow, the best spot in America is in Hawaii. According to the experts at UPack, those cities are Hilo and Honolulu. "Hawaii's tropical climate allows for beautiful beaches and year-round warm temperatures," UPack explains.

Two cities in Florida are your next best bet to avoid the snow, making Florida your best escape in the continental U.S. UPack says the best cities to avoid snow are Jacksonville and Key West. "With the Sunshine State's tropical and subtropical climates, snow is extremely rare," they state, adding that "winters in Florida are mild, with an average of only 0.01 inches of snow annually."

By the way, if you're interested in the areas of the country with the most snow, so pretty much the opposite of Florida, the experts at the Farmer's Almanac have put together a tally of the snowiest cities in America. They only looked at cities with at least 10,000 people, or else they would have pretty much only had Alaskan towns. The snowiest spot in America is Mount Washington, New Hampshire. Even though it's not a city, it impressed the Farmer's Almanac wit its 283.5 inches of snowfall per year. That's an incredible amount of snow. The snowiest city in America is actually Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, with an average snowfall of 119.3 inches per year.

Here's a fun fact about snow. Even though snow look like it's white, it's really not. It's translucent. As the National Snow and Ice Data center explains, when light reflects off the snow, it looks like it's white in color. Also, the real definition of snow, according to The Wildlife Trust, is "a solid form of precipitation, basically little clumps of ice crystals that fall from the sky." They add that, "When the atmospheric temperature is below freezing, water vapor in the air turns to ice." So, that's how we get all the white powdery stuff. Reach out to me with your favorite Michigan Christmas spots.

Summer always brings a bevy of vacation options, some more exotic than others. But, you don't have to travel far or do something major to have a great vacation. There are many fun and affordable staycation ideas that can give you a memorable vacation memory by just staying close to home.

So, what exactly is the definition of a staycation? It's pretty self-explanatory, but according to the Oxford Dictionary, it's "a vacation spent in one's home country rather than abroad, or one spent at home and involving day trips to local attractions. Similarly, Merriam-Webster says it's, "a vacation spent at home or nearby." I think it's a stretch to call any vacation that's spent in your home country a staycation. That would mean that someone living in Michigan who travels to California for a vacation is really having a "staycation." It makes much more sense to define a staycation as a vacation where you literally stay at home or do something fun in your local area. Thankfully, there are a plethora of great staycation ideas out there.

Plenty of cities have "be a tourist in your own town" activities promoted by their local city tourist bureaus, which are perfect for a staycation. Really, staycations have been around forever, but they increased in popularity during the pandemic, when people actually weren't allowed to travel abroad. Still, even after the pandemic, the staycation is going strong. According to an international study by tourism and hospitality experts in the U.S. and China, the "staycation phenomenon" that started during the pandemic is still very popular and likely to stay as a new normal. The study, dubbed "Customer Preferences for Staycation Package Attributes," is published online in the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. It researched the local staycation preferences of Chinese tourists, as well as staycation information from the U.S., Netherlands and Indonesia.

I love a good staycation. It can be stressful to plan a huge trip to squeeze into your time off. By the time you get everything packed, do all the flight stuff and get to your hotel, you might just feel like resting for the short while that you're at your destination. What's more, you can often find so many great places close to home that you've never experienced before. I've had so many great staycations where I ventured to a part of town or the state that I had never been before, and those are among my favorite vacation memories. In that spirit, here are some fun and affordable staycation ideas. Send me your ideas, too.

Have a vacation in your living room or bedroom. Make it a movie-watching marathon. Watch a string of your favorite guilty-pleasure movies or binge-watch a brand new series. Either way, it'll be cozy and comfy.

If you have a state or national park nearby, use your vacation time to go adventuring. Being at a local park can offer some breathtaking scenery, especially in the summer. Have a picnic out there, too. If you don't have a state or national park close by, try a local park.

Nearly every town has a local museum or art gallery. Perhaps you've never really had the time to visit your local museum or art spot. Use your vacation time to explore those local spots, and you might find a new favorite place.

If you've driven by that new hotel for a while and wondered what it's like inside, why not book it for a night? You don't have to be traveling to say at a hotel, Airbnb or local bed-and-breakfast. It can make for an exciting adventure right in your backyard.

Using vacation time to plan a big party for friends is a good use of that time. Instead of traveling around the world, bring to world to you. Invite lots of your good friends, and spend some of the cash you would have on a vacation for your party. It'll be the party of the year. Make that decade.

Pamper yourself. Maybe you think having a spa day is too much of a luxury, but if you're saving money by not taking a big trip, why not use that money for a spa day? It's not just for ladies, either. Guys can book a spa day for a variety of services. It'll make for a day of bliss.