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GETTING AROUND

During the winter, ice scrapers, snow shovels and automatic car starters are all part of the daily routine for many people. But residents of warm-winter cities get to enjoy a far more low-maintenance commute to work and school.

"As I like to tell people, we don't have to shovel sunshine," says Douglas MacKenzie, a Phoenix resident for 16 years and director of communications for the Greater Phoenix Convention & Visitors Bureau. The city's scant precipitation makes for very few challenges when traveling by car or bus, and the mild winter temperatures create perfect conditions for biking or walking.

When getting dressed for a winter day, MacKenzie says Phoenix residents typically choose between two wardrobes: shorts and longer shorts. A sweater or light jacket can come in handy on cooler days, but there's no need for anything heavier in the Southwestern city, he says.

In other cities, "cold" becomes a relative concept: What some would consider perfect weather, others find a bit chilly, says Dee Hamilton, who grew up in the Northeast but moved to Florida after high school.

"The first year living in Orlando, I can remember going into the pool on Christmas Day. It was in the mid to upper 70s," she says. "After a couple of years, you begin to get acclimated to your surroundings, and 75 degrees starts to feel cool."

On the rare occasions when it does snow, many cities with warm winters are notorious for shutting down: schools close, businesses send their employees home early, and everyone waits out the weather at home to avoid the treacherous driving conditions. MacKenzie says Phoenix gets a light dusting of snow every few years, but it's normally not a disruption.

"It usually melts pretty fast, and people are just excited to see a little bit of a white Christmas and have some hot chocolate," he says. "There's never enough that it affects traffic or transportation."

Learn more about homeownership expenses, finding fun and the cost of living in warm-winter cities >>