Greater Miami · November to April
Winter in Miami, made simple.
If you can leave the cold behind, you're a snowbird. No age minimum. Remote workers, families, couples and retirees: here's where to stay, how to get your car down, finding a doctor and what's on this month. Researched and kept up to date.
NWS climate normals, 1991–2020
Find your way around
Where do you want to start?
Getting started
Timing, budgets, residency and the checklist for your first season.
8 guides →
Neighborhoods
Where snowbirds actually live, from Miami Beach to Key Biscayne.
2 guides →
Housing and logistics
Rentals, shipping your car, mail, storage, pets and your home up north.
2 guides →
Living here
Doctors, golf, beaches, restaurants, groceries and making friends.
1 guide →
Seasonal calendar
What is on from November through April, and what to avoid.
1 guide →
Escape-o-meter
How cold is it back home?
Compare the live temperature in your city with Miami, then send the gap to someone who needs convincing.
New to snowbirding?
Read these first
The complete guide to becoming a Miami snowbird
A first-timer's roadmap to wintering in Miami: your season, budget, neighborhood and housing, plus healthcare, residency, your car and your home up north.
When to arrive and when to leave: Miami's snowbird season explained
Month by month, when Miami is at its best for seasonal residents, which weeks get crowded and expensive, and how to time your arrival and departure.
Snowbird budget: what 3 months in Miami actually costs
A category-by-category budget for a three-month Miami winter: housing, taxes, transport, utilities, healthcare, food, fun and travel, with a worksheet.
Renting vs. buying as a snowbird
Should a Miami snowbird rent or buy? Seasonal lease norms, condo rental rules, post-Surfside reserve laws, insurance, property taxes and homestead, explained.
Florida residency and the 183-day rule: what snowbirds need to know
What the 183-day rule really means, domicile vs. statutory residency, Florida's declaration of domicile and homestead exemption, and what to ask a pro.
Snowbird checklist: 40 things to do before you head south
A week-by-week snowbird checklist: 40 tasks from eight weeks out to your first week in Miami, covering health, mail, money, your car and your home up north.
Researched, not guessed
Every guide is checked against official sources like the National Weather Service, Medicare.gov and Florida statutes, listed at the bottom of the page.
Kept current
Prices, dates and rules carry a "last reviewed" date, and we revisit them every season.
For every kind of snowbird
Working remotely, between jobs, flexible with the kids or fully retired: if you can trade the cold for Miami, these guides are for you.
Free weekly email
The Miami Snowbird Dispatch
One short email a week in season: what's on in Miami, one useful guide, one practical tip.