How to Find Places with the Best Year-Round Weather

My research also revealed another 25 places that reach temperatures that are probably too warm or too cool for your purposes but might help other readers.  For a side-by-side comparison of the monthly average high/low temperatures of all 38 places, see this spreadsheet.

B.  How to Add to Your List of Places with the Best Year-Round Weather

Although I’ve identified 38 places in 19 different countries to get you started, my list is not exhaustive.  What if none of them interest you as a place to live or visit or other factors rule them out completely? 

Don’t worry:  I have got you covered!  To find more places with the best year-round weather for you, consult the following resources to compare historic monthly average weather conditions at various locations.

1.  Weather Tools with Historic Weather Data

• • Wikipedia’s List of Cities by Average Temperature includes a color-coded chart with monthly average temperatures (organized by continent, country, and city) so that you can quickly eyeball temperature data for the world.
  • Weather Spark is without question one of the best free weather websites available with location-specific historic monthly average high/low and monthly average hourly temperatures, as well as information on clouds, precipitation, humidity, wind, water temperature, and topography.  Weather Spark goes one step further by identifying other locations with comparable weather.  You can also use their comparison tool to compare average weather conditions in up to 4 cities by day, month, or year.
    
  • The Weather Channel’s almanac section has daily historic average temperatures (click on the day, and you’ll see average and record highs/lows for that particular day) for any day of the year.  As I’ve explained before, I am a huge fan of The Weather Channel’s app for tracking the weather during a road trip. 
  • World Weather Information Service provides historic averages for many cities, including the mean daily minimum and maximum temperatures, the mean total rainfall, and the mean number of rain days for each month.
    
  • The Washington Post’s U.S. Temperature Map identifies the number of days that the average high temperature was within the selected range in any particular county.
  • Sperling’s Best Places:  Climate & Weather Tool for U.S. Cities allows you to compare climate and weather statistics for 2 U.S. cities.  The comparison gives you the highs/lows for the summer and winter; average monthly high/low temperatures; the average number of inches of rain and snow; and the number of hot, freezing, rainy, snowy days. 
  • NOAA’s Data Snapshots are interactive U.S. maps with historic temperatures as well as precipitation and the historic probability of severe weather (including tornadoes, thunderstorm winds over 58 miles per hour, and hail larger than three-quarters of an inch in diameter) in the future.  See also NOAA and the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center.
  • PRISM Climate Group provides interactive U.S. maps and historical monthly and annual mean, minimum, and maximum temperatures, as well as precipitation, dewpoint, vapor pressure, and elevation data.

For future reference, you can find links to all of these websites on our HOME-DREAM page under the OTHER RESOURCES tab.

2.  Retirement Tools That Factor in U.S. Weather Conditions

For those interested in retiring in the United States, the following websites factor weather in comparing retirement locations:

• • Bankrate has a separate ranking for each state’s weather based on historic average daily temperatures.
  • MarketWatch has a search function for U.S. cities that will factor in your preferences concerning average January/July high temperatures and July humidity levels.
  • Niche’s ranking includes consideration of the following weather factors:   (1) the average number of sunny days per year, assigned at the county level; (2) the 30-year average monthly low temperature in December through March, where a higher temperature is considered better; and (3) the 30-year average monthly snowfall in December through March, where less snowfall is considered better.
  • WalletHub’s “best states to retire” rankings factor the “mildness of weather” into their quality of life scores.
  • Zillow has a tool allowing users to identify the best places to retire using 8 criteria, including the importance given to “pleasant weather” based on the number of “pleasant” days in each U.S. city (i.e., when the mean temperature is between 55 and 75°F, the minimum temperature is above 45°F, the maximum temperature is below 85°F, and there is no significant precipitation or snow depth).

For future reference, you can find links to all of these websites on our HOME-DREAM page under the OTHER RESOURCES tab.

3.  Travel Tools to Find the Best Times to Travel

If you only need a tool to figure out when the beach will have the greatest number of sunny days and the best water temperatures, there are a lot of travel-related weather websites to help, including:

• • Weather Spark:  You can browse the map or find location-specific information on the “best time of year to visit.”  In addition to information on temperature, clouds, precipitation, humidity, wind, water temperature, and topography, Weather Spark also computes two travel scores for each location:  (1) a tourism score that “favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F”; and (2) a beach/pool score that “favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F.”
  • Holiday-Weather.com:  With a focus on maximizing the best weather for your next trip, Holiday-Weather.com provides live weather tracking, weather forecasts, and monthly averages for “top holiday destinations,” including average high/low temperatures,  day/night temperatures, rainfall, daily sunshine hours, and sea temperatures.
  • Weather & Climate:  This website organizes historic weather data first by continent and then by country and city.  Trip planners can also use the weather planner tool to filter locations by month, temperature, rain, and sunshine levels according to their preferences.
  • Champion Traveler:  With filters for temperature, rain, humidity, and wind, Champion Traveler’s travel weather map lets you identify the best places for any particular week of the year.
  • Trip Bucket:  Trip Bucket’s “Best Time To Go” tool gives you trip ideas by narrowing down the options based on the month(s) selected and the activity planned (beaches; cities; diving; fall foliage; festivals; food, beer & wine; historical, islands; national parks; nature; outdoors; party; shopping; skiing; surfing; and wildlife).
  • U.S. News & World Report Worldwide Travel Guides:  U.S. News & World Report has created country-, city-, or attraction-specific guides that include “When to Visit” sections.
    

For future reference, I have saved all of these links to our AWAY-DECIDE page under the WHEN tab.

Conclusion

After researching the places with the best year-round weather, however, I found that there are at least (1) 13 places in 7 different countries with average year-round temperatures that are at (or very close to) the “perfect” 20°C/68°F at some point during the day, and (2) 25 places that are within the “perfect” range for at least half of the year.  For a side-by-side comparison of the monthly average high/low temperatures of all 38 places, see this spreadsheet.

If none of those places interest you, however, I have identified 18 weather resources to help broaden your search for places with the best year-round weather.  

For future reference, I have saved links concerning:

1. weather tools with historic weather data on our HOME-DREAM page under the OTHER RESOURCES tab;
2. retirement tools that factor in U.S. weather conditions on our HOME-DREAM page under the OTHER RESOURCES tab; and 
3. travel tools to find the best times to travel on our AWAY-DECIDE page under the WHEN tab.

Thanks for your question, Sue-Anne!  I hope that this research will help you find someplace to live (or visit) with gorgeous weather.  If your research turns up other helpful resources, please let me know in the comments! 

P.S.  If other readers have travel or retirement questions, feel free to send them our way using the Q+A WITH H+A request form.