I'm still 30 some years away from contemplating retirement. Will social security even be a thing at that point? Leaning towards no, but hey we'll see. Contributing towards a pension right now and employed with the largest county in Minnesota, maybe will seek a state job at some point. But have a long career ahead of me to navigate.

Finances will no doubt play a part in the decision, though there's one interesting wrinkle in being childless and having no apparent heirs: we could go somewhere and NOT worry about the declining housing market eating into our estate. Retirement for us is essentially a zero-sum game to the grave.

A coworker of mine is retiring next year and moving to Portugal.  It's an interesting choice, since neither he nor his wife are a) Portuguese, or b) Portuguese speakers. But it does make me think that Spain would be a nice option, and one that does align with our occasionally batted-about talk of moving to Taos or someplace similarly artsy in the American southwest. Though I do have to admit that at the back of my head, leaving seasons behind feels odd. Half my blood is from Rhode Island, and anytime I'm there it really does call to me.

After living in Los Angeles for 20+ years, we came back home to Wisconsin, and settled in Lake Country (maybe 25 miles outside of Milwaukee).  I can get to Chicago in two hours, and Milwaukee in less than half of that.  For what a home costs in LA, we could have purchased 2-3 here.  And, I am talking about brick homes, with finished basements (with saunas), fireplaces, on large lots surrounded by trees.