Rankings 26 through 30. It's getting serious now.
Sample houses:
26 – Pueblo (CO)
https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...-72104?view=qv
27 – Fort Lauderdale (FL)
https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...-52078?view=qv
28 – Delray Beach (FL)
https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...-32452?view=qv
29 – Amarillo (TX)
https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...-42743?view=qv
30 – Taos (NM)
https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...-55148?view=qv
Summary (in ascending order)
Taos (NM) – My wife is a big fan, and I like it too. You can get a nice house for the money in a charming small town, and it’s a little more affordable overall than Denver. The summers are a little cooler than Denver due to the altitude, but the winters are a wash – notably colder but with only 2/3rd the snow. I think the biggest challenge here is the remoteness. It’s a small town, and to get to Santa Fe you have to go on a really twisty rural highway. That wouldn’t be ideal in the winter. I think this is a romantic pick, but not a practical one.
Amarillo (TX) – This is the opposite of Taos. It’s a practical pick, but not a romantic one. It’s notably more affordable, and you can get a nice house for the money. The summers are a little worse on temperature and humidity, and there’s less snow than Denver but it’s still cold. This is purely a financial play in my book. It’s an option, but I see better gains elsewhere.
Delray Beach (FL) – I know nothing about this place other than seeing it on a “best places to retire” list. We should talk about that sample house, though. That’s pretty epic. I’m assuming that the pool is screened in as opposed to air conditioned, right? Even so, it’s a very, very nice place. There are no winters here, and the summers are more humid than Denver, though only a couple of degrees warmer. My note of caution, though, is that I saw a number of houses on my home tour that require a country club membership that’s really expensive, in some cases $50k to buy in and $10k+ per year. I don’t see that with this house, but I’d definitely want to check. It’s a bit more affordable than Denver.
Fort Lauderdale (FL) – See above. They’re basically right next door to each other. I think I like the Delray house more, but Fort Lauderdale is still nice. And yeah, this Fort Lauderdale house is actually in Delray Beach while the Delray Beach house is actually in a different small city. I'm just looking through the lists when I do the search.
Pueblo (CO) – Pueblo is known as the unhippest town in Colorado, but I think it’s got potential. It’s a decent-sized city with restaurants and stuff, and the house is a good value for the money in a slightly more affordable locale. It only gets half the snow of Denver (a little lower and a little more south), but the winters are slightly colder and the summers are slightly warmer. Not sure it would be worth the trouble to move there.