Rankings 56 through 60. See picture.
Sample houses:
56 Gunnison (CO):
https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...-23823?view=qv
57 Palisade (CO):
https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...-58136?view=qv
58 Kansas City (MO):
https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...-80054?view=qv
59 Billings (MT):
https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...-50844?view=qv
60 Spearfish (SD):
https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...-98715?view=qv
Summary (starting from bottom)
Spearfish – South Dakota is superb in affordability. Moving to Spearfish would lower my retirement age by a full 1.5 years, which is perhaps the best of all the cities I’ve looked at. The downside is that there’s no climate advantage. Spearfish has essentially the same climate as Denver. There’s a pretty nice townhome as the sample house, though, so it's intriguing in many respects.
Billings – Another highly affordable place that would cut a year off my retirement calendar, and it’s a nice big condo that would be low maintenance. I like the place. It’s a big enough town to have good resources (restaurants, health care, etc.), too. The climate’s not a win, though, as the winter is slightly colder. There’s a bit less snow, but still quite a bit.
Kansas City – Go, Chiefs! Oh, but the other stuff. It’s slightly more affordable than Denver, and gets a lot less snow. Winter is slightly less cold, though the summer would be just as hot and more humid. The sample house is a very nice condo, and it’s a big metro area with lots of good housing choices. Not enough of a win to consider, in my book, but not bad.
Palisade – We really like this little town. It's full of peach orchards and lavender fields. It's slightly more affordable than Denver, but has some challenges. Summers are hotter, though winter has a lot less snow. The housing market is very limited, which would be challenging. It would come down to getting lucky on a house search.
Gunnison – Affordability is good as it would move retirement up a year. The summers are nice, but the winters are absolutely brutal. The housing market doesn’t seem to have many (any) good choices in my price range. The town is nice, but I’m not feeling it.