This Houston couple has $2.6 million and no idea where to retire

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Dear MarketWatch,

My wife and I will turn 59 soon and plan to retire mid-2021 (we’ll both be 59). We currently live in Houston, but want to move somewhere with nice scenery, more moderate weather and less traffic. We can both tolerate heat better than cold. Climate may not be so bad in retirement since we wouldn’t need to shovel the cars out of the snow to go to work every day.

We have both worked steadily for over 35 years; my wife has maxed out Social Security contributions for about 28 years and I have maxed out contributions for 31. We will have about $46,000 in pension income as well as access to retiree medical insurance. We have about $2.6 million in investible assets, no debt and a house worth about $480,000. We expect to spend around $600,000 on a home wherever we end up.

We like nature but also being close to a variety of sit-down restaurants and unique establishments. Our original plan was to move to Cascais, Portugal. The main thing for us is that it has good scenery, good weather and is walkable. But the current virus situation made us reconsider moving out of the U.S. where we would be the “outsiders” for a long time.

We are not “dreaming” of any specific spot or activities; we are pretty flexible in those areas. Enjoyment of our retirement years is the main factor.

We know this isn’t a lot of direction for you to make suggestions on, but I hope you can point out ideas that we had not considered here in the U.S. Work and a few vacations each year is all we’ve done for the past 34 years.

Regards,

L & K

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