With just six months left to go in Tennessee, we have come up with three solid locations that would cover everything we want going forward: bountiful sunshine and no humidity, a cost of living that doesn’t stretch our income, and some opportunities for adventure.

We told our children at Christmas we were not going to relocate back east and why. They were, as expected, disappointed but also understanding of our needs and wants. They know us.

All roads point west for us, the southwest in particular. Tucson is getting a closer look once again. The city has everything we are looking for except for those brutally hot summers. But, there are nice houses and condos in our price range – we could actually buy a home there if we wanted (we don’t). The state of Arizona has lots of beautiful places to check out and New Mexico, Utah, and California are nearby for exploration as well.

Southern California is calling to us as well, and we are currently researching two different locations there. The cost of living in many areas in the state is far higher than we want to deal with but we have found some affordable places. The Coachella Valley (Palm Springs area) looks like it might be a good fit, for example, but it also has those brutal summers. There’s another a place nearer to the ocean that also looks promising. Both places offer 55+ living.

Finally, we have been looking again at the pros and cons of moving to Mexico. The income requirements for resident visas have increased quite a bit since we were there four years ago to the point we’ve wondered at times if we’d even be eligible, but apparently we still qualify. We loved our time in San Miguel de Allende, and know it would be a comfortable and affordable place to live year round. However, Mexico is shaky right now and has both of us nervous about a move there.

Whichever location we ultimately choose we plan to visit family back east in December every year and when babies arrive, and if we end up in Tucson or Palm Springs we would leave during the worst of the summer heat for three or so months in Mexico. The summer months in San Miguel de Allende are quite temperate, warm but not overly hot (May is actually the hottest month) and since it’s “off season” it’s not too crowded.

All three locations have a dry climate along with a cost of living we can afford, and would allow us to enjoy a little bit of travel every year (as long as the U.S. economy remain intact). We’re not signing off on anything yet and know better than to say anything is a done deal for now. But we’ve narrowed our options down and are happy with all of them.

Now we just have to choose.