[phkahler]

Not sure why people like the bay area so much. Move someplace else and retire. Most anywhere in the US is going to be dramatically cheaper.

Buy a summer place on a lake in the Midwest for under 200k. Get a winter place somewhere warmer, since the weather must be what people like about CA. We have tons of retirees doing this with well under $10M.

[OkayPhysicist]

The weather here is flawless, the culture is adequate (it's not top-tier, but it beats most low cost of living areas), the food is fantastic thanks to immediate access to most of the country's fresh produce. There's deserts, mountains, and the ocean all immediately available for day trips, and most of all, jobs here pay twice as much as they do anywhere else. Sure, the CoL is twice as high, but unless you're living paycheck to paycheck and spend 100% of your income locally, that means more money in our pockets.