Depends how much money I have.
Ideal would be here in California. Probably either somewhere on the central coast near Paso Robles, or up in Sonoma. Maybe San Diego county, but it's probably too crowded for me, and by the time I retire it'll probably be the southern part of Los Angeles, if it isn't already.
I know, the politics suck. The taxes suck. The cost of living sucks. I have to hold my nose on those things to live here now. But those are all problems money can solve.
But the climate is perfect. Never too cold, never too humid, not really even ever too hot. The scenery is amazing. Ocean, mountains, desert, etc. There is rich cultural diversity, whether you're interested in the arts, in museums, in cuisine, etc. And in a place like Paso, you're a couple hours drive from all the things you can do in Los Angeles or the Bay Area without actually having to deal with the density of Los Angeles or the Bay Area.
If I don't have enough money for that, then it gets harder. I don't want to go someplace with constant horrific winter like I grew up in. Someplace like Colorado might be acceptable because they have winter intermittently. I don't want to go to the desert where it's 115 degrees in the summer. My body would rather have cold. I don't want to go someplace humid like Florida. I hate humidity.
I might consider some sleepy town on the Oregon coast that's driving distance from Portland without being within the Portland housing price market, or similar in Washington in proximity to Seattle. You get some winter there, but bearable winter.
But it's hard to find a place that checks off all the right boxes.
