Thank-you, all, for your replies and responses. I am most appreciative. I am finding retirement quite unsettling as I try to figure out what makes the most sense for the next stage of my life. I do not know why I did not anticipate a bumpy transition but I thought I had it all figured out. I bought a small "retirement" house two years ago, on the outskirts of our state capitol, for more cultural opportunities and ease of travel, central enough to everything so when I'm drooling and demented and the state comes after my license, I can stay in my house longer and walk everywhere. The plan was to sell my townhouse here and move there this year. In the meantime, I have found myself spending hours, days, looking at possible locations in countries other than my own, in particular, Spain and Mexico, wondering the quintessential, "What if...?"
The world's a mess today and each country is as well in its own unique way. Spain has had to play some catch-up following the Franco years but truth be told, the "powerhouse" countries of the EU were more than happy to make too much easy money available for out-of-control building not only to Spain but to other economically weaker countries - ie, Greece. (In the States, our bankers and financial institutions did pretty much the same on an individual basis to hundreds of thousands of hapless home-owners, hence the sub-prime mortage mess; we have some states where the foreclosure rate is now above forty percent, and, of course, we are the biggest debtor nation in the world, individually and as a country.) So, for all of us, trying to sort out where to find our niche and live a reasonably healthy, sane and satisfying life has become quite a challenge.
I feel dreadful for those of you who have been hurt and lost property, money or both, as a result of Spain's legal system. This was a side of Spain I had never seen. When I first became aware of these issues, they scared me sufficiently that I turned my search south to Mexico - my perception, so far, has been there are fewer real estate transaction problems there, particularly for inland property. (No, I am not overlooking Mexico's other problems - just the police system, increasing drug cartel holds on cities, kidnappings and violence.)
All of your advice was good, but the best advice was probably from 1962, Kathy, (Thank-you.) to live for a year in the country of choice before making any propery commitment and my head tells me you are absolutely correct. Of course, my heart has already fallen in love with a Mexican property so I am taking a trip down there this month to look at it and hopefully find some ex-pats from a varity of cultures who can give me sound information on the realistic problems and frustrations about living in Mexico. Hopefully, I won't be stupid and will be making a trip to Spain in the fall. I always thought I might settle somewhere toward the south in Andulacia as that is where I have spent the most time, but now, all of a sudden, I find myself intrigued with Galicia as well- go figure. Obviously, I am nowhere near considering home ownership! Thank-you again for all your thoughts, Channing
P.S. Apart from the sheer appeal of both these countries, of all the romance languages, for which I have little aptitude, I am most comfortable with Spanish; otherwise, I would probably be on a French site in anticipation of considering a move to France and becoming a gourmet cook and full-time groupie of France's operatic treasure, Roberto Alagna.