Is Retiring in America Becoming a Luxury?

I’ve been awaiting this day since before Christmas—The pool maintenance guy arrived today.

After surviving Braga’s cold and wet season, which saw rain on 85% of the days (give or take) between Christmas and the middle of March, we’re now in the midst of Portugal’s hot season. A hot season which is now bringing us days that are 27 to 30 degrees in European units, which in Freedom units, is 81 to 86 degrees.

I know… I know…

I don’t want to hear, “Come on, El Jefe! You’re a south Louisiana boy. That’s a Christmas morning! Come back to me when it’s in the high-90s, you soft-bellied milksop!”

Sadly, very true.

But eight years in Europe and your temperature gauge changes.

I wear shorts and short-sleeved Polos when it’s in the 50s and 60s here. I don’t feel cold anymore until we’re in the 30s.

Which means, I feel the heat much more than I did back in the land of Orange Creamsicles, which I would kill for right about now. (Actually, if I could get an orange sherbet Push-Up Pop from the ice cream truck that used to troll my neighborhood back in the `70s…)

Anywho, the pool man paid us a visit and now the pool is good to go.

It’s up on our roof, what would technically be the fourth floor of the house we rent.

Fabulous views out of the mountains, which hem Braga into a valley. Pine and eucalyptus forests. The twin spires of the Bom Jesus Sanctuary, built in 1722, pierce the tree line; Our Lady of Sameiro Sanctuary and its large dome capping the top of the mountain.

I go out onto the roof deck just to take in the views (spoiled only by the construction cranes building a couple of new houses on the hillside right near us).

This idea of sharing news of my pool guy’s arrival isn’t just random, just so you know. There was a trigger.

The Senior Citizens League (TSCL), a nonprofit, nonpartisan senior advocacy organization, just this month released their 2026 Senior Survey, which found that 44% of seniors in America now depend on Social Security for all of their income—up from 39% in 2025. That’s nearly 25 million Americans.

From the same report: The average Social Security retirement check is $2,026 per month, while the cost-of-living for one person in the United States is approximately $2,700 per month. Average rent alone on a one-bedroom is $1,520. Monthly non-rent living costs average another $1,181.

That math doesn’t math—at least in American terms.

But here in Europe, $2,026 per month goes a loooong way. Heck, that’s more than enough to live a comfy life in lots of really beautiful places on this continent.

Braşov, Romania—a really pretty place that’s home to the Dracula legend—daily living, rent, international health insurance plan… all-in you’re looking at $1,700 or thereabouts.

Alicante, Spain—a gorgeous Mediterranean beach location—same setup is $1,500 to $1,800. Though to be fair, Spanish rules mean you’d need to prove about $2,400 a month to qualify for the so-called non-lucrative visa. But swing an extra $400 from a nest egg and you’re golden. Double-dog dare you to find an equally picturesque beach location in America for that price.

Athens, Greece—the cradle of Western civilization and an energetic city with everything you’d ever want or need… about $2,000 a month.

What I’m getting at is that where America strangles the retiree wallet, many parts of Europe provide a genuinely lovely quality of life for the price of the average Social Security check.

Even places that seem madly off the charts… are actually affordable on a Social Security check. Places like Colmar, France, a genuinely beautiful medieval city in the most quintessential way in the Alsace region near the German and Swiss border. About $1,600 per month in all-in living costs.

Now, I fully recognize that 99.9% of readers are not going to pack up the cats and medicine bottles and trundle off to a new life in eastern France. But I share anyway because America is becoming so shockingly expensive that basically one in five Americans over the age of 65 are back to working again just to afford what is supposed to be their golden years.

All I’m saying is that your golden years are a lot more affordable on this side of the pond.

That said… I’m off to lounge for a bit with a sangria in our freshly cleaned pool.