We are thinking of selling our home in SF and moving somewhere cheaper...need suggestions for

[dixiegrrrrl]

45. We retired 10 years ago, moved from SF, had to find a way more inexpensive area.

I am from the Seattle area originally, then moved to the South, for years, before back to West Coast, then moved again for retirement. So I was familiar with a lot of places.

Very affordable housing was the key factor, next was budget friendly living,
3rd was no snow ( mobility issues), 4th was no city living, we both like small quiet towns.
and I wanted a warm and sunny climate.
No place on the West Coast met that criteria. That housing bubble, remember?

So we looked to the South.

Fla. was a no go, even No. Fla., because of heat/humidity and climate change, I had lived there before. Damn place is flat as a table and hurricanes hit it way too much.

Mountainous areas are nice in summer, but cold and snowy in winter, so that left some areas of the South out of the equation.

we settled in a small ( 6,000 pop.) town, county seat, in the SW corner of Ala. because it was far enough away from the coast to mitigate what then were hurricane concerns,
far enough south to avoid the tornado storm pattern ( they travel mostly about 50 miles north of us)
houses of all kinds are incredibly affordable, even with acreage, zero property taxes if you are over 65.

downside...red state.
and food tax ( tho they are talking about getting rid of it)
and income tax, but we don't qualify to pay it, happily.

Upside: Strong sense of community, because in the South, you do not talk religion or politics unless you know someone very well, but if we need serious help, there is no problem.
and I am pretty fluent in Southern speak.
Upside: You can get to almost anywhere in a few hours, thus can take advantage of trips to New Orleans, or to the Casino boats in Biloxi ( tho there are now land casinos within a few miles), loads of excellent live music venues, museums, etc.
Fla. has the lottery, Ala. does not yet have enough sinners to vote for it.

We could have bought more than enough gorgeous house in Mobile, but traffic is wall to wall there because of the way the streets run (think 19th street in SF), and flooding is more of a problem than ever before.
Pensacola is nice, LOTS of retired folks there, no sales tax, but again an area where water is rising.
Natural disaster evacuations from the Gulf Coast are a nightmare, not enough road options, so you get instant gridlock.

I would use an online realty site, like Zillow, search out prices for your list of must have features, narrow a few states down and start researching them.
If cold snow winters are ok, you really will have a lot of options, and much much more cheaper housing.