I'll will be completely frank. Choice 2 is sort of a dream - a what if. 

Choice 2 involves scouting out a small town. This small town has to have at least a decent sized airport, have a regional medical center, be safe, and be affordable. 

The affordable is the hard part since Choice 2 means purchasing a small home in said small town. There are many picturesque small towns scattered around the United States. Unfortunately, many of them fail at one or more of the criteria. 

First looks have been given to the states of Texas, Colorado, and Louisiana. Texas because one daughter and her family lives here. Colorado because another daughter and her family live there. Louisiana because I am a product of New Orleans and southern Louisiana will always run strong in my veins. 

Texas and Louisiana hold some possibilities depending on the real estate market as I get closer to real retirement time. Colorado, not so much. 

The house purchase isn't so far-fetched as it sounds. My research shows that with the right down-payment and the right house, my monthly note may be one-third of what I am paying in rent. And that includes insurance and taxes! The right house is the problem. Many of the ones I've seen online are priced right, in the right size range, but require a lot of work. 

I have realized that as wonderful as that $110,000 Queen Anne Victorian with the wrap-around porch is, it is priced that way because it has some issues. Issues like ceilings falling in, no heat, new roof needed, and a kitchen and bathrooms barely out of the stone age.

Just looking at Victorians, as much as they make my heart sing, is outrageous if I'm honest. I would rarely get to visit the second, much less third floor since there are days even now when the four steps outside my front door cause pain and balance problems. If I can't clean and maintain a rental property, I doubt seriously a fairy godmother and her family will move in with me to clean and maintain a 4000 square foot, 90 year old house. 

So, no. I have to limit my choices to single-story, fairly livable-from-day-one houses. Luckily, I feel I have great vision when it comes to what can be done with plain and simple. Although I have my limits. A 900 square foot box with four rooms and a carport doesn't provide a lot of possibilities. 

If I latch onto a second stream of income to add to my retirement income, and if my health stays steady, then a whole new set of possibilities open up. The small towns with lakes and rivers can be considered and the house price could go up a bit. (I could also win the lottery.)

Right now, this is Choice 2. But every now and again, when I see a house on Zillow or Reddit that would be promising if I were ready financially to move on it, Choice 2 nudges Choice 1 - in fact it might even give it a swift kick.