Social Security provides a fairly modest income, but retirees can stretch their dollars in the right places.
According to U.S. News & World Report, a married couple with an average Social Security check would have a retirement income of $32,184, which is enough to cover housing, food, transportation, healthcare, and utilities in two-thirds of the metros across the U.S.
High housing costs make San Francisco, New York City, and Honolulu unattainable for people scraping by, but places like San Antonio, Pittsburgh, Richmond, Va., Spokane, Wash., and Cape Coral, Fla., are more affordable and offer plenty of perks.
Waterfront property is a way of life in Cape Coral, which has over 400 miles of canals as well as access to the Gulf of Mexico and the Caloosahatchee River. You could easily spend your days boating, fishing or walking along the beach. But a house on or near the water won’t cost you a fortune. Median homeownership costs for people age 65 and older are $1,251 with a mortgage and $558 without one.
