Retire comfortably on $40,000 a year in these 4 lovely beach towns in Florida, Texas and Mississippi

Sunshine, sand and surf don’t have to come at a premium

On the beach, and on a budget?

That can be a reality for retirees — that is, if they know where to look. The average over-65 household in America drops $49,000 a year on everything from housing to food, according to the Census Bureau. But you don’t have to spend that much and, in fact, can spend far less — and retire to a sunny beach town. (No, really.)

MarketWatch looked at beach towns across America where the overall cost of living was significantly below average, where housing was reasonably priced and where there are plenty of things to see and do. (Though we can’t promise that summers won’t be hot, and your hurricane risk is admittedly elevated.) We found four attractive beach towns where you could spend roughly $40,000 a year and live a decent lifestyle...

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RSK: I would probably enjoy any of these 4 but Corpus Christi sounds a lot like Madison with no income tax in Texas.

Ken Notes: All have average homes near 150K MADISON needs a community(s) like this.