New Mexico was my favorite.
It all depends if you can bring your living with you. I market on the web, so I can be anywhere.
Snow country gets expensive, heating and such. Snowed in for weeks at a time. Farther south in the low lands warm winters, and hot but so dry I do not feel it. 115 in the desert is like 90 in New Orleans.
Dead little towns get real cheap, but then there are the people who live there, and a fifty mile drive for groceries. Santa Fe has culture, but costs.
Texas between Del Rio and San Antonio, both Amtrak stations. West of Del Rio is a lot of volcanic rock to El Paso. Good water is the main issue through the warm and dry lands.
Worldwide Murry Bridge Australia is the best place to live. But few are so lucky.