Most places in the southeast don’t tax retirement income so a state that is unfriendly for workers like MS or AL can be attractive for retirees. I have a place in MS but my home is FL partly because of the state income tax. As I type this I’m sitting on my couch watching the waves of the gulf roll in.

I’m partial to the southeast, I don’t really feel at home elsewhere. There’s plenty of rural here, it’s nothing like the paved over parking lots of the northeast. The west is a good place to visit but too little water and too many displaced Californians controlling the politics. I also like cold less and less as I get older.

Easy proximity to saltwater is a big factor for me, nothing improves my mood like that.