Markus, I loath winters, too, and ours are milder than yours by quite a margin. My wife and I recently bought a house in SoCal, about a mile and a half inland. We took advantage of depressed property prices and extremely low mortgage interest rates available right now. We're going to retire there in a few (3.5 - 4?) years. Now, you need work on your plan! How about a place in Spain, along the Mediterranean coast?
