Nice, good for you. I hope you enjoy retirement.
I’ve heard Portugal is nice and that the dollar goes a long way there.
Any input on that?
Yes and yes, but YMMV. We have just been a few days in Portugal over the years, so I cant go into specifics. A friend of ours just bought a flat in Lisbon. We are supposed to spend a month there, maybe next year.
Prices seem comparable to Spain, on the whole, as long as we arent talking about Madrid or Barcelona. Try Bilbao or Sevilla (lovely) or any provincial city really. There is almost no serious crime anywhere in Spain or Portugal.
Spain and Portugal are very cheap, in US terms, for a comparable high quality of life. Oddly enough, so is France, as long as you stay away from Paris. Another friend has a house in Biarritz.
Anyway, go to Portugal and see for yourself. You can generally check rentals and prices online. In Spain Idealista.com is the main listing site and it covers Portugal. What works best in Portugal I dont know.