I live pretty comfortably here on an income of 16k a year.

Bookmarked.

With my pension and Social Security (just me alone) I could do that.

Is closer.. lol

Does buying a residence qualify?

I was surprised that France has a very competitive tax rate.
Portugal may be changing their tax law for foreigners. If they do, you will be taxed at 20%, including pensions. I am uncertain as to what the tax status is in Spain for SS retirees. I know the rate starts at 19%. It really will make a difference in quality of life if you have limited funds and then have to pay taxes. And no Medicare either so you will paying for health care coverage.

to moving there, but you really need to do your homework, AND, learn the language before you do anything. There are a lot of things you need to understand about how the Spanish run their financial/tax system, to avoid the pitfalls many can suffer.

The other thing to consider is to rent for the initial period at least. It is possible to rent an apartment outside the holiday season for a very reasonable price. We bought, and lost money, but if we were to go back for months, when we retire, we would only rent.... now that we know that it's a better option.

We never rented out the apartment, but friends who rented theirs had a lot of problems with tenants, not least that it would take 6 to 12 months to get defaulters or squatters out.

Especially in regards to rent but then again I may have different ideas about what 'retire comfortably' is supposed to mean.

It also glosses over many things but I suppose that is their job to sell it to you. Just one for example is if you drive then you will need to resit for your license both theory and a practical test(in Spanish). This is both costly and lengthy so if you are on a bare bones budget that could be a killer.

Here is what the Miami consulate says about the process.
http://www.exteriores.gob.es/Consulados/MIAMI/en/InformacionParaExtranjeros/Pages/Visa%20Requirements/Residence-Visa-for-Retirees.aspx

That said other consulates may differ especially when it comes to non-lucrative visas. They shouldn't, but they do. This should be a warning in itself for those paying attention.

Spain is nice and all but it's a mess, I'm looking forward to regaining some common sense, personal freedoms and logic back once we leave. Even if that means we'd be on fire.

Also, you may think this is an exaggeration. Only one way to find out I guess.

Living is easy when one has paid off the mortgage.
At my age nearing octogenarian, one is expected to have paid off the mortgage, right?
$300 property tax+Insurance, $50 water & Sewer, $75 electric bill, $100 TV&Internet, $150 (2) phones,
$70 HOA = $745/month are our fixed monthly expenses. Garbage pickup is covered under property tax.
HOA gives us use of pool and a Gym.

Add food & restaurants & entertainment, and it is all easily covered by 2 social security checks.
And it includes 2 or 3 cruises every year 5-7 days long by finding last minute bargains. And we live in a 1600 SF house, so always have room for guests. We are on Medicare advantage plans which actually reduces our Medicare deduction by $55 every month for each, and includes meds, vision & hearing benefits.

We are 10 minutes from miles of beaches, weather is great for 6 months, other 6 months hot & humid.

we are looking for,after years in Michigan,time to say,,,see ya