A lot of boomers might aspire to “retire in place” in the classic sense, but only a fraction of them are going to be able to realize that aspiration. It takes a lot of money to continue to live a $75,000+ annual income lifestyle, and the equity that’s tied up in their housing doesn’t count.
I think a lot of boomers will just continue to work til they drop, either because they have to or because they choose to in lieu of changing their location and lifestyle.
There are a lot of areas in the U.S. that got emptied out as a result of migration to employment. Housing is cheap and the pace of life and consumption is a lot slower.
I would imagine some of those areas will be attractive to retirees who have less than the multi-million dollar net worth it takes to retire in the coastal economies. I can imagine some of these small farming towns coming back to life as the result of boomers seeking a lower cost of living in what remains a nation governed by the rule of law. Retirees coming back to spend money in those local economies will revitalize some of them.
Bonus – they won’t have a learn a new language or worry about a revolution that would kick them out.