If I lose power, why would my tap stop serving water?

Water pressure should remain high during a power outage. That's why they sell water-powered sump pumps.

And your natural gas supply should be just fine. Used to be your phone service would remain up, too. But central battery supplied tip/ring circuits are becoming historical curiosities.

Hey, glad to offer what insights I can.

BTW, your original post attracted little interest. And it was difficult to find, even after I had responded to it. Somehow, it's in stealth mode. I had to use my browser history to find it again. Maybe you could repost and make it more visible. The topic is one that confronts us all eventually.

So you don't feel like mastering the latest Chomsky Type 3 formal language and development environment, and have decided to coast to a comfortable, low-stress, lifestyle? Or maybe the gigs just aren't coming your way, and you realize that you have been "retired". Either way, the individual's strategies are similar.

Realize that you are older and poorer than you used to be. First, get your day-to-day, roof-over-your-head, expenses down. Way down. No mortgage, moderate size house, structurally sound, reasonably-priced utilities. Shoot for $800 per month, not including food.

Then, accept the fact you are less energetic, less robust, more vulnerable, slower to heal. Cut back on the skydiving, plan more hiking in scenic locales. You will need ongoing health care, and (sooner or later) acute emergency medical attention. Make sure you can avail yourself of any medical product or service. Really, it's important.

For an intellectually motivated person, internet access is a must. Always have internet access. And a few storage and display devices.

Fresh water I saved for last. But in fact, water is life. It is so tempting to retreat to the boondocks, far away from the crowd, to revel in openness and freedom. Don't do it. By all means, visit New Mexico. It's a great place, with beautiful scenic vistas everywhere you look. But remember, the vistas are sweeping because the water is lacking. Without water, you are in trouble in a matter of hours. So live in a place that has a good reliable water supply.

Taken together, the foregoing imply an urban location. And my prejudice is to remain in the US, unless you have some ethnic tie to some other stable country. Yes, you can live in a trailer, parked in a campground. I think that the isolation tends to be tiresome after a while, and the hookup fees add up.

If you are looking to relocate, there are lots of cheap, safe, well-connected places to live in the US. You could do worse than the old Rust Belt cities. The bulk of their deterioration has already happened, and much of the classic, brick and stone, houses are available for a song. [There are artists moving into Gary, IN, for example.] . And with the Great Lakes nearby, water is plentiful.

If it's group living you are after (and somewhere, there has to be a Geek-oriented retirement home), I can't offer advice. Regardless, apply for Social Security the day you become eligible, put your IRA money in a Vanguard mutual fund (e.g. Energy), and get on Medicare as soon as you can.

Good luck, and hope this helps.