Before moving in retirement, you have to put together a list of what is important to you both.
For example: Cost of living, access to medical care and specialists, housing affordability and options, crime, local government, taxes, local laws (some busybody cities and HOAs try to limit your number of pets, even if they are kept indoors).
My sister told me recently that a home they were considering purchasing in the Asheville, North Carolina metropolitan area was in a subdivision with an HOA. It had a limit of four pets, period. When she talked to a representative and he asked, "How many do you own?" her response was "None of your business." I think they owned 6 or 7 cats and 2 dogs at that time.
An example of excessive busybody, greedy local regulations in Chattanooga:
All persons owning, keeping or maintaining more than seven (7) dogs, seven (7) cats, or a combined total of seven (7) dogs and cats shall be required to obtain a multiple-pet license and pay an additional fee for each dog or cat in excess of seven (7), at the following rates:
Fifty dollars ($50.00) for each dog or cat in excess of seven (7) and up to and including ten (10) dogs or cats;
One hundred dollars ($100.00) for each dog or cat in excess of ten (10) and up to and including twenty (20) dogs or cats; and
Two hundred dollars ($200.00) for each dog or cat in excess of twenty (20) dogs or cats.
We have owned three homes in the metropolitan area, none have been in the city limits, though we have never had more than 6 cats at once.
You have to rank which factors are knock outs for cities under consideration.