Thanks for all the comments , folks!
Yes, the favorable rent was a golden handcuff. I'm finding local rents for a decent one-bedroom apartment (~700 SF) going for ~$1000+. Then I need to add in other stuff I currently get but is included in my rent here--such as utilities, satellite TV and WiFi internet. Not to mention the vast & safe parking.
I've been spending the past few days looking at apartment rental sites. That's been a real eye opener. These are great tools that were not available to me when I was last looking for a place to live over 30 years ago. (There are some ugly, dreary apts/condos out there, compared to where I currently live, based on the photos online. Unless you wanna spend much more--like some $1300/month and more. Depressing.) I haven't actually gone out to actually view options yet. I may do that next week. That will give me a better idea of life may look like outside of this old home of mine.
As I mentioned, there's no rush to move, but I'm looking at options well in advance. When the time does come, I suppose I could do a 6 to 12 month lease, get a feel for things, downsize a lot more in this meantime, plan most of the logistics for that European trip, and consider doing the long trip the following Spring. Hmmm.
Thanks again, all!