Retiring to Europe (from US)

Malta’s buy-a-citizenship option is expensive, but I think they have a couple of options that are less expensive and grant resident status. There’s one geared towards EU retirees, and another (“Global Residency”) that seems open to anyone willing to either spend €220-275k in property or rent + meet other criteria.

They don’t get you a Maltese passport, but residency within Schengen (and the associated near-freedom of movement) seems like it’d be sufficient for the OP’s needs.

It looked like they have a cap of 400/year for the golden visa anyway.