Is Spain a good place to retire?

I have visited Spain three times, once to Madrid and twice to Barcelona.  My trip durations to Madrid were approximately 1 week and 2 days respectively.  Like many large urban environments, I found it crowded and a little too grimy for my taste. Though my visit to Barcelona was very short about 2 days I found the city vibrant and full of good energy.  Sadly its cost of living is beyond my retirement budget.   As with other first-world countries I need to look at less popular tourist or expat destinations for a cost-of-living environment suitable for retirement.  If it Spain I would primarily focus on cities such as Valencia and Alicante for retirement, though I have recently started looking at Malaga for business opportunities. As usual in my review, we will look at healthcare, crime, cost of living, weather, infrastructure, and culture.