Least expensive/ Least stressful places to live in the USA

Ithaca, NY. Population has been stable since the 60's. Progressive university town in beautiful unspoiled nature - 3 state parks in a town of 50,000 people. Lots of cheap places to live.

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$100 K?
I don't know where the one person was looking but I live in Florida and we paid $76 K.... 12 years ago. Our small 1970's home appraised at $250K in 2006.

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Re: $100 K?

flynn2445 wrote:

I don't know where the one person was looking but I live in Florida and we paid $76 K.... 12 years ago. Our small 1970's home appraised at $250K in 2006.

flynn, Watch for your home "value" to go down, but it shouldn't be of any concern if you're planning to stay their for the long-term.

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My Mom and Step Dad stopped by for a visit earlier this week. In conversation about the houses she said "I dunno, Shell. An acre back home is up to three to five thousand dollars now." Back home would be southern Missouri.

Shocked

A lot in our subdivision, about a 1/4 acre, runs $75,000.

But, if you head out of Raleigh about 20 minutes you can find affordable housing with acreage for around 100,000 and still have all the culture within 30 minutes of you.

(By culture I don't just mean the statue of Opie and Andy.)

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squinney, North Carolina is beautiful country no matter how one looks at it. My nephew was married there, and had their reception at the Biltmore Estate.
While there, my brother took me to Chimney Rock Park; I love that place.

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squinney wrote:

My Mom and Step Dad stopped by for a visit earlier this week. In conversation about the houses she said "I dunno, Shell. An acre back home is up to three to five thousand dollars now." Back home would be southern Missouri.

A lot in our subdivision, about a 1/4 acre, runs $75,000.

But, if you head out of Raleigh about 20 minutes you can find affordable housing with acreage for around 100,000 and still have all the culture within 30 minutes of you.

(By culture I don't just mean the statue of Opie and Andy.)

yeah, there's biker rallies and stuff. Laughing

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Hey, I had fun at the biker rally. Gonna get me a Harley and start touring with them if I can work up the nerve for a few more tattoos. Very Happy

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well of course you are... that's what divorced women do... alll the things they claimed they'd never do while they were married... Laughing

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@mckenzie,

mckenzie, you are smarter than the average bear. Born and raised in Fl. with todays storms. you are right there is nothing inexpensive to be purchased that meets todays building codes tat is safe!!!

Also, appreciated your comment about moving to Missourri and quality of life does depend on who we are.

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Pick almost any small town that is away from the tourist traps and larger cities in the South or Midwest. You can buy a great 3 bedroom house in good shape in a nice neighborhood in Borger or Fritch or Dumas Texas or in the Oklahoma Panhandle or most rural areas of Kansas for under $100,000 and enjoy low taxes, reasonable grocery and utility prices. The scenery isn't much and you have to make your own fun, but if you enjoy playing cards or dominos or fishing or hunting or pitching horseshoes or back yard bar-b-ques or just being out under a huge blue sky, it's a great place to live and raise a family.

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Tried to Google cheapest places to live... didnt quickly find much useful. Lots of real estate sites, and a couple of listings of 'inexpensive places to live in' that were so geared to, you know, international young go-getting professionals, their definition of cheap doesnt say much.

This is the most interesting-looking of the bunch, listing the Top 10 individual places and metro areas to live in according to a range of different standards - low crime levels, good public schools etc.

2007 QUALITY OF LIFE QUOTIENT: What Really Matters Is Not the Salary, but What That Salary Will Buy

Two of the standards are affordable housing and standard of living. Here goes:

Quote:

Affordable Housing. For the vast majority of Americans, home ownership is a time-tested way to establish wealth. In fact, for the average family, it is the primary way they are ever going to build wealth.
Click here for a list of the Top 10 overall rankings for Affordable Housing.
Click here for a list of the Top 10 Large Metros for Affordable Housing.

Standard of Living. This category tries to measure where an individual’s income will go the farthest while, at the same time, not being mired in an area of extreme poverty.
Click here for a list of the Top 10 overall rankings for Standard of Living.
Click here for a list of the Top 10 Large Metros for Standard of Living.

FWIW, Bear was right according to these guys. Ranking at #2 in the Top 10 overall rakings for standard of living is Raleigh, NC, right behind Austin, TX and Boulder, CO.

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This I guess is their bottom line, combining all the standards they listed:

Quote:

Which Metros Offer Employees the Best Access to a Middle-Class Lifestyle?

As with all of our other research studies we publish each year, we take the final results and group the metro areas into quintiles.

Once all the scores were tabulated, the top 20 percent of MSAs were designated as “5-Star Quality of Life Metros,” while the next 20 percent were designated “4-Star Quality of Life Metros.” Metros that finished in the bottom three quintiles were designated as “3-Star,” “2-Star” and “1-Star QOL Metros.”

Click here for a list of the Top 10 overall rankings for Large Metro Areas.
Click here for a list of the Top 10 overall rankings for Midsize Metro Areas.
Click here for a list of the Top 10 overall rankings for Small Metro Areas.

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I figure this question zones in on what is important to one person or another, re, "least stressful". What might be least stressful to you might send me up the mast. Or, vice versa.

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@ossobuco,

osso, I agree; different strokes for different folks. Stress is a creation of the individual's mind, and that can include the most minute irritant.

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@keuracce,

what is one of the least inexpensive state to live in on a low fixed Income in the United States, being on Disability also?

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Winslow Arizona is a great place to live. the climate is pretty good all year round.. we have 4 seasons, but none too harsh. the cost of living is low.. housing is affordable and there are many places to camp , hunt and fish nearby.winslow has a website.. there is a nice , easy pleasant pace of living .. it's a nice friendly little town in northern arizona...

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@keuracce,

If you want peaceful, relaxing, scenic, entertaining in/ outdoor..and pretty much decent weather most of the time...Cason City/ Virginia City, area of NV..also Oregon (esp. Western OR) is awesome....I also need to mention, the people are mostly friendly, and life can go at a pretty liesurely pace! Taxes are low too !!!!

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@squinney,

Most "Subdivision plots," are gonna be a lot more in price than lots of acreage in the rural areas. Most subdivisions are going up in very trendy up and coming areas that are accessible to city and country with ease, but for the ease you pay, (and I think way too much) as far as price, size of yard, closeness to all neighbors..(some of these houses almost seem to touch they are so close together), dealing with Pain in the A&% Neighborhood assoc. telling you what you can or cannot have on the house or in your own yard ( I always find that one the MOST amusing) It is YOUR property, but someone else can tell you, that you cannot put something up on your land ???? Ah freedom, gotta love it! Anyway sorry for the rant, but h e is right. I am currently living in IN, I have a 5 acre plot for sale w/ 1 of it being wooded, and we are asking $5,000 per acre. Normal going rate for around here. But there are no utilities on the land yet.

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Monkey's Eyebrow, Kentucky is pretty laid-back and inexpensive.

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@WolfmanDOC,

I loved the rant, Wolfman. Still, there are any number of people desiring small yards.

Should I read anything into your name, by the way? We already have a CowDoc, who is a retired veterinatian.

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Least expensive/ Least stressful places to live in the USA

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