NPCER: what are some great LCOL places to live and work?

[mominatrix]

the housing market here is getting I-N-S-A-N-E... and owning a house here is becoming an interesting prospect.

Our house is NOT that fantastic, and we bought at a not-great time, and we're in the middle of several renovation projects... so all this is a not-really-anytime-at-all-remotely-soon thing...


BUT.



It may well be the case that our house is worth $200-$250K more than what we owe on our mortgage.

Now, as much as we love Seattle, my guess is that there's nothing in the city we could afford at all.





So, we've been talking, very tentatively, about what it could be like if we could move somewhere LCOL, buy a house for cash, and live a life where we could actually save for retirement, travel, pay for our kids' colleges, etc etc etc. 


So.

Where are some places that you know of where a family house (single family, 3+ bedrooms, 1.5+ baths) can be had for $200-$250K... where there are jobs to be had nearby (my H is in a tech field)... and where life is good.

Regions, cities... even neighborhoods. Anything I can use to search!

thanks!

[mcmel]

I've always loved northwest Arkansas- Fayetteville area. Much more progressive and lively than the rest of the state and there's so much to do in Arkansas if you enjoy the outdoors.

[bears]

You could definitely but a place at that price point in the Raleigh/Durham area of NC. The state politics are bullshit, but I really love it here.

[stackingtens]

I've recruited a few friends to this area for the same reason- Blacksburg VA-huge growing tech sector, tons of jobs and growth. Great community.

Several ended up in the Charlotte NC area for similar reasons.

[Velar Fricative]

I know a couple of people who moved to Pittsburgh for tech jobs and the LCOL. They really like it.

[eclaires]

Knoxville/East TN which is where I am. The national lab is here so there are all sorts of STEM type companies and fields represented here both at the lab and at businesses that work with the lab.

I actually highly recommend working for the lab due to their pension and other benefits but right now it's a little more tense than usual, lol.

[youhadmycuriosity]

Austin, TX area seems to fit that criteria. When we lived there a few years ago, we were in Pflugerville and you can still buy a beautiful home for the $200-250 range and be close enough to the city to commute. Lots of work outside the actual city, too.

I do hear prices are going up though.

[toepick]

Lexington, KY. I relocated here from D.C. And the living is much easier. It's still Kentucky, but since it's a college town, it's a very liberal and cultural city.

[mominatrix]

Apr 23, 2017 20:13:15 GMT -5 mcmel said:

I've always loved northwest Arkansas- Fayetteville area. Much more progressive and lively than the rest of the state and there's so much to do in Arkansas if you enjoy the outdoors.

paskhftroiw hvds!!


oh, my, GOD.... I was looking at Fayetville real estate, on the recommendation of somebody else, and came across this:


www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/2694-N-Emerald-Ave_Fayetteville_AR_72703_M86998-90067


Do you THINK they might be Razorbacks fans??

[cinderbella]

MSP and the surrounding suburbs definitely fit the criteria - I can't imagine living anywhere else!

[rajahmd]

Check out Richmond VA. Plenty of lovely houses in that price range. We bought ours for a little under 250k, with 3 beds/2 bath/2 car garage/bonus loft over garage on about 1/3 an acre.

The job market here is pretty decent, especially for tech. MH is in IT. And I can't recommend the area enough. I love it here!

[StrawberryBlondie]

Minneapolis/St. Paul is a lot like Seattle in many ways. I felt really at home in a lot of ways when we went. Home prices are fairly reasonable - a 2000 sq foot home in my area is regularly well $300k.

Lots of big companies HQ here. Incl. a huge tech company.

Outdoor stuff is big here all year. Breweries abound. Hipsters are around more than. I'd like.

Weather really isn't that bad. It can get cold but you're prepared for it, and we have pretty good infrastructure for snow removal so roads are rarely bad for long.

[mominatrix]

I posted this on FB... but just so you know what I mean by INSANE when it comes to real estate.


This is in my neighborhood.
This house is listed at $500K, and I'd bet you a million internet dollars that it'll go for more than that.

www.redfin.com/WA/Seattle/3030-Belvidere-Ave-SW-98126/home/329182

In-sane.

[georgeglass]

Apr 23, 2017 20:37:33 GMT -5 rajahmd said:

Check out Richmond VA. Plenty of lovely houses in that price range. We bought ours for a little under 250k, with 3 beds/2 bath/2 car garage/bonus loft over garage on about 1/3 an acre.

The job market here is pretty decent, especially for tech. MH is in IT. And I can't recommend the area enough. I love it here!

Ditto! We have lived in a bunch of cities, but keep coming back. 2 hours (or less) to beaches, mountains, DC. Great in state colleges. Great public school options. Capital One has a huge campus here and a lot of IT people work there, but of course there are many other options.

[Deleted]

Apr 23, 2017 20:31:07 GMT -5 youhadmycuriosity said:

Austin, TX area seems to fit that criteria. When we lived there a few years ago, we were in Pflugerville and you can still buy a beautiful home for the $200-250 range and be close enough to the city to commute. Lots of work outside the actual city, too.

I do hear prices are going up though.

Prices are pretty insane in Austin. To stay in that price range, you'd likely have to be pretty far out. And traffic is pretty miserable.

[Deleted]

Milwaukee for sure. Twin Cities is on my short list of places we'd move for.

I'd also check out places like Columbus, Cleveland, Pittsburgh. Basically underrated cities with shitty weather trying to reinvent themselves in a post-industrial economy.

[Velar Fricative]

Apr 23, 2017 20:43:24 GMT -5 mominatrix said:

I posted this on FB... but just so you know what I mean by INSANE when it comes to real estate.


This is in my neighborhood.
This house is listed at $500K, and I'd bet you a million internet dollars that it'll go for more than that.

www.redfin.com/WA/Seattle/3030-Belvidere-Ave-SW-98126/home/329182

In-sane.

I know I should be used to real estate prices like that but I do live in the Bumblefuck part of NYC so I consider half a million for a 2BR house to be ridiculous. Nope nope nope.

[AJL]

Don't put Austin, TX on your short list.  You don't want to move here.  And here's why:

As a native Austinite who has lived in this city and watched it change dramatically in my nearly four decades, I just want to splash a dose of reality on my town. I love it. I wouldn't live anywhere else in Texas, but it's no longer a quaint university town and hasn't been for a long time. We've grown to enormous proportions and our infrastructure isn't keeping up.

You won't be able to buy a house in Austin proper for less than $400K (and that does not buy a lot of house) unless you live at the very edges. You can live in the bedroom communities (Pflugerville, Round Rock, Cedar Park, Hutto, Leander, Kyle, Dripping Springs, Buda) for less but the traffic here is a NIGHTMARE so if you work in the city but live in the suburbs be prepared for an ugly commute. 

We live far south in an Austin zip code and it takes my husband 45 minutes in the morning to get to work and almost 90 minutes to get home. 

We only have two major highways to get north or south through the city and one is under major expansion and construction until at least 2018. The other is I-35 (going north-south on the east side of the city) and it's highly congested, too.

We have a terrible public transportation system, as in we don't have one. Our bus system is limited, we have no light rail or train except one route and it runs on an existing railroad line and starts in Leander and goes through downtown Austin. It doesn't reach any of the other suburbs or the southern parts of the city.

While Austin is a seemingly liberal oasis (and compared to other parts of the state, it may be), it's still a slightly lavender capital city in a very red state. You would still be living in Texas. Our public school system is OK, but nothing special.  Austin is not as ethnically diverse as one might hope. We are primarily white, followed by Hispanic and have a very small African American population. We're not religiously diverse either. 

What we do have is friendly people, lots of outdoor activities in the hill country, great food, OK cultural attractions like museums, the opera, symphony, and ballet.  We have two major music festivals a year (ACL and SXSW).  If that's your scene, then come on down!

Honestly I think Austin is a great place to visit and is still a little known tourist attraction outside of the music festivals. I just don't think that if I didn't have to move here for a job or family, I would. 

[Jalapeñomel]

Apr 23, 2017 20:43:24 GMT -5 mominatrix said:

I posted this on FB... but just so you know what I mean by INSANE when it comes to real estate.


This is in my neighborhood.
This house is listed at $500K, and I'd bet you a million internet dollars that it'll go for more than that.

www.redfin.com/WA/Seattle/3030-Belvidere-Ave-SW-98126/home/329182

In-sane.

This is what it's like here, and then add property taxes. 😭😭😭

[artgirl823]

Rochester, NY. Small liberal city with a great tech/STEM scene thanks to two major universities (RIT and University of Rochester.) Lots of microbreweries, family-friendly (we're home to the Strong National Museum of Play), and no traffic. There's a saying that you can get anywhere in the Rochester area in 20 minutes. A 1500 sq ft 3 bd 1.5 bath will cost 100-180k depending on the neighborhood and how updated it is. I went to college here, moved to Portland, OR for two years, and missed the COL, prevalent sarcasm, and easy commute so much I moved back.

[MrsAxilla]

Apr 23, 2017 20:43:24 GMT -5 mominatrix said:

I posted this on FB... but just so you know what I mean by INSANE when it comes to real estate.


This is in my neighborhood.
This house is listed at $500K, and I'd bet you a million internet dollars that it'll go for more than that.

www.redfin.com/WA/Seattle/3030-Belvidere-Ave-SW-98126/home/329182

In-sane.

Are you fucking kidding me?  I know you're not fucking kidding me, but half a mil for 1000 sq ft (I had to double check that I read that correctly!). Nope.  That's a fucking joke.  

[LoveTrains]

My beautiful state and city!!!!

More tech jobs are coming or commute to Boston via Amtrak (45 minutes each way).

Plus it's practically your old hood.

[spunbutterfly]

Lexington, KY is where I grew up. But I'm not entirely sure tech is going anywhere in that city. Lexmark was acquired by a Chinese company and has been laying off people over the last year or so. My bff and her husband left for a different city before their roles got deprecated because there was no other company in the city that could match their pay rates.

They were looking at the research triangle in NC, Austin, Seattle, and the Bay.

Three houses on my street have sold in the last half year for 100-150k more than asking. There's one more up for sale at the corner. Less than 2000 sqft 750k. O.O

[LoveTrains]

Oh and I just zillowed my sisters house - it's a short walk to green lake or Wallingford - $950k for an arts and crafts bungalow (2 br). They bought it for $500k!!!

[mominatrix]

Apr 23, 2017 20:59:00 GMT -5 AJL said:

Don't put Austin, TX on your short list.  You don't want to move here.  And here's why:

As a native Austinite who has lived in this city and watched it change dramatically in my nearly four decades, I just want to splash a dose of reality on my town. I love it. I wouldn't live anywhere else in Texas, but it's no longer a quaint university town and hasn't been for a long time. We've grown to enormous proportions and our infrastructure isn't keeping up.

You won't be able to buy a house in Austin proper for less than $400K (and that does not buy a lot of house) unless you live at the very edges. You can live in the bedroom communities (Pflugerville, Round Rock, Cedar Park, Hutto, Leander, Kyle, Dripping Springs, Buda) for less but the traffic here is a NIGHTMARE so if you work in the city but live in the suburbs be prepared for an ugly commute. 

We live far south in an Austin zip code and it takes my husband 45 minutes in the morning to get to work and almost 90 minutes to get home. 

We only have two major highways to get north or south through the city and one is under major expansion and construction until at least 2018. The other is I-35 (going north-south on the east side of the city) and it's highly congested, too.

We have a terrible public transportation system, as in we don't have one. Our bus system is limited, we have no light rail or train except one route and it runs on an existing railroad line and starts in Leander and goes through downtown Austin. It doesn't reach any of the other suburbs or the southern parts of the city.

this sounds exactly like what we're trying to get away from in Seattle.

It's uncanny.

[Deleted]

Apr 23, 2017 21:03:03 GMT -5 MrsAxilla said:

Apr 23, 2017 20:43:24 GMT -5 mominatrix said:

I posted this on FB... but just so you know what I mean by INSANE when it comes to real estate.


This is in my neighborhood.
This house is listed at $500K, and I'd bet you a million internet dollars that it'll go for more than that.

www.redfin.com/WA/Seattle/3030-Belvidere-Ave-SW-98126/home/329182

In-sane.

Are you fucking kidding me?  I know you're not fucking kidding me, but half a mil for 1000 sq ft (I had to double check that I read that correctly!). Nope.  That's a fucking joke.  

The house we rented in D.C. was probably 1200 square feet. 2 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. Tiny front and back yards. No off street parking. When we moved out, our landlords sold it for $673,000. With no inspection contingency.

[mominatrix]

Apr 23, 2017 21:00:01 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

Apr 23, 2017 20:43:24 GMT -5 mominatrix said:

I posted this on FB... but just so you know what I mean by INSANE when it comes to real estate.


This is in my neighborhood.
This house is listed at $500K, and I'd bet you a million internet dollars that it'll go for more than that.

www.redfin.com/WA/Seattle/3030-Belvidere-Ave-SW-98126/home/329182

In-sane.

This is what it's like here, and then add property taxes. 😭😭😭

oh, we have property taxes.

It's income tax we don't have.

[AJL]

Apr 23, 2017 21:10:08 GMT -5 mominatrix said:

Apr 23, 2017 20:59:00 GMT -5 AJL said:

Don't put Austin, TX on your short list.  You don't want to move here.  And here's why:

As a native Austinite who has lived in this city and watched it change dramatically in my nearly four decades, I just want to splash a dose of reality on my town. I love it. I wouldn't live anywhere else in Texas, but it's no longer a quaint university town and hasn't been for a long time. We've grown to enormous proportions and our infrastructure isn't keeping up.

You won't be able to buy a house in Austin proper for less than $400K (and that does not buy a lot of house) unless you live at the very edges. You can live in the bedroom communities (Pflugerville, Round Rock, Cedar Park, Hutto, Leander, Kyle, Dripping Springs, Buda) for less but the traffic here is a NIGHTMARE so if you work in the city but live in the suburbs be prepared for an ugly commute. 

We live far south in an Austin zip code and it takes my husband 45 minutes in the morning to get to work and almost 90 minutes to get home. 

We only have two major highways to get north or south through the city and one is under major expansion and construction until at least 2018. The other is I-35 (going north-south on the east side of the city) and it's highly congested, too.

We have a terrible public transportation system, as in we don't have one. Our bus system is limited, we have no light rail or train except one route and it runs on an existing railroad line and starts in Leander and goes through downtown Austin. It doesn't reach any of the other suburbs or the southern parts of the city.

this sounds exactly like what we're trying to get away from in Seattle.

It's uncanny.

I've seen people move here and be completely shocked at how many "big city" problems are little college town has. We hit over 2,000,000 in the Austin metro area in the last couple of years and we're bursting at the seams.  

[mominatrix]

Apr 23, 2017 21:04:34 GMT -5 @angelicapickles said:

Apr 23, 2017 20:43:24 GMT -5 mominatrix said:

I posted this on FB... but just so you know what I mean by INSANE when it comes to real estate.


This is in my neighborhood.
This house is listed at $500K, and I'd bet you a million internet dollars that it'll go for more than that.

www.redfin.com/WA/Seattle/3030-Belvidere-Ave-SW-98126/home/329182

In-sane.

We have friends who just bought a house by Greenlake and paid almost $900k for a TINY house that needed the kitchen completely remodeled. I can't even imagine.

yep. greenlake is insane-r.


the amazing thing is that this neighborhood has historically been the CHEAPEST part of the whole city... and it still is. $500K won't buy you a single family home anywhere out of the 'bad' parts of Seattle - - West Seattle, Beacon Hill, Central District, Columbia City... and even then, it's slim pickings

[spunbutterfly]

Apr 23, 2017 21:13:12 GMT -5 mominatrix said:

Apr 23, 2017 21:04:34 GMT -5 @angelicapickles said:

We have friends who just bought a house by Greenlake and paid almost $900k for a TINY house that needed the kitchen completely remodeled. I can't even imagine.

yep. greenlake is insane-r.


the amazing thing is that this neighborhood has historically been the CHEAPEST part of the whole city... and it still is. $500K won't buy you a single family home anywhere out of the 'bad' parts of Seattle - - West Seattle, Beacon Hill, Central District, Columbia City... and even then, it's slim pickings

It's about to get even pricier to own a SFH I think. My brother is looking to move cause the city is currently in debates to rezone his neighborhood (due to the incoming ST 3 light rail) to high density housing. I think this might make condos and townhomes and apartments for rent more sane in prices (possibly?) but drive up single family home prices even more than they are now.