Burnt Out on Urban Living, Looking for Advice

By

OurFarm

You might reduce your expectations. It's only been in the last 50 years that we have expected that each child or even each sex of child should have their own bedrooms. Why do you think that a 2 bedroom home was the norm, when the families were so large? I know that isn't what you wanted to hear, but it's a truth.

The market in each area will rise to match the what the employment in the area can handle. If you find an area that prices are very low, you'll have a hard time finding a job that pays what a job in a high priced area pays. You can't have it both ways. You can find an area that's poised for growth. But, if you ask around t find it, you'll be paying those who saw it first. Do your own research to find the place that is going to rise in value, making it affordable now, but ready for prices to sky rocket.

If you are financially independent, you can look anywhere. Otherwise, I'd recommend that you look first for a place that you can get work.Good Luck in finding a place that suits you. It's what we all want & there's no perfect place for everyone. If there were, everyone would want to live there. Imagine the wars that could happen over it!

By

FlaKathy

Citysearch at http://national.citysearch.com/search?query=real%20estate may help answer some of your questions.

Homestore, Inc. http://www.homestore.com/move/default.asp?poe=homestore includes tabs for Homes by Realtor.com, New Homes, Apartments & Rentals, Senior Housing, Home Finance, Moving and Home & Garden. They also have The Salary Calculator, where you can select the states you are moving to and from to calculate the cost of living; Moving Tools, which include a Moving Calculator, Checklist Generator, Local School Reports, Relocation Crime Lab, Real Estate News, Credit Reports and Rent Furniture; and, Find a Neighborhood which includes City Comparison, Great Neighborhoods, Neighborhood Finder, City Matchmaker and Community Close-Up.

I don't know anything about the town, but historic Petersburg, Virginia, has lots of old houses at low prices which need to be refurbished. This could provide inexpensive housing if you and/or your husband are handy do-it-yourselfers. You may want to check out their website at http://www.historicpetersburg.org/realestate.htm. There are also lots of other old cities which have similar historic district projects.

Sperling's BestPlaces http://www.bestplaces.net/default.aspx is the "ultimate resource for relocation, recreation, retirement." In 1985, Bert Sperling developed a software program named "Places, U.S.A." which allowed people to enter their personal preferences to find their own best place. BestPlaces.net is a natural extension of our work over the last fifteen years regarding demographics, preferences, and the selection of "Best Places" to live, work, or retire.

Sperling's concepts and methodology have been the basic of numerous studies since 1985. Today, Fast Forward, Inc. (the producer of BestPlaces.net) is responsible for more "Best Places" studies and projects than any other single organization.

On this website, you can even find your best place to live by defining "your ideal place to live by indicating the importance to you of each category. Our computers then run through thousands of calculations and display a ranking of the cities which best meet your criteria."

I hope some of this information is helpful. Good luck finding your perfect place to live!

By sandy webber (Guest Post)

I live in north cental Alabama about an hour from Huntsville and 1-1/2 hours from Birmingham. The cost of living is not so high but taxes are starting to increase.

Another solution to buying a house is Rural Housing Development. I bought my 2 bdrm,1bath home 13 yrs ago and the payments are according to my income. I topped out several yrs ago at $301 monthly and it will never increase nor will I have to refinance unless I start making a lot more money.

By HEATHER (Guest Post)

WE LIVE IN CENTRAL NC AND JUST BOUGHT A 3 BDRM, 2 BATH, LVING RM, FORMAL DINING ROOM, HUGE SUNROOM, DEN,KITCHEN, 2 FULL BATHS,LARGED FENCED IN BACK YARD, IN SUBURBS, FOR 136,000. I THINK THAT IS AVERAGE, I HAVE SEEN THE SAME IN THIS AREA FOR HIGHER AND LOWER PRICES. WE ALSO OWN A 2 BDRM HOME IN SAME AREA WHICH WE PAID ABOUT 75,000 FOR. WE HAVE HABITAT FOR HUMANITY HERE TOO AND THE NEIGHBORHOODS ARE NOT BAD. THEY ARE NOT THE BEST BUT I WOULD NOT BE AFRAID TO LIVE THERE AT ALL, THEY ARE STILL IN THE SUBURBS SO CLOSE TO EVERYTHING BUT DEFINITELY NOT BIG CITY PROBLEMS EITHER.

By yvonne (Guest Post)

I live in central Oklahoma and an average home with 3 bds, 1 1/2 baths is about $50,000. There is a super walmart, a mall, and OKC is only 20 minutes away.

By Jill (Guest Post)

We live in Indiana. I used to live in CA. DRASTIC difference in cost of living. Everything from houses to groceries are much cheaper! The smaller towns have less expensive housing than say, Indianapolis. But depending on where you live, you are very close to a lot of entertainment. We are minutes from OH and MI. We just love it here.

By Anne H. (Guest Post)

I would indentify some states you want to live in and call around to some chamber of commerce and realtors and find out how the housing and job market it is in small towns. I don't know if you can afford this, but I have found new places to live on road trips. Plot out some camping areas and check out some places... if you fall in love with a town, go to a realtor's office and find out what property is going for. Ask about the job market. Ask someone at a local diner what kind of jobs they have. In some places they may be looking for workers and will help you move. In many small towns they have a tough time finding year round, reliable labor. Best of luck!

By Fran Marie (Guest Post)

Living on Long Island in New York is now only for the wealthy, so I know what you are talking about. The average yearly property taxes are, yes, $10,000 a year. (This is NOT a typo!!)
I moved to Goose Creek, South Carolina-15 minutes outside of Charleston. It sounds like a small town but has everthing you need. It's close to the ocean (A must for a former Long Islander!), has tons of shopping and I was even able to find delicious pizza!
3 bedrooms, 1 and a half bath, living room, big kitchen, dining room, family room, 75x100 fenced yard in QUIET neighborhood-fresh AND salt water nearby-$82,000. Oh, my yearly property taxes? $437 (This is NOT a typo)