Speaking of inexpensive places to live in the US

[HFWR]

TX data point: $2800 PT for home valued around $133k

 

[califdreamer]

Uh..now I'm conflicted. I grew up 'behind the pine curtain' right in the middle of those ETX towns you mentioned, and I is edumucated.

I may have been a little fast and loose with that observation about "low educational attainment" in ETX. It looks like 15.3% of Tyler residents have a 4-yr college degree (15.8% US average) and 7.2% hold grad/professional degrees (9.6% US average). Longview-Marshall percentages are lower.

I should've stated the downside as lack of big city amenities rather than low educational attainment. I was right about the high rainfall though.

 

[Moemg]

[=lazygood4nothinbum link=topic=
possibly heading to gainesville fl next weekend to check out properties with bro & sil.]


I think Gainesville is one of the prettiest cities in Florida .Good Choice !!

 

[dumpster56]

Lazarus
Was curious about those high taxes in Texas. Just what kind of taxes do you pay there on a $125,000 house? I seem to remember reading once the average was around 3 1/2 to 4% of value. Am I all wet on that one? We are only at about 2% here in Florida, but that $125,000 house in Texas will cost you $300,000 here.

LazyGood4
Don't hold your breath on Florida doing anything SUBSTANTIAL to lower taxes. Back in 2000 a bill was voted on and passed that gave families a 25% break on their taxes if they provided for a portion of their home specifically (mother in law wing or guest house) to house their elder parents. It is now 2007, and they still have not enacted this into law. In 2001 I built a house with an apartment for my mother and retarded brother. NO TAX BREAK. When I call, they tell me they just haven't gotten around to it yet. I guess there's no time requirement for new bills that are passed.

I know Florida and Texas don't have state income taxes, but if you have a nice house in Florida and I gather Texas too, it seems like you pay more taxes than you would if you were in some states that impose state taxes.
I have made compaarisons on a few.

So when you want to retire and cut your expences as much as you can and still enjoy some quality of life, where do you go. Us Cosmopolitan, agnostic, Bush bashing liberals might not fare too well in Greenville, SC.

I do admit however, I miss the northern country side with real trees and rolling hills. (New Hope, Pa.) Now if we could just get the long cold winters and dreary grey skys out of the equation we would have something.

I loved the Bucks county Pa area! But wow it costs big time dollars for even a place that was beat to $^$#.

We lived in warren county NJ near Frenchtown in Hunterdon county. Yep the house tax rate was now pushing 3 dollars a 100. Close to 10,000 in property taxes when we left for North Carolina which has its own set of problems. Rapid growth and taxed schools and infrastructure. I sure hope I did not make a mistake heading down here. The weather is much better though.

then again the housing market has really slowed even down here which means less new homes being built so far this year.

Who knows, at least i really do not have a mortgage.

 

[OkieTexan]

MS is absolutely gorgeous and is no armpit capital to me!! MS has an inexpensive cost of living, a delightfully relaxed southern culture and outlook that I appreciate, and a whole lot to offer in general. MS might even be a retirement target for me,

Trying to keep my options open until "FIRE Day".

I hear that 'armpit' thing about both of my "home states" - - Oklahoma and Texas. There are probably hundreds of great places to call home in either or both. I believe I would be foolish to choose the place I reside only because of taxes and real estate prices. I want to enjoy the place, too. Certainly, one person's trash could be another's treasure.

If you drive the 859 miles from Orange, TX to El Paso, you will find a lot to talk about. The 4th largest city in the nation with lots of good jobs, low taxes, reasonable home prices, and for 6 months of the year, beautiful mild weather. You will also find one of the most touted retirement destinations in the US, the TX Hill country. That fame is lifting those land prices almost daily. Still, boomers are shelling out $300,000 for 2 acre lots with a view of the Comal River! Onward to the west, there are parcels of land a sidewinder would desert as quickly as it could.

Most people think of red dirt, cold windy winters, and economic hardship when one mentions Oklahoma. That old depression era rhetoric is still heard around there. But the words to the state song and anthem say it all to someone who grew up there:

Oklahoma
words by Oscar Hammerstein and music by Richard Rodgers

Brand new state, Brand new state, gonna treat you great!
Gonna give you barley, carrots and pertaters,
Pasture fer the cattle, Spinach and Termayters!
Flowers on the prairie where the June bugs zoom,
Plen'y of air and plen'y of room,
Plen'y of room to swing a rope!
Plen'y of heart and plen'y of hope!

Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain,
And the wavin' wheat can sure smell sweet
When the wind comes right behind the rain.
Oklahoma, ev'ry night my honey lamb and I
Sit alone and talk and watch a hawk makin' lazy circles in the sky.

We know we belong to the land
And the land we belong to is grand!
And when we say - Yeeow] A-yip-i-o-ee ay!
We're only sayin' You're doin' fine, Oklahoma! Oklahoma - O.K.

Those words might not attract everyone, may even scare away some; but when it is sung in a real strong chorus formation, it can still bring tears to my eyes! I guess home is where the heart is!

Maybe that's why the statistics say most people don't move very far away from their home unless they have to and a lot return there in their later years. In my high school graduating class, over half still live in this area (or have returned to it).

 

[REWahoo]

... boomers are shelling out $300,000 for 2 acre lots with a view of the Comal River!

A basic tenet of economics is scarce resources drive up prices. And since the Comal River is only 2.5 miles long, riverfront property is definitely scarce.

And when we say - Yeeow] A-yip-i-o-ee ay!
We're only sayin' You're doin' fine, Oklahoma! Oklahoma - O.K.

Great! Since Oklahoma is OK (you heard it from Rodgers & Hammerstein, so it must be true), everybody look there for a retirement home and leave us Texcians to our scorpions, rattlesnakes, etc., etc., etc....

 

[unclemick]

Hmmm- "You're The Reason God Made Oklahoma" - David Frizzell, Shelly West. Always liked that one - right up there with Rednecks, White Socks And Blue Ribbon Beer by Johnny Russell.

But for living - greater Kansas City is just ducky for now. If I ever yearn for waterfront/ get homesick - there is my old stomping grounds overlooking the lower Columbia - Ranier, Longview, Kalama - either OR or WA side all the way toward Astoria/ Ilwaco.

Grey is still one of my favorite colors. Would probably pick Portland over Seattle for 'more like home' rather than rational reasons if push came to shove.

Heh heh heh

 

[sgeeeee]

http://realestate.msn.com/Buying/Article_busweek.aspx?cp-documentid=1014352&GT1=8698

Just ran across this.

 

[donheff]

I hear that 'armpit' thing about both of my "home states" - - Oklahoma and Texas. There are probably hundreds of great places to call home in either or both. I believe I would be foolish to choose the place I reside only because of taxes and real estate prices. I want to enjoy the place, too. Certainly, one person's trash could be another's treasure.

The reality is that good friends make good places. If you are able to hook up with people you like it doesn't really matter where you live. That is why so many people like the over 55 communities - they make friends and are happy.

 

[martyb]

I currently live in Bossier City, LA. Been here about 11 yrs now. Before that, I lived in and around Austin, TX for 15 yrs, with 7 of that being in Bastrop County. Hated to leave Bastrop TX, but now that I've been here for so long, and since I really love my fishing, PLUS since my kids are here, I more than likely will be retiring across the state line somewhere in East Texas. While property taxes are MUCH lower in Louisiana, I like the looks of things over around Longview, Tyler, Athens etc. Might even buy myself a retirement home on Lake Fork, known for it's huge largemouth bass! Got to have priorities in life, right? : I love the greenery and all the lakes. Ha....I'd love to take you on a boat tour of Caddo Lake if yer ever back in the area. In a bass boat, winding through the trails it's a real rush!

 

[OkieTexan]

The reality is that good friends make good places. If you are able to hook up with people you like it doesn't really matter where you live. That is why so many people like the over 55 communities - they make friends and are happy.

I agree! It would be a shame to pick a place out of a magazine, move there, and find that making new friends might be more difficult than I thought. I have lived in the same house for 25 years! Some of my best friendships are that long, too. Roots can grow really deep!

 

[HFWR]

One of the aforementioned Lake Fork largemouth bass... 8)

 

[OkieTexan]

I'd love to take you on a boat tour of Caddo Lake if yer ever back in the area. In a bass boat, winding through the trails it's a real rush!

I have been camping in that park on the TX side of Caddo Lake. Bass fishing among those old cypress trees is a superb experience. I also like the area between Rayburn and Toledo Bend Lakes. Towns like Hemphill, Pineland, and Jasper come to mind.

 

[REWahoo]

Towns like Hemphill, Pineland, and Jasper come to mind.

Does the term "Had to pipe in sunlight" sound familiar?

 

[bssc]

Texas has quite a few places that are desireable yet very inexpensive, The San Antonio area and Dallas area have decent houses that can be had for 125-150K.

Add Houston to the list. My house which I sold for 110K in 1996 is estimated to be worth 126K in 2007. Good school district, 4 br, 2 bath, pool, 2000 sq feet. I can put you in touch my old real estate agent.

 

[whitestick]

leave us Texcians to our scorpions, rattlesnakes, etc., etc., etc....

And let us not forget fire ants, killer bees, and black clay that shifts making foundations basically unstable.

 

[modhatter]

NewGuy

Yes, I know about Bucks County prices. I used to live in Hunterdon County also, just west of Clinton. Can't remember the name of the country road. It was beautiful though. Twelve acres with a 200 year old home and a carriage house with two fantastic apartments in it. Sure wish I could have held on to it. I sold it for $125,000 in around 1970. When I went back to see it in 1990, it was on the market for $1,699,000 mil. Today, who knows. But such is life. I guess a lot of us have storeies like that.

 

[Sam]

Add Houston to the list. My house which I sold for 110K in 1996 is estimated to be worth 126K in 2007. Good school district, 4 br, 2 bath, pool, 2000 sq feet. I can put you in touch my old real estate agent.

Yes, Houston is very affordable. In fact it's so affordable, that it's one of few place on earth where your house actually depreciates with time. Using the above number, that house appreciates 1.3% annually while inflation runs about 3%.

 

[Lazarus]

Lazarus
Was curious about those high taxes in Texas. Just what kind of taxes do you pay there on a $125,000 house? I seem to remember reading once the average was around 3 1/2 to 4% of value. Am I all wet on that one? We are only at about 2% here in Florida, but that $125,000 house in Texas will cost you $300,000 here.

LazyGood4
Don't hold your breath on Florida doing anything SUBSTANTIAL to lower taxes. Back in 2000 a bill was voted on and passed that gave families a 25% break on their taxes if they provided for a portion of their home specifically (mother in law wing or guest house) to house their elder parents. It is now 2007, and they still have not enacted this into law. In 2001 I built a house with an apartment for my mother and retarded brother. NO TAX BREAK. When I call, they tell me they just haven't gotten around to it yet. I guess there's no time requirement for new bills that are passed.

I know Florida and Texas don't have state income taxes, but if you have a nice house in Florida and I gather Texas too, it seems like you pay more taxes than you would if you were in some states that impose state taxes.
I have made compaarisons on a few.

So when you want to retire and cut your expences as much as you can and still enjoy some quality of life, where do you go. Us Cosmopolitan, agnostic, Bush bashing liberals might not fare too well in Greenville, SC.

I do admit however, I miss the northern country side with real trees and rolling hills. (New Hope, Pa.) Now if we could just get the long cold winters and dreary grey skys out of the equation we would have something.

I pay about $3,100 per year.

 

[Lazarus]

I currently live in Bossier City, LA. Been here about 11 yrs now. Before that, I lived in and around Austin, TX for 15 yrs, with 7 of that being in Bastrop County. Hated to leave Bastrop TX, but now that I've been here for so long, and since I really love my fishing, PLUS since my kids are here, I more than likely will be retiring across the state line somewhere in East Texas. While property taxes are MUCH lower in Louisiana, I like the looks of things over around Longview, Tyler, Athens etc. Might even buy myself a retirement home on Lake Fork, known for it's huge largemouth bass! Got to have priorities in life, right? : I love the greenery and all the lakes. Ha....I'd love to take you on a boat tour of Caddo Lake if yer ever back in the area. In a bass boat, winding through the trails it's a real rush!

I used to live in Bossier. Met my wife there, she is from Shreveport. I lived at the North end of Airline back then. Caddo lake is nice!

 

[wildcat]

You know I often wonder about Wilmington, Delware (not a state mentioned too often huh?). Much lower cost of living vs. the rest of the east coast. So close to so many big city amenities and not far from some decent atlantic ocean beaches.

Full disclosure - I have never been to Wilmington, DE

 

[astroboy]

Check out Huntsville, AL - one of the lowest property taxes around, inside City for only .58 (100K house = $580/yr) total. In County, only .365. Great economy, very educated population, and no income tax on defined benefit pensions. Yes, they have a 8% sales tax (even on groceries), but overall is a bargain. Median home prices only $134,482 for 2006. If cheap living drives your ER decision, you gotta check this town out. It's no your typical or stereotypical AL town by any means.

 

[perinova]

You know I often wonder about Wilmington, Delware (not a state mentioned too often huh?). Much lower cost of living vs. the rest of the east coast. So close to so many big city amenities and not far from some decent atlantic ocean beaches.

Full disclosure - I have never been to Wilmington, DE

DE has lower taxes (inlcuding real estate) but for the research I have done there are very few homes that are inexpensive.

 

[wildcat]

DE has lower taxes (inlcuding real estate) but for the research I have done there are very few homes that are inexpensive.

Hmmm. I suppose it was in reference to the surrounding cities - Philly, NYC, Baltimore & DC - suppose Boston isn't too far away either. I get an overall COL around 100 or slightly above.

Seems like the same case for one of my favorite places - Colorado. Higher than avg. housing but the all of the other things that go into the pot are lower than avg. or avg which brings the COL down.

 

[Spanky]

If you can tolerate the cold weather, Duluth, Minnesota is the place - very affordable.