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I live in Portland, OR, now, which is a wonderful place but unfortunately not cheap. Since I could live anywhere (I make most of my (modest) living investing) I've been thinking about moving to a smallish town, somewhere that might have a small (even tiny) house on a double lot for $50k.
The deep south isn't attractive to me, and much of the west, though I love it, is too harsh for my ideal garden--a big point for me. I've heard Independence, Kansas, mentioned, and some towns in Iowa and Pennsylvania...
An ideal town would have older architecture (w/o a lot of ugly new development), a decent library, maybe a college in town or not too far away.
Ideas?
Is anywhere in northern California even remotely affordable?
There is no way Northern Cali is going to be more affordable than Portland, OR. You may look into Redding CA, but that is not a really desirable area of CA, IMO.
I used to live in Indiana and I know property can be expensive in the larger cities, but I think in the smaller towns you might be able to get some deals. You may want to consider near Bloomington, which is home to Indiana University. You are also not far away from the state's largest city, Indianapolis. I can't recall their names, but I know there are a number of smaller towns in and around that area that might provide you with what you are looking for. No ocean nearby, but plenty of rivers and a good four season climate without a nasty cold winter.
Can't really talk about jobs, but then that wasn't your question. In my experience, areas in the Midwest that have cheap land usually are not boom towns and a limited number of jobs. BUT, if you could make a decent profit on your place in Portland, you might be able to buy someplace here outright and if you don't have a lot of other dept, how much would you really need to make to play in your big garden?
You know what, I know you said that the south is out but as a person from your neck of the woods, I think I should mention Fayettville Arkansas. Its a college town, awesome buildings, very hip and cool. Lot of trees, infact it looks alot like southern Oregon. a little muggy in summer, but it wont last. you can find a house for 80K. Not a mansion, but nice. Lakes everywhere. Nice people. Just check it out. As far as the rest of the South, Im with you buddy....EEEEK.
Spring, that's a wonderful site. It's definitely worth checking out. I hope to remember to email the person on the site tomorrow with a bit of info that I have for her. How wonderful that we Boomers are looking out for each other.
http://www.city-data.com/city/Tulsa-Oklahoma.html
This is one of my favorites. If you want to check out housing there, just go to realtor.com. OK seems to be a very affordable place to live and eastern OK is beautiful with the Quachitas and the Ozarks. Their real estate taxes are also extremely low. Of course it depends on the county, but it seems like they're only between 4-5 per thousand. If you like lakes and fishing, check out Grove, OK. I'd love to live there, BUT I still need employment.
If you don't mind colder weather, the Dakotas have smaller towns where housing is extremely affordable. I was just looking in amazement at an ad yesterday for a nearby small town. It is a house built in 2002 that is a 5/2 and a half that is on the market for 135,000. Of course, you aren't looking for that big of a house, but there's an example.
Good luck to you and let us know what you decide on. That's funny~I believe we were posting at the same time and we both suggested nearly the same area of the country.
Canton, NY and Potsdam, NY together have St. Lawrence U, Clarkson U., Potsdam State U., SUNY Canton. Housing is super cheap, high property taxes, cold winters, Food Co-op in Potsdam, excellent schools, active alternative energy and local organic farming. Ottawa, Burlington, Syracuse are all within 3 hours.
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Southern Indiana, Anyone?
