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Might have to make some compromises. The average house price in Fayetteville is $181 K (super low compared to where I'm from(Seattle)) with a median list price of $116/sq ft. So maybe OP might have to compromise a bit but still seems doable.
Sure, if the OP willing to live away (driving, not walking distance) from downtown, shopping, and restaurants. But that's not what s/he specified.
(I'm speaking from experience. We bought our home here in December and our one non-negotiable criteria was walkable to downtown. We wanted under 2000sf and were wiling to pay up to 400k; ended up happily paying just under 300k for a 1500sf bungalow, 20-minute walk from the square)
Last edited by biscuitmom; 03-05-2017 at 08:59 AM..
A few have mentioned https://www.walkscore.com, hopefully the OP has used it. WADR, better than asking random online strangers for their views.
From there you can get more data on
and of course right here! We all have different priorities re: climate, crime, culture, etc.
From there you should have a short list, then you can go visit in person, and ask more specific questions online about specific locations. My 2 cents...
Last edited by CaseyB; 03-06-2017 at 04:41 AM..
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I would also recommend Greenville sc but it does still get cold below or at freezing here in sc. So that maybe something the op might not want and if that is the case I would look to rome ga or even some parts of north florida like Tallahassee has a walkable downtown from my understanding . I also believe they have some loft apts or loft homes such as condos etc under that price point .
This is always a puzzlement to me that people from elsewhere ask about a walkable place in the south.
I wonder if people know how truly oppressive 7 months of the year can be and to be out sweating in it? 95+ temperature and humidity. Daily storms. Walking a couple of beautiful miles to the store or library, carrying bags, and getting drenched in a frog Strangler? There goes your hair even if we aren't out in the rain. There is a reason we a known for and teased about our pony tails and hairspray ��
As a life long southerner who has lived around the world and love my land of birth, I prefer to live near a town with a walkable downtown where I can drive to to center or drive to an outdoor shopping mall. Get out of car, go to bookstores, window shop, library, have lunch or coffee, then pick up groceries and drive home. Then sit on my porch and watch the afternoon rain fall.
So suggest you go to interesting towns on city data and look at pictures to see if it offers you the picturesque excursion you desire, then look for the right home. i could recommend places but it depends upon what you like. Actually, I liked Greenville, SC and would go back if circumstances were right. I love my home north of Orlando but do foresee returning somewhere mid south.
You could say I am not sold on this walk ability concept.
I live in downtown Fort Lauderdale and am from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (Market Common) and have lived in walkable areas in both. I understand extreme heat and humidity.
Not one single day did the heat and humidity stop me from walking anywhere. Daily.
I blow out my naturally curly, frizzy hair all the time.
I would much rather walk then get in my car and drive to a mall and walk.
Hi, as soon as my DS graduates from high school, I will be looking to move out of Illinois due to weather (first and foremost!) Traffic and ridiculous cost of living. I am hoping to continue to work from home for the same company so commute time isn't hugely relevant. I like Atlanta and it's northern suburbs but my price range, under $200k, keeps me out of walkable areas. I live in a suburb of Chicago right now and have to get in my car for Everything! So done with that! I want to be within walking distance of groceries, restaurants, a bookstore, coffee shops. College towns seem to be best but difficult to identify houses in walkable areas that aren't overrun with students or in unsafe areas and still in my price range. I have a long "short list" right now (ATL, Roswell, Athens, Greenville SC, Oxford MS, chattanooga-really love the looks of Chatt but worried about the crime). Would love everyone's thoughts on the above as well as any other suggestions. I'm open to renting but would prefer to buy a townhouse or small house, 1000-1300sf. Most important thing is a vibrant safe downtown (can be quite small) that I can walk to. Decent medical care and continuing education also important. Thanks in advance for your input!
That's the wrong direction, if you want those things, except a low COL, maybe. Why do you think it costs so much to live in the blue states? The livability of an area is based even more on the other people who are there, as it is about weather.
The climate and scenery is great in Oregon, but the main reason it costs so much for property in our larger cities, is because of the Oregonians with whom you get to live.
I've always liked the idea of Little Rock, AR or Chatanooga, TN
I knew a really good guy in the Army from Chattanooga and he said it was the best place to live. But one of my grandmothers came from Little Rock and she ran away from home at age 14, riding on a mule, she was so eager to get away from the place.
I second Greenville, SC but I also like Greeneville, TN.
Chatt is a bit too big, look into Cleveland, TN.
Rome (college town), or Cedartown, GA are close to Chatt, but very nice. So is Ringgold, GA (Very Close to Chatt, but very small) Rocky Face, GA is another option in striking distance to Chatt.
For the region, I like Jonesborough, Gray, and Kingsport, TN.
Nearby college town is Johnson City (which I don't find as nice, but it has some decent areas. )
NETN has better weather / less chance of tornadoes / mtns (cooler)
"Diversity", of the Memphis type, has recently been inserted into Greeneville. Probably a government program, like the one that destroyed Milwaukee, and the one that's destroying the once-wonderful little towns in Southern Illinois, and Vilesack's deliberate importation of inner-city types into Des Moines. Things aren't bad - YET. But it's just a matter of time.
I live in downtown Fort Lauderdale and am from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (Market Common) and have lived in walkable areas in both. I understand extreme heat and humidity.
Not one single day did the heat and humidity stop me from walking anywhere. Daily.
I blow out my naturally curly, frizzy hair all the time.
I would much rather walk then get in my car and drive to a mall and walk.
Yes I completely agree! Where I live, as soon as you find it difficult to drive (or drive in the dark which, gotta be honest, is already happening to me!) you lose your freedom. Who knows what the future brings but being able to get out and about under your own power keeps you young. I will say that when I mean, I want to be DOWNTOWN, I really mean downtown. Again, it can be a small downtown but when people are talking about walking 3miles to get groceries, that is not my idea of walkable. I love to walk for leisure and of course, could do that, but I don't have endless free time either. I didn't realize my "ask" list would be that difficult to find but I guess so...And for those folks who are trying to talk me out of the heat. I do get it, but I'll take miserable 4 mos out of the year before 8 mos out of the year which is what I have now Since you know FLL, you'll know Lauderdale-by-the-sea...if I could live there without paying a fortune for hurricane insurance, I would
I get confused about what people mean when they talk about a walkable environment, just like I am puzzled by the new types of developments that are supposedly live/work/play. Yup, I get that lots of people work at home and retired people don't work at all. But some of these developments have like five restaurants. Maybe one coffee shop. Some boutique type stores that are specialized I can't imagine the average person shops there (and most aren't geared towards people of a certain age). I'd be so bored with these same amenities over and over.
In metro Atlanta, condos and apartments were built at a major outdoor shopping center. Good in theory. They finally got a coffee shop. And it's one of the few that has a grocery store (Whole Foods). As much as I hate driving, doesn't appeal to me at all. Yup, they have a beauty shop---but I'm one woman who prefers to spend $15 at Great Clips rather than $55 on a haircut (actually I cut my own hair--even better!). They had a gym/yoga studio in the complex, but surprisingly that didn't do well. So if I lived there, I would have to drive to a yoga studio...and to doctors....and for other restaurants, etc.
I used to live in a condo in suburban Atlanta that wasn't very walkable when I first moved in. Years later there was a grocery store, Starbucks, and a pharmacy...so walkable for some things, but not every thing you'd ever want. I don't see how it is possible to really in live anywhere where you'd never have to drive unless it's a really major city. For retirement purposes, can do a lot of shopping online to avoid driving, take Uber, and see about organizing alternative types of transportation.
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Since you know FLL, you'll know Lauderdale-by-the-sea...if I could live there without paying a fortune for hurricane insurance, I would 
