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Reading through these I'm reminded of our Presidents' word choice lamenting the origination countries of-at least in his mind- too many wannabe immigrants.
Don't know though, haven't been to any of them so can't say. There may be some real gems in there-but I doubt it.
They are low in price for a reason....no medical care; dying or dead downtowns; no places to work except the local muffler or tire shop, and convenience/ gas stations; poor schools; no shopping; no services; or in the case of Flint- no potable water; and everything is a million miles away and feels even farther when you are a senior.
Expensive areas are expensive for a reason....the trick is to find one that you can live with, somewhere in the middle with the services you need.
If you are retired- employment opportunities may not be important but medical care and doctors may be, along with nearby shopping or restaurants.
If you no longer drive (or do very little), then having everything you need close by or in walking distance is more important, as would be public transportation.
If you are in your 30s and have kids, then you want good schools and playgrounds/ parks, and a good doctor and ER for sports injuries, broken bones, and such, even if you need to drive to shop.
If you are in your 20s and have no kids, you can live anywhere, as long there are mountains of employment opportunities that pay well.
We are lucky in the sense that Americans do move a lot. We have our starter homes, then family homes, and then usually our smaller retirement homes, and we can move from urban, to suburban or rural, and then back to urban again.
Usually we can follow other family or follow jobs...or even homeschool and chuck it all to see America, or the world, by RV or boat sailing around the world. Why limit yourself to a 1-horse town, just because it may be cheap?
I haven't even looked at the places on the list, but I'd say the trick is to find someplace that has potential, but retirees, etc. haven't flocked to yet in droves and driven up the price of housing. Some place with a good hospital, things to do, low crime, etc.....maybe no Starbucks or Whole Foods (yet). Heck, even Cleveland is gentrifying in places! Hoping to find that mythical location soon!
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Originally Posted by mrkool
Given that population demographics are a pretty good indicator of violent crime rates, most retirees would have to be crazy to relocate to some of those towns. They have cheap housing for a reason.
A housing issue my Retiree Relocation spreadsheet indicated very clearly was the future equity risk of LCOL RE investments. You may think these places are a bargain today (to buy into), but when it comes to reselling and you are stuck for 10 - 20 yrs waiting for a buyer... You might want to consider this current capital as SUNK costs. You may never recover your equity in your lifetime, if ever.
OTOH... if you choose a stable / desirable location to invest in RE, you could see 5 - 15% annual equity gains.
If heading to Cheapsville, I would NOT bring my RE $. Keep them working where RE is a good investment, not a BAD investment. Then there is the QoL thing... Not pleasant seeing your neighbors and shop keepers going broke and trying to hold it all together. Walmart / bigbox / internet entered these rural locations where my family had generations of stable businesses. All went broke 'trying to sell or stay alive'. The RE is now thrift stores and rents are considered a 'charitable donation'. This erosion will also happen to residential RE $.
I haven't even looked at the places on the list, but I'd say the trick is to find someplace that has potential, but retirees, etc. haven't flocked to yet in droves and driven up the price of housing. Some place with a good hospital, things to do, low crime, etc.....maybe no Starbucks or Whole Foods (yet). Heck, even Cleveland is gentrifying in places! Hoping to find that mythical location soon!
I have a friend who retired to Cleveland and loves it there. She didn't buy a place for under $30K though. She didn't buy an expensive house, either. She bought a small 1-BR apartment on Hampshire Road for about $40K. It was the rock bottom lowest priced place she could find that seemed acceptable. It's tiny, very old, needed some minor work, and didn't have new appliances, but her neighborhood was decent and she likes living there. I think Cleveland has a lot to offer retirees who need an inexpensive city.
I have a friend who retired to Cleveland and loves it there. She didn't buy a place for under $30K though. She didn't buy an expensive house, either. She bought a small 1-BR apartment on Hampshire Road for about $40K. It was the rock bottom lowest priced place she could find that seemed acceptable. It's tiny, very old, needed some minor work, and didn't have new appliances, but her neighborhood was decent and she likes living there. I think Cleveland has a lot to offer retirees who need an inexpensive city.
Agreed, but I'm not sure how long it's going to be inexpensive! The only negative here really is the winter weather and we moved here in December and it hasn't been that bad. Only snowed a couple of times. I had been looking for a house by Columbus or Cincinnati and all I can say is those markets are hot! I posted on another thread that by the time I called the agent, a day after the house went on the market, it was already under contract! Things are heating up here, as well. Cleveland has great cultural amenities, sports teams, breweries, theater, etc.....and lower housing prices than some places....it does have a lot going for it.
I haven't even looked at the places on the list, but I'd say the trick is to find someplace that has potential, but retirees, etc. haven't flocked to yet in droves and driven up the price of housing. Some place with a good hospital, things to do, low crime, etc.....maybe no Starbucks or Whole Foods (yet). Heck, even Cleveland is gentrifying in places! Hoping to find that mythical location soon!
Maybe one of the SC or Tennessee cities could be revived, or any of the towns without environmental or extreme weather hazards. A like minded group of retirees, going together to develop an intentional community(Such as an art colony, music colony, back to nature subsistence community.), could totally turn a community around. Kind of like senior pioneers. Of course home values and property values would go up.
Here in our small town in Montana, building lots go for $70, and up.
Salton Sea, CA, building lots for $7,000. Right along I-10.
Almost waterfront!
Most of those places looked kinda depressing, except that lake picture in KY. The linked article on how much it cost to retire in FL, was more interesting.
i would rather live in the car .....just sayin ...
So, in Queens, do you have Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and Costco? Or do you NYC residents somehow survive without?
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