Realty-Any areas around Richmond like this one? (Farmville, Cleveland: real estate, condominiums)

[OHtoVArelocate]

Ok, I'm facing the possibility of a relocation for work. I'm quite concerned with the cost of living difference with Realty, and I'm wondering if you can help point me in the right direction.

I'm currently residing in Sheffield Lake, OH. It's a small town that's about a 30-minute commute from Cleveland with no crime issues at all:
Sheffield Lake, Ohio - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Housing costs are great here - you can easily find 1100sq-ft homes for 100k or less. Do a search on Realtor for 44054 zip code:
44054 Homes, Real Estate, Condominiums & More - REALTOR.com

Schools are decent as well. 323/719 rank:
Brookside High School, Sheffield Village Ohio / OH school information

I'm interested to know if such area(s) exist around Richmond. I am willing to lengthen my commute if this means I need to get out into the country, but I wouldn't want to be more than an hour from downtown. I've poked around on Realtor for a couple days, and I just can't find any areas with low housing costs and decent schools. And by low I mean below 100k - Yes, I realize that for many people that's incredibly low, but that's what I'm used to in the area I'm in now. If I have to move to Richmond, I need to know how much more salary I'd need in order to maintain a similar lifestyle for myself and my children. It just seems as tho housing costs in Richmond are just about double what they are here in Cleveland, and I don't understand that since Richmond is a smaller city. Are the only cheap houses in Richmond located in the near-to-downtown seedy areas with terrible schools like Armstrong and Wythe?

[richmondpics]

What you're asking for is pretty difficult. Richmond may be smaller, but I imagine the strong, diverse local economy, low unemployment (under 3%), and maybe even the vicinity to DC play a role in making housing more expensive than what you're accustomed to seeing.

Perhaps someone will be helpful in the under 100k range for housing.

[EricD]

If you find a place like that, let me know. You'd be lucky if you found a decent place for under $200k. At least you're not looking around northern VA... then you'd be in a sticker-shock.

[metalchic]

I now live in a neighborhood where the housing is around 180-200K, and it was hard to find and still be in good schools, and a nice safe area. I was looking for housing under 100K recently due to a divorce and wasn't able to find a thing that was safe. Hopefully your income will be higher here so you can also afford a house that is in ratio with your income. To give you a good idea, a one bedroom condo with about 700 sq feet was going to run me about $120K. Even sometimes the further out you go, the more expensive it gets. You might try Prince Edward County or Farmville. That's about an hour from Richmond. But again, you will have to deal with some traffic enroute on Hull Street. Another possibility is King William County. The newer homes are expensive but they have some older homes that might work fine. It's a nice quiet county.

Good luck