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Tacoma is cheap ? I always assumed it was crazy rent like Seattle
According to this sight Tacoma overall is 31% cheaper than Seattle and housing is 58% cheaper than Seattle.
Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed
and I can prove it by doing a quick search on zillow, I placed the sq footage between 1,000 and 1,100 for any apartment.
Tacoma's first three prices (per month) were: $1,280, $1,603, $1,875
Seattle's first three prices (per month) were: $2,595, $2,726, $2,880 Apartments For Rent in Tacoma WA | Zillow Apartments For Rent in Seattle WA | Zillow
Jax is easily in the discussion. The waterfront real estate (particularly because there is just so much water) is insanely cheap and the affordability of the area goes well beyond just RE. But anyway, oceanfront one-bedroom condos can be had in nice areas starting around 250k, luxury high-rises on the river for maybe around 200k. The high end (penthouses and similar) are relatively cheap and don't get me started on the SFH, i.e., mansions, right on the water.
I want to live on an ocean or major lake . Which cities are not SoCal price wise ?
I was thinking about Norfolk , Tampa , providence area , Boston . I'm limited to where my job is located
Boston's not quite at SF and NYC levels, but it's not far enough behind to mark a significant COL difference. I'd cross it off your list if price is the biggest component.
Providence isn't really on the ocean. It's on the Providence River which empties into Narragansett Bay which empties into the Atlantic. It doesn't feel at all like a city on the ocean. That being said, some of its suburbs are coastal and may provide what you're looking for. Wickford, Greenwich, and Bristol are nice coastal suburbs with walkable town centers, good restaurants, and easy access to downtown Providence. Pawtuxet Village (in Cranston) and Warren are even more affordable coastal suburbs with nice walkable village/town centers and good restaurants. Coastal living is possible in Suburban Providence, but not really in the city itself. New Bedford, MA is part of metro Providence, and it's the definition of a coastal city. It's a down on its luck historic seaport (the downtown area is a national historic park) and home to America's highest-grossing fishing fleet. It has oceanfront parks, extremely affordable real estate and a cool, historic downtown (Melville lived here and based Moby Dick off of his experiences, and Fredrick Douglass lived there as well). It has higher than average crime and you'd likely have to commute to Providence or Boston for work though as the economy is in tough shape in NB.
Chicago really is the most affordable major city in the U.S. in my opinion. It's also right on the lake and has arguably better water frontage in the city center than any city in the country other than maybe Honolulu, Miami, or San Diego. Jacksonville definitely deserves a mention as it's certainly affordable and has great ocean frontage (although it's a ways from downtown). Baltimore has a great harbor and among the most affordable rents/real estate in the Northeast. The gulf coast offers some great, affordable frontage. Even much of suburban Houston is coastal.
Lakewood, one of the most densely populated cities in the Midwest, is immediately adjacent to Cleveland, with good lakefront parks in Lakewood Park and nearby Edgewater Park, as well as the spectacular Rocky River Reservation of the Cleveland Metroparks.
Relatively speaking, there are some cheap lakefront condos in Lakewood.
Personally, having lived on the lakefront, I think it gets old after a while. I now prefer living very near natural parks, for biking and hiking, but I visit lakefront parks, even in winter, when I want a lake "fix."
Living on the Great Lakes is very different than living on a warm ocean. E.g., a highlight IMO on Lake Erie is watching the process as the lake freezes, typically in January, and hiking on shore ice, which is becoming less common with global warming.
I want to live on an ocean or major lake . Which cities are not SoCal price wise ?
I was thinking about Norfolk , Tampa , providence area , Boston . I'm limited to where my job is located
Tampa is fairly limited with it's waterfront properties since it's primarily inland. Check out St Petersburg/St Pete Beach which is on a peninsula with bay and oceanfront properties well under that of Southern California.
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