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I think OP should check out Cincinnati. Great hipster scene. Tons of great coffee shops, and breweries. Relatively bike able in areas if you can handle some hills.
I second Greensboro/Winston Salem area. I think that area offers a lot relative to its cost of living. I like the Lindley Park area and the area around UNCGB. Some cool coffee shops and breweries. Check out Common Grounds. Lots of houses in your price range: https://www.zillow.com/homes/Lindley...ensboro-NC_rb/
I also think the OP should check out Chattanooga. A lot of people in Tennessee love this place. It's overall pretty bike friendly if you can find a place in the right area.
Jacksonville isn't typically thought of as cool, but it is a pretty big millennial landing spot right now. Not really bike able at all though.
Im about the same age and like the same things as the OP. I would pick any of these cities, especially Chatt, and Cinci.
I would not move somewhere with no decent local job market. What happens if your remote job vaporizes? I would still stick to mid-sized metros or better.
I think OP should check out Cincinnati. Great hipster scene. Tons of great coffee shops, and breweries. Relatively bike able in areas if you can handle some hills.
I second Greensboro/Winston Salem area. I think that area offers a lot relative to its cost of living. I like the Lindley Park area and the area around UNCGB. Some cool coffee shops and breweries. Check out Common Grounds. Lots of houses in your price range: https://www.zillow.com/homes/Lindley...ensboro-NC_rb/
I also think the OP should check out Chattanooga. A lot of people in Tennessee love this place. It's overall pretty bike friendly if you can find a place in the right area.
Jacksonville isn't typically thought of as cool, but it is a pretty big millennial landing spot right now. Not really bike able at all though.
Im about the same age and like the same things as the OP. I would pick any of these cities, especially Chatt, and Cinci.
Hi all, I currently own a condo in Atlanta and have lived here on and off since 2011 (couple years in DC). It's great here but it's becoming apparent to me that I'm not going to find a home for much under $250-300k in a centrally located area of the city I'd want to live in.
Here are the ground rules:
Me - 25yo, remote worker earning $105k/yr House - I don't use much more than 1,000 sq ft so anything over that is extra cost to me. My current place is 870 sq ft and is perfectly sized. If COL is so cheap that I can buy a house in cash, even better. Needs - Must have an airport (I figure any city probably does) Wants - I like to use my car as little as possible, so the more bike friendly a city, the better. Politics - I grew up in a rural town and would probably consider myself a Progressive. I'm not afraid of being a minority in my own neighborhood but living in an traditionally evangelical area is not a culture shock to me either - as long as it has at least a pocket of millennial progressives, I'll probably find a spot to fit in. An art/music scene would be cool...I love the street art in Atlanta and go to occasional small concerts and house shows at places around the city. Weather is not a big deal however extreme it is. Fun time is generally spent biking, watching sports, going to shows/house shows, playing golf, breweries, cooking, going to improv, etc...pretty average millenial ****.
LCOL is most important to me. You can more or less axe any city where the house I buy will have to be over $250k because I'll just stay in Atlanta in that case. Some sample cities that have come up: Wichita, Des Moines, St. Louis, Grand Rapids...Any other ideas?
For low cost houses, and best bang for your buck while still being in a good sized city with entertainment, arts and culture, check these cities out:
Tucson, AZ
Albuquerque, NM
Memphis, TN
Louisville, KY
New Orleans, LA
Those are milder winter cities, mostly.
If that is not an issue though, then try Buffalo or Rochester, NY, or even Hartford, CT.
You can get a good house for your money especially in Buffalo or Rochester. Maybe an older one in a rough around the edges part of town (which is most of it LOL) in Hartford.
Hi all, I currently own a condo in Atlanta and have lived here on and off since 2011 (couple years in DC). It's great here but it's becoming apparent to me that I'm not going to find a home for much under $250-300k in a centrally located area of the city I'd want to live in.
Uhh, 300K for a centrally located area of a big city sounds incredibly affordable to me. I'm not too sure there are any places that are even more affordable than Atlanta other than rust belt cities or cities in the middle of nowhere. You could try Midland-Odessa Texas, Lubbock, Texas. Scratch anywhere in California off your list. Even Lancaster (in the middle of the desert, 80 minutes from Downtown LA, without traffic) has new houses starting from 350K!
Uhh, 300K for a centrally located area of a big city sounds incredibly affordable to me. I'm not too sure there are any places that are even more affordable than Atlanta other than rust belt cities or cities in the middle of nowhere. You could try Midland-Odessa Texas, Lubbock, Texas. Scratch anywhere in California off your list. Even Lancaster (in the middle of the desert, 80 minutes from Downtown LA, without traffic) has new houses starting from 350K!
It's all relative. My hometown of Lakewood, Ohio, is the most popular place for millennials to buy a home in the Cleveland area. Lakewood borders Cleveland (only about five miles from downtown in some parts) and is the most densely populated city in Ohio -- it feels like a city neighborhood of Cleveland but has its own schools, police force, etc. Scores of friends have bought homes there for like $140K in neighborhoods that are very safe and very walkable with lots of restaurants and bars and good schools, even rail transit to downtown Cleveland in some cases. Older homes, though, we're talking like 1,200-s.f. colonials built in the 1910s. $200K isn't considered particularly affordable here, and if you're paying $300K for a home as a single person, you are considered rich.
I guess my point is you don't have to go to dusty-ass, middle-of-nowhere Odessa, Texas, just to be able to buy an affordable house in a cool neighborhood.
It's all relative. My hometown of Lakewood, Ohio, is the most popular place for millennials to buy a home in the Cleveland area. Lakewood borders Cleveland (only about five miles from downtown in some parts) and is the most densely populated city in Ohio -- it feels like a city neighborhood of Cleveland but has its own schools, police force, etc. Scores of friends have bought homes there for like $140K in neighborhoods that are very safe and very walkable with lots of restaurants and bars and good schools, even rail transit to downtown Cleveland in some cases. Older homes, though, we're talking like 1,200-s.f. colonials built in the 1910s. $200K isn't considered particularly affordable here, and if you're paying $300K for a home as a single person, you are considered rich.
I guess my point is you don't have to go to dusty-ass, middle-of-nowhere Odessa, Texas, just to be able to buy an affordable house in a cool neighborhood.
A lot of people forget that Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio are all extremely affordable, outside of Chicagoland. The Midwest is likely the best value for your urban dollar of anywhere in the country.
For low cost houses, and best bang for your buck while still being in a good sized city with entertainment, arts and culture, check these cities out:
Tucson, AZ
Albuquerque, NM
Memphis, TN
Louisville, KY
New Orleans, LA
Those are milder winter cities, mostly.
If that is not an issue though, then try Buffalo or Rochester, NY, or even Hartford, CT.
You can get a good house for your money especially in Buffalo or Rochester. Maybe an older one in a rough around the edges part of town (which is most of it LOL) in Hartford.
I agree on Louisville!
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