Mid-size cities where you can still buy a house under $250K (sales, condos)

[TravelerUSA45]

So I am looking for ideas for cities to relocate to. I work remotely and earn a decent salary for 1 person. I have owned my house for the last 6 years so would want to buy again and not go back to being a renter.

Here is my City criteria:

Must be within 1-hour drive to a major airport
Prefer no income taxes states, but it may not be a deal breaker if its the right place.
Should have a population of at least 100K OR be within 1 hors drive to a major city
Should be able to buy a 3 bedroom house for under $250K ( no condos).
Must be a safe and affordable city as I am a single woman.

Criteria for house:
3 bedrooms, 2, bath 2 car garage, at least 1000SF, under $250K and not a dump/fixer upper. For reference I live in Corpus Christi Texas and I just bought a 3/2/2/1015 SF house for $167K.

Looking to move out of CC because I want a city with a better airport, otherwise CC is a nice and affordable place to live.

Any ideas of where I should be looking?

I've considered Knoxville ( bad airport situation), Memphis ( too high crime and poverty), Cincinnati ( might reconsider it - but they have state income tax), El paso ( I might reconsider this - I was just worried about the poor job market there if I ever need to look for work again), Clarksville, TN ( the housing boom is making it too popular and expensive)

[NW Crow]

Omaha and Des Moines if not too small or cold. Or suburb of San Antonio if core city crime doesn't make it a no. Indianapolis. Winston-Salem / Greensboro. Fayetteville Arkansas. Tulsa or OKC. Greenville SC. Tyler TX. Plenty of Non-beach cities in FL if interested. Huntsville, AL.

No income tax states usually charge more on sales tax, property tax and fees to make up most of the difference.

What are you looking for in a better airport? Specific non-stops or just more flights?

[jjbradleynyc]

Originally Posted by TravelerUSA45

So I am looking for ideas for cities to relocate to. I work remotely and earn a decent salary for 1 person. I have owned my house for the last 6 years so would want to buy again and not go back to being a renter.

Here is my City criteria:

Must be within 1-hour drive to a major airport
Prefer no income taxes states, but it may not be a deal breaker if its the right place.
Should have a population of at least 100K OR be within 1 hors drive to a major city
Should be able to buy a 3 bedroom house for under $250K ( no condos).
Must be a safe and affordable city as I am a single woman.

Criteria for house:
3 bedrooms, 2, bath 2 car garage, at least 1000SF, under $250K and not a dump/fixer upper. For reference I live in Corpus Christi Texas and I just bought a 3/2/2/1015 SF house for $167K.

Looking to move out of CC because I want a city with a better airport, otherwise CC is a nice and affordable place to live.

Any ideas of where I should be looking?

I've considered Knoxville ( bad airport situation), Memphis ( too high crime and poverty), Cincinnati ( might reconsider it - but they have state income tax), El paso ( I might reconsider this - I was just worried about the poor job market there if I ever need to look for work again), Clarksville, TN ( the housing boom is making it too popular and expensive)

Memphis has a ton of good things happening. They do have a perception issue and there is high crime in some areas. But there are many in-city neighborhoods that are super nice-but they would most likely not be in your $250k/range.

The suburbs in Memphis are pretty nice too-and there are many good ones. I'd give it another look--since that statement is pretty general.

Other suggestions--

Buffalo, NY
Birmingham, AL
Jacksonville, FL
Louisville, KY
Chattanooga, TN
(Atlanta is 90 min)

[mojo101]

area OUTSIDE Houston,it is close to Houston airport

[atadytic19]

Yeah I was thinking Houston too.

Pear Land is close to Hobby International Airport and you can still get a 3/2 renovated house like this: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...26535934_zpid/

For less than 250K.
It's above your 1000sq ft minimum
It's so in Texas so it fits your no sales tax criteria.
And Pearland is a safe area.

Houston job market isn't a hot as Austin or DFW right now but it's still better than average and it's not as expensive as this others.

Heck even in the Beltway you can find houses for under 250k.https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/9...25463770_zpid/

New construction, close to downtown, 1500 sq ft, 3 bed 2 bath halfway between the 2 international airports: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/6...60310718_zpid/


Beware of beauties like this tho: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...28239401_zpid/
It's probably that cheap because it's near a creek.

[ckhthankgod]

Much of the Interior Northeast, Midwest, outer portions/less popular Southern metros and select Western metros usually a little bit inland are your best bets.

This is a good source in terms of a Housing Opportunity Index which uses the median family income of an area with the median home sales price: https://www.nahb.org/news-and-econom...ortunity-index (click on Housing Opportunity By Affordability Rank) It will show a ranking of metros by rank using that criteria and this source takes property taxes into account. This is for the 4th Quarter of 2021.

Are you looking to live in the city proper or are you open to suburbs as well?

[crltn19]

Originally Posted by TravelerUSA45

So I am looking for ideas for cities to relocate to. I work remotely and earn a decent salary for 1 person. I have owned my house for the last 6 years so would want to buy again and not go back to being a renter.

Here is my City criteria:

Must be within 1-hour drive to a major airport
Prefer no income taxes states, but it may not be a deal breaker if its the right place.
Should have a population of at least 100K OR be within 1 hors drive to a major city
Should be able to buy a 3 bedroom house for under $250K ( no condos).
Must be a safe and affordable city as I am a single woman.

Criteria for house:
3 bedrooms, 2, bath 2 car garage, at least 1000SF, under $250K and not a dump/fixer upper. For reference I live in Corpus Christi Texas and I just bought a 3/2/2/1015 SF house for $167K.

Looking to move out of CC because I want a city with a better airport, otherwise CC is a nice and affordable place to live.

Any ideas of where I should be looking?

I've considered Knoxville ( bad airport situation), Memphis ( too high crime and poverty), Cincinnati ( might reconsider it - but they have state income tax), El paso ( I might reconsider this - I was just worried about the poor job market there if I ever need to look for work again), Clarksville, TN ( the housing boom is making it too popular and expensive)

The airport is the least concern for those considering a move to the Knoxville area. The median home price is approaching 350k here and your 250k budget most likely won't get you what you want in a decent area. Good luck with your search.

[sub]

These things almost make me want to move back to Milwaukee:

https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...?ex=2940795471

https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...9_M99800-89482

Smaller cities in Wisconsin like Appleton and Green Bay will have similar offerings and much lower crime, although those examples above are in decent neighborhoods. The Fox Cities (Appleton-Oshkosh etc.) and Green Bay are more in that mid-size range. They're also supposed to have a decent airport but I've never used it personally.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

Much of the Interior Northeast, Midwest, outer portions/less popular Southern metros and select Western metros usually a little bit inland are your best bets.

This is a good source in terms of a Housing Opportunity Index which uses the median family income of an area with the median home sales price: https://www.nahb.org/news-and-econom...ortunity-index (click on Housing Opportunity By Affordability Rank) It will show a ranking of metros by rank using that criteria and this source takes property taxes into account. This is for the 4th Quarter of 2021.

Are you looking to live in the city proper or are you open to suburbs as well?

This is also a list of median home price by metro area for the same quarter: https://cdn.nar.realtor/sites/defaul...22-02-10_1.pdf

As you can see, there are still some metros with a median home price below your budget.

[ckhthankgod]

Some home examples in the Syracuse area: https://www.cnyrealtor.com/index.php...os=900,30,1378

https://www.cnyrealtor.com/index.php...os=900,30,1378

https://www.cnyrealtor.com/index.php...os=930,30,1378

The first 2 are in the Northern suburbs and the third is on the outer East Side of the city, all are safe areas and you can get anywhere in the immediate area within 20-25 minutes tops. This includes this airport: https://syrairport.org/

I will say to keep property taxes(as well as exemptions) in mind. The city home will likely have lower taxes than the other 2.

There are other Northeastern areas nearby that could also work in terms of the criteria. Here is an example in the Rochester area: https://www.cnyrealtor.com/index.php...os=960,30,1378

Again, this is in a safe suburb south of the city and minutes from the airport. https://rocairport.com/

Both of these cities are only an hour and 10/20 minutes from each other.

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

Some home examples in the Syracuse area: https://www.cnyrealtor.com/index.php...os=900,30,1378

https://www.cnyrealtor.com/index.php...os=900,30,1378

https://www.cnyrealtor.com/index.php...os=930,30,1378

The first 2 are in the Northern suburbs and the third is on the outer East Side of the city, all are safe areas and you can get anywhere in the immediate area within 20-25 minutes tops. This includes this airport: https://syrairport.org/

I will say to keep property taxes(as well as exemptions) in mind. The city home will likely have lower taxes than the other 2.

There are other Northeastern areas nearby that could also work in terms of the criteria. Here is an example in the Rochester area: https://www.cnyrealtor.com/index.php...os=960,30,1378

Again, this is in a safe suburb south of the city and minutes from the airport. https://rocairport.com/

Both of these cities are only an hour and 10/20 minutes from each other.

Some other listings at 200k: https://www.cnyrealtor.com/index.php...&pos=90,30,405 (in Northern suburb of Syracuse)

https://www.cnyrealtor.com/index.php...&pos=60,30,405 (a more rural setting north of Syracuse)

https://www.cnyrealtor.com/index.php...&pos=90,30,405 (outside of Rochester to the NW)

https://www.cnyrealtor.com/index.php...pos=180,30,405 (in Northern suburb of Syracuse)

https://www.cnyrealtor.com/index.php...pos=180,30,405 (NW of Rochester)