Lowest Cost of Living / Least Expensive Rent in US? (move to, cheap)

[HOTRODROXIE]

ok, people have horrible things to say about corpus christi....i am white i hate it also. 99% of the people u see are Hispanic, allot of them are in fact illegal.
its hard to 'fit in' i have been here 6 years and have no friends, but my job is very demanding i work 7 days a week and am never single, so my not having any social life is my fault. i am 27, not impressed by the night life, but if you r careful with ur picks of where to go, u will have a blast.

IF: you are not afraid of culture, or mesh well with latinos- you WILL prosper here. i say this cause sum jus don't. u cant be intimidated. lmao i saw a black lady beat the crap outta a huge mexican chic in walmart one time in the baby section lmao. people here r jus very rude and disrespectful

IF: you love water, beach activities u'll like it here. we have nuthin but water, all around, really rainy months like EVERYDAY then months of drought....it gets damn hot if u work outside as i do, but if ur inside all day n out for r&r, its totally tolerable. BE weary of the mosquitoes, outdoors at night in the summer IMPOSSIBLE trust me.

you can ride horses on the beach, kite surf,sail on those surfboard things? lol that crap is all over. TONS OF FISHING, we have 2 major concert venues one indoor one outdoor, a dirt race track and a paved one for roundy-round campfires on the beach, blah blah, theres a strip downtown where u can hit probably 10 clubs or more. the main thing here is hip-hop, again latino/tejano clubs etc. .....etc etc....

CORPUS IS GROWING LIKE CRAZY! TONS OF NEW RESTAURANTS/BUSINESS GOING UP...BUT STILL, HUNDRED OF EMPTY BUILDINGS WE CAN'T FILL.
I CANT COUNT AT LEAST 15-20 HUGE NEW APT COMPLEXES BUILT IN THE LAST 1-2 YRS. ALL OVER TOWN...i'm sure their pricey, but i really have no idea.
all the complexes i have been to r very high as far as im concerned, (min.$550+++ for a 1/1) but there r soo many 'ma-n-pa' owned properties n apts around here, i have found its easy to find a good price. drive around n look for signs, thats best. i'm amazed at how many people here (not wealthy peeps too) own more than one property. everyone is in real estate cause they r soo cheap to buy. and depending on what u do, you CAN make really good money here.

IF: you can deal with the city which isn't huge like you want, but i've been to cities 2-3 times this size n couldn't get a bite to eat at 11pm. so pick ur battles.
IT IS SOOO CHEAP HERE its ridiculous! YES I WOULD GUESS at least 50-65% of corpus is GHETTO! seriously, slummy. but u can find SUCH good deals on buying a really decent home here if you put the time in and do ur research. the cost of living is 25% below us avg here. thats insane.
u have ur good and bad areas JUST LIKE ANY OTHER CITY. and it really shows by what u pay in rent. have lived 2 blocks from the water in more than one direction for 4 years now, my rent was only 450 now 485- 2/2/0 because this is 'supposed' to be a bad area, but its fine, i leave my neighbors alone,i've had no problems being a single white female here so?? go figure.
DRUGS ARE A BIG ISSUE but again, thats anywhere u go, we just choose not to see it.
in summery, i dont like it all that much lol, but if i am going to raise a family in a nice home and live the american dream, even being a single female! THIS IS WHERE ITS GONNA HAPPEN. and now is the time to buy. oh ya, plus theres quite a few collages really really close. omg anyway- wrote waaay 2 much gotta go... IF YOU WANNA live cheap, own ur home, be able to buy some land make the best of it..........COME TO CORPUS CHRISTI TX!

[radraja]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned this, but Philadelphia? It's probably the most affordable major city out there.

Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and the Texan cities would work as well (San Antonio would be a lovely choice, IMO, the riverwalk area is great and there's a lot of traditional Spanish culture).

Milwaukee...eh, maybe. Eventually buying would be hard there, because property taxes are through the roof. And, of course, it's a completely different vibe from Chicago (it's more small-town / blue collar). The city I actually hear most frequently compared to Chicago would be Houston.

[STLCardsBlues1989]

It would be nice to have more info. Preferred climate?

Someone else mentioned St. Louis as a possibility. It's a nice city and $450-$750 for a 1 BR apartment is doable. And there's MLB, NFL, and NHL downtown, hopefully soon a new grocery store, and a book store opening in October (both in Downtown). Some of the loft buildings are becoming rentals now. It's certainly a possibility.

But it would be nice to know more about exactly what kind of job you would be looking for. You mentioned your majors, but I'm not clear on exactly what jobs you would be wanting.

I would look into finding a job, or at least getting some ideas of typical salary from the cities you've considered, then comparing that to rental prices. A place can be very affordable, but it can be hard to find a job.

[pushkinswife]

I recommend this with reservations: Memphis.

[tpk-nyc]

Don't forget to factor in transportation costs. There's no point in saving money on rent only to spend it on gas. Philly would a good option; (comparatively) cheap rent and good public transportation. Also, I lived in Minneapolis for five years without a car. If you're in the right area it's doable.

[Finger Laker]

philly is a good call - rents aren't that bad (especially if you get a roomate), food is cheap, you can get by without a car as well ........ memphis seemed a little depressed to me (and this comes from a guy who lived in philly)

mpls is beautiful, but if you aren't from the midwest you may find a tough go integrating

TX cities are a good option as well

[jzt83]

"Biggest Cities, Lowest Rents 2008" by Newsweek:

Biggest Cities, Lowest Rents 2008 - BusinessWeek

[customservices]

Omaha is a good bet. Craigs list shows 3 bedroom homes renting for $500 a month! Awesome...
If you can get on at a call center like Stream [url=http://stream.com]BPO Call Center – Contact Center – Stream Global Services – Business Process Outsourcing[/url] and find something on Craigs list to rent around 6k a year you might make it on a $12 or less an hour job!!
[url=http://omaha.craigslist.org/search/apa?query=&srchType=A&maxAsk=500&bedrooms=3]omaha apts/housing for rent classifieds - craigslist[/url]


Was impressed to see this post on my Google search.
My 2 cents...
The problem these days in America is the "Majority" are living beyond their "Needs" The mind set, we have "Credit" , "Earned" and "Deserve" it... Then they loose their job! Things can change over night...
Thanks, Dave Billings [url=http://davidbillings.com]David Billings | Facebook[/url]

[HtownLove]

Originally Posted by radraja

Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and the Texan cities would work as well (San Antonio would be a lovely choice, IMO, the riverwalk area is great and there's a lot of traditional Spanish culture).

Milwaukee...eh, maybe. Eventually buying would be hard there, because property taxes are through the roof. And, of course, it's a completely different vibe from Chicago (it's more small-town / blue collar). The city I actually hear most frequently compared to Chicago would be Houston.

San Antonios rent isn't cheap compared to the standard of living. to have close to what you would get in Houston you would have to fork over lots of cash in San Antonio.
There is cheap rent there but the amenities are lacking.

You can have a much comfier apartment in Houston for less money.

Houston's average rent seems higher because there are apartments in Memorial that rent for up to 10K a month

[magicmike1]

Texas has the nations cheapest gas and rent and is a right to work state. It is more lenient on most crimes, such as public drinking and guns laws.