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It's rare around here to see a house for more than $300k, but I live in a rural area. Still, even St. Louis I think you can get a decent house for $250k.
It's rare around here to see a house for more than $300k, but I live in a rural area. Still, even St. Louis I think you can get a decent house for $250k.
Damn, in my area it's rare to see a house for less than $300k.
I find it interesting that El Paso TX is one of the 10 least affordable. True, the median might be around 127k, but like many sun belt towns, the primary means of employment revolves around service and retail sector jobs, which translates into shift managers at Sonic getting paid 15 bucks an hour. In order for affordability to recognized, there has to be a combination of median lower housing coupled with a robust or high skilled work force. This means that demand for housing must be depressed, or translated, not as many people want to move to that area. People prefer the Sunbelt, and I think it's mostly due to the weather, hence in the case of El Paso a 'sunshine tax'. You have retirees from California relocating to areas such as these, however, they are not looking to join the active work force. They've made their money. But the service and amenities for these people have to be there. Enter the lower wage jobs for people to fill them. In contrast, those locals who graduate from an area such as El Paso immediately flee to another area of the country, which translates into a veritable 'brain drain' for that perspective area. But these younger college graduates are not necessarily looking for Indianapolis or Columbus as a destination. They are looking for something more glamorous, in the form of areas on either coast. In my estimation, these figures go a long way in explaining demographics, where people move to, when they move (at what phase in their lives) and why.
Most of those places on the "most affordable" list are "most affordable" for certain reasons--and usually not good reasons...
The top 10 most affordable all seem to be in the rust belt. So, jobs might be a little harder to find. But, if you have a good job, I think most of those places (at least the ones in Ohio) would be a great place to live.
The top 10 most affordable all seem to be in the rust belt. So, jobs might be a little harder to find. But, if you have a good job, I think most of those places (at least the ones in Ohio) would be a great place to live.
Actually, all of them are good if you have a good job. Just look at where I live.
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) would be a great place to live.
