[JohnPBailey]

Out here in western America we are spoiled on the little extras we often get when renting an apartment.

I have been looking at apartments in Indiana, Oklahoma and Missouri.

According to my Google studies, the Heartland states and some southern states tend to offer the lowest rents nationwide. The cheapest states are Kansas, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Georgia and Missouri.

There is a reason, however. These states are prone to tornadoes, high winds, dust,erosion, hurricanes, and/r flood zones.

It is easy to find one or sometimes 2BR apartments for $500 and under.

I just secured a 700 sq. foot 1BR apartment for $450.mo in Lawton, OK. The lady on the telephone said the complex was early 1070's and entirely renovated inside the units.

The cheesy thing is my new 1BR unit will have no dishwasher and none of the units have outdoor patios on the ground level. I would have to rent a 2BR 800 SQ FT unit at $535/mo. to get the convenience of a dishwasher.


I don't know what Oklahoma and Indiana have against patios. Don't apartment dwellers in the mid-west enjoy private outdoor space? I know houses in the South stereotypical have front porches.

Looking in apartments.com at $500 max rent, I could not find one apartment in the state of Oklahoma that had a patio at ground level. I found one in Indiana but the patio was not covered. It seems you have to rent expensive apartments in the mid-west to get a nice covered back patio or large covered back porch on the units.

In both California and Idaho where I now live, covered patios on ground level apartments are quite common. The upper levers have covered balconies.

The lease woman in Oklahoma does not want me to use a portable dishwasher because "they include water costs in the rent". I have to pay for electricity: thy cover water, serer and trash. The apartment in Lawton is advertised as having WiFi but I don't know if its a shared WiFi hot spot for the complex or if each tent had to pay extra for Internet access outside of the rent cost.

[Threestep2]

I am not sure what you get where in CA for 450/month.

[grampaTom]

You want cheap but complain when cheap doesn't have amenities that more expensive units offer. Maybe it's not just the units that are cheap.

[JohnPBailey]

Originally Posted by grampaTom

You want cheap but complain when cheap doesn't have amenities that more expensive units offer. Maybe it's not just the units that are cheap.

So, what's the least I should expect to pay for a bottom 1 BR apartment with both covered patio and dishwasher in any of the 50 states?

I know you can't get any 1 BR apartment in Boise, ID for under $650.

The main amenity is living "roommate free" on a budget.

In Boise, ID I NOW pay $544/mo. for one room in a 2BR unit with shared common areas and everything is included in the $544 price:

1. large covered large patio
2. dishwasher
3. air conditioning, Motel-6 style
4. all utilities including electric, Internet and cable
5. a ROOMMATE! YUK!
6. stained concrete floors


I will be moving in to a $450 unit in Lawton, OK

and be losing:

1. a dishwasher
2. private covered patio
3. a roommate, YES!!


and gaining:

4. a separate electric bill, YUK!
5. a George Foreman grill to help run up that electric bill because there is no covered patio to sue my Weber gas grill

and keeping:

6. air conditioning, Motel 6 style
7. my own assigned parking space


Fair compromise to go from Idaho or California to a Heartland state?

Aside from the "get what you pay for" saying, I strive to get the very most for my housing dollar.

Can you get a better apartment for $450/month where you live?

[Howest2008]

Originally Posted by JohnPBailey

So, what's the least I should expect to pay for a bottom 1 BR apartment with both covered patio and dishwasher in any of the 50 states?

I know you can't get any 1 BR apartment in Boise, ID for under $650.

The main amenity is living "roommate free" on a budget.

In Boise, ID I NOW pay $544/mo. for one room in a 2BR unit with shared common areas and everything is included in the $544 price:

1. large covered large patio
2. dishwasher
3. air conditioning, Motel-6 style
4. all utilities including electric, Internet and cable
5. a ROOMMATE! YUK!
6. stained concrete floors


I will be moving in to a $450 unit in Lawton, OK

and be losing:

1. a dishwasher
2. private covered patio
3. a roommate, YES!!


and gaining:

4. a separate electric bill, YUK!
5. a George Foreman grill to help run up that electric bill because there is no covered patio to sue my Weber gas grill

and keeping:

6. air conditioning, Motel 6 style
7. my own assigned parking space


Fair compromise to go from Idaho or California to a Heartland state?

Aside from the "get what you pay for" saying, I strive to get the very most for my housing dollar.

Can you get a better apartment for $450/month where you live?

The price of apartments are driven by location , location , location........

[JohnPBailey]

Originally Posted by Howest2008

The price of apartments are driven by location , location , location........

Exactly, most people don't want to live in Oklahoma (with the wind, the dust, the tornadoes, the federal building bombing of 1995, the flash floods, the boredom of the flat-open prairies, the toll roads and no sandy beaches to go to) but some people, the poor like me, have no choice, thus the relatively-cheap humble (minimalist) apartments there. The meager Oklahoma market can't bear California apartment rent rates. Farmers left the dust bowl of Sooner to California in the 1930's for a reason. Now CA high prices and liberal gun-grabbing politics are driving Americans eastward again.

[Threestep2]

You forgot rain, hail, bad infrastructure, limited social services, pick up trucks, wild fires, open carry and worst of all locals and all their weird habits. OK may not be right. Try DFW.

[JohnPBailey]

Originally Posted by Threestep

You forgot rain, hail, bad infrastructure, limited social services, pick up trucks, wild fires, open carry and worst of all locals and all their weird habits. OK may not be right. Try DFW.

I was stationed at Fort Sill army post 1989-1991 as a soldier. I rode my bicycle all through that town. I feared nothing then. i bought a new car in that town. Was treated right at the dealer. I purchased a handgun in that town even. Never a tornado or bad storm. severe wind chill factor winter of 1990. I am pro-gun and that OK is now a Constitution Carry state will make me feel safer.

The military is right next door to Lawton (90 miles south of OKC) so I am safe from the Commie hordes. i have driven to DFW in my car and have changed planes out of it many a time while in the service. Might be more expensive than OK for rent. I have nothing against pickup trucks as I've owned many myself. I like hunting and shooting and my gun rights. The Sooner people aren't too hickish like the Deep South.

I've lived in California lost of my life and I am glad to leave it for good.

[Howest2008]

Originally Posted by JohnPBailey

I was stationed at Fort Sill army post 1989-1991 as a soldier. I rode my bicycle all through that town. I feared nothing then. i bought a new car in that town. Was treated right at the dealer. I purchased a handgun in that town even. Never a tornado or bad storm. severe wind chill factor winter of 1990. I am pro-gun and that OK is now a Constitution Carry state will make me feel safer.

The military is right next door to Lawton (90 miles south of OKC) so I am safe from the Commie hordes. i have driven to DFW in my car and have changed planes out of it many a time while in the service. Might be more expensive than OK for rent. I have nothing against pickup trucks as I've owned many myself. I like hunting and shooting and my gun rights. The Sooner people aren't too hickish like the Deep South.

I've lived in California lost of my life and I am glad to leave it for good.

Oklahoma is alright so stick around................

I just might come down and visit Lawton Oklahoma for the first time in my life , on my Oklahoma vacation 2019 the month of October.......

[SluggoF16]

Originally Posted by Howest2008

Oklahoma is alright so stick around................

I just might come down and visit Lawton Oklahoma for the first time in my life , on my Oklahoma vacation 2019 the month of October.......

A lot of people come down this way to drive to the top of Mount Scott in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. The road to the top is closed right now to vehicles but can still be walked or biked. It may reopen by October. And Meers Store is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, cash-only.