I live in Fresno, where a year ago you could buy a house in that price range. Now, you have to tack on another $100,000. We are trying to help our daughter get into a house. Anything in the 130,000 to 150,000 range is not in a decent neighborhood. (cars parked on the front yard, chain link fences with pit bulls...you get the idea! I am worried for my children. How will my daughters get to stay home when they have babies if the house payments are $2,000 per month!!!

I have to agree with Patrick. Generally where the lowest prices are they are generally less desirable areas. Also employment comes into play. The Weather channel was beat up by the Mayor (??) I believe for giving Buffalo New York a bad rap. In joking of course. Most folks have said it has a decent housing market and is a friendly place to live. Other than that part of florida aren't bad. I like to look at newhomes.com. Try it out and it shows you new houses in all different states.

Seamus, there ARE areas that are not all "cookie cutter" faceless new homes. I personally couldn't stand to live somewehre like that! Try: Lakewood, Preston Hollow and Lake Highlands (neighborhoods in City of Dallas), Grapevine, Richardson, parts of Garland, and Rockwall.

I agree 100% that SA is the "cleanest city in Northern Mexico" and that the culture there takes some getting used to and is not for everyone.

I've learned something new--always heard San Antonio is the largest village in northern Mexico... now also the cleanest! I live in SA and there are still some great areas in-between the scourge --ooops I mean sprawl-- and the inner loop areas. In the neighborhoods 15-30 years old or so you can get 1600-1800 sq. ft. easy for 150k, the better school district, on decent lots covered in mature trees, and no %gt;+&%^% HOA fees. No state income tax but the property taxes--oy! The homeowners insurance rates, double oy!

I'll second the Cleveland thought. We are looking for one in the 150 range in a NICE suburb of Cleveland. The homes in this range are rather small though, but they aren't dumps.

I just relocated back to Syracuse NY after four years in the NYC area (nice little North Jersey borough about six mile west of the Lincoln Tunnel). Houses in Rutherford, where I was living, run about $400,000 for a decent but not great house in a good neighborhood. Here in Syracuse a 2,000 sq foot 4/2 house in a good neighborhood will run about $130 to $150K. What's the catch? It's one of the most overcast cities in the US, averages about 150 inches of snow every winter, has a depressed and rapidly worsening job market and property taxes are high. As others have already pointed out.... areas that are wonderful to live in get pricey. My cousin and her husband just traded in their tiny San Diego area ranch and moved to Bellingham WA. Nice town and the house that was $300K in Sand Diego was replaced by a 4,000 sq ft house with more land, more amenities in a better neighborhood and for less money.

FYI, he house we rented in Hampton Roads, VA--a nice, 10-year old colonial in a leafy neighborhood--sold for $180K 2 years ago. There are many similar neighborhoods in that area, and the job market is quite healthy. (Nearby Williamsburg is much pricier.)

Hi Owen, well, I loved Syracuse weather. Some of us like it cold and wet! Probably why we live in Brussels now ;-) Anyway, Syracuse summers are great and it's nice to have real snow in the winter, especially when you drive a winter rat and don't worry about the depreciation costs of all that salt on the road.
But I'm curious, what neighborhood (roughly) did your cousin move to in Belligham. We had family that moved there a couple of years ago and we looked at dozens of houses. They bought a nice place, but it's only about 2000 sf and they paid about $275k (living not to far from the park that had the gasline explosion). Have prices come down in Bellingham due to the struggling WA state economy?

In NJ, you can get a nice shack in the cities (Newark, Trenton, Camden, etc), or in the Pinelands, for $150,000. Even older, historical tudor type homes run about $350,000 + in the "estate" areas of Trenton or Newark. You can get a beautiful home there, but would need to send your kids to a private school, and just be aware that you take a lot of risks moving into those places. However, many professionals have gone that route, and have bought older mansions in the cities, rather than be priced out ($1 million +) in neighboring Princeton, Montclair, etc.

BTilke - I'm glad someone likes the winters in Syracuse I dread its arrival but am resigned to it - I'm actually in the process of buying a house here myself.

I misspoke in a sense about my cousin and her husband - their house was not in the $130 - $150 range as this post original discussed but the tiny ranch they sold in the San Diego suburbs (they paid $170 six years earlier)) went for about $300K. With the equity and profit they were able to get a huge house in Bellingham - dont' know what neighborhood but from the pics I've seen it looks like a suburban sub-division with about a one acre lot. I guess my point is that they were able to get more than twice the house but with no increase in mortgage payment.

Owen, we saw this in today's NYT: "Carrier Corp. is eliminating all 1,200 manufacturing jobs at its suburban Syracuse container refrigeration and compressor plant, saying it needs to shift production closer to its key markets in Asia."
How sad!!
By the way, will you be driving a winter rat and keeping your "good" car in storage over the winter months? Funny to see even the leading citizens of Syracuse banging around in old Cutlasses and Skylarks during the winter months. Also, is the Learbury clothing manufacturer (run by the Pietrafesa family) still in business? [I probably have the spellings wrong]

BTilke,

The Seattle Times had an article a couple of weeks ago about how Bellingham and Whatcom County are actually doing pretty well because of the small-business orientation of their economy (as opposed to relying on a Boeing or a Microsoft).

Here's a link:

http://archives.seattletimes.nwsourc...ery=bellingham

There are several areas in Louisville, KY, where you can buy a house in that price range; and our quality of life is super.

I live in Indianapolis and reasonably priced homes are fairly easy to find. Two years ago I sold my ranch style home (3 BR, 2 BA) for $115K. It had a big backyard in a nice neighborhood. Most of the homes in that area are selling for around $130K. There are plenty of questionable areas, but there are also plenty of great areas with reasonably priced homes. In fact in my neighborhood, with home values increasing 4-7% annually, there are still some good buys with one around the corner (3 BA, 2 BA 75 year old farmhouse with hottub) going for $165K as a for sale by owner.

While Indianapolis doesn't have mountains or beaches, the cost of living makes it very easy to fly to the beach or mountains whenever we want!

accckkk!! Having just signed papers to buy a home this weekend (for more than double the $150k) this thread is making me woozy! LOL! I'm in the Seattle area and the housing costs are not pretty!

Upstate New York (Rochester area) ...

Just looked, this is a pretty typical house for our area at $149,000 3/2, Approx 2000sq ft. on 1/3 acre, privacy fenced. Annual prop. tax $1800. No state income tax.

http://homepics.realtor.com/image6/h...5/2532194a.jpg

Memphis, TN. Job market and the weather's both fair to good. Schools aren't great. Can't have everything.

There are plenty to be had for less in Idaho.

BTilke and others interested -

yes.... Carrier Corp is eliminating thir manufacturing facilities in Syracuse - another 1200 jobs gone for good. This area has lost over 20% of its manufacturing jobs in the past three years and the bleeding seems to continue unabated. I think the Pietrafesa family sold the business finally - not sure if they're still producing clothes in the area but the factory store (now called Christopher's). We have a few high points such as the expansion a few years ago of the Stickley furniture factory and their continued stability but overall the outlook is grim. I can state for a fact that should my employer ever cease operations, I'll have no choice but to look elsewhere in another state.

I live in Atlanta, real estate here is getting more and more expensive especially the nicer neighborhoods. Average is over 200K. 3 years ago my wife and I wanted a weekend getaway from Atlantas traffic; we found a cabin in mountains of NC exactly 2 hours door to door. We are secluded, 3 levels, 3 bed, 3 bath, deck with hot tub, 3000' elevation, cool, hiking everywhere, (AT is 5 miles away), a waterfall nearby and incredible views. Purchase price was less than 150K. So here in Atlanta you kinda gotta get out of the city to get the most "bang for your buck". But at 2 hrs it is worth every buck we spent.