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I think that right now, you can still get a very nice house for < 500K in many midwestern college towns (e.g. Oberlin OH, but there are hundreds of good small c

I think that right now, you can still get a very nice house for < 500K in many midwestern college towns (e.g. Oberlin OH, but there are hundreds of good small colleges in smaller towns). A college town offers some of the benefits of urban living (probably better coffee), likely good internet, and often good schools. And the worse the weather is, the better the real-estate value. And, they may need some adjuncts teaching CS.

whateveracct 5y ago
You could recently get a good house within <1h drive from Seattle for <600k. Prices are probably up now, but the problem here is Seattle in particular. No need to even leave the county (although you can hop to an adjacent one)
- ghaff 5y ago
  Which is true with a number of major cities. The Bay Area being something of an outlier in part because of geography. But, for example, while Boston/Cambridge are very pricey in general as are some of the more exclusive suburbs with good school systems, there's almost certainly housing in that general range within an hour drive (or even on a commuter rail).
  - eropple 5y ago
    Absolutely. Last year I bought a house about eight miles outside of Boston. It's a 25 minute walk or a five minute drive to the supermarket. It's a five minute walk and a thirty minute train ride to downtown. I've got about ten restaurants/bars within walking distance. I like my neighbors. $500K.
shagie 5y ago
> I think that right now, you can still get a very nice house for < 500K in many midwestern college towns I'm in Madison, WI. The house I'm currently in was 180k back in '09. It has appreciated some since then. My neighbors have each turned over in the past decade and have sold their house for ~$300k. If you go with 500k, you're in a very nice part of town or one of the extremely large corner lots. Most of the houses are in the 300k - 350k range. https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1305-N-Thompson-Dr-Madison-WI-53704/55437475_zpid/ https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1305-N-Thompson-Dr-Madiso... isn't uncommon. > And the worse the weather is, the better the real-estate value. That's a big consideration for many people. Little tolerance for the winter.
- polishdude20 5y ago
  Yikes. Living in Canada, the weather is shitty everywhere compared to a large part of the USA. There's way less nice weather places to live here. Things are going to get squeezed sooner here than in the US.

whateveracct 5y ago

You could recently get a good house within <1h drive from Seattle for <600k. Prices are probably up now, but the problem here is Seattle in particular. No need to even leave the county (although you can hop to an adjacent one)

ghaff 5y ago
Which is true with a number of major cities. The Bay Area being something of an outlier in part because of geography. But, for example, while Boston/Cambridge are very pricey in general as are some of the more exclusive suburbs with good school systems, there's almost certainly housing in that general range within an hour drive (or even on a commuter rail).
- eropple 5y ago
  Absolutely. Last year I bought a house about eight miles outside of Boston. It's a 25 minute walk or a five minute drive to the supermarket. It's a five minute walk and a thirty minute train ride to downtown. I've got about ten restaurants/bars within walking distance. I like my neighbors. $500K.

shagie 5y ago

> I think that right now, you can still get a very nice house for < 500K in many midwestern college towns I'm in Madison, WI. The house I'm currently in was 180k back in '09. It has appreciated some since then. My neighbors have each turned over in the past decade and have sold their house for ~$300k. If you go with 500k, you're in a very nice part of town or one of the extremely large corner lots. Most of the houses are in the 300k - 350k range. https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1305-N-Thompson-Dr-Madison-WI-53704/55437475_zpid/ https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1305-N-Thompson-Dr-Madiso... isn't uncommon. > And the worse the weather is, the better the real-estate value. That's a big consideration for many people. Little tolerance for the winter.

polishdude20 5y ago
Yikes. Living in Canada, the weather is shitty everywhere compared to a large part of the USA. There's way less nice weather places to live here. Things are going to get squeezed sooner here than in the US.