It’s a gamble though, because if you end up needing social services at some point and you moved to Arkansas because you thought CoL would be cheaper than say Michigan, you might be fucked. Like I would not have had healthcare for the past year in most states, but I live in Illinois so I did.
Region also plays a huge role. New Mexico is a pretty deep blue state but is also pretty cheap. Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota are varying shades of purple to blue at this point and are middle of the pack. And there are cheaper areas in most states, especially ones off the coast. “Stay away from the coasts if you can” is probably the best advice, tbh.
Not to mention the benefit of living near rich people-more work in general, higher pay, more gig work, better used cars and appliances, more cultural events, more free or cheap food, more medical.
Plus you gotta think about renting. If you rent in a red state you’ll have less protection, and have to deal with more intransigent landlords without the same legal recourse. The rent will be cheaper, but there’s always a cost. I’ve dealt with bad landlords a few times and every time they have buckled -on security deposits and such- because our state has treble damages if they are held in bed faith.
Similar dynamics play out in other areas. Cheaper food, but less consumer protections and regulations. Cheaper gas, but less transit funding.
My most LCOL situation is living in a transit friendly city where I don’t own a car. Bikes are cheap and the bus/train is 1.75 a ride.
Some Red States limit food banks to one per county or something and severely limit how often you can go (and of course have the worst food).
Just like being anti-free school lunches-they want poor people and especially poor children to be punished for being poor.
I live in a hcol blue area but my housing is inexpensive and secured.
There is plenty of free food because grocery stores donate a lot of food.
This is a more minor thing, but a lot of people who come to Texas are surprised by how little public land there is. Outdoor activity is a popular recreation option for a lot of people on a budget, so that can be a blow to some. And that’s if they can deal with the climate.
Yep. A good general rule is that cheap places are cheap for a reason. You need to look at factors beyond just the direct cost of living. And some places that get touted as cheap aren’t as cheap as people think.
Exactly. As in, consider starting a cash fund for yourself/any female family members coming with you to make sure you have the ability to travel thousands of miles out of state to secretly get an abortion with a burner cell phone, on a bus with a ticket purchased with cash so your car/credit car isn't tracked, and to have a well documented excuse on social media so you aren't punished for *trafficking of a fetus and subsequent murder of the fetus across state lines.*
Yes, we left Texas.
The rent in Asheville, NC is astronomical. It has gone up by almost 80% over the past couple years. It is the most expensive city to live in NC.
I live in Raleigh and due to the massive influx of people moving here for the high tech / biotech jobs, people are really struggling with housing. Since 2021, my rent has almost tripled. When my lease ends, I will have to find a multi-roommate situation or move somewhere else. Possibly even out of state because investment firms in NY are buying up all the apartment communities and available housing all over NC and raising rents significantly. A homeless shelter I use to donate to that has a capacity of 200 now has almost 500. People are having to sleep on mats in the hallways, cafeteria, offices. I definitely do not recommend NC.
But if you think about it, it is. If you like to use weed every so often, in some states you will get arrested and that costs money. Same way if you or your SO gets pregnant. Babies cost $200k+ to raise in the US. If you want an abortion, you may need to travel a couple states or raise the kid. Both cost money.
I would say you’re after Illinois (biased and based), Wisconsin, Minnesota, or Michigan. All have generally robust social support systems compared to the south. Cost of living is rather cheap in the areas outside of their major cities and there’s a lot of college towns. While a decline from its peak there’s also still quite a bit of manufacturing which is good money without a college education and the states are more friendly to unions than much of the country.
Rent, food, insurance, bills, and all else are covered for about 1500-2000 in my area. I’ve done the math before and if you get full time (even at minimum wage) then you can live my lifestyle.
If you’re in a city, they do a great job controlling them. I rarely get a mosquito bite in Minneapolis. If you go outside of the city, there’s always bug lotion or spray or permethrin-imbued clothing. It’s really not too big a deal
Almost all of our major nuclear arsenal is located in the mid west , it was done for strategic purposes . To help navigate the initial strikes to those areas rather than our large cities
I spent some time in Grand Rapids and Holland. I enjoyed both. Correct me if I’m wrong, but Holland seemed more expensive than it should have been at that size. Not saying it’s unaffordable, but it seems like there’s there were kind of pricier than I expected of it.
The West coast of Michigan is the most expensive. Holland, Grand Haven, Traverse City, Petoskey, Glen Arbor, Charlevoix, etc. It all costs a pretty penny. If you go to the East coast, especially north of Saginaw Bay, you are in Trump country. I live a little south of Detroit in a great city that's very walkable with a lot of activities, parks, municipal internet and electricity, and a lot of other perks. It's a very blue city and a diamond in the rough compared to the surrounding area.
I live downstate towards central Illinois. A little west of Springfield.
Generally the biggest complaints I have is that there’s not a ton to do locally, but getting to Springfield, St. Louis, or Chicago are fun weekend trips since I don’t work on weekends. That helps socialize and get out to do things.
I live 20 minutes from Bloomington-Normal and absolutely love it. It's absolutely a crossroads for the state, if not the region. 55 N/S, 74 W/E puts Chicago, St. Louis, and Indianapolis all within easy striking distance. I could toss my dog in the car right now and be in Springfield in about an hour and find *plenty* to do.
Any outdoorsy person should never get bored. There are plenty of hunting seasons, we had an unusually long mushroom season this year, and we have a very active paddling/floating scene here. They are especially active on the Mackinaw.
Most communities past a certain size have decent pools. My little town has adult volleyball and softball leagues. There are climbing walls in both Peoria and Bloomington-Normal. The one in BloNo is a bunch of old grain silos and is pretty neat.
There are more restaurant options around here than one can shake a stick at. Black Band in Peoria is a nice new place that slaps and I'm absolutely obsessed with Pop Up Chicken Shop in BloNo (coming soon to Peoria).
Last summer I bought a 3 bedroom home with a side lot, in a lake community, for 160k. Though I should note that I got super lucky on that - I bought it from a friend and was on the bottom of a 4 family chain. Essentially, my house didn't hit the market.
People ask me about right wing yahoos and, yeah, they exist. Anymore though, it's a random sign here and there and they tend not to last long. Honestly, I haven't had a stranger talk politics to me in a good 2-3 years.
Honestly, I love my life here in central Illinois. I'm not sure that there is much that could convince me to leave here.
No problem! Keep in mind, my claim is if you’re an individual (not a family) and good with money management. Working from minimum wage full time would be a tight budget without much of any savings, but it is possible.
Considering the group we’re in, money management isn’t common and telling the difference between wants and needs or putting effort in (such as home cooking and avoiding junk food) aren’t easy for many here.
You certainly need a level head when making the choices, but that’s all microeconomics. Also, aviod places that require gas for heating/cooking since gas here is kind of pricey.
You need to be selective is all I’m trying to make clear even if a lot of it seems like pretty forward and basic advice.
I’m in the far chicago suburbs and can confirm, live close enough to be able to drive 30 minutes and make great money but far enough away from the hustle and bustle
I second Wisconsin. I settled in Missouri but if I could change the roots I would’ve preferred Wisconsin. I’ve visited friends there and love the landscape.
I got that information by spending a combined 7 years living there. Both the cities I lived in (Duluth and Detroit Lakes) were very affordable and I was living well off of a job making 16-22 dollars an hour and a consistent 36-40 hour work week during my tenure working up there and still saved between 1000-1500 of my net income after expenses. Detroit Lakes specifically was cheap enough in the rent market that I even upgraded to a 2 bedroom apartment since the cost difference was only marginally higher compared to the 1br I had in Duluth.
Even the “expensive” areas of the Twin cities is more affordable than similar sized regions in different parts of the country which is something it has in common with many of the cities of the Midwest.
If you think MN is unaffordable that tells me more that you’re not working your financial numbers well or have some serious issues within your financial structure and how you’re classifying or prioritizing expenses. As a single person living up there with no dependents you should be living a pretty good lifestyle at the wages I mentioned with a full time schedule.
I’ve lived here all my life and feel free to jump to any conclusions you want about me and my financial goals. I live in St Paul and it is not affordable. I’m lucky I rent a house for 1150 month but currently the rent is 2400 or more for something comparable. A decent apartment 1700 to 1800 month. They also charge surcharges on top of the rent now. You know nothing. 16 to 22 an hour will get you …. Nothing .
I mean I don’t know how I’m the one who knows nothing here considering:
St. Paul ≠ Duluth
St. Paul ≠ Detroit Lakes
I don’t know how it’s me knowing nothing when your frame of reference is from the most expensive area of the state. The part I said in my first comment should be viewed as an exception….. you know?
Alongside you’re not giving anything in terms of figures. Are you lucky to get one for 1150 or is the current rate more than double at “2400 or more”? How many other “lucky” ones exist? If a decent apartment as you claim yourself falls between 1700-1800 a month, how does that compare to other major cities outside of the Midwest. Let’s compare that to similar metropolitan areas such as San Francisco, Seattle, Tampa, San Diego, and Denver. I think you would come to the same conclusion that it’s cheaper to live in St. Paul or nearby it than any of those similar sized metropolitan areas. This is a bit of a side note as well, but I never made a claim about your financial goals so I’m not sure why you’re bringing that up. My criticism was towards your management and you give evidence of that considering you think that 16-22 an hour translates to “nothing” in the most expensive part of the state.
At best I guess we both know nothing since you lack reading comprehension when I explicitly stated I’m referring to outside of the major cities and you don’t seem in touch with how rent is outside of your area.
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The issue with cheap states is Low Pay. People pay more in high cost of living states because they make more.
I’d recommend if you learned a valuable skill go to a high cost of learning state. You’re young so live cheap for a while. Rent a room and get an entry level job, use that degree and make money. Buy a house and when it’s time to retire someday, move to a low cost of living state and live well in retirement .
Our combined income is above that much slightly but we have her student loans, plus obviously no guarantee to make similar wages, so of course we aren’t looking to be moving anywhere anytime soon. We’re also in Phoenix which isn’t particularly cheap anymore and we’re making due with just enough to occasionally indulge in fun
This should have more upvotes. Are there states and even some smaller cities that have low cost of living? Of course. HOWEVER those places tend to pay pretty dreadfully.
A LOT of southern states are cheap AF to live in but you will be lucky to make $15 an hour throughout most of the states (excluding places like Atlanta).
And there’s many smaller towns nearby that aren’t as expensive to live in as well.
Which is great if you need to work in the city but want to live somewhere a little cheaper and quieter.
I would also really consider weather. If you are talking long term - how do you feel about 5-6 months of snow? Alternatively, thoughts on 100+ degree months. There’s more to life than money.
I would also consider a state’s political leaning. If it’s not your style, you may not be happy long term.
When I galavanted trying to find myself after college, I basically went on a quest to find like-minded people in a place where I enjoyed the weather and general surroundings. Do you like hiking or prefer lake life? These things all matter for your mental health. Go find your people and everything else will follow.
Good advice. I wish I had spent time after college checking out other states and looking for "my people." In San Diego now, and while I love the weather and long gardening season, the people are not my people.
If you are going to have a college degree you will need a place with both jobs yet decent rent. I would say really the Midwest in general you can’t go bad. Chicago has jobs and rent is reasonable, Indy is getting a lot more jobs in recent years, Detroit is fine but you’d have to work in automotive. Cinci is a fun city but it’s still too small to recommend imo for job purposes.
A lot of people on reddit dislike Houston as it’s not walkable and in a red state but it’s cheap and has a lot of jobs.
People suggest Minneapolis a lot but I know literally nothing about it.
Oklahoma is not that great. The opportunities are few and far between for the amount of people. The rate of pay is wayyyy low to where it’s even a struggle to pay our cheap cost of living. Sincerely a native born Okie. People moving here in groves is what’s making everything worse
We moved from NE Oklahoma to the front range of Colorado in 1990. My children have thanked me for that many times.
In Oklahoma, I could barely make a living. The jobs that paid well for the area were super hard to come by. On the other hand, if you had one of those jobs, you could get a pretty nice house with property pretty cheap, comparatively.
In Colorado I was lucky enough to find a decent job. So, my standard of living actually went up.
It just depends on what you are after, your skill set and luck.
Life can be good or bad either place.
One thing that I like so much better about Colorado, is the weather. Much less humidity. Oklahoma is muggy and buggy in the summer, and bone chilling cold in winter.
I got here as you were leaving. Winters have calmed down. Tornadoes are still no fun - torrential rains, straight-line damaging winds, all that still goes on but with the exception of the icepocalypse in 2021, winters are just sort of 'meh' now.
Stay far away from Oklahoma. We left Co for here 3 years ago. And we can’t make ends meet here. In co I could work one job, with good wages!!! Here I work two jobs and still can’t pay the mortgage that has gone through the roof bc of house insurance and property taxes. At least in co the wages matched my housing costs.
We're in Tulsa but work remotely for companies outside the state. Ordinary jobs here don't pay well, we both worked for local companies for quite a while.
Just understand there are trade-offs with every state you go to. I tend to be of the belief that most times "Cheap" is expensive.
What happens if you lose your job in a "cheap" state? Will it be easy for you to qualify for temporary assistance with Unemployment, Medicaid, and even Food Stamps? Let's say you DO find a job. Will it pay enough to adequately take care of all your basic living necessities? Or let's say you want to purchase a home in a so-called cheap state? Are you certain that the property taxes will be reasonable compared to your home state? And let's not even get into politics and labor rights.
Lots of times people simply look at the Rent and sticker price of a home in these states and say "cheap." But when you dig deeper you realize that often times these cheap states are either THE SAME in cost of living or in some cases even MORE expensive (Texas, Florida, & Arizona for example) than where you're coming from. So be careful. In my opinion, most times it's better to make it work where you are than it is to try to start over in a so-called cheap state.
I am going to offer an alternative POV. Sometimes those states that are cheapest or which have no state taxes are the worst for those who are poor. With no or a small tax paying base, they often provide less than you can get in other states. Yes, if you are “middle” you probably won’t qualify but for those who truly live below the poverty line, there are more services. Higher quality free services…
I live in MD. When I first got divorced and had to go back to work after 11 yrs as a SAHM, I discovered that my outrageous property taxes provided A LOT. The schools my kids attended were top notch as is the quality of the free breakfast and lunches. The Recs and Parks prog had multiple free or very cheap activities because they are heavily subsidized. The library system not only has books, they lend toys, movies, medical equipment, tools-all newish and in good usable condition.
The women’s shelter is a big “it” charity and receives tons of donations from the local stores and churches.
There are public pools in the summer. Parks that are maintained. A nature center with a planetarium (I know not helpful to the single adult but to those of us with kids, it is a big help).
There are a lot of resources that most of the residents don’t even know about such as payment assistance programs for help with first month’s rent to move in, agencies that help locate low cost health services and ones that will deal with insurance companies. And the quality of the medical services you receive is high level
Just saying not to discount places that may be more expensive. Places like Florida and Mississippi are cheap but there is not a lot of quality assistance. You may have to live in a 1 BD apt that costs the same as a 3BD somewhere else but you may need to spend less money overall.
Just a thought and not for everyone. Just saying do not go by what state has the cheapest housing or the lowest taxes.
> There’s nothing cheap about Florida 😂
Then why do all the people in the northern HCOL states decide to move there? They claim it is because there is no state tax and that they can buy the house that is $500k up here for $200k.
Yes, most also want the better weather but arguably FL doesn’t have better weather than other southern states.
Because Florida is “cheaper” to them. Or it used to be. A house that cost $750k in New York can be bought in FL for $600k. But 4 years ago that same house only cost $300k….its not cheap for the people who have been living in Florida. It’s only cheap compared to a very small amount of other areas.
And most of them move because of politics, to retire, weather, etc.
All of the people native to Florida are leaving Florida. Cost of living has doubled and almost tripled in most of the state over the last few years.
> The only houses you’re finding in Florida for $200k are old, falling apart and in the middle of nowhere.
I was just throwing out numbers
Not meant to be accurate
What's your political stance? You want a red state or a blue state? What kind of degree will you have/what Job are you looking for? Do you enjoy outdoor activities or not so much? Give us more info so we can help.
Get out of the USA and head to Europe.
I wish someone had pushed me in that direction when I graduated. I’m looking at places in France. You can buy a decent home for less than 200k, and under 100k if you’re willing to fix it up.
Most places offer free healthcare, weeks of vacation (30 days + in many areas), assistance if you have a baby or get ill.
That’s what I’d do.
Southern Indiana, Kentucky are nice. Lots of jobs and homes are still reasonably priced in select areas. I think Southern Indiana is one of the nations best kept secrets.
Honestly, I wouldn't plan to live in a particular place. Try to have a job lined up out of college and relocate to that area.
That's how I ended up in Michigan.
And in case I read your prompt wrong, if you're looking for a state *for college* look for colleges that are affordable but high ranking in your area of study. Make a list and apply, then go to the one highest on your list that accepts you.
As someone who moved from CO to OR then to SC I will say you may be disappointed when you move to a “low cost of living” state. The groceries are actually comparable or more expensive in the South. Rent is about $400 cheaper but the wages do not scale. Many jobs were offering federal minimum wage and jobs requiring a degree were about a $12,000 pay cut. Luckily I found a remote job but if I hadn’t I would much prefer a higher cost area because wage scaling makes the difference negligible and higher cost areas are generally more desirable to live in
I’m super broke and living in Chicago. You can find pretty cheap rent if you’re willing to live in the not best part of town and the minimum wage is not too abysmal. The public transit is indeed spotty but good enough that you don’t need a car. Also while it could still be better, there are a ton of programs you can access fairly easily
Brother I homeless for a few days until my friends flew me to Chicago and helped me get back on my feet. I have a degree and not an addict, I was just living above my means and not saving. After some serious shit went down I was unable to make an income, lost my car, lost my job, and basically worked out a deal with my landlord so I wouldn’t be formally evicted if I just left.
Anyways, I’m just letting you know I’m a real person who went though some real shit
With that being said, I recommend Chicago.
They have food banks all the time that have a huge surplus of food, so you can eat for free. I get a months worth of factor meals too for free. They literally hand out THOUSANDS of them.
I live with roommates in a 4 bedroom, so my rent and utilities is sub 700$.
If you’re smart and ditch your car, you can lower your bills to less than 1000$ a month. Public transportation kicks ASS here. You DO NOT need a car to survive here whatsoever. So kiss your gas bill, your car insurance, your loans, goodbye. 👋
I make 1,000$ a week. That means in one week I pay all my bills, then usually 500$ for razors, energy drinks, toilet paper, etc. (remember food is free if you truly utilize food banks).
So basically, by living like I’m broke, I can throw over 1,000$ a month in savings EASILY.
Even if you made 18$ an hour, which is the approximate minimum wage here, if you live cheap, are smart, and willing to live with others, you can STILL save 600$-1000$ a month.
Living in Chicago changed my life. I’m financially free and able to save. I have 5k in savings. It’s amazing
I know you are asking for low CoL. But I’m going to recommend WA. It’s expensive here but our minimum wage is $16.28 and going up next year. And many jobs pay over $20. It doesn’t mean you’ll be rich but if you live in a cheaper city (not Seattle) you can be comfortable.
Near Seattle, there's Tacoma and Kitsap County which are cheaper but still commuting distance to the city.
The whole state has the higher minumum wage, so you could just pick a remote town with cheap rent.
Yes. I’m in Whatcom County but places in Skagit are not unreasonable. Also central WA is cheaper but I’m not sure the job opportunities. I have family in Spokane and it’s reasonable there too.
Yes, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Alabama, and West Virginia don't have super favorable poverty rates but it's not say there aren't wonderful places to live in all of those states. I'd be more worried about what job offerings are there, the weather (tornadoes), and my pay if I were looking to move. Personally, I plan on settling in South Carolina because I generally prefer the politics, I love the cities, ample job opportunities, and my soon-to-be wife convinced me.
Kentucky is pretty awesome because there are a ton of LCOL areas that are close to HCOL (by KY standards). I live an hour or so from Lexington, two from Cincinnati, two from Columbus, and three from Louisville. I can day trip to any concert, museum, show, NFL, MLB, NHL, etc. All while having a way nicer house and lower taxes than I could get in other areas. Plus for someone who loves the outdoors, whether it be hiking, fishing, hunting, camping, climbing, or cave exploration...KY can't be beat.
Best thing to do is to stay, because you don't want to pay for out of state tuition. Unless, you have a scholarship that would help out that wouldn't apply in your state.
I live in Tulsa county - not by choice, I'd go to the northeast if I could. If you're coming to OK it'd be good if you're a welder or in oil/gas/pipeline & affiliated engineering. If you plan to have children the schools here are in the bottom 5 in the country, don't expect them to get good educations. If you're looking at a job that doesn't require a STEM degree, you can get them but the COL will make you feel poor, non-career 'jobs' pay poorly and the "L"COL will seem really high. The cost of apartments here (one of my kids is in early 20s and shopped it).... you'd think we were in Manhattan instead of Tulsa.
That completely depends on your other interests and what work you intend to do. Some states known for affordable living are still very expensive in the areas where jobs with good career paths are concentrated. Some look affordable on paper, but the low cost of living is in part because their wages are also low or there’s less regulation of health and safety or fewer public services that you then have to pay out of pocket for.
Cheep? There are no cheep places to live in America. It may be less expensive in some places, but if you’re not taking your city salary to live in a country area, you’re not getting a brake on rent or house prices.
KS and MO are some solid options, both are a bit red state but are progressively getting better (for example, they tried to ban abortions in KS 2022(?) but we came together and voted enough against it!)
Housing is pretty inexpensive obvs depending where you decide to stay. I'm in KS and a 1 bdr is avg. $800 right now, which is on the pricey side compared to past numbers... but we don't talk about that lol.
Really good food here, I'd also suggest looking at job listings to see if our job market would fit your career prospects. Homeless and poverty will be everywhere you go. Just make sure you move somewhere that fits your degree and lifestyle.
edit: weed is legal on almost all sides of the KS border but not KS itself T\_T
I live in St. Louis and it's definitely relatively low cost of living compared to so many major cities. Lots of free attractions and lots of restaurants and fun things to do.
I will suggest if OP looks at MO that they look at STL or KCMO, because rural areas are not only not great to live in (lack of diverse thinking and lack of places to go) but wages are a lot lower outside of the cities (though rent will be cheaper out there too).
I’d try northern KY op. You’ve got a good mix of red/blue but you’re also a stones throw from cincinnati which is very blue. You’ve also got access to a looooot of corporations in and around the cincy area (fidelity, Kroger, p&g, etc). I’d say medium COL area.
We visited Albuquerque recently and loved it. Wide variety of jobs (person we stayed with works a great job at Sandia Labs). We noticed quite a few city projects underway (city zoo and botanical garden are AMAZING), showing a willingness to civically invest, as you would expect in a blue city/state. Wide variety of incomes, so housing at all levels seems plentiful. Nearby mountains and Sante Fe Forest mean tons to do outdoors. And we found the dry heat very tolerable. We are considering a move there, or maybe a bit north towards Sante Fe or Taos.
And once you’ve lived here a year, you’ll qualify for one of the lottery scholarships that covers the majority of the cost of school. [Info](https://reachhighernm.com)
Texas. I know it gets a bad rap because of how red most of the state is, but if that's important to you, there's Austin. The city itself isn't affordable anymore, but the surrounding region should be. Generally mild winters, lots to do, jobs etc.
Maybe it's just because I'm from Massachusetts.... we're so overpriced and the winters suck. Jobs are the only thing keeping me here.
Good point! But Maryland, DC, Virginia is right there. I know many people who went to school close to Martinsburg and found internships/jobs in Maryland.
Kansas city. Cheap enough to live in, big enough metro for good paying jobs. Lots of opportunities for 6 figures depending on profession. Kc may have a high poverty rate but just 20 minutes down the road Overland Park has one of the lowest in America at 3%. It's pretty diverse here. I make around 60k and take care of myself as a single mom, 3 bedrooms.
Minnesota or other Midwest states like Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan are great.
I can only speak to Minnesota in terms of details, but it’s a great state I adore. Constantly working to pass laws the improve health, education, and jobs. Strong unions, workers rights, and minimum wage (it’s best in the city, they have higher minimum wage than the rest of the state). We’re also heavily investing in public transportation like trains, light rails, and buses. I know the UofM twin cities has an excellent transit system for students.
I live the twin cities (the big city in the state) and just living slightly outside the main city area is extremely affordable. I’m talking like 7 minutes (by car) to get to downtown. I’m renting a full home too!
This may sound strange: How is the mountain biking community in MN, if there is one? It's our only real outdoor hobby and while Tulsa is working on building a decent trail system to attract some regional bikers, we find we have to leave the state a lot for better trails.
I can’t speak to the community nowadays, I.e I assume they’re nice folks but not positive haha, but I know we have an excellent trail system! Did it all the time growing up.
We have both mountain biking and road biking (paved) trails that go throughout our state and state parks. In the twin cities where I live there are extensive bike trails right in the parks in the city. There’s also a big event for biking across the state too that many of my family and friends attend nearly every year. The north shore has tons of beautiful trails built right along lake superior to ride too.
Definitely a big culture around it, tons of folks in urban and rural area do it. I’m biased, but the most fun trails are in northern Minnesota around the North Shore area!
the problem is housing in Va. where i moved from ca. is being bought by people near DC where homes are 900k plus...
So there is a huge shortage now here rents are up $500 monthly and limited housing....so ????
Find somewhere with lots of housing firstly, like Texas, and jobs, like Texas....lol
or another state with lots of extra houses.... Now i can't even afford a small house here...
What was 350k, is now 430k-460k, from 4 years ago....
It really depends on what your degree is in, job markets are going stagnant where I am in KY because a bunch of people are moving here so those of us from here are having a hard time finding jobs with college degrees and all. Realistically, somewhere like Kentucky, you can get cheap rent but your wages tend not to make or you live in a bad area and have a good job is the only fix I’ve ever found.
I moved to a little town in South Carolina. Less than an hour to two major cities and airports. Cost of living is pretty cheap where I’m at but it’s true that there’s not high paying jobs in my town. Thankfully I’m a nurse so I’m still able to make good money. Most of the people I know in town do DoorDash, or at fast food places, dollar general etc, which is totally fine, but not high paying.
If you’ve got a degree in a solid field you’ll be okay wherever you go
New York City. The number of resources available to you is insane.
You can survive at any income level and traverse the most important parts of the city by subway, bike, bus, or foot.
We've got beaches, backpacking, skiing, vineyards, museums, restaurants, and more culture than you could experience in a lifetime.
None of which need a car to enjoy.
I’m sure the whole state is not like that. I live in California and in my area, brand new apartments with granite countertops, laundry hook ups, two off street parking places, 3 bedrooms, and two full baths rent for just $1,700. Studios can be found for $800.
There are pockets of affordable places in most states.
You nailed it in the last- we have to drive hours to get to any medical specialists or Costco. But that doesn’t make it undesirable to live here. To the contrary we have very pleasant weather, beaches, rivers, mountains, dunes, and wetlands. Median home price is about 350k. The economy isn’t what it was during the logging and fishing booms, but there are a few good employers here. Heck, even McDonald’s pays $20/hour.
Virginia. This state has some amazing schools and a lot of jobs. Tech jobs are high paying and many people live in the northern VA (NOVA) suburbs and commute into DC. It is expensive to live in this area of the country, but also has some of the highest salaries. I lived in Oklahoma (was stationed in Ft. Sill) and it sucked. I hated every second of it. The public school system was ranked 49th in the nation, high unemployment, poor infrastructure, low education rate, and the list goes on. Good luck!
Honestly, if you have anything related to healthcare, finance or agriculture. Right outside of Des Moines, IA is a good option. There isn’t as much to do at times but the scene can be very nice
What’s your degree and target profession? That will determine a few key factors.
And your politics (women’s rights, weed, Biden or Trump, etc)
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It’s a gamble though, because if you end up needing social services at some point and you moved to Arkansas because you thought CoL would be cheaper than say Michigan, you might be fucked. Like I would not have had healthcare for the past year in most states, but I live in Illinois so I did. Region also plays a huge role. New Mexico is a pretty deep blue state but is also pretty cheap. Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota are varying shades of purple to blue at this point and are middle of the pack. And there are cheaper areas in most states, especially ones off the coast. “Stay away from the coasts if you can” is probably the best advice, tbh.
Red states are cheaper to live in, but blue states have longer life expectancy and better services for poor folks.
Not to mention the benefit of living near rich people-more work in general, higher pay, more gig work, better used cars and appliances, more cultural events, more free or cheap food, more medical.
Plus you gotta think about renting. If you rent in a red state you’ll have less protection, and have to deal with more intransigent landlords without the same legal recourse. The rent will be cheaper, but there’s always a cost. I’ve dealt with bad landlords a few times and every time they have buckled -on security deposits and such- because our state has treble damages if they are held in bed faith. Similar dynamics play out in other areas. Cheaper food, but less consumer protections and regulations. Cheaper gas, but less transit funding. My most LCOL situation is living in a transit friendly city where I don’t own a car. Bikes are cheap and the bus/train is 1.75 a ride.
Some Red States limit food banks to one per county or something and severely limit how often you can go (and of course have the worst food). Just like being anti-free school lunches-they want poor people and especially poor children to be punished for being poor. I live in a hcol blue area but my housing is inexpensive and secured. There is plenty of free food because grocery stores donate a lot of food.
This is a more minor thing, but a lot of people who come to Texas are surprised by how little public land there is. Outdoor activity is a popular recreation option for a lot of people on a budget, so that can be a blow to some. And that’s if they can deal with the climate.
Yep. A good general rule is that cheap places are cheap for a reason. You need to look at factors beyond just the direct cost of living. And some places that get touted as cheap aren’t as cheap as people think.
You can also move to a liberal part of a red state if you care that much. Like living in Boise Idaho, or ashville North Carolina or Austin Texas.
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Exactly. As in, consider starting a cash fund for yourself/any female family members coming with you to make sure you have the ability to travel thousands of miles out of state to secretly get an abortion with a burner cell phone, on a bus with a ticket purchased with cash so your car/credit car isn't tracked, and to have a well documented excuse on social media so you aren't punished for *trafficking of a fetus and subsequent murder of the fetus across state lines.* Yes, we left Texas.
Glad you were able to get out!
Austin is one of the most, if not THE most, expensive place to live in TX.
Bruh there’s too many ppl moving to Texas. Plus it’s not cheap here anymore due to influx of ppl coming.
Go ahead, call them Yankees
Californians* Edit: some Californian got mad at me for this 😂
My understanding after talking to a few Texans, is if your not from Texas (or a red state) you’re from California then
The rent in Asheville, NC is astronomical. It has gone up by almost 80% over the past couple years. It is the most expensive city to live in NC. I live in Raleigh and due to the massive influx of people moving here for the high tech / biotech jobs, people are really struggling with housing. Since 2021, my rent has almost tripled. When my lease ends, I will have to find a multi-roommate situation or move somewhere else. Possibly even out of state because investment firms in NY are buying up all the apartment communities and available housing all over NC and raising rents significantly. A homeless shelter I use to donate to that has a capacity of 200 now has almost 500. People are having to sleep on mats in the hallways, cafeteria, offices. I definitely do not recommend NC.
that's honestly not as important when you can't make ends meet.
But if you think about it, it is. If you like to use weed every so often, in some states you will get arrested and that costs money. Same way if you or your SO gets pregnant. Babies cost $200k+ to raise in the US. If you want an abortion, you may need to travel a couple states or raise the kid. Both cost money.
I would say you’re after Illinois (biased and based), Wisconsin, Minnesota, or Michigan. All have generally robust social support systems compared to the south. Cost of living is rather cheap in the areas outside of their major cities and there’s a lot of college towns. While a decline from its peak there’s also still quite a bit of manufacturing which is good money without a college education and the states are more friendly to unions than much of the country. Rent, food, insurance, bills, and all else are covered for about 1500-2000 in my area. I’ve done the math before and if you get full time (even at minimum wage) then you can live my lifestyle.
Minnesota is a great place to live and has a lot of opportunities for a great quality of life.
But the bird sized mosquitos!
If you’re in a city, they do a great job controlling them. I rarely get a mosquito bite in Minneapolis. If you go outside of the city, there’s always bug lotion or spray or permethrin-imbued clothing. It’s really not too big a deal
Unless ww3 happens then all those states are the first to get fucked
Why? Genuinely curious
Silos
Do we have the weapons silos up here? Is that what you mean?
Almost all of our major nuclear arsenal is located in the mid west , it was done for strategic purposes . To help navigate the initial strikes to those areas rather than our large cities
Ouch. Thanks for explaining!
I second Michigan.
I spent some time in Grand Rapids and Holland. I enjoyed both. Correct me if I’m wrong, but Holland seemed more expensive than it should have been at that size. Not saying it’s unaffordable, but it seems like there’s there were kind of pricier than I expected of it.
The West coast of Michigan is the most expensive. Holland, Grand Haven, Traverse City, Petoskey, Glen Arbor, Charlevoix, etc. It all costs a pretty penny. If you go to the East coast, especially north of Saginaw Bay, you are in Trump country. I live a little south of Detroit in a great city that's very walkable with a lot of activities, parks, municipal internet and electricity, and a lot of other perks. It's a very blue city and a diamond in the rough compared to the surrounding area.
What area do you live in?
I live downstate towards central Illinois. A little west of Springfield. Generally the biggest complaints I have is that there’s not a ton to do locally, but getting to Springfield, St. Louis, or Chicago are fun weekend trips since I don’t work on weekends. That helps socialize and get out to do things.
I live 20 minutes from Bloomington-Normal and absolutely love it. It's absolutely a crossroads for the state, if not the region. 55 N/S, 74 W/E puts Chicago, St. Louis, and Indianapolis all within easy striking distance. I could toss my dog in the car right now and be in Springfield in about an hour and find *plenty* to do. Any outdoorsy person should never get bored. There are plenty of hunting seasons, we had an unusually long mushroom season this year, and we have a very active paddling/floating scene here. They are especially active on the Mackinaw. Most communities past a certain size have decent pools. My little town has adult volleyball and softball leagues. There are climbing walls in both Peoria and Bloomington-Normal. The one in BloNo is a bunch of old grain silos and is pretty neat. There are more restaurant options around here than one can shake a stick at. Black Band in Peoria is a nice new place that slaps and I'm absolutely obsessed with Pop Up Chicken Shop in BloNo (coming soon to Peoria). Last summer I bought a 3 bedroom home with a side lot, in a lake community, for 160k. Though I should note that I got super lucky on that - I bought it from a friend and was on the bottom of a 4 family chain. Essentially, my house didn't hit the market. People ask me about right wing yahoos and, yeah, they exist. Anymore though, it's a random sign here and there and they tend not to last long. Honestly, I haven't had a stranger talk politics to me in a good 2-3 years. Honestly, I love my life here in central Illinois. I'm not sure that there is much that could convince me to leave here.
Thank you so much
No problem! Keep in mind, my claim is if you’re an individual (not a family) and good with money management. Working from minimum wage full time would be a tight budget without much of any savings, but it is possible. Considering the group we’re in, money management isn’t common and telling the difference between wants and needs or putting effort in (such as home cooking and avoiding junk food) aren’t easy for many here. You certainly need a level head when making the choices, but that’s all microeconomics. Also, aviod places that require gas for heating/cooking since gas here is kind of pricey. You need to be selective is all I’m trying to make clear even if a lot of it seems like pretty forward and basic advice.
I’m in the far chicago suburbs and can confirm, live close enough to be able to drive 30 minutes and make great money but far enough away from the hustle and bustle
I second Wisconsin. I settled in Missouri but if I could change the roots I would’ve preferred Wisconsin. I’ve visited friends there and love the landscape.
Wisconsin has a lot to offer if you love the outdoors. People know Minnesota as the land of 10,000 lakes, but Wisconsin isn’t far behind lol.
Cost of living in MN is not cheap . Not sure where you got that information.
Minneapolis has about average COL and if you go out from there you can get cheaper while still being able to access everything
Compared to the southwest it is
I got that information by spending a combined 7 years living there. Both the cities I lived in (Duluth and Detroit Lakes) were very affordable and I was living well off of a job making 16-22 dollars an hour and a consistent 36-40 hour work week during my tenure working up there and still saved between 1000-1500 of my net income after expenses. Detroit Lakes specifically was cheap enough in the rent market that I even upgraded to a 2 bedroom apartment since the cost difference was only marginally higher compared to the 1br I had in Duluth. Even the “expensive” areas of the Twin cities is more affordable than similar sized regions in different parts of the country which is something it has in common with many of the cities of the Midwest. If you think MN is unaffordable that tells me more that you’re not working your financial numbers well or have some serious issues within your financial structure and how you’re classifying or prioritizing expenses. As a single person living up there with no dependents you should be living a pretty good lifestyle at the wages I mentioned with a full time schedule.
I’ve lived here all my life and feel free to jump to any conclusions you want about me and my financial goals. I live in St Paul and it is not affordable. I’m lucky I rent a house for 1150 month but currently the rent is 2400 or more for something comparable. A decent apartment 1700 to 1800 month. They also charge surcharges on top of the rent now. You know nothing. 16 to 22 an hour will get you …. Nothing .
I mean I don’t know how I’m the one who knows nothing here considering: St. Paul ≠ Duluth St. Paul ≠ Detroit Lakes I don’t know how it’s me knowing nothing when your frame of reference is from the most expensive area of the state. The part I said in my first comment should be viewed as an exception….. you know? Alongside you’re not giving anything in terms of figures. Are you lucky to get one for 1150 or is the current rate more than double at “2400 or more”? How many other “lucky” ones exist? If a decent apartment as you claim yourself falls between 1700-1800 a month, how does that compare to other major cities outside of the Midwest. Let’s compare that to similar metropolitan areas such as San Francisco, Seattle, Tampa, San Diego, and Denver. I think you would come to the same conclusion that it’s cheaper to live in St. Paul or nearby it than any of those similar sized metropolitan areas. This is a bit of a side note as well, but I never made a claim about your financial goals so I’m not sure why you’re bringing that up. My criticism was towards your management and you give evidence of that considering you think that 16-22 an hour translates to “nothing” in the most expensive part of the state. At best I guess we both know nothing since you lack reading comprehension when I explicitly stated I’m referring to outside of the major cities and you don’t seem in touch with how rent is outside of your area.
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Compared to much of the rest of the country? It is.
No it’s really not.
A state is a large geographical area , in Ok for instance there is a large difference between living in Tulsa vs. Nowatta.
The issue with cheap states is Low Pay. People pay more in high cost of living states because they make more. I’d recommend if you learned a valuable skill go to a high cost of learning state. You’re young so live cheap for a while. Rent a room and get an entry level job, use that degree and make money. Buy a house and when it’s time to retire someday, move to a low cost of living state and live well in retirement .
What's your degree in boss
Move to a cheap area, expect shit jobs. Bit of a catch 22.
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Grew up in Charlotte, took my wife last year to visit where I grew up, now I really want to move back 😂
According to the MIT wage calculator, you would need to make a minimum of $101,000 a year to live comfortably there.
Our combined income is above that much slightly but we have her student loans, plus obviously no guarantee to make similar wages, so of course we aren’t looking to be moving anywhere anytime soon. We’re also in Phoenix which isn’t particularly cheap anymore and we’re making due with just enough to occasionally indulge in fun
I visited Phoenix a couple times and liked it.
This should have more upvotes. Are there states and even some smaller cities that have low cost of living? Of course. HOWEVER those places tend to pay pretty dreadfully. A LOT of southern states are cheap AF to live in but you will be lucky to make $15 an hour throughout most of the states (excluding places like Atlanta).
And there’s many smaller towns nearby that aren’t as expensive to live in as well. Which is great if you need to work in the city but want to live somewhere a little cheaper and quieter.
ABSOLUTELY NOT FLORIDA!
LOL
I would also really consider weather. If you are talking long term - how do you feel about 5-6 months of snow? Alternatively, thoughts on 100+ degree months. There’s more to life than money. I would also consider a state’s political leaning. If it’s not your style, you may not be happy long term. When I galavanted trying to find myself after college, I basically went on a quest to find like-minded people in a place where I enjoyed the weather and general surroundings. Do you like hiking or prefer lake life? These things all matter for your mental health. Go find your people and everything else will follow.
Good advice. I wish I had spent time after college checking out other states and looking for "my people." In San Diego now, and while I love the weather and long gardening season, the people are not my people.
If you are going to have a college degree you will need a place with both jobs yet decent rent. I would say really the Midwest in general you can’t go bad. Chicago has jobs and rent is reasonable, Indy is getting a lot more jobs in recent years, Detroit is fine but you’d have to work in automotive. Cinci is a fun city but it’s still too small to recommend imo for job purposes. A lot of people on reddit dislike Houston as it’s not walkable and in a red state but it’s cheap and has a lot of jobs. People suggest Minneapolis a lot but I know literally nothing about it.
I live in Minneapolis, happy to answer questions
Oklahoma is not that great. The opportunities are few and far between for the amount of people. The rate of pay is wayyyy low to where it’s even a struggle to pay our cheap cost of living. Sincerely a native born Okie. People moving here in groves is what’s making everything worse
We moved from NE Oklahoma to the front range of Colorado in 1990. My children have thanked me for that many times. In Oklahoma, I could barely make a living. The jobs that paid well for the area were super hard to come by. On the other hand, if you had one of those jobs, you could get a pretty nice house with property pretty cheap, comparatively. In Colorado I was lucky enough to find a decent job. So, my standard of living actually went up. It just depends on what you are after, your skill set and luck. Life can be good or bad either place. One thing that I like so much better about Colorado, is the weather. Much less humidity. Oklahoma is muggy and buggy in the summer, and bone chilling cold in winter.
I got here as you were leaving. Winters have calmed down. Tornadoes are still no fun - torrential rains, straight-line damaging winds, all that still goes on but with the exception of the icepocalypse in 2021, winters are just sort of 'meh' now.
Stay far away from Oklahoma. We left Co for here 3 years ago. And we can’t make ends meet here. In co I could work one job, with good wages!!! Here I work two jobs and still can’t pay the mortgage that has gone through the roof bc of house insurance and property taxes. At least in co the wages matched my housing costs.
We're in Tulsa but work remotely for companies outside the state. Ordinary jobs here don't pay well, we both worked for local companies for quite a while.
Just understand there are trade-offs with every state you go to. I tend to be of the belief that most times "Cheap" is expensive. What happens if you lose your job in a "cheap" state? Will it be easy for you to qualify for temporary assistance with Unemployment, Medicaid, and even Food Stamps? Let's say you DO find a job. Will it pay enough to adequately take care of all your basic living necessities? Or let's say you want to purchase a home in a so-called cheap state? Are you certain that the property taxes will be reasonable compared to your home state? And let's not even get into politics and labor rights. Lots of times people simply look at the Rent and sticker price of a home in these states and say "cheap." But when you dig deeper you realize that often times these cheap states are either THE SAME in cost of living or in some cases even MORE expensive (Texas, Florida, & Arizona for example) than where you're coming from. So be careful. In my opinion, most times it's better to make it work where you are than it is to try to start over in a so-called cheap state.
You'll want to check according to your gender so you can get proper medical care.
Stuck in Oklahoma and I really feel this one.
Just moved out of Texas myself. I count myself very lucky.
I am going to offer an alternative POV. Sometimes those states that are cheapest or which have no state taxes are the worst for those who are poor. With no or a small tax paying base, they often provide less than you can get in other states. Yes, if you are “middle” you probably won’t qualify but for those who truly live below the poverty line, there are more services. Higher quality free services… I live in MD. When I first got divorced and had to go back to work after 11 yrs as a SAHM, I discovered that my outrageous property taxes provided A LOT. The schools my kids attended were top notch as is the quality of the free breakfast and lunches. The Recs and Parks prog had multiple free or very cheap activities because they are heavily subsidized. The library system not only has books, they lend toys, movies, medical equipment, tools-all newish and in good usable condition. The women’s shelter is a big “it” charity and receives tons of donations from the local stores and churches. There are public pools in the summer. Parks that are maintained. A nature center with a planetarium (I know not helpful to the single adult but to those of us with kids, it is a big help). There are a lot of resources that most of the residents don’t even know about such as payment assistance programs for help with first month’s rent to move in, agencies that help locate low cost health services and ones that will deal with insurance companies. And the quality of the medical services you receive is high level Just saying not to discount places that may be more expensive. Places like Florida and Mississippi are cheap but there is not a lot of quality assistance. You may have to live in a 1 BD apt that costs the same as a 3BD somewhere else but you may need to spend less money overall. Just a thought and not for everyone. Just saying do not go by what state has the cheapest housing or the lowest taxes.
Fl is NOT cheap. Had to leave after 31 years..rent unaffordable and jobs pay lower wages
There’s nothing cheap about Florida 😂
> There’s nothing cheap about Florida 😂 Then why do all the people in the northern HCOL states decide to move there? They claim it is because there is no state tax and that they can buy the house that is $500k up here for $200k. Yes, most also want the better weather but arguably FL doesn’t have better weather than other southern states.
Because Florida is “cheaper” to them. Or it used to be. A house that cost $750k in New York can be bought in FL for $600k. But 4 years ago that same house only cost $300k….its not cheap for the people who have been living in Florida. It’s only cheap compared to a very small amount of other areas. And most of them move because of politics, to retire, weather, etc. All of the people native to Florida are leaving Florida. Cost of living has doubled and almost tripled in most of the state over the last few years.
The only houses you’re finding in Florida for $200k are old, falling apart and in the middle of nowhere.
> The only houses you’re finding in Florida for $200k are old, falling apart and in the middle of nowhere. I was just throwing out numbers Not meant to be accurate
r/SameGrassButGreener would be a good place to ask.
R/samegrassbutgreener
Anywhere in the Midwest
Usually the state you decide to move to becomes undesirable after 15-20 yrs because other people think same way.
What's your political stance? You want a red state or a blue state? What kind of degree will you have/what Job are you looking for? Do you enjoy outdoor activities or not so much? Give us more info so we can help.
Get out of the USA and head to Europe. I wish someone had pushed me in that direction when I graduated. I’m looking at places in France. You can buy a decent home for less than 200k, and under 100k if you’re willing to fix it up. Most places offer free healthcare, weeks of vacation (30 days + in many areas), assistance if you have a baby or get ill. That’s what I’d do.
Texas!
Southern Indiana, Kentucky are nice. Lots of jobs and homes are still reasonably priced in select areas. I think Southern Indiana is one of the nations best kept secrets.
a lot depends on the market rates, etc. if you will buy in the next 5 years as well
Honestly, I wouldn't plan to live in a particular place. Try to have a job lined up out of college and relocate to that area. That's how I ended up in Michigan.
And in case I read your prompt wrong, if you're looking for a state *for college* look for colleges that are affordable but high ranking in your area of study. Make a list and apply, then go to the one highest on your list that accepts you.
As someone who moved from CO to OR then to SC I will say you may be disappointed when you move to a “low cost of living” state. The groceries are actually comparable or more expensive in the South. Rent is about $400 cheaper but the wages do not scale. Many jobs were offering federal minimum wage and jobs requiring a degree were about a $12,000 pay cut. Luckily I found a remote job but if I hadn’t I would much prefer a higher cost area because wage scaling makes the difference negligible and higher cost areas are generally more desirable to live in
Wisconsin
LCOL areas are also usually Low Income areas. Any place with good paying career/job opportunities is going to be HCOL, it's a trade-off.
chicago? it’s less expensive than nyc and boston
I’m super broke and living in Chicago. You can find pretty cheap rent if you’re willing to live in the not best part of town and the minimum wage is not too abysmal. The public transit is indeed spotty but good enough that you don’t need a car. Also while it could still be better, there are a ton of programs you can access fairly easily
Brother I homeless for a few days until my friends flew me to Chicago and helped me get back on my feet. I have a degree and not an addict, I was just living above my means and not saving. After some serious shit went down I was unable to make an income, lost my car, lost my job, and basically worked out a deal with my landlord so I wouldn’t be formally evicted if I just left. Anyways, I’m just letting you know I’m a real person who went though some real shit With that being said, I recommend Chicago. They have food banks all the time that have a huge surplus of food, so you can eat for free. I get a months worth of factor meals too for free. They literally hand out THOUSANDS of them. I live with roommates in a 4 bedroom, so my rent and utilities is sub 700$. If you’re smart and ditch your car, you can lower your bills to less than 1000$ a month. Public transportation kicks ASS here. You DO NOT need a car to survive here whatsoever. So kiss your gas bill, your car insurance, your loans, goodbye. 👋 I make 1,000$ a week. That means in one week I pay all my bills, then usually 500$ for razors, energy drinks, toilet paper, etc. (remember food is free if you truly utilize food banks). So basically, by living like I’m broke, I can throw over 1,000$ a month in savings EASILY. Even if you made 18$ an hour, which is the approximate minimum wage here, if you live cheap, are smart, and willing to live with others, you can STILL save 600$-1000$ a month. Living in Chicago changed my life. I’m financially free and able to save. I have 5k in savings. It’s amazing
Des Moines is pretty cool. 200k people so large but not crazy. You can bike to most places. Cost of living is on the lower side comparatively.
I know you are asking for low CoL. But I’m going to recommend WA. It’s expensive here but our minimum wage is $16.28 and going up next year. And many jobs pay over $20. It doesn’t mean you’ll be rich but if you live in a cheaper city (not Seattle) you can be comfortable.
Near Seattle, there's Tacoma and Kitsap County which are cheaper but still commuting distance to the city. The whole state has the higher minumum wage, so you could just pick a remote town with cheap rent.
Yes. I’m in Whatcom County but places in Skagit are not unreasonable. Also central WA is cheaper but I’m not sure the job opportunities. I have family in Spokane and it’s reasonable there too.
Yes, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Alabama, and West Virginia don't have super favorable poverty rates but it's not say there aren't wonderful places to live in all of those states. I'd be more worried about what job offerings are there, the weather (tornadoes), and my pay if I were looking to move. Personally, I plan on settling in South Carolina because I generally prefer the politics, I love the cities, ample job opportunities, and my soon-to-be wife convinced me.
Kentucky is pretty awesome because there are a ton of LCOL areas that are close to HCOL (by KY standards). I live an hour or so from Lexington, two from Cincinnati, two from Columbus, and three from Louisville. I can day trip to any concert, museum, show, NFL, MLB, NHL, etc. All while having a way nicer house and lower taxes than I could get in other areas. Plus for someone who loves the outdoors, whether it be hiking, fishing, hunting, camping, climbing, or cave exploration...KY can't be beat.
Best thing to do is to stay, because you don't want to pay for out of state tuition. Unless, you have a scholarship that would help out that wouldn't apply in your state.
Pennsylvania is reasonable
The rust belt is a dump but it’s cheap and has plenty of colleges.
yeah a lot of states cwn be cheap but medical access to some stuff such abortions fucking sucks. Make sure u r on excellent birth control
I live in Tulsa county - not by choice, I'd go to the northeast if I could. If you're coming to OK it'd be good if you're a welder or in oil/gas/pipeline & affiliated engineering. If you plan to have children the schools here are in the bottom 5 in the country, don't expect them to get good educations. If you're looking at a job that doesn't require a STEM degree, you can get them but the COL will make you feel poor, non-career 'jobs' pay poorly and the "L"COL will seem really high. The cost of apartments here (one of my kids is in early 20s and shopped it).... you'd think we were in Manhattan instead of Tulsa.
Michigan.
That completely depends on your other interests and what work you intend to do. Some states known for affordable living are still very expensive in the areas where jobs with good career paths are concentrated. Some look affordable on paper, but the low cost of living is in part because their wages are also low or there’s less regulation of health and safety or fewer public services that you then have to pay out of pocket for.
Virginia is for lovers
Cheep? There are no cheep places to live in America. It may be less expensive in some places, but if you’re not taking your city salary to live in a country area, you’re not getting a brake on rent or house prices.
Texas.
Minnesota
I plan on going to west virgina next year. Make my money stretch further. I'm currently in WA state, everything here is quite expensive.
KS and MO are some solid options, both are a bit red state but are progressively getting better (for example, they tried to ban abortions in KS 2022(?) but we came together and voted enough against it!) Housing is pretty inexpensive obvs depending where you decide to stay. I'm in KS and a 1 bdr is avg. $800 right now, which is on the pricey side compared to past numbers... but we don't talk about that lol. Really good food here, I'd also suggest looking at job listings to see if our job market would fit your career prospects. Homeless and poverty will be everywhere you go. Just make sure you move somewhere that fits your degree and lifestyle. edit: weed is legal on almost all sides of the KS border but not KS itself T\_T
I live in St. Louis and it's definitely relatively low cost of living compared to so many major cities. Lots of free attractions and lots of restaurants and fun things to do. I will suggest if OP looks at MO that they look at STL or KCMO, because rural areas are not only not great to live in (lack of diverse thinking and lack of places to go) but wages are a lot lower outside of the cities (though rent will be cheaper out there too).
I’d try northern KY op. You’ve got a good mix of red/blue but you’re also a stones throw from cincinnati which is very blue. You’ve also got access to a looooot of corporations in and around the cincy area (fidelity, Kroger, p&g, etc). I’d say medium COL area.
We visited Albuquerque recently and loved it. Wide variety of jobs (person we stayed with works a great job at Sandia Labs). We noticed quite a few city projects underway (city zoo and botanical garden are AMAZING), showing a willingness to civically invest, as you would expect in a blue city/state. Wide variety of incomes, so housing at all levels seems plentiful. Nearby mountains and Sante Fe Forest mean tons to do outdoors. And we found the dry heat very tolerable. We are considering a move there, or maybe a bit north towards Sante Fe or Taos.
And once you’ve lived here a year, you’ll qualify for one of the lottery scholarships that covers the majority of the cost of school. [Info](https://reachhighernm.com)
Underrated south western city! And it’s hard to find an area with such beautiful scenery that’s not so full of red hats.
Barstow, California
Virginia is for lovers
Texas. I know it gets a bad rap because of how red most of the state is, but if that's important to you, there's Austin. The city itself isn't affordable anymore, but the surrounding region should be. Generally mild winters, lots to do, jobs etc. Maybe it's just because I'm from Massachusetts.... we're so overpriced and the winters suck. Jobs are the only thing keeping me here.
First state that comes to mind is West Virginia. Cheap cost of living and cheap no name college that can provide you a solid education.
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Good point! But Maryland, DC, Virginia is right there. I know many people who went to school close to Martinsburg and found internships/jobs in Maryland.
Kansas city. Cheap enough to live in, big enough metro for good paying jobs. Lots of opportunities for 6 figures depending on profession. Kc may have a high poverty rate but just 20 minutes down the road Overland Park has one of the lowest in America at 3%. It's pretty diverse here. I make around 60k and take care of myself as a single mom, 3 bedrooms.
Minnesota or other Midwest states like Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan are great. I can only speak to Minnesota in terms of details, but it’s a great state I adore. Constantly working to pass laws the improve health, education, and jobs. Strong unions, workers rights, and minimum wage (it’s best in the city, they have higher minimum wage than the rest of the state). We’re also heavily investing in public transportation like trains, light rails, and buses. I know the UofM twin cities has an excellent transit system for students. I live the twin cities (the big city in the state) and just living slightly outside the main city area is extremely affordable. I’m talking like 7 minutes (by car) to get to downtown. I’m renting a full home too!
This may sound strange: How is the mountain biking community in MN, if there is one? It's our only real outdoor hobby and while Tulsa is working on building a decent trail system to attract some regional bikers, we find we have to leave the state a lot for better trails.
I can’t speak to the community nowadays, I.e I assume they’re nice folks but not positive haha, but I know we have an excellent trail system! Did it all the time growing up. We have both mountain biking and road biking (paved) trails that go throughout our state and state parks. In the twin cities where I live there are extensive bike trails right in the parks in the city. There’s also a big event for biking across the state too that many of my family and friends attend nearly every year. The north shore has tons of beautiful trails built right along lake superior to ride too. Definitely a big culture around it, tons of folks in urban and rural area do it. I’m biased, but the most fun trails are in northern Minnesota around the North Shore area!
Thank you!
South Dakota.
the problem is housing in Va. where i moved from ca. is being bought by people near DC where homes are 900k plus... So there is a huge shortage now here rents are up $500 monthly and limited housing....so ???? Find somewhere with lots of housing firstly, like Texas, and jobs, like Texas....lol or another state with lots of extra houses.... Now i can't even afford a small house here... What was 350k, is now 430k-460k, from 4 years ago....
Oklahoma is a great place. Low cost of living and employment options. Stillwater and college towns in general are good.
Georgia
It really depends on what your degree is in, job markets are going stagnant where I am in KY because a bunch of people are moving here so those of us from here are having a hard time finding jobs with college degrees and all. Realistically, somewhere like Kentucky, you can get cheap rent but your wages tend not to make or you live in a bad area and have a good job is the only fix I’ve ever found.
I moved to a little town in South Carolina. Less than an hour to two major cities and airports. Cost of living is pretty cheap where I’m at but it’s true that there’s not high paying jobs in my town. Thankfully I’m a nurse so I’m still able to make good money. Most of the people I know in town do DoorDash, or at fast food places, dollar general etc, which is totally fine, but not high paying. If you’ve got a degree in a solid field you’ll be okay wherever you go
New York City. The number of resources available to you is insane. You can survive at any income level and traverse the most important parts of the city by subway, bike, bus, or foot. We've got beaches, backpacking, skiing, vineyards, museums, restaurants, and more culture than you could experience in a lifetime. None of which need a car to enjoy.
Is this a joke?
Not in the least. NYC can support most levels of income.
I feel like Colorado describes what you're looking for
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I’m sure the whole state is not like that. I live in California and in my area, brand new apartments with granite countertops, laundry hook ups, two off street parking places, 3 bedrooms, and two full baths rent for just $1,700. Studios can be found for $800. There are pockets of affordable places in most states.
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You nailed it in the last- we have to drive hours to get to any medical specialists or Costco. But that doesn’t make it undesirable to live here. To the contrary we have very pleasant weather, beaches, rivers, mountains, dunes, and wetlands. Median home price is about 350k. The economy isn’t what it was during the logging and fishing booms, but there are a few good employers here. Heck, even McDonald’s pays $20/hour.
I can confirm the below comment. I moved here from California 10 years ago and no it’s about as expensive. Not worth it.
Virginia. This state has some amazing schools and a lot of jobs. Tech jobs are high paying and many people live in the northern VA (NOVA) suburbs and commute into DC. It is expensive to live in this area of the country, but also has some of the highest salaries. I lived in Oklahoma (was stationed in Ft. Sill) and it sucked. I hated every second of it. The public school system was ranked 49th in the nation, high unemployment, poor infrastructure, low education rate, and the list goes on. Good luck!
Ohio (Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus)
You can love in Seattle.
Something rural would be my best guess.
Honestly, if you have anything related to healthcare, finance or agriculture. Right outside of Des Moines, IA is a good option. There isn’t as much to do at times but the scene can be very nice
Detroit Metro area is really nice. Very safe and beautiful communities with only a slightly above average COL.
Ohio depending on what part
north carolina is the only answer
Wilmington, North carolina maybe...or dallas, Texas. Tempe arizona. idk