I live in BFE, Missouri, and it's extremely cheap here compared to most places. My 1200 sq foot, newly remodeled, 3 bedroom 2 bath house with 2 car garage and large fenced in yard was $87,500. And my taxes are super, super cheap.

Of course, you have to put up with living here. With one grocery store, crappy schools, crappy roads, etc. My town has a population of 5,000, so there isn't a lot going on.

Tucson is super reasonable. My 3/2 main house and 1/1 guesthouse just appraised for about $150,000. I think the median price in town is around $220,000 - and that's for a nice sized house with plenty of land. And of course, the sunshine is priceless.

I live (currently) in Toledo, Ohio. Housing is pretty much dirt cheap.

We live on the second floor of a duplex on a fairly nice quiet street with lots of big trees, 1000 square feet, 2 bed 1 bath, all original hardwood floors, a cute little screened-in back porch, 1-car garage, plus half a basement with our own washer and dryer. (No dishwasher or garbage disposal, though.)

We pay $585 a month, which includes our water and trash/recycling pickup.

I think the response you'll get from NYers will be as predictable as you expect:

we pay way too much for way too little space;

we have terrible landlords and/or ridiculous and inscrutable co-op boards;

we find ways to cope with creeping critters, creepy neighbors and noisy annoyances;

BUT - we wouldn't live anywhere else.

Such is the psychosis of a New Yorker.

Okay, that's it. Goodbye, city life! I'm gonna abandon my little studio and move to Austin, where I can have both a house and a pet capybara. No house or capybara for me in SF. I am verklempt.

ETA- I've lived in Ohio all my life and love it, but I know most big-city or coast dwellers will point to the reason for the affordable housing: it's Ohio. ;)

We currently live in Palo Alto, CA, where a nice small 2,100 square foot house could run as expensive as a million. Comparatively, we're moving temporarily to Salt Lake City due to work, and the same bungalow house goes for around 350,000. But OUCH the location swap!

www.bonbonliving.com
sweetest living for your family

We live in Jackson, MS in a 1959 mid-century modern house in a fantastic neighborhood close to it all. We bought the house for $140,000 and then remodeled it completely (and still are!) and it is now worth upwards of $250,000! Great city. Great people. Great food.

i got my 1 bedroom condo on the edge of a pretty nice area in Knoxville for mid-50s. even though it is small (700 sq. ft) i feel lucky to have been able to buy something and am able to change it as i want.

I moved from a huge two bedroom (with an office and dining room) in Spokane, WA for $495/month to a smaller one bedroom in Seattle for $985/month. It's amazing how different halves of one state can differ so greatly in cost of living... and quality of living!

When we started searching around this year to see if we could make an upgrade, I was amazed at how good of a deal I'm actually getting. We live on the top floor of lovely old house (though that comes with problems) and we have a huge sunporch that looks out at a park. Most of our living space is one large room, so it's very spacious and comfortable. By comparison, most one bedrooms around here seem to be going for $1,200-$1,500... and they're cramped and in poor locations.

http://shockthebourgeois.blogspot.com

Charlottesville, VA is wildly overpriced. Even in this economy. I occasionally look at condos and homes under $200K, only to find out that there not only isn't a ton available (mainly VERY few houses; certainly some condos but really old fugly ones, largely).

Rents have become a real issue for regular working folks, to the point that the city council has started a rent relief program for the elderly. With a major university in a tiny town (University of Virgina), the average person is fighting for space against 3 kids willing to cram themselves into the same apartment using daddy's money. I pay $1.1K a month for a teeny one bedroom one bath with a virtually non-existent living room. I could get more for my money in a less desireable location, but in general rent is inflated due to the college kids' willingness and ability to pay more for what's available.

I'm in South Dakota, just outside of Sioux Falls. My rent is $600 for a 2 bedroom, 1 bath with utility room (laundry/water heater/furnace), central heat/air conditioning, and a single stall garage.

It may be considered BFE to some, but it's 10 miles from the largest city in the state (not that SF is large, mind you). I love it. :)

Forgot to add, my apartment is 1100 square feet.

BTW, as a PS: I bought my (first ever) co-op one month ago. It's a little less than 1,000 square feet, in a boring but safe part of Brooklyn (very long commute into Manhattan, but that's not as important to me as space). I don't feel comfortable mentioning how much I paid, but it was a HUGE deal -- about $50K to $75K less than any other one bedrooms in the area, because the seller had other buyers fall through, and also had buyers rejected by the co-op board, so by the time I came along the seller was willing to sell at rock-bottom. Actually, they sold it to me for the exact amount they said they purchased it for about six years ago.

Two weeks after I moved in, I saw a sign from a real estate agent holding an open house on the same floor I live on -- just down the hall from me, an apartment with the same size and the same layout is being offered at $105K MORE than I spent for my apartment. Crazy.

It is hard living in an urban area, where typically rent is more than half of what you take home a month. But, I wouldn't trade it for anything. Most of the apartments have a ton of charm, even if they are small. The city also offers so much. There are tons of things to do for free, especially during the summer. There are a lot of museums and exhibits, concerts, and galleries. I love the convenience of being able to walk most places. Not having a car cuts down on expenses too. For now, I couldn't see myself living anywhere else except SF.

I live in Austin and the prices for mid-century homes in my Central East Austin neighborhood (3/2s or 4/2s ranging from 1,200 to 2,000 sq ft are significantly cheaper than the city's average. Houses near mine sell for maybe $135,000 to $210,000. My friend's North Austin neighborhood has mid-century houses that go for about $150,000. So it's definitely affordable. The downside is, in a state with no income tax, property taxes are relatively high.

I live in a town in California that is in a rural area, but is about 45 minutes from the south end of a very large metropolis. We're a bit of a bedroom community for that larger city, so while this town offers very little in the way of services and recreational opportunities, the cost of living has been high for some time. Housing and rental prices were very high here during the housing boom. Like 400-500k for a small single-family home in a bad neighborhood, or 300k for a condo. I currently rent a one-bedroom apartment (don't know what the square footage is, but I'd guess about 650) for $775 a month, no utilities included except for garbage. I felt kind of lucky to get it because while it's hardly a high-quality unit, I've seen other complexes that are much worse.

The housing crash has hit us hard, though. Now you can find average-quality single-family homes for under 300k, and fixer-uppers in the 100s. Condos are around 100k-150k now. I'm in the process of buying one. I haven't really been keeping an eye on the rental market here but I think prices have gone down a bit, though not as dramatically as home sales.

I still think prices are kind of high, honestly. Or actually, I should say that the value for your dollar is not good because the quality of the housing isn't always that great. It's a lot more reasonable than it was three-four years ago, though.

I live in Austin and, although my rent is pretty high, I think that buying a house would be a pretty reasonable move right now. The Austin real estate market is holding pretty strong, but cost per square foot is down. For good info, check out Regent Property Group's blog</A> that is updated monthly to give the cost per square foot, etc in Austin. Its where I always check since I'm trying to figure out the perfect time to buy!

I spent last year on an assignment in Wichita, KS living in a one bedroom furnished apartment, with pool, laundry, for $625 including utilities.

In comparison to some of the numbers above, this may sound crazy to all of you...but my 450 lofted studio in San Francisco cost $400,000. I know that sounds like a lot, but the property value has only gone up, I live in the best city I could imagine, I'm walking distance from EVERYTHING, and my super cute studio is attached to a gorgeous English garden. That said...once these values go up a bit more I'm selling and getting a home that's larger then a thimble.

We got a rowhouse close to the waterfront in Baltimore for just under $200,000. The catch is that we had to do a complete rehab. We love it though!

I think one item that can drive prices up is the amount of space available for building. NYC and SF Bay Area cannot get any bigger while Jackson, Knoxville and Houston can start to sprawl.

Also, people KEEP MOVING to the Bay Area and NYC. Even with the crazy prices and natural disasters.

Prices per square foot here can vary widely from block to block and building to building. Kevin's place was $1309/sq ft. Ouch! My place is a sweet $407.

rosenatti - Austin is awesome, but then you've already figured that out!

Oh, and the rowhouse is about 1200 sf, 2 br, 2ba and no parking

I'm in Bloomington IN. Housing here is relatively cheap, but since it's a college town, it's more expensive here than in other towns in the area.

I've got a ground floor, 700 sq ft 2br 1 bath apartment in a small, *very* quiet apartment complex. It's $520/mo. I pay all utilities except water/sewage. Trash disposal is free, but since it's a complex, we don't get curb-side recycling, so I have to schlep my recyclables across town myself. No in-unit laundry facilities, either, but the laundry room is nearby and is reasonably well maintained.

I could probably get a nicer/bigger place for the same money, but the owners are super pet friendly and the location is excellent for my needs, and those things are non-negotiable. So, I feel like I'm getting a good deal.

I live in a 3 bed/2 bath 1800sq/ft house in Phoenix, AZ. I pay $950/mo. Plenty of room, big garage. Only bummer is that there aren't any trees in our backyard - we have grass, but no shade to enjoy it in when it's 120 outside..

I live in Chicago in a typical two-flat, two-bed/1-bath apartment. The rent is ok ($1100/mo - no additional water/recycling/or laundry charges). We don't live in a tony area of the city, but the space is great by NY standards and the neighborhood quiet but not too. I'm currently looking to purchase a SFH in the 'burbs (weep) - purely a financial decision for this gal and her hubby on public servant salaries. We've been looking in the $275-300k price range and I'm finding I'm up to my eyeballs in avocado appliances and old lady smells. That being said, I'm hoping for a blank slate, with good bones at a better price so we can do green upgrades like tankless water heaters as well as splash our design aesthetic to cover the "stately grandeur" of the disused.

I can comment on the differences of what you get from city to north shore suburbs, which can be pretty telling. City: postage stamp yard (if any), maybe enclosed parking, a tax-transfer fee that just feels made up. Suburbs: big yard, driveway, garage, no tax-transfer fee, and generally lower taxes. Like I said, it's a financial decision (and we need to save all we can for the therapy I'll require once I leave my beloved city life).

Well said JPLee.

Ditto.

We live in Fairfield County, CT--more specifically Bridgeport, CT (CT's largest city and about a 70 minute commuter train ride north of Midtown Manhattan).

Bridgeport is a bit of an anomaly in Fairfield county and is certainly hardscrabble by comparison. That being said it is the only town in lower Fairfield County within reach of NYC that still remains affordable. To give you a comparison, in Bridgeport (in one of the nicer areas) you can get a 2-3 bedroom (nice) condo for around 200k. If you drive down the road less than 5 miles to the city of Fairfield the same size condo will run you about 250-300k more or even more if you get closer to the beach (not on the water) where an 1100 square foot home on 1/2 acre will run you upwards of 850k (most people buying these properties simply tear them down to make way for FAR maximizing monstrosities).

Although the towns are very different in their demographic makeup the differences in the end do not account for the drastic differences in pricing. For anyone looking to perhaps move out of the city but don't want to completely abandon the urban feel--Bridgeport could be a good option. In the end this city has the same problems as any large city and because of its juxtaposition to some of the wealthiest towns in America it gets a bad reputation. However, living here for a couple of years has shown us that if you can get past this, Bridgeport is a very interesting city with much to offer.

I live in a 3rd floor walk-up in the Victorian Village area of Columbus, Ohio. My rent is 590/mo with all utilities included. It's a quirky attic apartment. Very HOT in the summer and cold in the winter. I get a great workout with all the steps, have good neighbors ,and I can walk downtown to work everyday. Now If I could only use the neighbors beautiful pool in the backyard...

Chiming in from Canada here. I'm in Toronto and paid about CAD$218 000 for a 657-sq ft condo. It's a great place and in a very good midtown neighbourhood. We're looking at buying a house within a year or so; we'll either have to pay about $600 000 for a tiny house with crappy floors and knob & tube wiring, or move to another area. Sigh...

I live in Chicago also and we just bought our fist single family home that is 2100 square feet. It's not in the hippest part of the city but it's a nice, quite neighborhood close to the Blue and Brown el train lines and the highway. We are paying $238,000 for a 3 bed, 1.5 bath with a decent sized yard. I am currently living in on the first floor of a two-flat and have neighbors with two dogs and a 3 year old above me and it's rather noisy. No sleeping in for us! I currently pay $1200 for a 3 bed, 1 bath apartment in a good part of the city. I do have laundry in the unit but the washer/dryer is either broken or is being used by the tenants upstairs. Our landlord is a slumlord and doesn't fix things in a timely manner or keeps up the property so that is also a major incentive to move!

I think like most major cities, Chicagoans pay more for location and convenience and I was really suprised that we found such a "deal" on the house in the area it's in. It doesn't need a whole lot of rehab work either-just a few projects. I grew up in a small town of 7,000 people so I'll definately take my over-priced house in Chicago versus the small town or suburban setting!

After 2 years in Austin, my boyfriend and I moved to Morristown, NJ for a too-good-to-pass up job offer. We thought the proximity to NY would help us deal with NJ. The truth is we are so ready to head back to Austin! We really miss the laid back lifestyle and the awesome weather. Rent and cost of living in the tri-state area can be absurd. We need some help with reasonably priced apartments or homes for rent in the central austin area. Any advice would be much appreciated!

Boston is the 2nd most expensive city in the US and for a few years has won the awful national distinction of highest average cost for home. I live in cambridge where the avg. cost is almost $960K for a single family home. 7 yrs ago we paid $300K for a slightly less-than-700 sq. ft. condo. We were offered a chance to buy a parking space at 20K and we jumped at it. The price has since more than doubled for the lot. The good news is that prices haven't dropped as much in cambridge as in other parts of massachusetts (even boston & surrounding areas) and the nation overall. For my family/friends who live in various parts of the country, the cost of living in cambridge/boston is a running joke. For the same price I'd be living like a prince elsewhere with at least double the square footage & a big honking yard to boot. The only people we know who pay more than us are NYers & those who dwell in Hawaii (our condo would go for $1M in honolulu!) but I'm thinking the cost may be worth it.

I bought a 525 sq foot condo in old town Alexandria 2 years ago and felt lucky to get it for 325k. It's in a historic building with 12ft ceilings, fireplace and heart of pine floors. The previous owners put in tons of storage, a wall of bookcases, built-ins and a new kitchen. I put in a new bath.

Now I am in the process of buying a larger place (am renting the condo) and its amazing how little 450-500k buys in the metro DC area. For a brief 3-week period there was a ton of houses (townhouses and stand-alones) but those have all been purchased. The hunt continues.

I chose to live close in (ie inside loop 495) to avoid the commute, I have a 6 block walk to the metro/subway and am home enjoying dinner while coworkers are sitting in traffic (it takes several of my coworkers 2 hours each night to drive home). The convenience of the easy commute is totally worth the extra cost of the house/condo!

TiffanyH -- Just call a realtor or an apartment locator (many have offices by UT). It's free for renters -- they get paid by the landlord/owner. Otherwise, it's best to drive around in the area you're interested in since there are plenty of people who just put up signs in the yard.

I live in the Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami. I pay $1,270 for a 666 square foot apartment. The neighborhood is fabulous with restaurants, bars, parks, shopping, etc. We do have a washer and dryer in our unit but most do not. The building also has a fabulous roof top pool.

I'm paying $829 a month right now for a 550 sq foot apartment in midtown Atlanta. When I signed the lease, it was pretty on par with everything else in the area. Of course, now that the economy has going downhill, I've notice many comparable apartments are going for a little bit less.

http://www.joannasteege.blogspot.com/

Portland, OR, just ranked 12th on Forbes' list of most overpriced cities. That has a lot more to do with our high unemployment and low salaries than housing prices, which are way lower than 18th ranked San Francisco.

Tiffany H-- I don't know how central you want to be, but the best-kept apartment secret in Austin is Congress Square Apts. on S. Congress and Riverside. The rent is incredibly reasonable for being right downtown, the apartments (I think there are 1 and 2 bd) are pretty spacious, and the place is really well maintained. I lived there a few years back and still have a friend there. In the 4 or 5 years since I moved, his rent has only gone up about $75. (Which I think is a miracle --in Austinrent usually goes up at least $50 a yr in my experience).

I'm in Chicago also, renting in a 2 flat (about 1700sf) for $1790/mo. 3 BR/3BA, 2 floors, with a nice backyard & laundry in unit. Heat & AC is pricey and we call the upstairs neighbors Stampy & Stompy. But the elementary school is one of the best in the city, which is the reason we moved to the neighborhood to begin with.

We have considered breaking our lease and buying, if the right property came by. The cheapest house in the neighborhood is $385K 3BR/1BA and has never been updated. It's probably $100K cheaper than it would have been last year. The renovated graystone across the street is 4BR/4BA and asking $1.6million. Nope!

jplee - as a fellow NYer, I am suitably impressed. In awe, actually. Great work!

$275,000 would get you a mansion in Michigan--but good luck finding a job! I live in Kalamazoo, MI and recently bought a 1,200 sq ft. house for $90,000. It's in great shape and in a great neighborhood for a first-time homebuyer such as myself.

Apartment living is pretty affordable, too--you can get a two bedroom with most utilities included for about $600.

In Austin, you still get a lot for your money, but if you're like me you have to trade location and charm for affordablity. That's the dilemma I'm in now. Because of the relative lack of history in Austin (and probably many other towns in the sunbelt) there just aren't very many houses/condos built before 1970. My boyfriend and I want to buy in north central austin, where there's cute little mid century bungalows. But we can't afford anything. So we're having to buy 1980s tract housing farther out.

shockthebourgeois, what part of Seattle do you live? Just curious as being near a park, almost sounds like Capitol Hill and Volunteer Park, or Cal Anderson Park.

I happen to live on Capitol Hill myself in a 1960 era 1 bedroom 4 floor walkup in good shape w/ balcony and a view of Queen Anne Hill and a bit of Lake Union and the tops of the downtown highrises over my building's roof. I live right on the edge of the hill's west slopes.

I moved in there about 5.5 years ago and at the time, the rent was 675 a month, now it's 700 a month for 600SqFt, off street parking is separate and all water and garbage included so I only pay the electric (and yes, it's all electric) but has no dishwasher or washer/dryer but laundry facilities are on site.

I know it's way cheap rent and it was low even when I moved in. It's clean, in decent shape and is sizable (600 Sq Ft and has lots of light) and the best part is it's close to shopping and downtown and I walk all over as a result, but the bad thing is, I can't afford the off street parking so have to park on the street and most of the time it's not too bad but after 9PM it can be a bitch to find a spot nearby.

I'm in Vancouver, which has one of the most ridiculous rental and housing markets in Canada. I'm pretty lucky - I'm paying $1200 for a two-bedroom basement suite near the beach that has a number of bells and whistles. When I was looking, I saw a number of smaller suites with fewer perks for the same amount.

A friend of mine just bought a condo on the rougher edge of a good neighbourhood here. Ground floor, 300 square foot studio, which she got for $175,000. That wouldn't have been possible a year ago. It probably would have been $275,000.

And when my parents bought their 1400 square foot house 12 years ago, it was $250,000. A year ago, they probably could have got $750,000 it. Maybe $675,000 now? Housing in this city is insane.

we will be closing soon on a 4 bdrm 1-1/2 bath 2100 sqft tri-level in mount pleasant, wi (35min south of milwaukee) for $175000 with very low property taxes... we got a great deal as the house was on the market for almost a year, but we will be cheeseheads (jk) and it needs some updating- which i'm looking forward too! the area is suburban, is very family oriented, and has decent shopping/restaurants- but its not city living. we wanted to move closer to milwaukee where my husband works but didn't want to too much on property tax and sacrifice indoor and outdoor space.

we are moving from the far northern chicago suburbs (gurnee) where we pay $1100 a month for a small 2 bdrm 800 sq ft house.

its crazy how a move only about 40min (i'm horrible at estimating distance in miles) away makes such a huge difference in price!

Vancouver, Canada, with high costs of living and below standard wages in most industries. I'm a renter, living in a recently reno-d 1 bedroom basement suite, high ceilings, heat and hydro included in the $700 I pay, and it's considered a steal. I'm in the crappier East side, but still very central area of the city with a "vibrant" (lively during the day, a bit sketchy at night) neighborhood. A "fixer upper" home barely blocks away from skid row can sell for a million dollars here. Then again, it's the price you pay for being able to surf and ski in the same day.

i live in on the border of newport beach/costa mesa in CA. i have a 1 bedroom 600 square foot apartment and i pay $1288/month. that includes my dog's "pet rent." utilities run about $50 a month on top of that. wow i need to move...

I live outside of Boston, and feel fortunate to have found a decent size loft for about $325k -- affordable for me, although it's a lot more than I was paying before. Prices here haven't dropped much, as Timmy Jr. said; homes within a half mile of transit seem especially stable.

I travel a lot for work, and pretty much none of my job requires me to physically be in Boston. I often wonder whether I'd be happier in a cheaper city with more money to spend on things other than housing. But at the end of the day, I love it here. If only we could do something about the weather...

i live in on the border of newport beach/costa mesa in CA. i have a 1 bedroom 600 square foot apartment and i pay $1288/month. that includes my dog's "pet rent." (they'll do anything to get some extra money out of you.) utilities run about $50 a month. wow i need to move...

Santa Monica
- 2 small bedrooms, 1 small bath
- Wood floors, original 40's tile kitchen and bath
- About 700 square feet
- Street parking

$1750/ month

i moved back home to chicago after three years in DC specifically because i was priced out of the urban real estate market there. chicago, while still comparatively expensive, offered a far greater range of condos at a much wider variety of price points.

in my price range ($200-$250K), i saw everything from lincoln park studios, to tiny wrigley 1BRs, to quite a few rehabbers-dreams in the heart of wicker park. eventually i compromised nothing and bought--sight unseen--a spacious 1BR vintage charmer in ukrainian village, with a huge deck and big green yard to boot.

couldn't. be. happier.

I'm in Louisville KY, $525 rental, water, trash, and the cat included. Second story renovated house with central air and heat. 1.5 bedroom (that's how it was advertised, the .5 is really a tiny room with a closet that I use as an office), 1 bath, a patio, w/d hook ups. I think it was advertised as 545 sqft but I have no idea if that's correct (it feels smaller). I probably could have found a better deal downtown, but I love this neighborhood.
my friends just bought a 17000sqft house for a little under $140,000. My mother lives in a slightly nicer neighborhood is about 13,000sqft for just under $190,000.
But it's Kentucky, very car dependent to get around, very rural feel. I don't hate it but I would move (and probably will in a year or two when I'm not scared of the economy starving me to death anymore) for a better job in Chicago or some other larger city.

I live in Honolulu, where housing prices are out of control compared to average salaries. I pay $1300/mo for a ca. 450 sq ft studio apartment with a kitchenette. That's right--a fridge with no freezer that fits under the counter and no stove, just a crappy hot plate. There are tons of illegal rentals like mine. People paid too much for homes on the premise they'd rent out a crappy apartment. Rental prices are dropping, though, as people without family here who lose their jobs decamp to the mainland.

I expect housing prices to crash in about 9 months. We're 12-18 months behind the mainland and people are generally in denial about the impending real estate drop.

While we're on the topic of Austin...my husband and I are trying to find a buyer for our fabulous 1 bedroom/1 bath downtown condo that we can't close on because my husband was recently laid off.

We locked in pre-construction pricing in 2007 and the developer would be selling our unit for almost 10% more today, if they were marketing it. They have not cut prices and are continuing to sell, despite the current economy. We're not marking up the price at all, so it's a really good value.

This condo will be available for move in/closing in September or October of this year and it is WONDERFUL. I'm so sad that we won't be able to make it happen...overlooking Lady Bird Lake, downtown, walking distance to Whole Foods and the hike/bike trail, etc.

Email me directly if you want details, pricing info, etc. or if you know of someone who might be interested: beadle.allison@gmail.com.

And yes, I agree wholeheartedly with other comments--Austin is a terrific place to live. I don't ever want to leave.

I'm in the Long Beach area of L.A.... so I paid $365K for a 2 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 story 1100sqft townhouse in what has to be one of the most convenient neigbhourhoods I've ever lived in.

I have a basic condo, one of many in the LA area....nothing special yet.....will be soon

I bough at the peak of the peak Sept in 2005

I love my place....perfect for 1 person w/ room for 2

I have great views outside every window, large rooms (one a bit oversized), and a cute building

I have 3 REALLY CUTE neigbhours who love to work on their cars and drink beer w/ no shirts in the summer

Right outside my door I have a very lively neighbourhood
w/ a frat house and sorority nearby

plus..

Cheap Gass

An Albertsons

2 medical marijuana dispensaries

Best Mexican food EVER

Best Fish and Chips outside of England

A Starbucks

A good sushi place

Awesome Thrift Store and tons of weekend garage sales
plus a great consignment store called Warehouse 133

A good vet for my kitty

And I'm blocks from the beach!!

I love it an would never trade it for anywhere else!

I live at the beach in Santa Barbara; even in this market, the selling price is about $2,000 per square foot. In Bel Air, Malibu or Beverly Hills, I could have way more house than I have here.

The City of Santa Barbara officially classifies anyone making less than $180,000 a year as "low income" (not a joke). The salaries are in no way comparable to the cost of living (studio apartments are in the $1500 a month range in several areas of town). If you don't have a very substantial independent income, don't even dream of living here.

BlackFrancine -- I'm not sure what your budget is, but if you're interested, my mid-century home is going on the market next week for under $150,000. The 3/2 house is 1,273 sq ft with two living areas, a large covered patio and close to the Mueller redevelopment (5 minutes from UT, 10 minutes from downtown Austin).

If you're interested (or know someone who might be), you can email me at palindrome [AT] gmail [DOT] com.

P.S. I think AT needs a real estate forum or something.

I live in NYC and recently took a drastic step to keep life affordable: buying a house in Staten Island, which is one of the city's five boroughs. Was living on the Upper West Side in a tiny apartment for 15 years, but with lowering housing costs and mortgage rates, our monthly bills are basically the same as they were before. We got a 3-bedroom house, small yard, garage, and full basement for less than a 300 sq ft studio apartment would have cost in our old neighborhood. Oh, and the ferry to Manhattan is free.

I live close to Kansas City Missouri, only 45 mins away and pay $249 a month for a HUGE very nicely spread out apartment in the downtown area. Its a two bedroom, two bath, completely furnished. I love it here!

home body - but you have to live in Staten Island!!!! oh! the horror!

@Sydney - where did you find that info about Santa Barbara classifying you as "low income" if you make less than $180,000? That sounds ridiculous. What I found lists "low income" as $37,600 - $70,900 (1 - 8 family members): http://www.hasbarco.org/IncomeLimits.htm

I live in Queens, about a 20 minute subway ride from Manhattan. I pay about $900/month for a large alcove studio which has a really great amount of storage space. I think about moving to Manhattan, but honestly I like living in one of the outer boroughs. I would probably live in Brooklyn before Manhattan. I know the cost of living is insane here, but I honestly could not imagine living anywhere else in the world. New York=home.

interesting to hear about the housing market in vancouver.

i'm a uni student in winnipeg, and our vacancy rate is less than 1% right now. i lucked out after about 4 months of searching last year; my current place is just outside of downtown, decent sized 1-bedroom in a good neighbourhood for $625 with parking spot included. which is a middle of the road price. trying to find a bigger place with roomates to share and cut down on costs, and its basically impossible. anything that comes available gets snapped up in a matter of hours.

I live on the border of Oakland and Berkeley, CA... but technically in Oakland. Because I live 300 ft into Oakland my rent is about $300-500 cheaper than it would be in Berkeley, but I'm still walking distance to the Berkeley Bowl (the BEST grocery co-op in the world) and live on a major bus line that goes to the UC campus and to San Francisco. I pay $1200 a month (including water and garbage) for a duplex with:
- 2 bedrooms
- 1 bath
- remodeled kitchen and bathroom
- a backyard
- 1 off-street parking spot

Plus it's in a pretty decent neighborhood (meaning I don't feel unsafe walking home from the bus stop at night, but I wouldn't leave anything valuable in my car!). And my landlord is a saint!

Sounds like a lot to pay, but all you Bay Area folks know I'm getting a good deal!

Hasbarco,

There have been a few new condo projects under consideration where "low income units" would have to be included. The city decided that "low income" would be $180,000. Doctors and lawyers are competing with grocery store employees for these "low income" ($700,000 prices) condo units.

I don't know where you have been doing your research, but this has been reported widely in several local newspapers/news sources for the last few years.

@btfabt - I'm perfectly happy if no one else in the rest of NYC figures out that Staten Island isn't just a landfill with a bunch of Republicans. It'll help keep the spaces and amenities affordable.

New Orleans - $1150 for small 2/1 in a mid-city area double (aka duplex) that was renovated after Katrina. No backyard, off-street parking for 1, and w/d.

It's a great place, but i cringe everytime I write the check. The housing prices here seem out of whack with the salaries and the fact that they should be trying to bring people back into the city, not drive them away. From what I've seen, my rent is pretty typical for a "safer" (ha that's so relative here) neighborhood.

I live about 20min outside of Toronto in a city called Mississauga. I am currently renting a 650sqft 1 bedroom apartment for $1,235 (inclusive) including underground parking.

I have bought a 1 den penthouse condo (1.5 baths) for $272K for 648sqft plus $7K of upgrades which I am currently paying off. It should be ready June 2010.

I pay a premium to be downtown in my city. I can walk to work in 10min.
---
About 35min the other way, is another city I lived in up until end of 2007. I owned a 600sqft 1bdrm condo (apartment conversion). I bought for $74K sold for $92K. But the 2 hours spent in the car commuting to and from work was worth the premium to live closer to my job.

We're in a top floor apartment just under 1200 sq feet in the western suburbs of Denver, in a walkable "New Urbanism" neighborhood, and we're paying $1600 a month in rent. It seems a bit expensive, especially considering the economy, but from our balcony we have a view of the mountains AND the city, we can walk to several stores, restaurants, a movie theater, grocery stores, parks, and a bus stop with multiple lines.

Our building has a pool, a parking garage, workout room, and more. So, it's nice. I am a little stressed about the $$ we're spending, but being home is lovely.

Wow...the price difference is insane. Greenwood, Indiana here - $569 for a two bed, one bath, washer/dryer hookups that is around 850 sq feet. It's a little lower than normal around here - $600-700 is common for this space for this area.

I live in Austin in a $320k house - built in 1954 in Central Austin. It's 3 bed, 2 bath plus an office and all original 50's tile and hardwood floors. 1650 square feet. It takes me about 15 minutes to get to work downtown and back, and would take about 20 on the bus. I've finally found home after moving every 3 years in my 20's. I love Austin.

Here's a great resource for those considering moving:
http://www.move-to-austin.com

I'm in St. Pete, FL (right outside of Tampa) and just moved from Orlando. The prices seem to be pretty comparable, even though St. Pete has such close access to the beaches and Orlando is land-locked.

In Orlando, I was paying $599 for a 560 sq ft studio in a sketchy complex that didn't include any utilities. That was one of the cheapest rents around.

Here in St. Pete, I'm paying $589 for a 720 sq ft 1-bedroom in a respectable complex and it includes about half of my cable bill. My water, however, is twice what I was paying previously. This apt would have been much more expensive, but the rental occupancies in the entire state are abysmal.

I really miss Orlando. There's not much in my neighborhood. I know I'm spoiled, but there isn't a Starbucks or Target to which I don't have to drive at least 20 minutes on the highway.

Ciddyguy- In case you're checking this post...

I live in the Wallingford neighborhood. I'm definitely paying a premium to live in the ONLY rental on my street- but it's extremely convenient to get to the freeway or walk to shops and coffee... plus the parking is free!

Score for you on your low rent! I'm beginning to think that I've got a great deal going as well (even though my utilities are not included, and have been really overwhelming). I looked around for a few months, but I was really unimpressed with everything I saw. Plus, it's ridiculously hard to find a comparably-sized apartment (mine is about 750 sf) that allows a cat.

@Sydney - can you please post a link to one of your sources that says this? I'm fascinated by this.

I pay too much to live in LA, but I work in show biz, and this is where the work is. $2500 for loft downtown--2800 sq. ft. At least salaries (for what I do) are high here as well. I always think about moving to some small, idyllic town, but I have no idea what I'd do for a living.

@Sydney - I think the $180,000 figure may be for the max PRICE of the low-income housing, not the income limit.

Austin housing prices vary widely. At the highest end -- Pemberton Heights, Old Enfield, Clarksville, Judge's Hill -- you're looking at $450-$500/sq ft minimum, unless it's a teardown or on a tiny lot or outright hideous. Cool areas in Central and South-Central Austin -- Travis Heights, Bouldin Creek, Zilker, Brykerwoods, Rosedale, Hyde Park -- are roughly $250-$350/sq ft, with exceptions like the grand 19th-century Victorian mansions in parts of Hyde Park and Travis Heights. (This being Texas, 19th-century housing is considered ancient. Hell, anything pre-1950 is "old.")

It's virtually impossible to find any decent-sized, renovated house under $300,000 unless you're willing to live north of 2222, south of Ben White, or east of I-35. South Austin (the 78704 part) outside of Travis Heights used to be affordable -- I bought a 2BR bungalow there in 1997 for $125K -- but it's since been "discovered," and prices are now comparable to those north of Lady Bird Lake. My old $125K bungalow was on the market for $300K two years ago and sold almost immediately, never mind that it had an unrenovated kitchen -- '50s black-and-yellow tile still in place -- without a dishwasher and no dining room (just an eat-in nook in the kitchen with room for a table for no more than two).

Rents run the gamut as well. There are bargains to be had in places like the Congress Square apartments someone mentioned earlier -- the Bouldin and Clarksville areas have a number of funky, cool, mid-century apartments -- but you won't find anything under four figures a month in downtown proper, and anything within walking distance of UT will be outrageously priced (even in the mid-'90s I was paying $600/month for a West Campus 1BR that was a complete dump; it's probably double that today).

I'd say the best bargains to be had are in "Far" South Austin (which is basically three minutes away from "cool" South Austin). A friend of mine just bought a '60s-era 3BR house in the neighborhood near S. Congress and St. Elmo for just under $200K. East Austin is a crapshoot; some areas close to downtown are rapidly escalating in price as they get gentrified, but others are still superscary, don't-venture-out-at-night types of places.

I live in a 1920's apartment building, right downtown next to the beautiful legislative building built in 1920, with beautiful gardens, 1 bedroom, top floor, beautiful building, for $526 a month.