10 Neighborhoods in the U.S. to Know Before All Your Friends Move There

When I was shopping for my home, I had to figure out the budgetary trade-off between space and location. I could either spend more and be closer to the Portland metro area but in a smaller house with little to no outdoor space or greenery, or I could save a bit by moving a 10- to 20-minute drive further outside the city and also get a bigger home and an actual yard. In either situation, I didn’t want to give up the benefits of city life and culture—I just had to decide how easily accessible it would be to me. I decided a nice-sized house and a nice-sized yard with tons of tall trees in a town just bordering the Portland metro area was worth the savings and commute time.

While it seemed like I was the only one making this trade-off at the time, it seems like many of my peers are now picking the more is less option, too. According to Realtor.com’s 2019 Hottest ZIP Codes report, Millennials are flocking to smaller, more affordable neighborhoods outside smaller metro areas like Kansas City, Missouri, and Colorado Springs, Colorado—a shift from the past where homebuyers traditionally stuck to the outskirts of major cities like New York and San Francisco.

“Even though buyers are moving to smaller markets, they are looking to retain an urban lifestyle by living closer to the city center,” Danielle Hale, chief economist for Realtor.com said in a press release. “This tells us that today’s home buyers are trying to have it all—proximity to downtown, room to grow, and affordability—and they’re finding it outside of the biggest cities in the U.S.”

Of the 10 ZIP codes on the list, five are appearing on the list for the first time. Not only are these neighborhoods experiencing a surge of interest, but they’re also pretty affordable—both 32 percent cheaper than their neighboring metro area and the national median home price. Notably, Arlington, Texas—recently named one of our Coolest Suburbs in America for 2019—also makes the list!

1. Grand Rapids, Michigan—49505*, north of downtown Grand Rapids
2. Omaha, Nebraska—68144, 12 miles west of downtown Omaha
3. Boise, Idaho—83704, Boise’s western edge
4. Shawnee, Kansas—66203*, southwest of downtown Kansas City, Missouri
5. Rochester, New York—14609*, southern shore of Lake Ontario
6. Livonia, Michigan—48154, 20 miles west of downtown Detroit
7. Melrose, Massachusetts—02176, 10 miles north of Boston
8. Arlington, Texas—76018*, 19 miles from Fort Worth and 25 miles from Dallas
9. Goffstown, New Hampshire—03045*, west of Manchester, New Hampshire and 1.5 hours north of Boston
10. Colorado Springs, Colorado—80916, 70 miles south of Denver

Note: * = First time on the list

Interested in learning more about these up-and-coming zip codes? Head to Realtor.com for more!

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