Where are some great LCOL places to live?

[mommyoffive]

We are thinking of moving into a bigger house.  Our family size has gone from 3 to 7 since we moved into our house. 

We would like to move into a forever home.  Or at least the next step one.

 

Our area is either LCOL or mid cost.  I would have to see a chart to make a judgment.

 

We are not restricted on where we could live.  Any state.

 

We live in a nice area, so we would want our life to be at least the same or better.  

 

 

So what are some great LCOL places to live?

[Heatherwith4]

Huntsville, AL (or the surrounding areas)

[Crimson Wife]

My friend who lives in Rochester, MN (home of the Mayo Clinic) keeps trying to convince me to move there. The weather stinks but everything else about it sounds appealing.

[QueenCat]

What kind of things do you care about, besides LCOL? Beaches, mountains, cultural activities, etc?

[Kim in Appalachia]

Knoxville, TN

[mommyoffive]

What kind of things do you care about, besides LCOL? Beaches, mountains, cultural activities, etc?

 

Yes all that

 

We love nature so a place that is pretty.  We want to live on 1 or more acres

 

What we love about where we live now

 

Small town

diverse

we live in a college town

pretty - we are close to state parks

lots of low cost activities for the kids

[redsquirrel]

Yes all that

 

We love nature so a place that is pretty.  We want to live on 1 or more acres

 

What we love about where we live now

 

Small town

diverse

we live in a college town

pretty - we are close to state parks

lots of low cost activities for the kids

 

Upstate NY in a college town with a SUNY.  if you are in upstate, like in the adirondacks then you have, well...the adirondacks, lol.  A SUNY is a state college, so it's not going to be a higher COL that comes with living in college town that has a private school.  I live in a what is considered a desirable town in which to live, and it's a college town with 2 colleges, but they are expensive private schools, so the COL is higher.  I grew up in a small city with a SUNY and the schools were good, the city small but nice and the COL is low. It's the same at a lot of the other SUNY towns.You get the benefits of living in a college town but it's less expensive b/c the school is less expensive.

 

Plus, depending on where you live, you are a close to Canada (Montreal was a day trip for me growing up), and not far from NYC or Boston etc. And going on a trip to the ocean isn't unreasonable. It's not a weekend trip, but it is doable for a vacation.

 

And the Adirondacks are lovely. So nice to hike and ski and there are lakes to swim in.  Lots of it is undeveloped because it's in the state charter that it remain 'ever wild'.

[SamanthaCarter]

Roanoke VA I think is about mid COL. Salem next door is home of Roanoke College - It's a lovely, sleepy college town. Lots of nature, mountains, water, not terribly far from DC (which makes locally grown produce a bit pricey.  :glare: ) Homes with acreage are fairly easy to come by north of I-81. If I was a betting person I would expect Roanoke to grow in the direction of the Daleville area. My DH likes to describe Roanoke as a mini-Pittsburg with more sunlight. 

[teachermom2834]

East TN

[3 ladybugs]

Maybe Portland Maine? We went up there last year and we would move if we could. It was so nice! Compared to here, it was LCOL. But I live in New Jersey. 

[Lady Florida.]

Satellite Beach or St. Augustine in Florida. 

[lllll]

nm

Edited August 16, 2016 by ~ d9n

[Guest]

Ohio is supposedly excellent and there are so many varied areas in the state that can suit almost any taste, but the rent/mortgage to pay ratio is one of the best of any state.

[Kalmia]

Brunswick, Maine (and surrounding smaller towns). Home of Bowdoin College and not far from Popham Beach State Park and Reid State Park. 20 minutes to Portland. Maine is full of natural beauty: woods, mountains, lakes, bogs, beaches, rocky coast. Very wintery from November through the end of March, but if you like skiing or snowmobiling we have that too!

Edited July 12, 2016 by Kalmia

[fairfarmhand]

Clarksville TN

 

Nashville TN

[Carrie12345]

Northeast PA.  The taxes aren't low everywhere, but they're not terrible compared to some.

[Anne in CA]

There are actually many LCOL areas in Northern California. When people do actual comparison of actual living costs, the north state has many areas that are very beautiful with LCOL. People think California is expensive, but it is very diverse.

[Frances]

La Crosse, Wisconsin or across the river in La Crescent, Minnesota if don't mind Midwest weather

Beautiful area in Mississippi River Valley and lots of outdoor recreation opportunities

College town and two major medical centers in fairly small community, so very well educated population

[Crimson Wife]

There are actually many LCOL areas in Northern California. When people do actual comparison of actual living costs, the north state has many areas that are very beautiful with LCOL. People think California is expensive, but it is very diverse.

 

This is true for the area that wants to break away and become "Jefferson".

[TravelingChris]

Huntsville, AL and surrounding area

[Pegasus]

East TN

:iagree: Mountains, parks, hiking, rock climbing, tubing, white water rafting, caves, etc. Four seasons without the extremes of the far north or southwest. 

 

Low cost of living, no state taxes on earned income, lottery based scholarships for college, lottery based funding to defray dual enrollment course costs (not free, but cheaper), and FREE community college for high school graduates.

[Arcadia]

There are actually many LCOL areas in Northern California.

I agree. Nice for retirement but could be a long commute to work depending on where you can find employment.

 

East Garrison is affordable and near the beach. So is Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz. But it is a long commute to hubby's work.

[teachermom2834]

:iagree: Mountains, parks, hiking, rock climbing, tubing, white water rafting, caves, etc. Four seasons without the extremes of the far north or southwest.

 

Low cost of living, no state taxes on earned income, lottery based scholarships for college, lottery based funding to defray dual enrollment course costs (not free, but cheaper), and FREE community college for high school graduates.

My dh has done some job hunting over the last few years and while willing to relocate it has been difficult to leave TN (even though we were raised up north) Low COL, high quality of life. We ended up moving from east TN to SE TN :)

I will admit we feel like fish out of water sometimes culturally but we won't willingly leave. It's a good life!

[redsquirrel]

Brunswick, Maine (and surrounding smaller towns). Home of Bowdoin College and not far from Popham Beach State Park and Reid State Park. 20 minutes to Portland. Maine is full of natural beauty: woods, mountains, lakes, bogs, beaches, rocky coast. Very wintery from November through the end of March, but if you like skiing or snowmobiling we have that too!

 

One of my favorite places in the WORLD!!! 

 

In my dreams, my kids go to Bowdoin, lol.  I think it's the perfect place for both of them....but I am sure Bowdoin has other opinions on the matter.

[mommyoffive]

:iagree: Mountains, parks, hiking, rock climbing, tubing, white water rafting, caves, etc. Four seasons without the extremes of the far north or southwest. 

 

Low cost of living, no state taxes on earned income, lottery based scholarships for college, lottery based funding to defray dual enrollment course costs (not free, but cheaper), and FREE community college for high school graduates.

 

Oh this sounds great.

 

Are there a lot of jobs there?

 

 

TN

Kentucky

North Carolina

South Carolina

 

All sound good to me.  Although I have never been to any of them.

[Pegasus]

Oh this sounds great.

 

Are there a lot of jobs there?

 

 

 

Like everywhere else, it really depends on the type of work being sought. I would caution that most available jobs will be low skill work.  Also, salaries are lower than somewhere with a higher cost of living.  For us, we feel the trade off is well worth it but we've known people who refuse to work here for the salaries being offered.

 

Couple other cautions: public schools (K-12) are not good and we are one of the states that refused to expand Medicare so we still have plenty of folks who can't afford health insurance.

[Anne in CA]

This is true for the area that wants to break away and become "Jefferson".

I am surrounded by The Great State of Jefferson signs, lol.

[displace]

Florida and Texas are relatively low cost. Fl does not have seasons (in general), or mountains, but it does have Disney and relatives tend to love to visit. Similar college benefits as TN ones listed above. Easy homeschooling laws, too.

[rebcoola]

I second Lacrosse, Wisconsin its probably my favorite place we have ever lived.  

[mommyoffive]

I am surprised nobody said anything about N. Carolina or S. Carolina.

 

I feel like they are in the best places to live magazines all the time.

[creekland]

The Blacksburg area of VA

 

The Chattanooga area of TN

 

The Gettysburg area of PA

 

Anywhere in NY that's not within a couple of hours of NYC (Rochester area, Adirondacks area, St Lawrence River area, etc - pick college towns)

 

all come to mind.  I'm sure there are others, but those stand out for gorgeous nature, lower COL, and decent activities around.  Weather varies, of course.

[creekland]

ps  Wherever you think appeals to you, make sure you vacation there first for a week or two (or longer) to see what it's really like.  Go in different seasons if you can.  We've been places we thought looked ideal on paper... 

 

We even moved to FL for 5 years thinking (at the time) that "this is us!"  Like many who go there, it wore off.  We've now been in PA for 20 years with no regrets, but we did a more thorough search when finding this area.  We also rented the first year to be sure we knew where we wanted to buy (and that we wanted to stay).  That was useful too.

[teachermom2834]

Like everywhere else, it really depends on the type of work being sought. I would caution that most available jobs will be low skill work. Also, salaries are lower than somewhere with a higher cost of living. For us, we feel the trade off is well worth it but we've known people who refuse to work here for the salaries being offered.

 

Couple other cautions: public schools (K-12) are not good and we are one of the states that refused to expand Medicare so we still have plenty of folks who can't afford health insurance.

Both Knoxville and Chattanooga make lists for good job opportunities but of course it depends what field you are in. We moved from outside Knoxville to outside Chattanooga recently. Homeschooling is very popular both places.

 

My husband was out of work in Knoxville and we were willing to look anywhere for a job. When we did cost of living comparisons for jobs he applied for we realized it would be very difficult to leave TN. For my dh, salaries were not higher in more expensive locations. We felt lucky he got another job in the region even though it did require a move. The nice thing about the Chattanooga area is that it is 1.5 hours - 2 hours to Atlanta so you have a medium size city to live in with access to a major city.

[luuknam]

Anywhere in NY that's not within a couple of hours of NYC (Rochester area, Adirondacks area, St Lawrence River area, etc - pick college towns)

all come to mind.  I'm sure there are others, but those stand out for gorgeous nature, lower COL, and decent activities around.  Weather varies, of course.

 

Rochester, NY, is not a LCOL area. It's a very average COL area. I'm not going to look up the others, but I looked that one up because Buffalo, NY is a very average COL area, and I assumed Rochester would be about the same. This site shows a graph comparing the place to the national average:

 

http://www.payscale.com/cost-of-living-calculator/New-York-Rochester

 

Sorry, no actual recommendations for LCOL areas.

[creekland]

Rochester, NY, is not a LCOL area. It's a very average COL area. I'm not going to look up the others, but I looked that one up because Buffalo, NY is a very average COL area, and I assumed Rochester would be about the same. This site shows a graph comparing the place to the national average:

 

http://www.payscale.com/cost-of-living-calculator/New-York-Rochester

 

Sorry, no actual recommendations for LCOL areas.

 

I'm not sure that link proves much except that Knoxville/Chattanooga should also be considered and NYC eliminated. ;)

 

Housing is 8% less in Rochester (and likely less outside of Rochester) and housing is a big consideration for most.  Utilities are 6% less and groceries are 3% less - plus they have Wegmans!!!  Only transportation is higher and that will vary depending upon how much one needs/uses.

 

I guess it's all comparison to what one views as HCOL and LCOL.

[ktgrok]

I'm not sure that link proves much except that Knoxville/Chattanooga should also be considered and NYC eliminated. ;)

 

Housing is 8% less in Rochester (and likely less outside of Rochester) and housing is a big consideration for most.  Utilities are 6% less and groceries are 3% less - plus they have Wegmans!!!  Only transportation is higher and that will vary depending upon how much one needs/uses.

 

I guess it's all comparison to what one views as HCOL and LCOL.

 

Yes, but that's to the average. So Rochester would be right at average COL, not low COL. 

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[TABmom]

If you don't mind the cold, SW Michigan is a nice place! (Grand Rapids/Holland/Kalamazoo) Being totally honest, if I had it to do over again, I would not move here- but that is only because of the winter. Aside from that it is a lovely place.

[Chelli]

Northwest Arkansas (Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers area)

 

4 seasons, tons of outdoor things to do (mountains, rivers, lakes, hiking, canoeing, fishing, hunting, etc.) with lots of state parks all around the area, college town with the University of Arkansas right there, museums, etc.

 

It's definitely worth a look.

[teachermom2834]

Yes, but that's to the average. So Rochester would be right at average COL, not low COL.

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Interesting as I am one suggesting SE TN but originally from Buffalo with much extended family in Rochester. I can tell you COL feels much lower here if that makes any sense. I do think housing is not cheaper here but our taxes are so much lower. My family is in a rural area outside Rochester and whenever they post a home for sale I go and look at the taxes and it is just staggering how high they are. And these are for rural homes without city services. There is also the state income tax there. Of course, our sales tax is higher here. Anyways, it sure feels better to me to be spending money on our actual home and not so much the taxes.

[creekland]

Yes, but that's to the average. So Rochester would be right at average COL, not low COL. 

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You're also still looking at the city itself.  If I plug in the 5+bed, 3+bath, 1+acre on realtor.com that the OP asks about in another thread and expand the area to 20 miles around Rochester, NY, I get 103 homes available starting at 125K and only up to 250K at the end of the first page.

 

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/Rochester_NY/beds-5/baths-3/acre-1/radius-20/sby-1

 

If you look at what others say similar places would cost around where they live... I still think that area is a lower COL region.  Prices aren't much different when I plug in Chattanooga, TN with the same criteria.

 

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/Chattanooga_TN/beds-5/baths-3/acre-1/radius-20/sby-1

 

YMMV

Edited July 14, 2016 by creekland

[creekland]

Interesting as I am one suggesting SE TN but originally from Buffalo with much extended family in Rochester. I can tell you COL feels much lower here if that makes any sense. I do think housing is not cheaper here but our taxes are so much lower. My family is in a rural area outside Rochester and whenever they post a home for sale I go and look at the taxes and it is just staggering how high they are. And these are for rural homes without city services. There is also the state income tax there. Of course, our sales tax is higher here. Anyways, it sure feels better to me to be spending money on our actual home and not so much the taxes.

 

Your gas prices are cheaper too.  I suspect TN is lower overall since you don't need as much in snow removal, and winter road repair, etc (a major player in northern taxes).

 

But your AC costs more.  ;)

 

And you don't have a huge lake in your backyard.

 

There are pros and cons to many options - which is why it's good to provide options for the OP.

 

We thought FL would be ideal and changed our mind not long after moving there.  Others might do the same here (in the Gettysburg region).

[ktgrok]

You're also still looking at the city itself.  If I plug in the 5+bed, 3+bath, 1+acre on realtor.com that the OP asks about in another thread and expand the area to 20 miles around Rochester, NY, I get 103 homes available starting at 125K and only up to 250K at the end of the first page.

 

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/Rochester_NY/beds-5/baths-3/acre-1/radius-20/sby-1

 

If you look at what others say similar places would cost around where they live... I still think that area is a lower COL region.  Prices aren't much different when I plug in Chattanooga, TN with the same criteria.

 

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/Chattanooga_TN/beds-5/baths-3/acre-1/radius-20/sby-1

 

YMMV

 

Wow,t hat's a crazy difference!!!! I guess those calculators aren't very accurate! It says Miami and Rochester are about the same, and I can PROMISE you you'd never find a house that size, on land, in Miami for anywhere near that price. You'd be looking at a million dollar home I bet. Crazy. My little 1,400 sq feet, 3 bed 2 bath, house on a small lot is about $200K here in a suburb a bit outside Orlando. And that's with bad school districts, etc.  

[teachermom2834]

Your gas prices are cheaper too. I suspect TN is lower overall since you don't need as much in snow removal, and winter road repair, etc (a major player in northern taxes).

 

But your AC costs more. ;)

 

And you don't have a huge lake in your backyard.

 

There are pros and cons to many options - which is why it's good to provide options for the OP.

 

We thought FL would be ideal and changed our mind not long after moving there. Others might do the same here (in the Gettysburg region).

Agreed. Though I don't have a lake but several friends have property on the water here.

 

I definitely think it is cheaper here but I think that here is cheaper than almost everywhere so if the standard is COL what it is here...then options are extremely limited!

 

When I see house listings of relatives and friends up there I tend to think the housing itself is cheaper before getting into taxes, heating, snow removal , etc. So it does not surprise me at all that housing is affordable there. Much more affordable than many other places for sure.

[Mrs_JWM]

We live in Syracuse near the University and it's lovely. Beautiful neighborhood with large, inexpensive houses that are all about 100 years old. Lots of trees and parks and you're very close to lots of state parks. Active homeschooling community. I grew up here, so I'm biased. 😊

 

☎ Sent from my rotary phone ☎

[Bug's Mom]

I second Lacrosse, Wisconsin its probably my favorite place we have ever lived.  

Here's a look at what's going on in La Crosse.

 

http://www.wxow.com/story/32430360/2016/07/12/new-reality-show-puts-la-crosse-in-the-spotlight?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_WXOW

[Hyacinth]

Upstate NY in a college town with a SUNY.  if you are in upstate, like in the adirondacks then you have, well...the adirondacks, lol.  A SUNY is a state college, so it's not going to be a higher COL that comes with living in college town that has a private school.  I live in a what is considered a desirable town in which to live, and it's a college town with 2 colleges, but they are expensive private schools, so the COL is higher.  I grew up in a small city with a SUNY and the schools were good, the city small but nice and the COL is low. It's the same at a lot of the other SUNY towns.You get the benefits of living in a college town but it's less expensive b/c the school is less expensive.

 

Plus, depending on where you live, you are a close to Canada (Montreal was a day trip for me growing up), and not far from NYC or Boston etc. And going on a trip to the ocean isn't unreasonable. It's not a weekend trip, but it is doable for a vacation.

 

And the Adirondacks are lovely. So nice to hike and ski and there are lakes to swim in.  Lots of it is undeveloped because it's in the state charter that it remain 'ever wild'.

 

But it's New York. So the taxes . . . ugh.

 

[Caclcoca]

Huntsville, AL and surrounding area

I am a third vote for Huntsville, AL and surrounding areas.  

[luuknam]

Housing is 8% less in Rochester (and likely less outside of Rochester) and housing is a big consideration for most. Only transportation is higher and that will vary depending upon how much one needs/uses.

 

If you move outside of Rochester, you'll probably be driving more, and then the transportation cost being 10% above the national average would start to matter more. Regardless, something that's less than 10% above/below the national average would be roughly average, imo. I don't think a place that's 8% above the national average for housing cost is a HCOL area, and likewise, I don't think a place where the housing cost is 8% below the national average is a LCOL area. NYC is a HCOL area, and is 118% above the average (mostly due to housing being a whopping 341% above the average, but each other category is more than 10% above the average too).

 

Wow,t hat's a crazy difference!!!! I guess those calculators aren't very accurate!

 

Most people don't live in 5+ bedroom, 3.5+ bath, 3000+sq ft, houses on 1+ acre lots. In many places, houses like that are hard to find. It would be much more fair to compare a more normal size house on a more normal size lot, or to see what you can get for, say, $120k in both places.