Realize Your Dream of Owning a Home by Moving to an Affordable Area
August 12, 2008 by Katelyn Thomas
Filed under real-estate
For many people, the American dream is to own a house. However, with the current housing market being pretty shaky and McMansions being too pricey for quite a few people to truly afford, you may be thinking you can’t possibly realize your dream. Okay, that six bedroom home in Los Angeles may never be in your price range, but you can find an incredibly affordable home in a safe area if you are willing to be flexible about the location. I’m talking win the limbo contest flexible here, folks. Bye, bye, Los Angeles and hello Ohio, Pennsylvania, upstate New York, Eastern shore Maryland and a host of other inexpensive areas.
The other day, I drove to a lovely little city in Western Maryland called Cumberland and spent a day exploring. I found homes in move in condition for under $75,000 and homes that needed a bit of work, but were pretty livable, for under $60,000. It is a really nice area with a lot of outdoor entertainment options (and a possible casino venue nearby if the slots come to Maryland.)
There are jobs for people in the medical industry and there are some blue collar employment options, but it looks like most people keep their jobs at the local colleges and schools forever, so I don’t think people in education would have a very good chance of finding a job in that field. If you have a career with Giant Foods, there is a Martin’s grocery store.
The people I met were very friendly and it seems like a nice place to raise kids, what with three great hiking opportunities within five minutes of the city.
Do you have an area near you that is affordable and safe? I think it would be awesome to help people who are open to relocation find a place that was cheap enough to allow them to fulfill their dream of owning a home without overextending themselves.
Buying a home is difficult for me because I’m picky. It seems like such a permanent endeavor, and I don’t want to settle with something in an area I don’t love.
I’ll probably be in an apartment when I’m 80…
Peggy,
If the area you want to stay in is more important to you than owning a home, there is absolutely nothing wrong with choosing the area over home ownership. In fact, if you live somewhere with sky high property taxes, renting just might be a wiser financial choice.