Really cost of housing alone doesn't tell the full story without considering the jobs/income sources in the area.
I have noticed an irony that if housing in an area is really cheap you probably won't be able to afford to live there unless you are already a retiree who doesn't care about long emergency response time - because the highest paying job in the area is say a resturant manager at the local diner.
Before the pandemic economic growth was very urban concentrated - remote working normalizing might reverse the trend but there are still some service and infastructure demand constraints - chances are they need reliable high speed internet.
Can you name some? I would gladly leave my HoL city for a cheaper one with great job opportunities in technology (not necessarily at a tech company) and cheap housing. The only city that seems to have all those things is Minneapolis. Even Atlanta is fairly expensive at this point.
I work at Aberdeen, MD making 141k. I got an offer once for 155k from a nearby military base not long ago. I've seen houses nearby for 180k. Pretty easy to save here if you're ok with Gov beurocrac. Easy to get a new job, too.
I have noticed an irony that if housing in an area is really cheap you probably won't be able to afford to live there unless you are already a retiree who doesn't care about long emergency response time - because the highest paying job in the area is say a resturant manager at the local diner.
Before the pandemic economic growth was very urban concentrated - remote working normalizing might reverse the trend but there are still some service and infastructure demand constraints - chances are they need reliable high speed internet.