another accolade for rei in sa…
2008 MSN Real Estate best bargain markets
Why live in an expensive city when there are some great, affordable treasures out there? Here’s MSN Real Estate’s list of the nine best, livable cities where you won’t need to trade the good life for the boring.
If your income doesn’t top six figures, making it in big cities such as New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco can be tough. It can take more than a decade to save up enough money to buy a house; and even then, the size of that mortgage payment might keep you up nights.
But if you’re willing to look beyond these urban hot spots to midsize cities in the middle of the country, there are cheap places to live where the economy is strong, home prices are appreciating and the quality of life is good.
To develop the 2008 MSN Real Estate Most-Livable Bargain Markets list, we asked Bert Sperling of Sperling’s Best Places to evaluate the most affordable housing markets from the 100 largest U.S. metro areas and pinpoint the nine most livable areas: places where unemployment is low, commute times are short and there’s enough interesting entertainment or recreation to keep most people busy. We defined affordability by the ratio of median income to median home price.
Moving to one of these cities could allow you to “sell your two-bedroom bungalow in Southern California … and buy a house on a number of acres and suddenly have a nest egg you’ve never had before,” Sperling says.
The cities chosen for our list have a population of at least 500,000 between the major city and surrounding county. They range in size from Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pa., with a population of 525,380, to one of the nation’s largest metropolises, Dallas-Fort Worth, with a population of 6 million. Three are state capitals, and many have universities or colleges to provide cultural amenities.
Here’s a look at what makes these cities in the middle of America great, and the drawbacks you might find in moving from another area.
For such a big city — eighth-largest in the nation — San Antonio feels remarkably like a town. It has a strong sense of community and plenty of festivals, shopping, theme parks and other entertainment to keep most families happy. The modern city is home to numerous historic neighborhoods and sites including the Alamo, the Spanish Governor’s Palace and the River Walk, which contains shops and outdoor restaurants along the San Antonio River, just below street level downtown.
Thanks to the current demand for oil, the economy here is booming and there is a mix of neighborhoods catering to just about every taste and income level. The Texas Hill Country, which surrounds the city, provides numerous opportunities for outdoor recreation and tourism.
Cons: The city’s biggest drawback can be summed up in one word: heat. Extreme heat and humidity in the summer can make it hard to enjoy the city’s wealth of cultural and recreational amenities. And crime is higher here than in other cities of the same size.
http://realestate.msn.com/buying/article2.aspx?cp-documentid=3863709
