Can you recommend nice small towns with cheap rent?

[jmbar2]

I'm in a high rent area and it's killing me. I need someplace I can lead a frugal, no frills life on a fairly low social security payment. I'm thinking like $500/mo rent.

What say ye DUers? Can you recommend hidden gems?

[pandr32]

1. Is there such a place?

In the early 70s we tackled the problem by renting homes and living together as a group. We also pooled our money for food. Most of those houses are holiday rentals now and many are owned by people not even living in the country.

[waterwatcher123]

2. Maybe check out Macomb, Illinois

We visited when our son was looking at graduate school (Western Illinois University located here). The housing prices were quite low at that time and rents were priced similarly. It has a neat looking downtown that is reminiscent of many small towns in the Midwest (about an hour by train from Chicago).

[jmbar2]

6. Cedar Rapids has nice-looking affordable housing

Don't know anything about the area except that it gets cold in winter. Gonna do some more digging. Thanks.

[ALBliberal]

3. Check out Silver City NM or the small towns in

SW New Mexico

[marybourg]

7. Second this. For an interesting very small, very charming town

(don’t know about rents, though) look at Beatty NV.

[marble falls]

4. In the US? Rent is cheap in small towns where there are no jobs and the downtows are empty storefronts ...

... I've lived in small towns in Iowa, Nebraska, and Texas. Always and hour or more from at least small cities and this is my observation.

I'm an hour and a half on 65-70 mph roads from Austin and the rents are over $1,500 a month for even a tiny apartment. Between the county seat and Marble Falls, there's about 15,000 folks. There may be 25,000 in the county.

I bought my house in Pender, NE for $17,000, when we moved I rented it out for $450/month. It sat unrented at least a quarter/third of the time - Two bedroom, laundry, new stove, garage, central A/C, newly painted, insulated with new vinyl siding, nice year and landscaping, a nice little veg garden. We had a grocery I understand has closed since.

I looked at an overhead of the town and there have a been a lot of houses torn down in the last twenty years and only a few houses - almost all huge 3,000sq footers - built. population right around a 1000 in town (county seat) and and about 1,700 in the county and it's fallen since by about 25%.

In Iowa we lived in a nice house the heated very cheaply with wood fire, about 40/45 miles from Cedar Rapids, about 30 miles from Marion, where my family owned a steel window and door manufacturery, rent was $650 in the 90s. Population 350.

There are places in eastern Oregon maybe, but a lot of militia types out that way. We started looking to leave Texas, and went to Oregon just before prices went though the roof. If we had only acted when we were there, we'd have made out. Six months later when we went back it was toooo late.

[jmbar2]

8. I graduated from UT - twice, about 30 years apart.

Loved Marble Falls and that area. Went to HS in Houston. I was very glad to leave the Texas heat and politics. Plus very little social safety net.

I love Oregon but getting discouraged looking for my forever, old lady, low income retirement abode. I was substitute teaching to help pay rent, but DOE attacks has caused those gigs to dry up precipitously. Scrambling to downsize.

I am also open to overseas. Looking at Mexico, Panama so far.

[exboyfil]

5. Problem could be these small towns

will have, in general, inferior medical services. You would also be surprised about the cost to rent. Those renting to you face the same issues you would face if you owned. My grandma lived in a limited income apartment in Ocala for years. I personally thought it was great living, but I don't know the current situation (especially if you aren't a Florida resident already). I used to live a town of 2,300 in Iowa, and I will tell it wasn't cheap (this was 30 years ago).