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Comment by tdb7893 | Hacker News Reader

I'm paying 1k a month for a 2 bedroom apartment and I can get anywhere in Minneapolis or St. Paul in less than 30 minutes. People don't seem to like the Midwest but apartments here are way cheaper for many cities.

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There are a lot of small towns that are very livable in the US. Most journalists are in big cities, so you don't hear of them written up, except for the occasional "meth town crisis" piece. I have a climber friend who bought some land in Quincy, California. He designed and built his own house, along with a guest house and garden. He and his family live a quiet life of outdoorsy pursuits, rock climbing and backcountry skiing, while enjoying the small town's community theatre and organic food co-op. Cherry trees line the streets, and they taste really good.

What do they do for income?

I have similar friends, he's a software developer.

Carpenter

No, that's ridiculous. We must all be able live affordably in LA, and on a small peninsula in California, and on an island in New York. If we can't all get cheap housing there, there's something deeply troubling about our national economy. And the laws of matter.

The midwest is also experiencing massive housing inflation. I've seen rent go up 40% in four years and housing has risen at the same rate. I just had to downgrade apartments because rent was going to go up another 10% this year.

Any nice house in my city gets bought up in a week. Anything crappy gets bought in a day.

Rent is definitely rising but it depends on where you are. Even in the Twin Cities some places have skyrocketed but if you are willing to not live in the middle of the cities my experience is that it's pretty manageable.

That's the thing, I live in the far suburbs, like 40 minutes or more from downtown. The complex I just moved from was built in the middle of a field. If you drove passed the complex, in less than two miles the road goes to single lane road that hasn't been repaved in easily 20 years.

Here's your "how cheap can you get a house for" thread for the afternoon:

- 1,477 sqft, EST. MORTGAGE $147/mo https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/408-S-Logan-Ave-Terry-MT-...

- 2,084 sqft, EST. MORTGAGE $77/mo https://zillow.com/homedetails/118-7th-St-NE-Wessington-Spri...

- 1,200 sqft, EST. MORTGAGE $89/mo https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/616-S-12th-St-Tekamah-NE-...

I'm paying 1.5k a month for a 4 bedroom/3 bathroom home on a quarter acre in Portland Oregon. Though that is mortgage/taxes/insurance and not rent. But, you don't have to go to the Midwest to find affordable housing.

Your last sentence may contain its own answer.

The Midwest can be rough sometimes. I've met someone who spent once winter in Minnesota and then immediately moved back to California.

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