With the economy still treading water, many of us are looking for ways to cut expenses whereever we can. Usually the biggest single expense we have is our rent or mortgage payment. The only way to reduce that is to move, but where?
Well, each year a number magazines publish their best places to live lists aimed at different demographics and I've taken it upon myself to study these lists. One thing I discovered was that the best places to retire were also among the least expensive yet were still attractive culturally, environmentally and provided an overall high level quality of life.
So if you, like millions of other Americans, are looking for a less expensive place to live, you may want to give these places a look. In this case, they come to you via Smart Money's 2010 List of Best Places to Retire. Just replace the words "retire" with "live on less money" and you're all set.
What makes this particular list more attractive than previous ones is that is avoids most of the places known as retirement havens, such as Sarasota, Florida or Pinehurst, North Carolina. Besides, there are already too many elderly and retired people in those cities. If you're not retired, you want to live around people your own age, but with paying less money to do so. I sifted through the list and pulled out those communities that seemed to attract people of any age.
Thankfully, the Smart Money folks used cost of living as one of its primary criteria without sacrificing quality of life issues. Therefore, they have on their best list a number of mountain and college towns as well as interesting cultural locations.
So here are some of Smart Money's Top Places to Retire, or as we prefer to see it, to live for less money. They are in no particular order because each offers different kinds of attractions.
Prescott, Arizonais about 63 miles southwest of Sedona, and shares Sedona's mild climate, beautiful scenery and numerous recreational options. However, where Sedona has become so popular it attracts more than 400,000 tourists every year, Prescott remains relatively unknown and affordable. Prescott doesn't get the tourists - or the prices. The cost of living is about 10% lower that it is in Sedona. Even though residents in both places pay low state income and local property taxes, there's a vast difference in home prices. A two-bedroom in Sedona has an average list price of $396,064, compared to $210,286 in Prescott. While Sedona is known for its galleries and museums, Prescott is home to hundreds of historical buildings, museums, collections of Southwestern art, pottery and jewelry, and American Western art.
St. Augustine, Floridais on the northeast coast and has miles of Atlantic beaches. The town of 12,700 has a historic downtown, and offers many of the same benefits as the more-popular Gulf Coast retiree community of Sarasota. St. Augustine is great for history buffs with its Colonial Spanish Quarter, Castillo de San Marco, a 17th century fort, and the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum. If you're a shopper, there's St. George Street, a brick-lined pedestrian thoroughfare with restaurants and small shops. For top-flight medical care, drive 45 minutes north to Jacksonville, home of the Mayo Clinic. Unlike Sarasota where a two-bedroom home costs $122,400, a similar house in St. Augustine goes for $76,000.
Chattanooga, Tennesseehas access to nearby universities, plenty of outdoor recreation, and a vibrant arts scene with one of the nation's largest collections of American art. The cost of living is about 11% below the national average. Median home prices are about $50,000 lower than the nearby retiree hotspot of Asheville, North Carolina, and so is the tax bill.
Looking for a university town? Your first choice might be Madison, Wisconsin, but if you're looking to save money, check out Bloomington, Indiana. Home prices in Madison are about $20,000 above the national average, according to Zillow.com. In Bloomington, they're about $80,000 lower. The average list price for a two-bedroom in Bloomington is $125,386 vs. $207,175 in Madison. Taxes are lower, too. According to the Tax Foundation, Wisconsin has the 9th highest overall tax burden (10.2%) in the nation, while Indiana ranks 28th. Add to the attraction, Indiana University, which offers more than 100 non-credit classes through its "Mini University" each year, and its award-winning Jacobs School of Music, which hosts more than 1,000 performances, including seven fully-staged operas every year. Bloomington also has an award-winning hospital and it's about 20 degrees warmer than Madison in the winter.
Like to go hiking and skiing? That's what attracted retirees to Boulder, Colo. But the influx also caused an increased the cost of living. The average home price in Boulder is $433,000. You can get the same amenities about 1,000 miles due west, on the edge of Lake Tahoe, in Carson City, Nev. Carson City is an attractive - and economical - alternative to Boulder. You want mountains like the Rockies? Carson City has the Sierra Nevada and at a small fraction of the price. Meanwhile, average home prices are more than 50% cheaper in Carson City, there's no state income tax and property taxes are half what they are in Boulder.
For golfers, an excellent low cost community is Auburn, North Carolina. Less expensive then the better known town of Pinehurst, which is home to one of best and most prestigious golf courses in the country, Auburn also offers great golfing opportunities. In fact, Golf Digest ranked it the best golf city in America in 2005. Auburn has a quaint downtown and nice weather. But situated in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, the average two-bedroom home in Auburn boasts a list price of $170,288, which is more than $40,000 cheaper than a comparable home in Pinehurst which runs for $211,500. Taxes you pay in Auburn will be 50% lower than those in Pinehurst. There's plenty of art and theater in Auburn along with Auburn University, which is where Tiger Woods practices. Green fees at Pinehurst run about $300, but you can golf at Auburn University for $75.
If you're determined to live in on the beach in California, be prepared to pay more for the privilege. San Luis Obispo isn't the cheapest community but for a coastal California town, it's about as good as you're going to get. A two-bedroom home typically costs around $355,000, which is pricey, but still $180,000 less than what you'd pay 100 miles south in Santa Barbara. Like Santa Barbara, it's got gorgeous weather, 18th century Spanish architecture and a university. It was also one of the first towns to ban smoking, and prohibits drive-through restaurants within its limits. On the other hand, it's also located in the one of the fastest-growing wine regions in the country, which can help take the edge off if you're addicted to Big Macs.
