For most people, paying for shelter is the greatest expense. These days, affordable housing is a necessity. If you go outside your price range to pay for your rent or mortgage, it can make it more difficult to grow financially. Here are the best resources I know, to help you find an affordable place to live.
Where to look for Affordable Housing
CraigsList can be a good place to start. Click the housing section, and then enter your price range into the rent fields. Tip, it can be good to put a couple dollars into the “minimum rent” field, to help you screen out the advertisements from people who haven’t specified what they’re charging.
United Way has listings for affordable housing in your area. United Way can also help you find programs to help you pay for rent, if you’re in danger of losing your home or becoming homeless. You’ll want to call your local United Way office. 2-1-1 is another great place to call, for information about the affordable housing programs in your city.
EveryAptMapped is a comprehensive, national database of rental housing. It has price information for many apartments across the nation, even those complexes that don’t usually list themselves on the local or online apartment directories. You can often find less expensive apartments at this site. You can also find the lowest and highest priced apartments, in any particular region.
Also, be sure to search Google for “affordable housing”, and add the name of your city. Some cities have online directories that list affordable dwellings in the area. If you’re city has one of these, you will definitely want to use it.
Cities with a lower Cost of Living
If you live in a city with a high cost of living, there may be little or no housing in your price range! If you have little or no ties to your current city, you may consider moving to a cheaper, safer place. A bus ticket to a better place to live can be an excellent investment.
States with good crime statistics, and a low cost of living, include North Dakota, Minnesota (except for Minneapolis St. Paul), Iowa, and Kansas. The difference in price between these places, and places with a higher cost of living, can be dramatic. As of this writing (Jan 2010), you can rent efficiency and one bedroom apartments in Fargo ND, and Wichita KS, for around $250 to $300 a month.
Cost of living map, by state
Cost of Living Map, (click to enlarge)
How to find other low cost Cities
Once you’ve identified a low cost state, using the map above, you can find low cost cities in that state using Sperling’s Best Places. Type in the name of the city that you want to research, and this site will display a large amount of information about it, including cost of living, crime, climate, economy, and more.
A couple other great resources for researching cities include the National Institute of Corrections for crime statistics, and the City Data Forums for city reviews and conversations, from people who live there.
The most affordable housing of all
Well, the most affordable place is probably living with your parents. But all kidding aside, sharing your home with other people can be a very effective way to save on rent.
The lowest cost rental spaces include rv parks, boarding houses, and other types of shared housing. The best roommates you can find, are usually already family. Other roommate arrangements can sometimes be unstable, so it’s best to have separate leases, when possible.
My best wishes to you in your search for a more affordable, happy home.
