Cheapest nice rural place to live in the US ?

[cbloom]

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check out tennessee - no state income tax!

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Not a big issue since my income will be around $0. Low cost of living and low property tax is more important.

[MikeNaked]

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OP,

Seriously, if you don't mind rain, just head north on I5. When you see the "Welcome to Oregon" sign keep going for a 2-3 hours and then start looking for a place to live. It's rural, cheap, and while not liberal by any means (unless you're in Portland, Eugene, Salem or to a lesser extent Corvallis) it won't be as bad as other rural parts of the country.

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Anywhere west of the cascades in south Oregon is beautiful and it really doesn't rain all that much down there.

[Drew16]

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The stories I've heard of Louisville make it sound like there's a good deal of kill-whitey sentiment there. True or untrue?

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Completely untrue. Who the hell has been telling you these stories? [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

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A guy I know who used to be the assistant general manager of a big hotel there. He told me all kinds of tales about the the racism of the place, and how the blacks there were virtually untouchable because they were constantly filing lawsuits, etc. But the story most short and sweet about all that stuff that I can tell is that he said he walked onto the property on his first day at the job and some black lady who worked there sneered at him as he was walking through the lobby and barked out, "I'll be here longer than you will, cracka!" All he could come up with was, "Whhaaat?" And so she gave him a nasty stare and repeated what she just said word for word while staring him down. He hadn't been in the doors for more than half a minute by that time. The lady had no fear whatsoever of losing her job even for overt, aggressive racism, against her managers, yet!

He had more stories, including some higher level political ones he was involved in, but that's the one I can tell.

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If this story is true I would certainly say its rare. I worked for a bank for a while WAY in the west end (26th & Broadway for those of you familiar with the area) which is very much the black section of louisville. I was the only white employee and there was rarely a white customer in there. I never had a person make any negative comments about me being white. There were certainly some angry people and it was a rough crowd but no "kill-whitey" stuff.

There are a couple of well know black activists in the area who manage to get on TV almost everyday complaining about things, usually the police officers, but nothing most larger cities dont have.

I grew up just outside of louisville and moved to louisville after college. I work downtown in the city and always feel safe. Cost of living is fairly cheap, there is alot to do, and the city is not far from many other big cities.

[Quanah Parker]

I'd like to toss Hiawassee, Georgia into the mix.
I'm a fan of northern New Mexico and the Ozarks, too.

I'm sure you realise there's tons of rural in the US, but you've set forth some hard to match criteria. You realise the entire southeast, Apps and all, have tons of humidity? You realise most rural areas have plenty of Republicians? Getting out in the country doesn't automatically mean you'll be left alone. Fewer folks mean strangers attract more attention at the store, etc., and with less going on, any stranger is reason for excitement and the locals will notice you. But maybe you mean rural, as in, 10 or 20 acre plots where lots of folks have space, and vacation homes? Hiawassee fits that description with lots of folks from Atlanta buying vacation homes there. Awesome lake(s) and maybe 10-20 miles from the Appalachian Trail and National Forests.

[Fast Food Knight]

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bloom - there is significant variation between different parts of the appalachians. north carolina (my home state, go heels!) is really wonderful and has some cool towns/cities. however it is getting developed pretty rapidly so the desirable parts will not be as cheap as they once were. you could still get some good land out in western NC near asheville. it's got fairly mild winters but it's not california by any stretch.

rural georgia is similar in climate - parts are a little warmer but not much - i am less familiar with its towns and cities but it is definitely less expensive.

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NT!, where in NC are you from? 'Chair and Aekdbet are both from there too.

[DrewDevil]

Kerrville, TX is a wonderful little town in the Hill County right beside the Guadalupe. I have no idea how cheap it is, though.

[tboss888]

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why do so many people believe that the south is just like those dumb horror movies they watched on TBS as a kid?

People in the south are friendly, as a general rule. This applies whether or not you are Republican or Democrat, christian or athiest, black or white.

Like anywhere you go, if you start harassing people about thier religion, or other beliefs, you are not going to be treated politely, as you were not polite in the first place.

You aren't going to get ass-raped because you like Hillary Clinton, or support gay marriage.

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Small towns anywhere can be small-minded, and in places where religion is big, can be furiously intrusive and small-minded. The "bible belt" naturally brings that to mind.

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This is true, I find it funny that people think only the south is full of bigots and hard core Christians. If someone drops you off in a small town in southern Alabama, upstate NY or western Cali, the people generally have the same values. If you look at election results by state you will find that it a vast sea of red with dense blue dots scattered throughout the country. As far as religious people being intrusive, the worst place I've experienced was southern California with all the Mormons on mission from Utah knocking on my door to convert the heathens.

[aheravi]

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bloom - there is significant variation between different parts of the appalachians. north carolina (my home state, go heels!) is really wonderful and has some cool towns/cities. however it is getting developed pretty rapidly so the desirable parts will not be as cheap as they once were. you could still get some good land out in western NC near asheville. it's got fairly mild winters but it's not california by any stretch.

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Will echo this sentiment. Grew up in the northern mountains of NC (away from the cool Asheville part) and the amount of people snapping up land for primary/secondary residences has skyrocketed.

DrewDevil had asked about Winston-Salem a few months ago--about 40 miles from the mountains, it's a city but still feels small. Close to civilization and not far from "getting away." Rest of my family is there while I'm in Maryland.

[dug]

NE Georgia. Don't know about the "cheapest" in the U.S., but very affordable compared to other parts of the nation. Great golf, weather, best people on earth, easy drive to Atlanta, NC, SC. I'm a real estate appraiser/investor, we have people from all over the U.S. moving here every week.

[Trouthunter]

I agree with SW Oregon. SW Washington is also pretty nice if you like the outdoors. Not so nice if you like live poker (they aren't going to prosecute anyone for online). The South Bend/Willapa area is great. Close to the Ocean, great rivers and lakes for fishing, lots of trails and woods for hiking and biking. Not too far from Portland if you decide you want to go to the city, and Washington is pretty solidly blue, although like everywhere else, when you get out in the country, it gets more conservative. The weather is pretty moderate. Warm in the summer, cold in the winter, but not too bad. It doesn't rain as much as people seem to think.