Reply to Fairly safe metro areas that are still affordable

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I’m a single mom whose kids have recently graduated from college and live on their own. I’ve never owned a home because I’ve never had the money before. I can’t afford to buy in this area and am looking for cities that still might have affordable single family homes. I’m fine if the homes are smaller and older. I’d love to be close to nature (maybe lakes, etc) because I have a dog who loves long walks. I would like to be able to walk to a coffee shop or library also. Budget is no more than $300k. I’m a teacher so I could go anywhere. Thanks for any suggestions. [/quote]

Detroit, MI middle class and affluent suburbs.  Teaching market is supposedly pretty good.

There are a lot of small lakes, some artificial.  Many parks and recreation areas.

The areas with cute, walkable downtowns are more expensive.  I am not familiar with the real estate markets at the low end because I haven't been in market for a long time and people mostly talk about extravagant purchases.  But here are some areas to look at:

Near to Kensington Metro Park and Mayberry State Park

Northville - cute town, great schools, perhaps too pricy

Novi - more suburban

Plymouth - cute town, big school district, not sure of low end house prices

Outskirts of Ann Arbor, MI

Ypsilanti (there is a college here, EMU, and it's considered to be a gritty, funky place)
Dexter
Chelsea

Southern Oakland County

Royal Oak - pocket parks, old Bethesda vibe
Ferndale - LGBTQ-friendly, more urban, neighborly

There are a lot of "lake" areas to poke around.

Orchard Lake, White Lake

When moving to Michigan, investigate the impact of taxes (pension income, real estate taxes) if you're looking for a retirement home.

I'd also recommend looking into Pittsburgh.  Pittsburgh has affordable houses but worse real estate taxes.  Fewer lakes but creeks and rivers and woods. There are Pittsburgh expats and Pittsburgh-curious people on DCUM who could provide more help if you do a specific post.

Another consideration.  If you are shopping on a budget, decide up front if you want a fixer-upper that you can someday flip (and that gives you home projects) or you want a move-in ready house.  You might do well by investing in a home for flipping in an improving neighborhood.  If that interests you. I feel that elementary school teachers are pretty open to this idea.

And a final consideration.  You may want to live near your adult children.  Childcare is very expensive now.  If you had interest in being a grandparent caretaker, that would be a big financial help to your kids.  I know grandparents who do this (and surprisingly it has been the richest ones).  It's a wonderful peace of mind for the kids who are lucky to have family care.  I didn't ask my parents for this kind of help for a variety of reasons.  My sister truly needed emergency help from time-to-time.  I'm just suggesting this as another factor in your decision-making.  Infant and toddler care for me were about as much as renting a whole separate apartment per month.  And I had a friend with a nanny that cost half of one parent's salary before tax.[/quote]

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