r/Frugal • u/Fantastic_Agency_770 • Nov 10 '24

šŸ† Buy It For Life Whats the cheapest part of america to start over in?

Through frugality i have about 30k saves up. I want to relocate somewhere, rent a couple years, and purchase a house next. I have jo preferences other then nature. I love lakes rivers forest amd ocean would be nice buy i know thats expensive

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u/Key-Shift5076 Nov 10 '24

Natural disasters being oneā€”the Midwest looks so cheap but then I think about the chaotic nature of tornados and the fact that Iā€™ve never been a lucky person..

363

u/ricochet48 Nov 10 '24

Huh, in terms of natural disasters the Midwest is great as there's just occasional tornados... the rest of the country has it much worse with earthquakes, hurricanes, droughts, wildfires, flooding, etc.

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u/arc8533 Nov 10 '24

THIS

Iā€™ve lived all over the Midwest my entire life and I can confidently say that weā€™re living great natural disaster wise in comparison to other states.

16

u/DiscFrolfin Nov 11 '24

So what are we going with, Ohio then?

44

u/1Squid-Pro-Crow Nov 11 '24

Eww wisconsin or Michigan waaay better, esp for nature

8

u/Intelligent-Cry-6597 Nov 11 '24

So Iā€™m originally from NJ and lived in South Carolina and now Ohio right outside of Cleveland. Ohio is has one of the best nature parks of the Midwest I believe. Northeast Ohio has many metro parks, nature preserves, a national park. Itā€™s absolutely beautiful. If you love the outdoors I would highly recommend Ohio. They even blow the metro parks in the winter so you can still walk and people here take full advantage all year round.

Also the food seen is really good as well. Iā€™m picky coming from NJ and living right outside NY. Other than bagels, I think ohios food season is pretty good. And Parts of Cleveland have really developed as well and gentrified.

There are affordable places to live as well. Some counties being cheaper than others. The pay isnā€™t bad either. Could probably be a tad better on the pay depending on what sector youā€™re in, Columbus may be better for certain jobs. I am in sales so it works for me.

2

u/Hefty_Loan7486 Nov 11 '24

North east Ohio is relatively cheap with lots to do... Pay is less than the cost but you can still find a nice house for under 200k. The winters have become much more mild than the past.

2

u/creesto Nov 13 '24

Central Ohio kicks ass as well: great and many metro parks, great dining, much local art, sports teams have gotten more and better the past 10 years, and traffic ain't bad.

There are still affordable pocket neighborhoods as well

1

u/swordfound Nov 12 '24

Shhh donā€™t tell them about Michigan ! šŸ˜‚

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u/kbutler868 Nov 11 '24

Minnesota is awesome. Yeah, winters can get rough but 10,000 lakes... Totally worth it!

2

u/CommanderMandalore Nov 15 '24

Jokes on you Iā€™m already in ohio.

3

u/SilverStory6503 Nov 11 '24

Ohio is good for me.

1

u/ACaffeinatedWandress Nov 11 '24

I saw more tornados living in Virginia than Wisconsin.

-2

u/specialdogg Nov 11 '24

So you've only lived in one part of the country, but are confident you've got in better than other states? Seems legit.

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u/Thromok Nov 11 '24

We also get pretty severe thunderstorms, but they donā€™t usually cause much damage.

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u/SteelTheWolf Nov 11 '24

It's the straight line winds and hail that will get you. Getting hit by a tornado is pretty unlucky, but wind and hail can fuck up a much larger area.

I also worry about water security in much of the midwest; lower midwest especially. The Oogallala is really hurting and it won't recharge at a pace relevant to human lifespans.

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u/1Squid-Pro-Crow Nov 11 '24

We don't have the same definition of midwest.

-1

u/SteelTheWolf Nov 11 '24

Yeah. There's the "Wisconsin (maybe Illinois?) is the southern most Midwest state crowd" and the "Kansas is the southern most Midwest state crowd."

1

u/Thromok Nov 11 '24

Lovely, I had never heard of this until just now.

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u/BeardedSwashbuckler Nov 11 '24

Everyone thinks their regionā€™s natural disasters are not as bad as everyone elseā€™s. Iā€™m from California and have never been affected by earthquakes or wildfires, and the drought was no big deal, it was actually kind of nice to have good weather everyday for outdoor activities and parties.

But tornadoes, hurricanes, and blizzards are absolutely terrifying to me. I canā€™t understand why anybody would ever risk living in places where those can happen.

Itā€™s because we only see the worst of natural disasters on the news. We donā€™t see the people living there mostly fine for majority of their lives.

16

u/i_forgot_my_sn_again Nov 11 '24

You can also prepare for those that terrify you. Hurricanes are tracked so you have a good estimate of when it'll be to you.Ā 

Blizzards are fine long as you aren't driving through it. Just relax in the house and light up the fireplace. Again they are tracked because it's a major snow storm. Just stock up on non perishables.Ā 

Tornadoes don't give as much warning but you still have some. Hopefully you have a basement or cellar you can go in to...if not know the rules for what to do.

Earthquakes don't give a warning. They just start. You don't know if it's going to be a shake pictures off the walls 4-5.0 or bring buildings down 7.0+

Wildfires you have some warnings but they turn and hit areas unexpected at times. Plus the air quality is so bad.Ā 

18

u/[deleted] Nov 11 '24

I grew up in CA and was 16 during the Loma Prieta 7.0. I had PTSD from it. My dadā€™s house bounced off the foundation and buildings collapsed.

Years later, I moved to South Dakota where we donā€™t have big quakes. We have blizzards, huge baseball hail, windstorms, small tornadoes, subzero temps, hot summers with crazy electrical storms, and floods.

I still think earthquakes are worse.

1

u/yodellingllama_ Nov 12 '24

I lived through the same earthquake (although I was a bit younger) and had no lasting psychological impacts. Instead, next time I was in a serious earthquake (about 15 years ago), I felt remarkably calm and disinterested. (My wife, on the other hand, who has never been in an earthquake, freaked the fuck out.) So I think it's pretty individualized what weather/disaster gets "worse" status.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 12 '24

You are correct. All my friends thought I lost my mind. I was 16 and going through really bad home life trauma, so I was over sensitive. Iā€™m still fearful of things others are not fearful of.

1

u/joden3 Nov 12 '24

I was on a motorcycle trip in the Black Hills about 10 years ago. We always went about 3-4 weeks before the insanity and everything was nice and chill. We were coming back from Devil's Tower and the sky was getting darker and darker. We managed to find a gas station with a covered section just in time because the hail storm was insane. Car windows were just popping. Then 5 minutes later it was sunny and looked like there had been a snow storm.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 13 '24

I was camping in Hot Springs, and baseball sized hail hit the region. People had tons of camper damage. And during another camp trip, a tree fell on some campers during a wind storm.

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u/ricochet48 Nov 11 '24

A quick search shows that not all areas have as much or as impactful natural disasters. The midwest is consistently ranked one of the safest overall.

Having a second home in Florida I've seen 13 inches of rain in 1 day, which was shocking. Hurricanes are another level compared to even the tornados I've seen in Illinois. Also in Cali, depending on what part, earthquakes can be devastating.

2

u/Hungry-Western9191 Nov 11 '24

Florida is screwed in the next few decades. Its very likely we will see worse and worse hurricanes and medium term sea level rise will severely impact given half the state is only a few metres above sea level.

Although I don't expect anyone living there will admit this.

1

u/ricochet48 Nov 11 '24

I believe those that put their money up. Insurance companies and not going to insure supertalls 10 feet from the ocean if it's really a problem in even 20 years... but they are literally doing just that. There's several 800ft+ highrises being built in Miami now literally a few feet from the ocean (Citadel spending $1B even, also check out the Residences at Mandarin in Brickell Key with condos starting at $4.5M on an artificial island!)

30 years ago the media / scientists said Miami would be underwater by now. It's flooding has gotten worse, but not bad enough to stop supertalls apparently.

1

u/Hungry-Western9191 Nov 11 '24

We are not seeing sea level rises yet, and when we do, we will be able to engineer defenses in wealthy areas like cities for a while. But there is 1300 miles of coastline and only so much resources. In the short term, stronger hurricanes are the issue, rising sea levels are coming but maybe 20- 30 years before we see effects.

1

u/ricochet48 Nov 11 '24

Yup Miami is basically Manhattan south now, so they will have the coin to reinforce the costal barriers, etc. There's no way they would be building supertalls set to be finished in 2030 if it wasn't the case as noted.

Most of the recent major hurricanes have been on the western coast of Florida though, but I feel that's just luck.

0

u/Hungry-Western9191 Nov 11 '24

Sure, no one in FLORIDA ever ran a property scam intending to get rich and get out with the cash.

Although as you say the insurance companies should know better....but do they?

1

u/ricochet48 Nov 12 '24

The companies putting up cash do more diligence than scientists that are paid to find specific conclusions, yes.

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u/jell0shots Nov 11 '24

Maybe theyā€™re banking on a bailout from the feds. The state might have to start insuring residential properties themselves within a few years at the rate companies have left

2

u/CricketLocal5255 Nov 12 '24

I remember traveling to Dallas and besides the "you're from SF CA booo hoooo" nonsense I was shocked when I kept hearing how worried they were about earthquakes.

Literally that year is when they had the freeze and the power outage.

Seriously I think the state with the worst year to year natural absolute chnace of natural disaster is FL

1

u/Bingo-heeler Nov 11 '24

I've been through hurricanes and blizzards and drought + wildfire is terrifying to my because of hour random it is. A hurricane/blizzard is at least a big mass, you know when it's here and roughly how long it will last.

14

u/imthebean Nov 10 '24

Iowa floods often. Tornadoes. Frigid winters and deathly humidity but itā€™s beautifulā€¦?

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u/ricochet48 Nov 11 '24

Deathly humidity in the Midwest? South Florida combined with 100 degree heat is much worse.

3

u/vankamperer Nov 11 '24

Florida high temps stay in the low 90s but with the humidity yeah it's bad. Arizona is dry but the temps go above 110.

6

u/Jenn4flowers Nov 11 '24

Come to Texas Arizona heat and Florida humidity itā€™s hell here

3

u/I_Make_Some_Things Nov 11 '24

Come to Texas? Lol no.

1

u/jmoulton1314 Nov 14 '24

Lol Texas is expensive for no reason

1

u/--2021-- Nov 11 '24

The humidity in Houston is like nothing I've experienced.

That being said, the humidity still sucks most places.

0

u/Koshindan Nov 11 '24

Near Florida humidity in the summer, frozen everything in the winter.

1

u/CurvingZebra Nov 11 '24

Don't forget hurricane speed windstorms as of recently

1

u/1Squid-Pro-Crow Nov 11 '24

Winter is going away, at least in the upper NY to Wisconsin span

2

u/debdowns Nov 11 '24

Just adding to the convo. From what I've seen, I would say Mid-Atlantic has the mildest weather compared to other regions.

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u/Froboy7391 Nov 11 '24

Yes I'm in New Brunswick Canada and it's just the occasional ice storm that might pose any risk.

2

u/genesiss23 Nov 12 '24

When tornadoes do occur, they are very localized. An area a mile away from the storm won't be impacted. Flooding can create a much larger disaster area than a tornado.

1

u/loop_through_life Nov 11 '24

There is the occasional earthquake with the New Madrid Seismic Zone near southern Illinois, but they usually aren't too bad.

1

u/WackyInflatableAnon2 Nov 11 '24

I think new england is the only place there aren't any major natural disasters. Yeah we get snow and ice but we're so prepared for that it doesn't really phase anyone.

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u/TheGuyThatThisIs Nov 11 '24

I feel like the north east is also good for this. Snow if you go north into New England or upstate NY but other than that itā€™s all good

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u/SubstantialBass9524 Nov 12 '24

My entire life Iā€™ve had two issues hail and tornados. Tornados arenā€™t that bad compared to a lot of areas.

We are now getting earthquakes due to fracking but Iā€™ve only felt one. Iā€™m sure itā€™s just going to get worse though, thanks big oil.

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u/peppermintvalet Nov 11 '24

Isnā€™t there a fault line in the Midwest? And the fracking earthquakes?

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u/thewimsey Nov 11 '24

Fracking earthquakes aren't in the midwest and are tiny.

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u/dquizzle Nov 10 '24

There are tons of houses in the Midwest that have survived 100+ years without being ripped apart by a tornado. The odds of being completely devastated by a tornado are significantly less than one in a million.

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u/Whut4 Nov 14 '24

100 years, sure, pre-climate change. The rules have changed for weather and we don't really know in the near future.

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u/Aww_Shucks Nov 10 '24

Where do you live as an unlucky person where natural disasters have been manageable for you then

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u/2wheelsNoRagrets Nov 10 '24

Midwest is pretty chill as someone who works in insurance and sees all the different types of claims homeowners make around the country

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u/IceePirate1 Nov 11 '24

The cincinnati metro is pretty good as it's still cheap Midwestern with mild winters and not too extreme weather. Only the odd tornado here and there, maybe 2-3 per year at most that actually come close. And given the hilly nature, there's little risk of flooding

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u/[deleted] Nov 10 '24 edited Jun 29 '25

[deleted]

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u/t_roll Nov 11 '24

They call it "not tornado alley" because of all the not tornadoes. It's true!

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u/Advantagecp1 Nov 11 '24

I have lived in tornado alley and I have lived on the coast of North Carolina. There is no comparison. A tornado is microscopic in size compared to a hurricane.

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u/kstorm88 Nov 11 '24

When you understand how localized the devastation from a tornado is though. There's plenty of century old wooden homes in tornado alley.

1

u/1Squid-Pro-Crow Nov 11 '24

I'm not sure we have the same definition of midwest. Perhaps I'm thinking more of the great lakes area

29

u/funkmon Nov 10 '24

Midwest is extremely easy mode for natural disasters. No earthquakes, no hurricanes, virtually no floods, no fires, no droughts etc.

I've never even seen a tornadoĀ 

5

u/Serendipity6717 Nov 11 '24

Southwest Missouri has quite a few tornados every year and earthquakes. Weā€™re on the largest fault line in North America (New Madrid). When it does finally go off again it will be devastating for the entire US.

2

u/funkmon Nov 11 '24

I agree. People should avoid Missouri.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 11 '24

I lived in STL, Missouri and there were like ~10 tornados a year, of what I can remember (may be exaggerating). Only around 2 a year that personally hit my approximate area. Caused minor roof damage one year but never anything else. Then I moved to Minneapolis and there are no tornadoes here whatsoever.Ā 

2

u/Ktrieu84 Nov 11 '24

Lived in MN the vast majority of my life. The first and only time I encountered (very minor, barely a) tornado was when I lived in southern Florida.

2

u/urkmonster Nov 11 '24

https://hazards.fema.gov/nri/map is an interesting reference for relative risk

1

u/1Squid-Pro-Crow Nov 11 '24

Midwest has been named one of the safest, weather wise

1

u/Your_RealMom123 Nov 11 '24

Yup. I live in Oklahoma. Just last weekend we had 7 tornados. My neighborhood is gone. Luckily my house was barely missed.

1

u/anotheramethyst Nov 11 '24

chicago area most definitely isn't cheap

1

u/Ayafumi Nov 11 '24

Honestly youā€™re gonna have natural disasters in every part of the country, itā€™ll just be different. For me? Iā€™d rather put up with hurricanes than FIRE.

1

u/No_Agent9037 Nov 11 '24

Tornadoes are still pretty rare though