Top 10 Bargain Places to Retire

It used to be that the cheapest places to live in the USA were in the interior of the country and in the southeast. If you just got away from the coasts, prices went down and it was easy to buy a lot of home for relatively little money.

While that is still true – the median home price in Oklahoma City was $135,500 in 2010’s 3rd quarter (National Association of Realtors) – now there are bargains in south Florida and Nevada as well (Cape Coral/Ft. Myers was $100,000, Las Vegas was $138,100 in the same period). Forbes Magazine just came out with their list of the “Best Places for Bargain Retirement Homes“, based on taxes, price of real estate, and stable home prices. The prices in these bargain communities show up very well vs. the median prices in more expensive markets like San Jose ($628,000) or the New York & Whiteplains Metro ($440,000). Here are the top 10 bargain retirement towns from Forbes:

1. Oklahoma City, OK
2. Memphis, TN
3. Raleigh, NC
4. Charlotte, NC
5. Indianapolis, IN

6. Kansas City, MO
7. Tucson, AZ
8. Atlanta, GA
9. Phoenix, AZ
10. Colorado Springs, CO

Frankly we were a little surprised that no place in South Florida made the list. Yes, the markets there have been beaten up with foreclosures and there have been huge price nosedives. But many places in Florida (and Las Vegas for that matter) are more of a bargain than the (more stable) towns on this list. Not to mention that their winter climates are quite a bit nicer than in Kansas City or Indianapolis. Bargains are one thing, but choosing a nice place to retire might be more important.

For further reference:
How to Find an Affordable Retirement
Topretirements List of 20 Most Affordable Places to Retire

What do you think?
Please share your opinions about bargain places to retire in the Comments section below.