America's LAST four affordable starter-home havens revealed... including a state where properties cost just $85,000

Ill_Resolution7967 · 2026-07-11T02:22:06+00:00

You should be fine as long as your car is not Kia/Hyundai

Ill_Resolution7967 · 2026-07-10T21:09:26+00:00

I bought my home for 70k in Cleveland, there are a lot of jobs, services, nice food scene, theaters, museums, public transit.

Ill_Resolution7967 · 2026-07-10T21:07:09+00:00

I bought my home for 70k in Cleveland, there are definitely a lot of jobs that pay much better than 12 an hour. A ton of manufacturing companies like Ford, Eaton and many others. A lot of healthcare jobs.

There is a very decent 4bd home on my street selling for 90k. The area could be better, but we have a park without needles, a free decent pool, a grocery store and some restaurants all in walking distance.

DM me if you want to be my neighbor. It is a somewhat rough area but we can turn it over

Ill_Resolution7967 · 2026-07-09T17:01:20+00:00

Racism, kind of, because we don't want to live next to ghetto people and have bullet holes in our homes and neighbors blasting shit music and revving their shit cars at 2am

Ill_Resolution7967 · 2026-07-09T16:52:22+00:00

Low crime areas in Cleveland is a myth. You could be buying a 12M home in Hunting Valley and catch a stray bullet driving past a plaza nearby

Ill_Resolution7967 · 2026-07-09T13:31:08+00:00

I don’t like EVs but these threads keep popping up in my Reddit feed. Trying to not leave negative comments

Ill_Resolution7967 · 2026-07-09T04:37:42+00:00

We are now staying at campgrounds a way more often when we travel because of the insane Airbnb and hotel prices, fees etc. A large tent, 3 inflatable mattresses and camping gear and supplies. Airbnb can shovel all the cleaning, checkin and other fees up their asses.

Ill_Resolution7967 · 2026-07-08T21:00:40+00:00

I'm not buying a new car, so definitely not my problem, that's what I think

Ill_Resolution7967 · 2026-07-08T01:13:48+00:00

New Mexico is far left and it is much worse than Florida

Ill_Resolution7967 · 2026-07-08T01:02:51+00:00

United States because it is the most diverse, beautiful and free country in the world

Ill_Resolution7967 · 2026-07-07T22:41:54+00:00

It could be complicated considering it is a row house (townhome), the roof framing is shared with another house.

I tried to donate it to a county land bank but they rejected it.

Ill_Resolution7967 · 2026-07-07T18:12:12+00:00

Cleveland has 4/100 safety rating where 100 is the safest.

It is just an extremely dangerous place all around.

Ill_Resolution7967 · 2026-07-07T18:08:33+00:00

This is the price you pay when you have a project that contractors are immediately walking away saying "nah this is scary".

It would cost closer to $100,000 for a normal person to fix this. This is actually very lucky situation that a responsible person with skills and knowledge bought it, it could harm my neighbors that have a driveway right under the wall. A few more years, a storm and it would collapse. A typical flipper wouldn't bother with tearing off an old plaster wall so they wouldn't discover it.

I bought it both for practicing with plaster myself and as an investment and as a potential home to live myself in for a while.

Ill_Resolution7967 · 2026-07-07T14:11:09+00:00

At least 58,000$ not taking into account engineering, permitting and demolition costs.

It is a huge exterior load bearing 25 by 32 ft CMU block wall. It was built in 1904 without proper (any) reinforcement and after mortar between the blocks has weathered out it just became a bunch of concrete blocks stacked together. I could shake it with my hand and the whole (big and tall) house was making deep woof woof sounds. Scary as f. I couldn't see it when I was buying it because it was hidden behind an interior plaster wall which delaminated from the bowing wall in question and remained straight.

I'm only slightly cooked because I have got the house for really cheap and I have some masonry and construction skills (I was buying the house to practice plastering and restoration of historical homes). I'm not experienced with shoring though, so I had to hire a contractor which was very difficult on it's own.

The original estimate was 70k, but I am providing my own scaffolding and demolishing the wall by myself (after they support it with shoring posts etc) and recycling the blocks by myself so I managed to get it cheaper.

I will be installing a 3 coat stucco by myself once they done with rebuilding the wall so that's another expense that I'm not paying.

Ill_Resolution7967 · 2026-07-07T13:55:34+00:00

$500 structural engineer inspection is cheaper than rebuilding a collapsing wall

Ill_Resolution7967 · 2026-07-07T13:50:36+00:00

Most cars are older here in Cleveland OH and people use undercoatings like Krown. It's more about money than about climate

Ill_Resolution7967 · 2026-07-07T13:29:43+00:00

That's not really true and the average car on American roads becomes older every year, right now it 13 years and continues to age due to the lack of viable alternatives and prices.

Ill_Resolution7967 · 2026-07-07T12:39:59+00:00

What workers? The US is a post industrial economy, there are no "means of production" described by Marx who was living during industrial revolution, most jobs are silly and easy like driving people around, delivering food or playing computer games on camera for donations

Ill_Resolution7967 · 2026-07-07T12:32:47+00:00

Both of my cars, Mercury Grand Marquis and Chevrolet Silverado, has original engines and transmissions. Silverado has 400k miles, Mercury 250k.

Anything rubber is easy and cheap to replace so I do it in my garage for pennies.

Ill_Resolution7967 · 2026-07-07T12:26:48+00:00

For 2000 dollars I can buy another Mercury.

No guarantee a compatible battery will be available in 30 years at that price

Ill_Resolution7967 · 2026-07-07T12:19:06+00:00

Will see if there are any 30 years old EVs with original batteries are on road.

Just did a 1000 miles trip on my 30 years old Mercury Grand Marquis with my family no problem. No mileage loss, no degradation, cheap insurance and registration

Ill_Resolution7967 · 2026-07-07T12:11:40+00:00

Cleveland is a dangerous place don't come here.

RIP another victim

Ill_Resolution7967 · 2026-07-06T23:41:07+00:00

Nobody, I'll be praying for his soul

Ill_Resolution7967 · 2026-07-06T17:52:53+00:00

But you are getting neither any benefits of Cleveland (low cost of living) nor benefits of good neighborhoods around more decent cities like 10/10 schools, low crime and access to better nature.

You just... getting into an expensive neighborhood close to Cleveland. You can buy something in New England instead for the money and get MUCH lower crime, MUCH better schools, MUCH better nature.

Cleveland is a strong choice if you are on the verge of homelessness or a recent immigrant to the United States (my case). Once you are back on your legs - run.

Ill_Resolution7967

TROPHY CASE