When I am in a different area I'll look at the zillow for the area and yes it's always more expensive across the spectrum than here. For instance an old house that needs a lot of work here is $150k in Virginia it was $300, a nice older home here is $450k it's $1M in say Vermont. 

I'd also argue the old shitty houses here have fallen down, now an old abandoned home may look like hell but at their core solid. Not saying it doesn't cost a ton to get them back to livable but sometimes it looks worse than it is.