aaaaaand how much gas would you have to use to travel to civilization?

I have a ton of friends who live in Des Moines and West Des Moines and have amazing houses for less than $150,000...it's insanely cheap...although there's very little going on there....

imLissy ----you took the words out of my mouth.

A lot of these are small towns outside larger cities. Nicholasville KY is right outside Lexington; Wautaga TX is outside Fort Worth; Redan GA is in the Atlanta metro area.

So the "flyover state" attitude is misplaced. Just because you don't recognize the city name doesn't mean it's in the middle of nowhere.

The problem with this is that people often get paid less in these areas or there are no jobs and people have to travel far for their jobs.

Being from Des Moines (#14) and living in Omaha (#8 - with suburbs Bellevue #10 and Papillion #25)) currently - I can tell you both of these cities (and their suburbs) have a lot to offer, and all within a 20 minute drive. I've lived in bigger cities, but spending my life in a car or on a bus trying to get somewhere is just not my idea of a good time.

Westerville is a suburb of Columbus, OH...in the 25 largest cities in the country, so that wouldn't be far from civilization.

You could not pay me enough to live in these cities.

You could not pay me enough to live in these states.

my husband and i just bought a house in beavercreek, oh (#18) and the area is really nice! it's one of the fastest growing cities in america and is only a short drive to cincinnati. our 5 yr. old 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom, 2 floors + a full basement and 1/4 acre of land cost under $200K. don't say bad things about these towns, i'm sure a lot of them are nice!

Omaha is not that bad of a city. It's got a lot of young families and the industry there is picking up. It's not NYC but it has charm

Ok, Redan, GA is not that great! It's older homes from the 70's with little to no new construction. It's a well populated area and it's not easy to get to any highways. There was some gang activity and women of questionable virtue roaming the streets about 5 years ago but it's all been cleaned up.

I would *not* move there! My parents are trying to sell their home and get out!

Haha, I'm born and raised in California-- one of the most expensive places to live. My homes have been in Los Angeles and Orange County. Now I'm near Palo Alto but can only afford an apartment since I just started working. Le sigh. Eventually I can have a home of my own.

The must be way out in the country too. I can't be out in the middle of nowhere.

what do u do for fun???i hope is not in the middle of nowhere.but wouldn't the cost of living be lest and what about the pay for a job??whould u have to travel far to get to work??cuz i sure don't want to do that cuz gas is inspensive.

Don't knock Missouri before you try it. That's my home state and even if you don't choose to live in Arnold, MO, I can guarantee you that for the price of a very tiny East Coast house, you could buy a mansion. And St. Louis has plenty of job opportunities, though none in my field, which is why I left and am currently living paycheck to paycheck in Jersey.

I agree imLissy!

Hilarious how the east coast is no where near being on these lists I guess.

Still, I love where I live. Couldnt imagine being stranded and land locked.

Mission Bend is mostly marshy, slum-adjacent pseudo-classy tract housing that's at least a 30 minute drive from anything other than a wal-mart anchored strip mall. La Porte puts you just down the street from some of the nation's finest refineries. Spring is about an hour's drive from Houston, traffic willing, and it's a sea of strip malls, shady dog breeders, and gated country clubs.

Looks like I'll be "overpaying" when it comes time to buy some property.

Westerville, OH isn't that bad. It really is minutes from Columbus. Beavercreek is just outside of Dayton, OH.

Also known as the top 10 smallest two-bit towns in America
no offense to people who live there

Uhm, no thanks.