The 10 Cheapest Places for Millennials to Live

The Hub - Downtown Hot Spot for Millenials, Cheapest Places for Millennials to Live
The Hub - Downtown Hot Spot for Millenials

10 Cheapest Places for Millennials to Live

Housely.com published an article, The 10 Cheapest Places for Millennials to Live in the U.S. where they considered data about cheap housing, availability of jobs, and social + cultural advantages.

In the past, New York City and Silicon Valley were enticing millennials in groves with fast paced tech jobs and other business opportunities; unfortunately, housing prices were so high (and they still are!) that millennials had trouble finding affordable housing and those with dreams of home ownership had a difficult decision to make and the opportunity cost was high. But now people are saying that Tucson may be the next Silcon Valley.

On the flip side, Florida is known to have an abundant affordable rental housing market, but the retiree demographic and job availability makes it a less desirable long-term destination for millennials.

Young people today are being challenged to think-outside-the-box and find destinations that will offer a more complete package and Tucson definitely does.

Without further ado, The Cheapest Places for Millennials to Live:

10. Austin, TX

9. Dallas, TX

8. Louisville, KY

7. Columbus, OH

6. Dayton, OH

5. Wichita, KS

4. TUCSON, ARIZONA

3. New Bedford, MA

2. Sioux Falls, SD

1. Cape Canaveral, FL

“With a median one bedroom apartment price of $540, it’s no wonder that Money rated Tucson number 4 of their best places for millennials. The article credits the city’s revitalized downtown area and ethnic restaurants as a draw for young renters. Tucson’s job growth is expected to rise 11% over the next five years.”
We’ve done the research and this isn’t an all-encompassing description of why Tucson is one the cheapest places for millennials to live. Did you know we have one the lowest point of entry housing markets in the country? Boasting many programs to help first time home buyers and some the lowest homeowners insurance prices making Tucson a great place for someone just starting out to start their life.
Tucson also has an abundance of art, culture, and a very fun and hip downtown. There’s an abundance of nature– to hike, climb, ski and explore and there are a lot of other amazing places that are a short road trip away like: Las Vegas — 4 hours, Phoenix– 1.5 hours, Rocky Point, Mexico (Where you can rent entire beach front houses for the weekend for a couple hundred dollars)– 4 hours, San Diego, CA– 6 hours, and Showlow, AZ (home of Arizona’s biggest ski & snowboard mountain)– 4 hours.
This is only the tip of the iceberg… If you have questions about art, culture, or housing in Tucson please contact me– I’d be happy to help you however I can.

Tucson Ranked in Top 10 Cities Best Positioned for Pandemic Recovery

According to Forbes magazine, Tucson is one of the top 10 cities in the best position for a post pandemic recovery. Using data collected from Moody’s Analytics they predict the top 10 and the 10 worst cities. “Note that they are sorted alphabetically in order to avoid assigning false precision to our calculations,” Kamins tells Forbes Women.

Tucson is a Top City That Will Recover From Coronavirus
Tucson is a Top City That Will Recover From Coronavirus

Pandemic Recovery Ranking Method

Moodys examines the density of population and compares it against the number of jobs that require a higher degree. They also take into consideration the density of cases across different counties. Those 2 factors alone could indicate why Tucson makes it into the top 10. Because it’s a college town Tucson is overflowing with smart people and has an abundance of open spaces

Some of the other top contenders are Denver (CO), San Jose (CA), and Washington DC. Noticeably these places are also university towns and have beautiful natural resources. Surprisingly Austin, TX did not make this list. Austin is frequently set side by side to Tucson as another blue city in a red state.

Now that the gloating is over we will look at a few of the cities that did not make it. Some of the results may surprise you.

The Have-nots

What do Honolulu (HI), Los Angeles (CA), New York City (NY), and Tampa (FL) all have in common? Aside from being on the top 10 worst recovery cities list? High density, overcrowding tourist traps. Yup, the higher your tourism the more likely you’re in an area heavily afflicted with Coronavirus. They predict that there will be mass out-migration from these densely populous areas towards more sprawling towns. 

Covid 19 is going to loom large in the public consciousness for years to come. For the very young and impressionistic pandemic recovery may always haunt them, much like children of the Great Depression often stockpile non-perishables or hideaway cash money. 

We are certainly fortunate to be in a position where, not only are we poised to recover well, but it’s such a beautiful, and delicious, place to be till then. But, for the foreseeable future, we still have to be vigilant. We have to be willing to do our parts for the greater good. Yes, we are all sick of wearing masks, but for a better future, we must do better now.

One of the Most Playable City for Kids

Kid Friendly city, Tucson AZ One of the Most Playful Cities

Tucson Designated a Kid Friendly City

Tucson is such a kid friendly city. So much that it was honored with the most playable city for the 10th year in a row by KaBOOM.  KaBOOM is a national non-profit dedicated to bringing balanced and active play into the daily lives of kids.

Kaboom states that, “Children are missing out on the childhood they deserve. Play is disappearing at home, at school and in communities, particularly for the 16 million children living in poverty.”

Play is so important to the physical, emotional and mental development of children. Living in a place that emphasizes community and has a diverse offering of activities for children is a key component to raising a well-rounded healthy adult.

I can confidently say that the sense of community in Tucson is present, abundant and thriving. People love and support the community here. It is one of the many things that makes Tucson a special place to me.

Balanced and active play is crucial to the well-being of kids and the communities that they thrive in. By integrating play into cities, the leaders of Playful Cities USA are working to attract and retain the thousands of families that want homes in close proximity to safe places to play.”

There is an abundance of great places for kids to play in Tucson. There are museums, soccer fields, playgrounds, parks, gyms, classes and lots of outdoor activities. The list of kid friendly things to do and explore in Tucson is never-ending.

Have a great day,
Tony Ray
(520) 631-TONY (8669)
Free relocation package and Tucson fun info

Tucson Makes the Top 10 Hidden Gems Market

Hidden gem in a pile of rocksWe all know that Tucson is amazing but it’s always great to hear it mentioned by outside sources. This time Tucson made the top 10 list of hidden gems by the National Association of Realtors for 2022. Let’s look at what qualifies as a hidden gem market.

What is a Hidden Gems Market?

According to the NAR a hidden gem market has “strong underlying housing market fundamentals but where home prices are undervalue and relatively affordable. As such, these hidden gem markets are expected to experience stronger price appreciation in 2022.” There’s a more technical definition with numbers, income indicators, technical jargon, etc. But the basics are Tucson is undervalued and still relatively affordable. Now some might argue that locals are getting priced out by cash buyers. Usually from other states looking for “investment properties.” That is indeed happening. But, the fact that Tucson is still a hidden gem is the important part for locals.

What They Said

“Tucson is very affordable in comparison to Phoenix. As of 2021 Q2, the median property value was $261,046. This is equivalent to 3 times the median family income in comparison to the median property value in Phoenix, $364,186, which is 4.3 times the median family income. Among the top 10 undervalued markets, Tucson had the third-largest net domestic migration in 2020, at 10,778 (next to Dallas and San Antonio). Due to strong population growth and net domestic migration, home prices rose at a 3-year cumulative rate from 2018 Q2—2021 Q2 of 23.6%, outpacing wage gains of 15.6%.” What we heard was, Tucson is better than Phoenix! Tucson is more affordable than Phoenix. And Tucson is up and coming and ready for a population boom! Now is the time to think about your current home and what your needs might be in the future. Is it time to upgrade? If the answer is yes, or even a maybe, I can help make those dreams a reality. Download a PDF of the Top 10 Hidden Gems of the Housing Market in 2022! Have a great day! Darren & Tony Ray 😎 🌵🏠☀️