2012 MSN Real Estate Most Livable Bargain Markets

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.     

Locals like to say that their area is "where the elite meet sleet." It's not flashy like New York or Los Angeles, but many residents have college degrees, and Minneapolis regularly ranks as one of the country's most literate cities.

The area has three-dozen degree-granting institutions, including the University of Minnesota; several professional sports teams, including the NFL's Vikings; and lots of museums and theaters. The Minnesota Orchestra is considered among the best in the world.

"There's something here for everybody," says Joseph Moore, an agent with Bridge Realty in Bloomington, whether it's families with young children or young urban professionals looking for trendy restaurants and clubs. Unlike in other major metros, Minneapolis real estate is still affordable, with a median home price of $164,000.

"You can have a mortgage here on a nice home in a good community for $1,000 to $1,200 a month," Moore says.

The area has one of the lowest rates of death from heart disease, and higher longevity, largely because of its active, mostly nonsmoking population. Minneapolis is bike-friendly and has more parkland per 1,000 residents than any other large city in the country. Use of mass transit is high, and traffic congestion is low. St. Paul has been voted one of the country's "greenest" cities for its air and water quality and green design.

Cons: The biggest drawback here is brutally cold winters; the average high temperature stays below freezing for about three months of the year, sending many residents into hibernation. It's also a bit isolated from other major cities. Duluth, the closest major city, is about three hours away.

• Population: 3.3 million
• Affordability ratio: 61.2
• Unemployment: 6.1%
• Job growth: 1.29%
• Median home price: $164,000
• Cost-of-living index: 103.9
• Median household income: $63,614
• Average commute time: 27.2 minutes
• Commutes longer than an hour: 5%

Slide show:  What you must earn to buy a home in 25 cities

• What's the best interest rate you can get?

Omaha, Neb.-Council Bluffs Iowa.

Job prospects are bright in this town, with the lowest unemployment of any city on our list. Residents here also have more in their pockets due to one of the lowest costs of living in the country. Just ask Berkshire Hathaway billionaire Warren Buffett, one of the town's most famous residents.

The local economy is expanding across a diverse array of industries, including insurance, food processing and technology, and that has prompted many young people to stick around after graduating from college. The number of Omaha residents with college degrees is well above the national average, due in part to the University of Nebraska.

For entertainment, there is a wide array of live music clubs and the CenturyLink Center arena. There's also the acoustically superior Holland Performing Arts Center, home to the Omaha Symphony, as well as the galleries, restaurants and clubs of the Old Market redevelopment downtown. Once a year, the city hosts the NCAA Division 1 baseball championships, also known as the College World Series. The Omaha Storm Chasers, a Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals, play in a new stadium in nearby Papillon.

High-rise lofts and apartments downtown cater to young professionals. Families can find shaded streets and well-established suburbs covering the hills north and west of town. The schools here stack up well when compared with other areas, and the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium is world-class.

Cons: Like many Midwest cities, Omaha is not very ethnically diverse. Its winters are harsh, and the area is prone to tornadoes and flooding rains. Some on Sperling's website complain of bland, flat scenery, few cultural events and amenities and conservative attitudes.

"It's definitely not recommended for those who love the outdoors or cosmopolitan, big city life, as Omaha severely lacks in both those areas," says "Thomas," a city resident for the past four years, commenting on Sperling's Best Places site.

• Population: 851,005
• Affordability ratio: 64.4
• Unemployment: 4.7%
• Job growth: 2.15%
• Median home price: $123,500
• Cost-of-living index: 86.7
• Median household income: $55,797
• Average commute time: 21.8 minutes
• Commutes longer than an hour: 2.3%

• Video: Cities with the best employment rates

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Oshkosh-Neenah, Wis.

If you love the great outdoors, you'll be happy in Oshkosh. This midsized city, on the shores of Lake Winnebago 75 miles north of Milwaukee, is great for fishing and other water sports, both on this lake and on other lakes and rivers nearby.

"The waterways are very much a big part of what draws folks to the Oshkosh community and the recreational amenities that come with them," says Rob Kleman, executive director of the Oshkosh Area Economic Development Corp.

Except, that is, on fall weekends when many residents are watching the Green Bay Packers, hunting whitetail deer or mountain biking the Wiouwash State Trail, which runs from downtown along the shore of Lake Butte des Morts to Hortonville, 38 miles away.

If architecture is your thing, the city boasts several historic districts with Victorian-era mansions and monuments built by lumber barons. Its 600-seat Grand Opera House reopened in 2010 after extensive renovation. During the summer, residents can catch inexpensive concerts at the Leach Amphitheater on the Fox River near the newly redeveloped downtown or check out the Experimental Aircraft Association's air show, the largest event of its kind.

Unemployment is relatively low, and the city boasts many skilled manufacturing jobs, as well as the headquarters of clothing manufacturer OshKosh B'gosh. Many of its manufacturing jobs do not require a four-year degree and therefore just 26% of residents have one. However, those who wish to pursue a degree later in life or train for a new career can do so at the Center for New Learning at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

Cons: Watch out for tornadoes and blizzards here, as well as drunk drivers, as Oshkosh has a high rate of binge drinking, and Wisconsin's drunk-driving laws are among the most lenient in the nation.

• Population: 163,925
• Affordability ratio: 54.8
• Unemployment: 6.6%
• Job growth: 1.29%
• Median home price: $118,900
• Cost-of-living index: 90.3
• Median household income: $49,439
• Average commute time: 19.8 minutes
• Commutes longer than an hour: 2.5%

Slide show:  What you must earn to buy a home in 25 cities

• What's the best interest rate you can get?

Austin-Round Rock, Texas

Austin may be the state capital, but this progressive city deep in the heart of Texas is a world apart from the rest of this red state.

It was named one of the greenest cities in the nation a few years ago for its policies on electricity use and production, building design, parks, living-wage rules and transportation. The share of gay households is much higher than the national average, and Austin placed 22nd on this year's list of the most literate cities compiled by Central Connecticut State University.

Some call it "Silicon Hills" for its more than 3,700 technology companies with operations here, including AMD, Apple, Samsung and the headquarters of Dell computers.

Its high-tech job boom helped make it the fastest-growing large city in America last year, overtaking San Francisco as the country's 13^th largest metro. The city has a steady base of state government jobs and jobs at the University of Texas-Austin, the country's fifth largest university, with an enrollment of 51,000. With graduates from this and other local colleges sticking around after they get their degree, the population here skews young and liberal, says Tom Sunstrom, partner in Outlaw Real Estate Group, who relocated his family here nine years ago.

"There is a way of life in Austin that is both professional and laid-back," Sunstrom says, noting its popular slogan, "Keep Austin Weird."

It has a great music scene and a diverse selection of restaurants and entertainment thanks to the university's international student base, and each year it hosts the large South by Southwest Music and Film Festival, bringing in some of the biggest names in entertainment.

Still, there have been growing pains, including increasing traffic and surging rents. So for those relocating here, buying a house is the more affordable option.

Cons: Relatively high rents, sweltering summer heat and increasing sprawl.

• Population: 1.7 million
• Affordability ratio: 58.1
• Unemployment: 6%
• Job growth: 2.38%
• Median home price: $190,000
• Cost-of-living index: 99.8
• Median household income: $58,016
• Average commute time: 28.4 minutes
• Commutes longer than an hour: 6.7%

• Video: Cities with the best employment rates

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Winchester, Va.-W.Va.

This quaint city within commuting distance of our nation's capital offers horses, history and affordable homes. Its cost of living is more than 30% lower than the Northern Virginia/Washington, D.C., metro area, which helped land it a top 10 spot on AARP Magazine's list of the best places to retire.

While it's sophisticated, it's still the sort of place where the pharmacist calls you by your first name, and shrines and festivals honor its famous daughter Patsy Cline.

The metro crosses a state line. Four-fifths of the population lives in Winchester and surrounding Frederick County, where many manufacturing operations, warehouses, colleges and health clinics are located. The rest live in Hampshire County, W.Va., which is older and quieter.

Overall, the economy is doing well. Unemployment is low, and jobs, salaries, retail sales and building permits are growing again after the recession.

Although residents here have the option to commute into D.C. for its cultural amenities, Winchester has its own arts scene, with a local symphony, professional theater and concerts at the conservatory at Shenandoah University, a well-respected regional institution.

There's an active equestrian scene here, several golf courses and a shady 45-block historic district, with many tours, museums and events devoted to Winchester's pivotal role in the Civil War. (It changed hands about 70 times between Union and Confederate control.) Each spring, it hosts the Shenandoah Valley Apple Blossom Festival, with more than 30 events and concerts, including a big parade.

Cons: High poverty and obesity rates, few choices for nightlife and shopping, a high death rate from cancer and a long commute to jobs in the capital

• Population: 125,591
• Affordability ratio: 52.9
• Unemployment: 5.9%
• Job growth: 2.18%
• Median home price: $163,100
• Cost-of-living index: 104.4
• Median household income: $55,220
• Average commute time: 32.2 minutes
• Commutes longer than an hour: 14.6%

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Columbus, Ind.

Think of this as a small town with big-city architecture and amenities. Just 40 miles south of Indianapolis, this city of just 76,000 has a world-class collection of mid-20^th-century architecture, due in part to its largest employer, diesel-engine manufacturer Cummins.

Beginning in the 1950s, Cummins' foundation paid the architectural fees for new commercial buildings if a business selected an architect from a list it provided. That's how a bank headquarters got its design from renowned modernist Eero Saarinen in 1954, and other buildings here were designed by architects including I.M. Pei, Robert Venturi, Cesar Pelli and Richard Meier. Local parks boast sculptures from the likes of Richard Moore and Jean Tinguely, also thanks to the largesse of Cummins.

The business climate here is looking pretty sharp, as well. Unemployment is relatively low, and local manufacturers are beginning to expand.

A redevelopment of the city's downtown is under way, including renovation of the historic Crump Theater, where John Mellencamp taped a concert, says Heather Pope, director of the city's redevelopment commission. The idea is to create an arts and entertainment corridor along Fourth Street near the Commons, a community gathering space that hosts concerts and other events and boasts a modernist indoor playground.  

"There's a vibrancy in the downtown," Pope says. "It has really grown. It's fun to go out downtown, walk around and see all the people out."

Pope and other locals describe it as a great place to raise a family, with its low crime rate and great parks system. It's also an hour or less by car to the bigger cities of Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Louisville, Ky., with their broader base of amenities and entertainment.

Cons: Limited local college options, tornadoes and flooding, high obesity and smoking rates.

• Population: 76,289
• Affordability ratio: 57.1
• Unemployment: 6.6%
• Job growth: 7.89%
• Median home price: $111,900
• Cost-of-living index: 85.7
• Median household income: $48,923
• Average commute time: 21.8 minutes
• Commutes longer than an hour: 4.8%

Slide show:  What you must earn to buy a home in 25 cities

• What's the best interest rate you can get?

Provo-Orem, Utah

These two mountain cities are great places to jump start your career and find some squeaky-clean outdoor fun.

The economy in this area, an hour south of Salt Lake City on the western front of the Wasatch Mountains, is thriving, thanks to Brigham Young University, the third-largest private college in the U.S.

Forbes magazine recently named the city as the No. 1 place for business and careers. Its base of high-tech and trade jobs is fueled by the college, which produces many business startups from its research.

The number of jobs is growing, the violent-crime rate is the lowest in the nation, and there are many outdoor draws, such as the paved 14-mile bike path that climbs Provo Canyon to a swimming hole at Bridal Veil Falls, fishing in Utah Lake and, of course, excellent skiing in the local mountains. That must be why the metro population has doubled over the past two decades.

It's a great place to raise children, locals say. However, with the vast majority of the population being Mormons, you'll have a hard time finding a bar or coffee shop here, as the drinks served there are off-limits to adherents.

Cons: Lack of ethnic and religious diversity, bad air quality on some days, lack of nightlife.

• Population: 564,337
• Affordability ratio: 57
• Unemployment: 6%
• Job growth: 1.61%
• Median home price: $189,800
• Cost-of-living index: 90.8
• Median household income: $56,280
• Average commute time: 22.9 minutes
• Commutes longer than an hour: 4.7%

Slide show:  What you must earn to buy a home in 25 cities

• What's the best interest rate you can get?

Richmond, Va.

The economy is strong in Richmond, two hours south of our nation's capital, and there's a lot here for residents to brag about.

"Housing is affordable; you can get to anywhere in Richmond in 20 minutes; there are tons of restaurants; it's a very active city, and it's also two hours from the beach, mountains and D.C.," says "Deanna" commenting about Richmond on Sperling's website.

This capital city's banking, insurance and information-technology base is expanding, unemployment is low, and it's easy to make a decent living here because taxes and the cost of living are low.

But perhaps the area's biggest draw is its great neighborhoods, including historic districts such as Jackson Ward and Church Hill, named for St. John's Church, where Patrick Henry gave his "Give me liberty or give me death" speech in 1775. Downtown's Monument Avenue was voted one of the country's "10 Great Streets" by the American Planning Association for its tree-lined beaux-arts architectural splendor.

Moreover, contemporary communities such as Woodlake and Brandermill have received urban-planning accolades for their smart design.

While it might not be most high-energy city in the nation, many residents hold a four-year degree, and it boasts plenty of cultural diversions, including several museums, a symphony, professional ballet, opera and theater companies, as well as entertainment around its two colleges: the 23,000-student Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Richmond. And there's always the 17^th Street Farmers Market, which hosts festivals and other events throughout the year.

However, there's one nagging problem with Richmond: the huge gap between rich and poor. Many residents live in poverty, while others enjoy a high standard of living.

Cons: High crime rate, high degree of wealth inequity, slow pace, limited public transportation and no professional sports teams.

• Population: 1.2 million
• Affordability ratio: 60.9
• Unemployment: 6.2%
• Job growth: 2.34%
• Median home price: $171,100
• Cost-of-living index: 102
• Median household income: $62,127
• Average commute time: 27.3 minutes
• Commutes longer than an hour: 5.3%

• Video: Cities with the best employment rates

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Des Moines-West Des Moines, Iowa

Des Moines is a great place for young families, with plenty of high-paying jobs in insurance, bioscience and technology startups, affordable homes and good public schools.

It has some of the cleanest air and drinking water in the country, its residents report low stress levels, and there's enough outdoor recreation, culture and fine art to keep most people happy. (Its Art Center was designed by I.M. Pei.)

It's also starting to attract more recent college graduates, thanks to a city program designed to introduce the area's young interns to the entertainment and attractions in the city. "We've seen a huge increase in young professionals in the last five years," says Kari Tindall of the Greater Des Moines Partnership.

Its downtown is becoming more bike and pedestrian friendly. The new 1.2-mile Principal Riverwalk connects East and West Des Moines with a seamless series of walking paths and bridges. This pedestrian loop anchors four major downtown attractions: the Botanical Center, the restaurants and bars of the Court Avenue District, the Science Center of Iowa and the Iowa Events Center. It also serves as the hub for the area's 300 miles of bike and walking trails.

It's not New York, but enough is going on in this Midwest city to have most residents reporting that they are "satisfied with life."

Cons: Extremely cold winters, high risk of spring and summer tornadoes and flooding, isolation from other large cities, no major-league sports teams or major universities, limited public transportation.

• Population: 570,001
• Affordability ratio: 64.5
• Unemployment: 5.7%
• Job growth: 0.46%
• Median home price: $138,600
• Cost-of-living index: 88.7
• Median household income: $57,285
• Average commute time: 22.2 minutes
• Commutes longer than an hour: 3.1%

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Asheville, N.C.

The Rockefellers and Vanderbilts have long enjoyed Asheville and its mild summer weather, but it's now affordable enough that much of the other 99% can enjoy it, too.

Home prices, which swelled here during the real-estate boom, have dropped, making this scenic city more affordable for all.

"Now we've got people coming back here from all over the country," says Rowena Patton, broker with locally based Patton Property Group. Many are so-called "half-backs" -- New York seniors who retreated from Miami to come halfway back to their home state.

There's a lot to keep residents here, including the beautiful scenery of the Blue Ridge Mountains and one of the best collections of early 20^th-century architecture in the South, thanks to the titans of industry who helped construct ornate churches, houses and other buildings here -- most notably the 175,000-square-foot Biltmore Estate.

It has a lively music and arts scene, too, with many performance halls, galleries, cultural festivals and craft fairs as well as the renovated Pack Square gallery district, which holds museums and the 500-seat Diana Wortham Theater. If the arts aren't your bag, there are plenty of local recreational attractions, such as whitewater kayaking, trails for hiking and mountain biking and a short ski season on the nearby slopes.

Most important for those looking to relocate, it's a good place to find a job. Forbes ranks it 17^th this year on its Best Places for Business and Careers list, which evaluates, among other things, the job growth and educational attainment of the nation's 200 largest cities.

Retirees will find high-quality health care and new opportunities for learning at the University of North Carolina's Asheville Center for Creative Retirement. "It's somewhere where people can retire and still feel very useful," Patton says.

Cons: Mountain driving makes commuting take a bit longer; the closest major airport is two hours away; and it has a slightly higher cost of living than other comparable Southern cities its size.

• Population: 415,954
• Affordability ratio: 43
• Unemployment: 7.9%
• Job growth: 2.46%
• Median home price: $164,500
• Cost-of-living index: 100.5
• Median household income: $43,237
• Average commute time: 24 minutes
• Commutes longer than an hour: 4%

• Video: Cities with the best employment rates

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