I know that homes have gone up in price over the years, but I TRUELY think that there are a few towns out there that morgage can be under $500 and you can still live in a nice home. Our morgage is $1,100 but our home is HUGE (at least I feel that it is...) and we have extras- like the jaccuzzi tub, master suite, chefs kitchen and over 2,200sq. feet. Also, another plus to living where we do is THERE IS NO STATE TAX!!! We definately LOVE that!

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One happy wife and mommy!!!

I wish I had a $400 mortagage!!
We have everything else here but that..

I don't know where you live in Mo but it sounds like we have the same problem. I live in a very small town in Mo where there is no Wal-mart and I so desperately want one. My dh is working in a factory job where there is no benefits and comes in tired and very dirty. He gets paid production and most of the guys that work there smoke pot and only care enough to make $ for the weekend to get drunk. My dh is a good welder but there is no welding jobs around here unless you want to drive far and with gas prices being so high it's out of the question. We only have one car and for me to get a job if I could find one would mean that we would have to juggle back and forth. I'm debating now on whether or not to put my application at a daycare. We definitely want to move and feel stuck in a rut. Another factor that we have to consider is that we have two boys that are doing good in school and we would definitely have to find a place that had good schools. My dh came home today saying he wanted to get out of this freakin town. Everyone knows everyone and they have their own little groups and some are so fake. We don't have the problem with the mortgage because we are buying a mobile home but we do need to find a place to put it. I'd rather not live in a trailer court. We did in AR and had problems with the neighbors besides we were too close. If anyone knows that "perfect" place please tell me because I so want to go.

That's where we're at and mortgages for nice middle class housing are in that range. We do meet most of Newlywed's criteria, too!

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Homeschooling Mom to Daniel (12 Years), Andrew (9 Years), Stephen (7 Years) and Emily (3 Years)

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My mortgage is $564 and I have 2 1/2 acres and a decent size house. Our school district is small but really good. Walmart is less than 10 min away. There are 2 different malls less than 15 minutes away. But yet I don't live in the city. Another reason I love where I live.

My little town fits the criteria listed, except my mortgage is a bit higher, not much though.

Small town Minnesota! If you can stand the cold weather, it's all you mention above. I think in some small towns you may even be able to (almost) swing the mortgage part. Mankato, where I live, is a little bigger and it would be hard to buy a home for less than $125,000 but compared to some areas, that's still a bargain!

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We were going to move to Granite Falls MN, it describes a lot of what you are looking for....definately not a very expensive mortgage area.....there are a lot of small towns in southern MN that are like that....problem is that if you live in the middle of nowhere, you will spend more on food, gas, etc.

I know there is a lot of reasonable stuff in ND and SD--but again, it's not in a bustling area either.

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Mom to: Andrew-11, Megan- 9, Nathan-7, Nicholas-5 & Amanda-2
Married to Ken (by biggest child) for 14 years!

just to note since u are a teacher. Mn has typically been a very progressive education state. we have been falling behind Iowa lately but I think has more to do with our current elected offical. Hiding....... all clear? I'll just stay behind my rock.

allgirls

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allgirls, mom to 3 girls

You don't have to hide from me!!!

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~Happiness is a large family~