Reply #36: check out realtor.com [View All]

most houses for sale are on http://realtor.com

Location can make a huge difference even on a small scale. There's no way I could afford to buy a house in the college town where I work. But 15 miles out looks more like the rest of depressed upstate NY so housing is cheaper out there. Rent is expensive because it's a college town (high population turnover, high rental demand, wealthy college students' parents) - when I buy a house (soon I hope) the mortgage and taxes on a 2/3 BR house a bit out of town will be comparable to what I pay for rent on a small 1BR apt in town (paying half my landlord's mortgage).

I'd love to live near my sister who lives outside of Boston. But even if I got a higher-paying job out there, the cost-of-living adjustment would never be enough. I'd be resigning myself to renting forever. So at least in upstate NY I may eventually be able to buy a house, and it's a big factor in staying here.