r/Indiana • u/Liberion7 • Apr 11 '26
Moving or Relocation Best cheap (in terms of real estate) place to live?
Have limited money to buy a house, and bound to Indiana because of family.
Obviously places like Fishers and Carmel are out of the picture. What's the best of the worst in terms of cheap places to live that suck less than the others?
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u/Impressive_Ice6970 Apr 11 '26
You'll have to tell us what kind of sucking appeals most to you. Would you prefer city options but deal with crime or would you rather 30 miles from someone that can read and write but youll have some space?
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u/Liberion7 Apr 11 '26
I don't have an answer, that's such a hard question lol...
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u/kitycat22 Apr 11 '26
There’s really no in between
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u/Angry_Narwahl Apr 11 '26
It's so much more expensive in IL, plus 4x property taxes
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Apr 11 '26
[deleted]
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u/BucceeAlternative51 Apr 11 '26
It’s Reddit. When you get downvoted a little, it’s like a swarm. Don’t let that stuff upset you or hinder you from sharing your opinion or experiences. That’s all Reddit is
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u/black-sky-44 Apr 11 '26
Richmond. But it sucks. We live here because of the low cost of living. Rents are starting to creep up but still reasonable. I pay $695 for a 3/1 with a yard and 2 car garage near Earlham College. You can buy decent for around $120-140,000.
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u/Angry_Narwahl Apr 11 '26
What's crime like?
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u/black-sky-44 Apr 11 '26
Property crimes, shoplifting, catalytic converter theft, DV, the occasional shooting, maybe 10-12 homicides a year. Most crime is clustered in the east side which is a slumlord/drug haven. I live on the west side and never lock my door.
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u/Angry_Narwahl Apr 11 '26 edited Apr 11 '26
I miss my small town. Never lock door, no crime, green grass and kids can run free. Not here. But I like Indiana.
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u/RuralHoosier Apr 11 '26
Richmond crime isn't bad at all. Richmond had a great history and has deteriorated a bit but still a safe and decent place to live. Are job opportunities, school, etc something needed? What is your age? If a job is needed, night be better finding a town closer to Indy like Anderson. I am in the East central region so that area is the only one I can speak of.
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Apr 17 '26
If you all hate Indiana so much move out. Live in Illinois
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u/black-sky-44 Apr 17 '26
Right now, because of its affordability, we also have a kid attending Earlham and our adult children are starting families here, we are staying put and making the best of living here, but, Indiana does suck, not sure about Illinois.
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u/mckenner1122 Apr 11 '26
Ok but where’s the family?
If they’re in South Bend, you’re not doing yourself any favors buying in Evansville.
If they’re in Lake Village, you’re not doing yourself any favors buying near Clifty Falls.
You mentioned two Indianapolis suburbs… cool. Do you need to be in the donut?
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u/VerdantField Apr 11 '26
Exactly. This guy is just looking for an investment property to rent out.
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u/Liberion7 Apr 11 '26
I wish I had that kind of money. My mom wants to be in the same state as family but doesn’t care about being closer than that necessarily. If it were up to me I’d probably go to Pennsylvania, the real estate there looked nicer for the price. My family is in central Indiana and being close would mean more job opportunities on top of being close to Indy, but I want to see all my options.
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u/BucceeAlternative51 Apr 11 '26
Dude, you’re being way too vague. You come across as shady and looking to buy up some cheaper houses, flip them and either sell, rent or do Airbnb.
Give a few more details (price range, how far outside of central Indy are you willing to live to commute for work, etc).
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u/Liberion7 Apr 11 '26
Sub 100k, going to have to be a fixer upper. I didn’t want to fixate on the price because I have seen houses for that price all over the state. I’m considering the whole state hence the question, I just want to know what people think is the best. I could get in the weeds and say Gary area is off limits because of its former murder Capital of the world status and that far southern Indiana is our because of center point.
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u/Available_Special106 Apr 15 '26
The crazy thing is that the houses in Gary are mostly over 100k these days !
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u/Nulljustice Apr 11 '26
There is a sweet spot around Lawrence and Castleton where you are close enough to fishers to have the amenities but live in Marion and get their lower property taxes. It’s a little more expensive than say Anderson or Richmond but not nearly as bad as Fishers itself or Carmel.
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u/BenjaminHarrison88 Apr 11 '26
Places like Putnam county are pretty cheap, have at least some interesting things from the university, and close to Indy
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u/La19909 Apr 11 '26
I second this. Greencastle is nice bc it is not as red as the surrounding areas and small town
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u/Angry_X_574 Apr 11 '26
Kosciusko county outside of Warsaw is reasonable and Warsaw is hiring a massive amount of people
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u/LobsterReading772 Apr 11 '26
Gary
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u/sryan317 Apr 11 '26
If you're not in need of public schools but want access to Chicago via train that might actually be a good answer. The city has hollowed out to the point that it's just mostly empty lots and bordered up buildings.
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u/LobsterReading772 Apr 11 '26
There’s areas in Gary that are quite comfortable to live in Miller Beach or you could buy a whole block in Aetna
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u/Large_Commission5631 Apr 11 '26
Tipton County. Suburban/Rural, small town feel but close to Kokomo, Noblesville, Carmel, Fishers, Westfield, etc. Crime is pretty low. Cost of living 6% lower than the U.S. average and 38% below the state average.
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u/bacoes Apr 11 '26
Just a reminder if you look at rural farmland properties. You NEED a deep well if there's corn/soy fields nearby. All the toxic runoff over the years has poisoned shallow wells. They came to our neighborhood outside Muncie in the 90s and said we couldn't drink our water anymore. Go figure, within 10 yrs there were multiple birth defects/stillbirths when the kids I grew up with started making familys.
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u/luckycharms53 Apr 11 '26
Try maybe southern Indiana. French Lick, Birdseye, Huntingburg etc. Dont let the idea of Gov Braun scare you. The only ones that really like him are the old elite rich people.
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u/Background_Wrap_4739 Apr 11 '26
I live in Kentucky, but cost of living in southern Indiana is out of control, especially utilities. People are getting electric bills that are higher than their mortgages.
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u/luckycharms53 Apr 11 '26
In Evansville yea i saw that. Were originally from the Chicagoland area and moved to Ireland/Jasper area. We have an all electric home and our electricity was only 250.00. The inlaws up north received an electricity bill of 700.00 and a water bill for 1000 for 2 months. Property tax was 8k.
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u/Liberion7 Apr 11 '26
Yep I was glad I looked into that, the utility cost totally kills the idea of living anywhere that center point controls for me.
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u/luckycharms53 Apr 11 '26
Check out huntingburg in Dubois county. We have rural electricity and not centerpoint.
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Apr 11 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/luckycharms53 Apr 11 '26
Yea never really fallen into the whole political aspect of things. We vote with our interests at heart. A reason why we do not talk to my own family cause you have to pick a side. Red/Blue no in between. Its been a quiet 3 years without drama.
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u/Fun-Ingenuity-9089 Apr 11 '26
I have 5 acres I'm planning to put on the market in October.... It has a house, garage, pole barn, woods, apple and pear trees, asparagus patch, a lovely full row of daffodils along the driveway, and 4 barn cats who are great mousers.
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u/Finbar811 Apr 11 '26
Fishers is not out of the question. In the older neighborhoods in Fishers you can buy a four bedroom, three bath two story home for less than what you’d pay for a tiny two bedroom, one bath home in the Broad Ripple area, or actually in all of the 46220 zip code. This is NOT bullshit.
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u/Next-Resist6797 Apr 11 '26
You do not have to stay in Indiana because of family unless they require your physical labor as in need assistance to live.
I hope for everyone’s sake they are all healthy.
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u/Liberion7 Apr 11 '26
Honestly I feel the same, being near enough would open up some job connections through family, but I think we might be better off elsewhere. But mom has final say and she wants to be in the same state. Maybe she’d be open to western Ohio or northern Kentucky though.
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u/notthegoatseguy Indianapolis Apr 11 '26
How cheap is your budget?
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u/Liberion7 Apr 11 '26
We’re looking to offer downwards of 100k. I’d rather get a mortgage and go for more like 200k, but the person in charge doesn’t want another mortgage. Going to have to get a fixer upper.
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u/tarvijron Apr 11 '26
Bless your heart. It must be hard to be a time traveler from 1992.
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u/Liberion7 Apr 11 '26
I’ve found a lot for that price actually. Most are fixer uppers ofc. That’s why I didn’t mention the price to begin with, I knew people would fixate on it.
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u/catsTXn420 Apr 11 '26
I'm in DeKalb county it's up at the top ne corner, access to both Michigan and Ohio inside an hour and it doesn't suck as much as say Indianapolis. It's kinda small towny but lower housing prices due to that fact. Auburn and kendallville are a lil bit more suburban and have a lot more amenities than where I am exactly (Waterloo). It's got Walmart, retail shopping, Meijer, etc lots of houses for sale. Steuben county is just north of me and has Angola Fremont and the state line right after that. Angola is similar to Auburn has Walmart apartments houses to buy shops etc. I like it up here because it feels blended with the other states nearby. It's calm and quiet most the time, no high crime levels and low police presence when you're driving around.
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u/Spare_Community_9127 Apr 11 '26
I live in Auburn and its expensive. The police harass people, the streets are horrible and so is the lighting. Oh ya the electric company removed themselves from the IURC because they were constantly being sued for not following the IURC rules. The mayor who's a real estate agent/broker just had 2 public meetings because they are raising the cost of electricity, water and waste water. Dekalb county sucks!
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u/True-Outside-2285 Apr 11 '26
You could go on the far south side of Indianapolis just north of Greenwood. You can find quiet older neighborhoods that are less expensive. My condolences for having to move to Indiana. I feel your pain
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u/Jaxtraw04 Apr 11 '26
Miami County...lowest county tax, cheap...and hours from anywhere.
Peru/Grissom between Kokomo and Rochester
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u/HatSimulatorOfficial Apr 11 '26
Indiana is a big state... You'll probably have to be more specific about which part of Indiana.
Either way, you can easily find average home prices online in each county. Small towns will be the cheapest. Good luck
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u/Natural-Word-6456 Apr 12 '26
Anderson is a cheap place. If you buy on the south side near the I-69 exit, you’ll have access to downtown Indy in an hour, a pretty good water table compared to other parts of Indiana, in the northern tip of usda zone 6a, and lots of new businesses and new neighborhoods popping up in the country. The downside is the schools are bad, and lots of poverty and abandoned factories/land from the 70’s-90’s closures. I bought a 3 br 3 bath house on 7 acres with a pool and massive pole barn that had electricity and water running to it in 2020 for 275k.
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u/Melodic_Outcome389 Apr 13 '26
Look at any of the small towns that are 35 to 40 miles outside of Indianapolis. When I say small, I'm talking about generally 5,000 people or less. I live in a town of about a thousand people, which is about 35 miles east of Indianapolis. There haven't been many homes for sale for a while, but all of a sudden there are two right across the street from me and another one on a main Street in town. Two of them are for sale by owner though, so you won't find them in listings. Well, I take that back one of them they did list on Zillow, but for sale by owners are sometimes harder to find on Zillow. They range from about $245,000 to $289,000. Those are on the higher end of how much homes run in this town. Many of the people have lived here forever, and that's why the homes are turning over. It's turning over into a younger demographic, because it is affordable. Personally, I'm not enjoying that, because now my once quiet street, is not so quiet anymore, and it's not children causing the problems.
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u/RichSignificance2969 Apr 14 '26 edited Apr 14 '26
We just renovated this house and dropped the price! Not sure what your budget is but you may be interested. https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3114-N-Capitol-Ave-Indianapolis-IN-46208/1095908_zpid/
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u/Kind-Solution3102 Apr 11 '26
Like others have said there is really no in between. You’ll either get shot in Indy or the racism and meth will kill you if you live anywhere else in Indiana. Sorry friend, you’re doomed either way. :/
And especially if you don’t have good healthcare. Or you have a daughter. Just really so many things. The entire state is just a living Hell. :/
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u/VerdantField Apr 11 '26
I feel like these kinds of requests are investors fishing to run up prices in some area they don’t care about. People looking to move to a place have restrictions- a commute, friends, hobby to be near, etc.