Yeah I didn’t look but assumed most of those needed some work. But when I was looking at houses in towns it seemed most of those were pretty hideous too.
And I can understand small town living appealing to people. The thing I don’t get is some of the towns where there are like no businesses or schools. It’s just a group of 400 people living in a neighborhood alongside maybe a Sparky’s and a public library.
To your first point, you are correct, it is true no matter city, small town or acreage, you get what you pay for, and if a deal looks too good to be true, there probably is a reason. So the cheaper houses regardless of where they are, usually have many reasons they are cheap.
As to your second, Some of that is for many various reasons, some possible examples:
- It is all they have ever known
- The cost of living is usually substantially cheaper, at least to a point, especially when many of these people have lived where they are for many years, so they are in a cheap or paid off house purchased at a much lower cost years ago.
- Family and friends they live near, and dont want to move away.
- Small town freedom, like lack of oversight by city governments and covenants.
- Small towns have a lot less rules and laws and really less enforcers too.
- smallest towns are usually actually cheaper than living in country on acreage, but also have some of the same freedoms as acreage, not to mention many times very large lots and less work/upkeep.
- They really have no other place to go
- They work at a local farm or ag operation.
- They have a child or children in the school, and want or need to stay in that district.
- They moved away, lived in a big city and didnt like it and moved back.
- They moved away, lived in a big city, then after starting a family they wanted to raise their kids in a small town/school or where they grew up.
- They lived in a large city or other areas and had lots of crime and poor schools and found Iowa and small town iowa much better.
- they are older and retired, lived there or in that area all their life, or moved to a small town after retiring from an area farm etc.
- Frankly a lot of people love small towns, and/or have absolutely no desire to move to anywhere else.
- and many more.
I can probably name many people in each of the above categories, that i know personally, some in multiple categories. Honestly, I would bet many of the people that live in a small town have as many reasons they choose to or like to live in a small town as you do for living in a big city. It all comes down to personal choices and personal situations.
That being said I know many people that live in small towns (less than 1K population) that dont want to move, that commute more than an hour at times to places like Rochester MN, Mason City, Waterloo etc. They have no intention or desire to move. I was in a similar boat for a long time too. I commuted from a town of less than 1K, and also one less than 200 people for years, at minimum at least an hour 1 way, and sometimes over 2 hours 1 way. I had no intention on moving at that time, and didnt mind the commute really. It was just what I got used to. My rent was dirt cheap, I lived next to the bar(where I usually ate 2 meals a day), ---yes the town of less than 200 people had 2 bars, in the same block, that at the time were probably the most popular hang outs in a 30 mile radius. ---Then I bought a house cheap, then started a family and didnt want to move schools, then ended up in a shared custody situation that all but forced me to stay in the same school district.
But I also moved away from that location for many of the reasons you have said or probably have too, I wanted more opportunity for my family, wanted to be closer to things, wanted a stronger school system, and activities for my kids etc etc. (also throughout my life I had lived or been exposed to bigger towns and cities and wanted some of those amenities too)
Sometimes people just get stuck there, for a number of reasons and making a huge change/starting over somewhere new is difficult.