Top five on Forbes list for worst places to live/retire?
Yep, that’s true, according to Forbes. The primary reason they use is that there has been such a dramatic drop in home values. Phoenix, our neighbor, is on the same list and even ranked worse! I am usually interested in the Forbes top this or that, but I find the latest publication poorly researched and silly at best. Question, do you think that the Las Vegas area was a better place to live when the median price for a free-standing home was $319,000 or now when the median price is $122,000?
The graph below represents the median home prices in several areas of the west. Also included is the housing cost/income ratio, showing the amount spent on housing as a percentage of the average income for the various areas. Note that this graph represents the median price for all homes, condos, townhomes and well as free-standing homes.
This area still offers the same advantages that have attracted so many new residents over the last several years. Lots of sunshine, no cold winters, no state income tax, no state inheritance tax and plenty to do, including proximity to several national parks are examples. The primary difference is that now you can live here for a fraction of what it would have cost you just a few years ago.
