- [Briggs] This is the upper Midwest.
And right now I'm gonna show you where you could retire
or just live a more affordable life
in this region of the United States.
What is going on, everyone?
Welcome back To "World According to Briggs,"
and a video about towns in the United States
you could retire on less than $1,658 a month.
We did this series a few years back,
and had the price at $1,500 because at the time,
that was the average social security insurance payment.
And it was also close to about half
the average military retirement payment monthly.
Things have changed.
Prices are up across the board, real estate, insurance,
tickets for Kenny G concerts, everything.
Side note, taking an Ambien has the same effect
as a Kenny G concert for a fraction of the price.
Be smart with your finances, everyone.
Today we're looking at the upper Midwest states.
North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota,
Wisconsin, and Michigan.
Some people consider Iowa in the upper Midwest,
most see it as part of the lower Midwest section
or just the Midwest.
We'll have it on the normal Midwest video.
The $1,658 on this video is what it should cost
for the average person to live comfortably.
In this case, comfortably means you never have to worry
about food, eviction, or your utilities
getting shut off every single month.
The stats in this video is just the average.
There's million and one different scenarios
that could change a person's financial situation.
Divorce, dependence, poor health, whatever.
This is just the basics for the average Joe.
You know your own financial situation
and if you're making less than $1,600 a month,
then make some adjustments.
This is just the average.
All right, let's take a look
and see where you could live for under $1,658 a month.
Number 10 Jamestown, North Dakota.
Yes, starting off in North Dakota.
These are no particular order just so you guys know.
They are also all very cold states.
Normally, when you retire or you get a little bit older,
you don't wanna live in a colder state.
That doesn't mean some people, like myself,
prefer to live in colder states no matter what my age is.
So all these states have that as a negative, cold winters
But let's take a look at Jamestown, North Dakota.
Jamestown is a town right between Bismarck
and Fargo, North Dakota.
So you got two choices.
If you need to go to the big city,
you got Bismarck, you got Fargo
'cause Jamestown is not that big.
Matter of fact, Jamestown only has 15,000 residents.
The good news is they have a crime rate
that is only 1% higher than the national average.
Normally, I'd like to get things below the national average
but this town has some really good things
that kinda make up for that.
The first thing is their housing.
Their median home listing price is $120,000,
which is 30% lower than the national average.
If you're looking to buy a place,
they have plenty of homes here for around 150,000
or actually lower.
I've seen some that were like 120,000
that looked nice, they look livable.
This is just going by Zillow
that you can get for like $150,000.
If you wanna go a little higher,
they have plenty that are, you know, upwards of $300,000.
But not many of those.
Most of the homes here are below 200,000, I would say.
They don't have a bunch of rentals here,
but real estate websites say
that they are 34% lower than the national average.
And the cost of living here
is 10% lower than the national average.
This place gets cold like I'd said.
You could tell it gets cold
because most of the pictures on Zillow are of snowy houses.
So if they've gotta take a picture in the snow,
you know it's getting cold there quite often.
Real estate agents almost never
wanna take a picture of something in the snow.
They wait 'til the spring to get pictures, or the summer,
or something like that.
Jamestown has a quality of life score of 81,
and your average monthly expenditure
in Jamestown, North Dakota is $1,489.
Number nine, Brookings, South Dakota.
Go down to South Dakota,
a state that has become more and more popular
over the last few years.
And no, it's not because they got a smoking hot governor.
For some reason, every time I mention South Dakota
we get comments that people are moving there
'cause their governor's so hot.
No, people don't move to another state
because the governor is hot.
She is good looking, but she's also a governor
and a pretty smart woman.
If how the governor looks affected
the migration patterns of human beings,
West Virginia would be vacant right now.
Governor Jim Justice looks like a failed car salesman
with a quirky thyroid.
But right now we are talking about Brookings, South Dakota.
Brookings is almost an hour north of Sioux Falls,
not too far west from the border of Minnesota.
Brookings is one of those cities that gets high grades
from the locals that live there.
They seem to really love this place.
They've got a population of about 23,000,
they've got a crime rate that's 53% lower
than the national average.
Bravo, Brookings.
That's good.
The median listing price here for a house is $164,000,
which is 11% lower than the national average.
Rent they say is 29% lower,
and the cost of living is 6% lower.
Brookings has a quality of life score of 84,
and your average monthly expenditure would be 1,578.
That's to get by and live decent.
Number eight, Marshall, Minnesota.
Marshall, Minnesota is way out in the prairies
three hours away from everything.
Actually, the closest big city to them would be Minneapolis,
and that's three hours to their east.
But if you wanna go outta state,
Sioux Falls is about an hour and a half to the southwest.
Marshall is definitely not a bad place to live.
Again, this is a city that gets high praise
from the residents.
They seem to love it here,
and they all mention how cold it gets.
So it's not breaking any rules of the upper Midwest.
Marshall has a population of about 14,000,
and they've got a crime rate
that's 56% lower than the national average.
Now the median listing price here is about $144,000,
which is 22% lower than the national average.
Realistically, if you go over
and look at Zillow or something,
there's plenty of homes here
for under 200,000 or thereabouts.
But you could still find decent homes here
for about 162,000.
When I say decent, you're not gonna have a pool and a sauna.
Nothing like that.
It's a decent house that maybe needs a paint job.
And that's just the way it looks.
I'm not out there going under and checking out the plumbing
or the electrical or anything like that.
If you want that kind of information, you gotta pay for it.
Not for me, from like a home inspector.
One thing I will tell you,
they've got a lot of places right now.
They've like expanded,
and there's these little communities they're building
where you could buy property, no house on it,
for about $40,000 somewhere in that area.
Of course you're gonna have to build a house on it,
but they've got plenty of lots
and planned communities going on right now.
Rent is estimated to be 35% lower than the national average,
and the cost of living
is 9% lower than the national average.
The quality of life score in Marshall is 87,
which is not bad.
If you've never seen these before,
anything below 60 kind of really sucks.
In the 60s and the 70s it could be anywhere
from okay to pretty good.
When you start getting above 80,
you're living in a really nice place.
So 87's a good score,
and your average monthly expenditure in Marshall, Minnesota
would be about $1,545 a month.
Number seven, Marysville, Michigan.
Marysville, Michigan sits on the St. Clair river
right across from Canada and below Lake Heron.
And it's far enough north from Detroit,
to where you don't get none of that Detroit stank on you.
This is a great town to live in.
They've got about 10,000 residents,
their crime is 68% lower than the national average,
and their median listing price is $116,000.
That's 37% lower than the national average.
Now that number is very misleading
because this town has a lot of open lots
like future communities and vacant lots
that they're selling, and those go for any where
from like 50,000 to 25,000.
Most of the houses here are gonna be upwards of $250,000.
You're realistically gonna be looking around 300,000
to get something nice.
But they still have a low cost of living,
and they do have some homes for sale that are pretty cheap.
They have older homes that are about 200,000, 150,000.
They normally come with at least half an acre.
So that's a bonus.
So this is sort of one of those places
that you gotta kind of keep an eye on
and see when something decent pops up.
Marysville has excellent stats across the board
so that might make it worth the extra expense.
They say rent is 22% lower than the national average.
Their cost of living is 9% lower than the national average.
The only reason the real estate here
is higher than most places on this list,
it's right on the river.
There's a lot of things to do.
The quality of life score in Marysville, Michigan is 91.
And your estimated monthly expenditure would be $1,627.
Number six, Madison, South Dakota.
Back to South Dakota we go and the town of Madison.
Madison has a population
of just a little over 7,000 residents,
and these people are not living in fear of much.
Their crime rate is actually 57% lower
than the national average, which is a good score.
Like I've said many times before
in case you never heard me say this,
there are cities in this country like Detroit,
East St. Louis, south side Chicago,
that have crime rates that are two, three,
and 400% above the national average.
So if you're below even a single percentage point,
you're doing phenomenal.
They're 57% below the national average,
and it's a cheap place to live.
The median home listing price is $110,000.
That's 40% lower than the national average.
Madison is in between Sioux Falls and Brookings
a little bit to the west.
This is a cute town.
They have a nice little downtown area
with like a main street called Egan Avenue
where you find a lot of restaurants and bars.
The median listing price
in Madison, South Dakota is 110,000,
which is 40% lower than the national average
which is outstanding.
In case you haven't picked up on that yet.
I looked around, you could find plenty of homes here
that are older that might need a coat of paint,
maybe a little bit of work for under a hundred thousand.
I'm talking like $75,000.
There's not a lot to rent here,
but they say rent is 47% lower than the national average.
And the cost of living is 14% lower
than the national average.
Again, if you can get past the cold,
this is a solid place to live.
They've got a quality of life score of 89,
and the estimated average monthly expenditure here
is $1,459 a month.
Number five, New Richmond, Wisconsin
Back to the Badger state we go in New Richmond.
We talked about New Richmond before.
Couple of years ago, I did a video
on one of the best places to live in Wisconsin
and New Richmond was on that list.
New Richmond isn't, but it's pretty close
to being in the Minneapolis St. Paul metro area.
It's just across the border.
It's about 48 minutes from downtown Minneapolis.
So it's kinda close.
You got a big city right there,
but you're still a little bit out
in the prairie in Wisconsin.
It's not a bad place to live, and their stats prove it.
They've got a population of about 9,000 residents.
Their crime rate is 34% lower
than the national average.
Housing, the median listing price is about $148,000,
which is about 20% lower than the national average.
This is another place that that number
about the median listing price is a little deceiving
because that number is kind of brought down
by a whole bunch of property they have for sale.
that's just vacant lots like 50, $60,000,
but this is a great community.
So again, the extra cost might be worth it.
The typical home here will go for over 200,000
and about 250,000.
Between 200 and 250,000.
Really nice newer homes start off
around 300,000 and go on up.
They still have a low cost living, which is outstanding.
The cost of living is actually 8% lower
than the national average in New Richmond.
Their quality of life score is 86,
and your average monthly expenditure would be $1,598.
Number four, Merril, Wisconsin.
This looks like a really nice place to live.
I did see one video where a guy was going on and on
about a roundabout that the city of Merril
put in some of the streets or something like that.
This guy was just, he just couldn't handle the fact
that they had added a roundabout in Merril, Wisconsin.
But if that's your biggest problem,
you got a really nice place to live.
Merril has a population of about 95,000 residents.
Their total crime rate is 26% lower
than the national average,
and that doesn't count any vandalism towards the roundabout.
The housing, this is where this place shines.
Their median listing price is $87,000.
That's 53% higher than the national average.
Now that price is a little artificial
because they do have a lot of lots for sale,
but that doesn't mean they're expensive.
There are plenty of homes ready to move into
for about $140,000 and below.
There's a couple really nice ones.
You know, you probably have to do some work
and they're probably built in the 1950s,
but they're under like $75,000.
Merril gets cold.
Every single picture of property on this place
has snow on it.
Like if you go to their Zillow page,
every single one has snow on the ground.
Rent here is estimated to be about 37% lower
than the national average,
and their cost living is 18% lower
than the national average.
This is a great place to retire if you can stand the cold.
I mean, it gets cold here and there's a lot of snow.
If that doesn't bother you, move to Merril, Wisconsin.
The estimated average monthly expenditure here
for a retiree is $1,412 a month.
Number three, Valley city, North Dakota.
That's right, we're back in North Dakota.
Valley city is just east of Jamestown.
It's still in that little area between Bismarck and Fargo.
Along the 94.
Wait, okay, so that's not California.
So you guys probably call it the Interstate 94
or Interstate 94, whatever.
In California, I think I've mentioned this before,
but we just call it by the numbers.
I don't know why.
Like, the 110, the 405, the 105.
We never say interstate or anything like that.
It's weird, and I catch myself doing that
and then I get a bunch of comments.
So if you ever hear me saying that, that's why.
I'm screwed up because of Southern California
like so many other people.
Valley city is another one of those places
where the locals love it.
The high ratings on every single thing.
This is just a great place to live,
again, if you don't mind the cold.
There's almost 7,000 residents living here,
and they've got a crime rate
that's 6% lower than the national average.
Now, again, here's where they shine.
Their housing, the median listing price here is $90,000,
which is 52% lower than national average.
Their estimated rent is 31% lower.
Now, if you're gonna buy a house here,
realistically, 150,000 should be your starting point.
They do have some that are lower than that.
Like 80,000, 75,000.
There's one older home that looks decent for 49,
another one for 40.
But most of the decent ones start off about 150,000,
and go on up into the fours.
Actually, there's a few good ones
that normally come with a couple acres
that are like five and $600,000.
This is a great place to live.
Their cost of living is 13% lower
than the national average.
The quality of life score in Valley City is 85,
and the average monthly expenditure here is $1,451.
Number two, Kingsford, Michigan.
The exciting town of Kingsford Michigan is way up north.
It is so far north, it's right next to Norway.
Not that Norway, the town Norway,
which is right down the road from that in Iron Mountain.
Kingsford is in the Iron Mountain Metro area,
I guess you could say.
And it sits on the Menominee river
right across from Wisconsin.
I found a ton of fishing videos.
I guess that's what they do here is they just fish.
Kingsford has some of the best stats on this list,
and probably would've been number one
if I would've done this in any order.
It is also one of the coldest places
on this list year round.
Big disadvantage to this place besides the cold
is they don't really have a lot of jobs.
So if you are bringing a job with you or you're retired,
great place to live.
They got a population of about 5,000 people,
and their crime rate is 86% lower
than the national average.
Outstanding, Kingsford.
Their housing, the median listing price is $84,000,
which is 55% lower than the national average,
and rent is estimated to be 31% lower.
Currently, they don't have anything to rent
and they've had very few homes for sale.
Right now they got a seven bedroom three bath for $170,000.
Most of the property here is just that, it's property.
It's lots that you could buy.
Just not many houses on the market right now,
and if this is something you are thinking about,
go to Zillow and keep an eye on this town.
Something will pop up.
The cost of living here is 19% lower
than the national average.
That's a benefit of being retired,
or let's say you work from home.
If you find a place that doesn't have a lot of jobs,
the cost of living's gonna be a lot lower
than just about any place else.
Kingsford quality of life score is 93,
and their average monthly expenditure is $1,398.
All right, before we get to number one,
don't forget we have another channel called On This Day.
There is a link down below.
We'd love it if you went over there and subscribed,
watched some videos, give some videos big thumbs up.
All right, onto number one.
And number one, New Ulm, Minnesota.
New Ulm, yes, it's spelled U-L-M, Ulm.
And it is home to the Minnesota music hall of fame.
Inductees include Prince, Judy Garland, The Andrews Sisters.
Very interesting little town.
New Ulm's about an hour and a half Southwest of Minneapolis.
Now that's from downtown Minneapolis,
and that's when a normal person drives.
Every time I say something's like
this amount of time from someplace,
there's always a comment.
I could make it there in an hour.
Congratulations, we're all impressed.
New Ulm has a population of about 13,000,
and their crime rate is 65% lower than the national average.
That is not bad.
Their housing, the median listing price is 133,000
which is 28% below the national average.
Rent is estimated to be around 37%
below the national average.
Realistically, though, you wanna look over
150,000 to 200,000 just to get in a normal house
that's a little bit older and is decent.
They do have homes that are 350,000
all the way up to one that's like 450,000 right now.
But a majority of the decent homes are under 200,000.
The cost of living in New Ulm is 10% lower
than the national average.
This is not a bad place to live,
again, if you could get past the cold.
You don't have to really worry about getting killed here,
or robbed, or anything like that.
This is a decent nice place to live with good people,
and it's beautiful.
Their quality of life score in New Ulm is 85,
and the estimated average monthly expenditure
would be $1,564.
I like New Ulm.
It looks like a really good place to live.
Very community centric, as one person said.
All right, that's today's video.
Hope you guys enjoyed it.
Hope you got some information out of it.
Now go out, have a great day, and be nice to each other.