(gentle music)
- [Briggs] Are you looking to retire,
or just live a little cheaper, maybe buy an affordable home?
Keep watching.
What is going on, everyone?
Welcome back to The World According to Briggs,
and a video about towns in the United States,
where you can retire on less than $1,658 a month.
We did this video a few years back, and we used $1,500,
because that's the average social security
insurance payment every month.
And that number's also well below the average pension
or military retirement for an enlisted person.
We decided to do it again,
because I keep getting emails about it.
They want it updated. Things have changed.
Cost of living, housing,
and health insurance have all gone up in recent years.
And so has the average social security insurance payment,
which is $1,658 a month.
On today's episode,
we're looking at the Mountain West states,
Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Utah,
Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico.
Let's take a look.
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Number 10, Sierra Vista, Arizona.
If you're thinking about buying a home on a fixed income,
this might be a great place.
Real estate has gone up a little bit faster
in Sierra Vista over the last 12 months,
I mean, compared to most of Arizona.
That's because they got really good stats,
and it's affordable.
Affordable is really important to this video.
We're looking at just affordable places for retirees.
Keep that in mind.
Affordable doesn't normally happen on a golf course
with a butler and zero crime.
That being said, the overall crime rate
in Sierra Vista is 3% lower than the national average.
Their violent crime rate is 51% lower.
The average rent in Sierra Vista is about $994 a month
for a two-bedroom apartment,
which might not be considered affordable to a lot of you,
but it is still well below the national average.
They also have nice livable homes
between 200,000 and 250,000.
A lot of retirees live here,
because it's nice, warm, close to Mexico,
in case you need to go down and get some medication,
or a dental appointment,
and you don't feel like paying $3,000 for a filling.
Sierra Vista is about an hour and a half south of Tucson,
and it's about an hour and a half
from the boarder at Nogales.
Sierra Vista has a livability score of 79,
which is phenomenal.
When you're below 50, your place really sucks.
When you're below 60, it sort of sucks.
When you're above 70, you're doing great.
The average monthly expenditure here
is estimated to be $1,549 a month.
Number nine, Pueblo, Colorado.
Pueblo, Colorado is a really nice place.
I spent like a week there in 2016,
and then a couple days in 2019.
Pueblo's a really nice little town.
They do have a little more crime than I'd like to see
in a place, but the crime rate has been going down
over the last two years.
Their crime rate is 72% higher
than the national average, which isn't great.
Keep in mind, though,
like, oh, say you got places like East St. Louis,
and Detroit, parts of Chicago where the crime rate
is like 400 and 300% above the national average.
I really like downtown Pueblo.
It's got this nice little river walk thing,
very similar to San Antonio has,
and this city has a ton of history.
The median home listing price here though is about $244,000.
But the average rent has gone down 2%
over the last two years.
And right now, the average sits at $908 a month.
If you're looking to rent a house,
there's plenty there for the $1,200 to $1,400 a month.
That's two or three bedrooms, two baths.
You can also find older homes to buy
that are gonna need some work,
but they're gonna be about $150,000.
Above 250,000, you'll find newer places
that are ready to go, no work needed.
Pueblo's a little more expensive
than most places on this list,
and it's got a little too much crime, like I had said,
but it has some things that a lot
of people are looking for these days.
It's close to the Great Outdoors.
The Rocky Mountains aren't too far away.
It has good air quality, good water quality.
And you're not too far away
from the Colorado Springs metro area,
which is another great place to live and maybe retire.
It's just a little too expensive for this list.
They also have an area called Pueblo West.
It's to the west of Pueblo,
in case the word West didn't give it away.
If you are looking for a little more rural feel
and still live in this area,
and maybe you wanna buy a chunk of land
and build a house on it,
they've got plenty of that going on up in Pueblo West.
It might be a little more expensive,
but if you could afford it,
and that's what you wanna do, that's a great option.
The average livability score in Pueblo, Colorado is 65.
The estimated monthly expenditure
in Pueblo, Colorado is $1,624.
Number eight, Casper, Wyoming.
Years ago, Southwest Airlines had a commercial
where they said, "Wanna get away?"
And then they'd talk about places you can go on Southwest.
Every time someone says they're moving to Casper, Wyoming,
I remember that commercial,
because Casper, Wyoming is a good place
to get away from people.
It is a very friendly town for retirees.
It's kind of got a reputation for that.
There's only about 60,000 people living in Casper,
and it's got a little bit of crime.
It's only 30% above the national average.
Like we said before, that's not great,
but it's not terrible.
You could find older homes
in Casper for under 200,000.
The newer houses start off
at about 300,000 and go on up, way up.
But the median rent in Casper is $600 a month,
and they have no state income tax, which really helps out
if you're retired, or you're just trying to get by.
Livability score in Casper is 77, which is solid.
And their total monthly expenditure is $1,573.
This is another place that has great air quality.
Number seven, Pocatello, Idaho.
I've also heard people call it Pocatella.
It's kinda like how some people you run into in Missouri,
they call it Missoura.
I grew up with a guy that moved to Pocatello years ago.
He was a mechanic, and his grandfather was also a mechanic,
and liked to help out with his business occasionally.
And that came to an end when his grandfather decided
as the weather got hotter,
he just starts stripping off clothes in the garage,
and just keep working.
And he said he'd caught his grandfather
in there more than a few times
in just his underwear trying to work on a car.
So they closed up shop, and moved to Pocatello,
so his grandfather could have some land to, I don't know,
strip down to his underwear, I guess.
Pocatello is a great place if you like the outdoors,
you like fishing, things like that.
They have great air quality.
Their crime rate isn't terrible.
It's only 7% above the national average,
but their violent crime rate is actually
below the national average, which is good.
Their home prices have been going up in the last few years,
like every place, but they're another one that's
on a little bit of faster pace than most places in Idaho.
Now they say the median home price right now
in Pocatello is about $135,000.
That's not realistic, but if you do want some place,
200,000 will get you into someplace livable,
200, 175, somewhere in that area.
When you get into the 300,000 area,
you start getting really nice homes,
and they go way up here too.
The median rent in Pocatello
is $620 a month for a one bedroom, one bath.
I poked around.
Realistically, you're looking at over $750. Not bad.
The livability score in Pocatello is 76.
Your total monthly expenditure
in Pocatello is $1,610 a month.
Number six, Sidney, Montana.
Sidney is a nice place to live,
if you like being away from it all, kinda like Wyoming.
Sidney sits about 10 miles west of the North Dakota border,
and has a population of about 6,346 residents.
That was the 2020 Census.
The city lies along the Yellowstone River,
and is about two hours south of the Canadian border,
in case you need to get some medication.
For those of you that don't understand
why I keep bringing that up,
as we get older, we need medication in a lot of cases.
Anyone that is near retirement listening
to this right now knows exactly what I'm talking about,
and it is expensive to get a lot of your medication,
no matter what insurance plan you're on.
Medication is often half the price
in Canada that it is here in the United States.
One knock against Sidney,
their crime rate's only 3% above the national average,
but their violent crime rate is 44%
above the national average.
I don't really think that's much of a worry for most people.
I was kinda looking into it,
and a lot of it is domestic situations.
It's not like they have people robbing you
on the street and beating you on the street,
but they do have some bar fights
that go under the violent crime rate,
along with some domestic issues.
So keep that in mind.
Sidney is a beautiful little town
with that river right there.
It's a great place to live.
Sidney has a livability score of 73,
and the estimated monthly expenditures would be $1,485.
Number five, Cedar City, Utah.
Cedar City sits about 45 minutes north of St. George, Utah,
which is another great place to live.
It's just a little more expensive
than you want for a list like this.
It's also about an hour
and 20 minutes north of Mesquite, Nevada.
Well, Northeast.
Cedar City is a great place to stop
if you're heading to Zion National Park,
or Dixie National Park, one of those.
As a matter of fact,
if you wanna live near some really cool national parks,
Cedar City's one of the best.
I mean, you're not too far away
from Capital Reef National Park.
Zion is right there.
You even got Bryce Canyon National Park,
about an hour and a half to the east of Cedar City.
If you're a nature photographer,
you probably already know about this area,
but if that's something you ever thought about getting
into in your retirement, this is the perfect city for that.
Now it's said the median home value
in Cedar City here in 2022 is $180,100,
but realistically, 250,000 might get you something livable.
Where Cedar City really shines
is they are trying to unload tons of empty lots,
where you can build a house on, whatever.
They've built communities.
There's an empty lot there for you.
You just gotta talk to the builder.
Those you can find for anywhere from 50,000 to 120,000,
and it'll be decent.
You just gotta put a house there.
The average rent here is $830.
That's for one bedroom, one bath.
I didn't find many rentals available,
but they do have a lot of property for sale.
Cedar City has next to no crime.
They're actually 30% lower than the national average.
Their violent crime rate is 54% lower
than the national average.
They have a livability score of 73,
and your total monthly expenditure is $1,645.
Number four, West Wendover, Nevada.
West Wendover is right on the Utah border.
In Utah, you have Wendover,
which is another okay place to live.
It's relatively cheap.
West Wendover, right across the border,
is a little bit cheaper.
Now this is another one that has a high violent crime rate.
And I looked into it,
and a lot of it is domestic issues.
Again, people aren't robbing you when you go down
to get a Slurpee or something like that.
So for the average person that isn't living in a situation
like that, it's really not something you gotta worry about.
West Wendover's total crime rate
is 11% above the national average,
but their violent crime rate, like I said,
'cause of domestic issues,
is 124% above the national average
I would just totally ignore that.
I mean, it's a stat and it's gotta be in here.
I just don't think it's anything
anyone has to worry about in a place like this.
Now their housing is where they really shine.
The median home value here is $128,000.
Their rent is about $702 a month,
and that's for a two bedroom, one bath, if you can find 'em.
They don't have a lot of rentals here,
but they have places to buy.
And those places to buy normally come in the form of a lot,
like some of the other places, where it's ready to go.
The city's laid out the sidewalk, the street,
all the plumbing, all the electric,
all the utilities are there.
You just need to build a house there.
The great thing about this,
a lot of these lots are under $50,000.
And in this case, they are on a golf course.
Yeah, to the west side of town,
there's a housing development
where they have some houses there now,
a bunch of lots for sale for 50,000 or thereabouts,
and it's on a golf course.
The livability score in West Wendover is up.
It used to be 65. Now it is 67.
Their total monthly expenditure is 1,501,
the absolute cheapest on the list so far.
Number three, Lovington, New Mexico.
Lovington is down there by the Texas border,
not too far from Roswell, New Mexico,
and about an hour and a half Southwest of Lubbock, Texas.
That's like the closest major city,
and Lubbock is not really a big city,
so it's out there in the sticks a little bit,
but Lovington is a nice place.
They have outstanding stats.
Their violent crime rate is 73% lower
than the national average,
and their total crime rate is even
with the national average.
Their cost living is 16% below the national average.
Housing is 41% lower than the national average.
This place is outstanding.
The only thing that brings them down,
they don't have a lot of jobs, but if you're retired,
that's really not an issue.
Schools aren't really the best here.
And again, if you're retired,
your kids are all grown and off doing their own things.
So you don't have to worry about that either.
So that makes this place perfect for retirees.
Lovington even has a golf course.
It comes in the form of the Lovington Country Club,
which does have non-member hours.
And it's like 24 bucks for a round of golf,
34 on the weekends.
That's coming from their website,
and if you're watching this four years down the line,
I'm sure prices have changed.
Now the median home value in Lovington is $96,000.
Their median rent prices,
which they don't have a ton of rentals here,
but it's said to be $704.
They have a bunch of homes here ready
to go for under $150,000 that look decent,
maybe need a coat of paint, lawn mowed, something like that.
But it's not like you're doing major construction
of these houses.
At least that's what it looks like.
This is one of those towns where it makes no sense to rent.
Anyway, you just buy a house. They're so cheap.
Great sunsets, a golf course,
air quality is fine, and it's really cheap.
Lovington is a perfect spot
if you wanna retire on a budget.
Lovington has a livability score of 74,
and their total monthly expenditure, $1,523.
That is not bad.
Number two, Alamogordo, New Mexico.
This is a pretty cool place.
Alamogordo sits right outside White Sands National Monument.
It's got the oldest zoo in the Southwest,
not a very big zoo, but it's pretty cool.
It's got the New Mexico Museum of Space History,
and it's got decent weather most of the year.
Nice and warm.
Besides having White Sands National Park there,
you also have Lincoln National Forest right there,
Holman Air Force Base.
There's a lot of Air Force guys here,
especially Air Force retirees, who live in this area.
The median home value in Alamogordo is about $113,000,
but I think that's a little unrealistic.
Anything worth living in is gonna be 160,000 to 220,000.
And it goes up from there.
But that's about the price range you're looking at
to find something that is livable, decent,
that you're not gonna have to spend six months trying
to fix up.
The median rent price here is $788,
but realistically, it's closer to 850.
Crime's not terrible.
It's only 20% above the national average.
Their violent crime rate is below the national average,
and they get high marks for their cost of living.
Alamogordo has a livability score of 72,
and a total monthly expenditure is $1,629.
All right, before we get to number one,
don't forget to like, share, and comment on this video.
That really helps the channel out a lot. And it's free.
All right, on to number one.
And number one, Montrose, Colorado.
Montrose is one of my favorite Colorado towns.
It's far enough away from the whole Front Range
with Denver and Colorado Springs and all that.
This one is still in the Rocky Mountains,
but it's on the west side.
If you're active and you wanna retire in a nice place
with a lot of outdoor stuff, this is a great place for it.
They've got a river going right through town,
plenty of fishing, hiking.
You got the Black Canyon
of the Gunnison National Park right there.
If you wanna get into the mountains in Montrose,
just pick a direction and go.
You're gonna find the mountains,
and you're gonna find beauty everywhere.
Their airport, also it's a regional airport,
but it has direct flights to the West Coast.
And even from smaller places like here in Portland,
there's only one stop between here and Montrose.
The median home value in Montrose is about 182,000.
That's a little unrealistic.
You'll be lucky
if you can find someplace for under 220,000.
They have a lot of new construction with a lot
of beautiful homes that are gonna run you
right around 300,000.
So this one might be a little more expensive
than some of the other ones on this list,
but Montrose might be worth it,
especially if you decide to move there
within the next few years,
'cause I honestly think the housing
is just gonna start growing at a faster pace in Montrose.
They've got a nice little downtown area
with a distillery, wineries.
They've got decent craft brew places.
This is a nice place to live.
They've even got a couple golf courses.
Their crime isn't terrible.
Their total crime rate is 33% above the national average,
but their violent crime rate
is 52% below the national average.
Clean water, great air quality.
This is a great place to retire.
Livability score in Montrose is 75,
and your total monthly expenditure should be around $1,643.
Like I said,
it is a little more expensive than other places,
but Montrose may be worth it,
especially if you wanna live near the Rockies
or in the Rockies, something like that.
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All right. That's today's video.
Hope you guys enjoyed it.
Hope you got some information out of it.
Don't forget to like the video.
Don't forget to leave a comment.
Everybody, have a great day. Be nice to each other.
Hey, before you go,
McMuffin really wants you to watch this video.