American northeast; so let's say NY, NJ, Connecticut, new Hampshire, Rhode island, Maryland and Delaware, and the farther north states (which I haven't looked for housing in so have no input). Delaware is probably the cheapest, and has cheap tax, but it sucks. NJ is crowded and expensive but has some really great towns that you def can't afford to live in for $150k. 500k at least. Rural NY has some great, cheap old farmhouses and older homes that you can get for 150k, so your 30k is already enough. The taxes are high, but water is cheap, clean, and plentiful and the land is good. In Pennsylvania the taxes are cheaper. Farms and land is expensive, but you can find cheaper houses in old slate mining towns and blue collar cities. Some of them are run down, but some like Bethlehem are thriving and would be a great place to live to be close to "stuff" but not in the city. For a true city, I'd look at Baltimore, Maryland, where you might be able to get a townhouse for 200k or less, for now. Who knows what the market will be in 3 years.