Just been researching safest towns in the US where you can actually afford to live, and honestly surprised by what I found. Everyone talks about expensive metros, but there's legit some solid options if you're willing to look outside the usual places. New Philadelphia, Ohio caught my eye first - homes averaging around $186k and you're looking at like $35k annual cost of living. That's wild compared to what I see in most markets right now. The crime stats are solid too, way lower than national averages. What's interesting is Ohio absolutely dominates this list. Seven towns from one state made the top 15 for safest towns in the US with lowest living costs. New Ulm, Minnesota is another gem - even lower violent crime, though property crime's a bit higher. San Elizario, Texas is the cheapest at under $37k annually. If you want something slightly bigger, Columbus, Indiana or Trenton, Michigan both hit that sweet spot of reasonable prices, low crime, and decent livability scores. Edwardsville, Illinois rounds out the list with the highest livability rating at 90. Obviously these aren't major cities, but if you're trying to build wealth or just live without financial stress, the safest towns in the US outside the coasts are looking pretty attractive right now. The data's from pretty recent sources too, so it's actually current. Anyone else been looking at smaller towns as an alternative?