My hometown, rural midwestern location, has so many homes available and all of them are under $100,000. 1,500-2,000sqft and 0.5+ acre lots. Many could use a little TLC, but are in safe and livable condition. There are many factories trying to hire anyone with a pulse and clean saliva (drug test that is easy to beat). There are also many engineering jobs available (primarily mechanical and civil). My hometown isn’t sexy though. No hip coffee shops. No gigabit Internet. Few restaurants. Trump supporters everywhere. All of the educated young people, myself included, flee the area.
and how much do those jobs pay? I think that's the problem - you cannot attract people with low pay (it can't be justified by saying the cost of living there is low).
Depends on the job. My aunt is a recruiter for a factory in my hometown. Any human being with a pulse that can pass a drug test could walk in now and get a job paying $18-20/hr with only a high school degree. 1.5 weeks of vacation and health/vision/dental insurance (not the best ever, but better than many places) as well.
For people getting the engineering jobs, salary is $50-70k. The cost of living is hilariously low, so it’s a lot more money than it sounds like.
