Beating Broke

Personal Finance from the Broke Perspective

  • Home
  • About
  • We Recommend
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy

Powered by Genesis

7 Reasons These 4 States Are Becoming Hotspots for Middle-Income Families

January 14, 2025 By Latrice Perez Leave a Comment

Middle Income Families
123rf

Middle-income families across the United States are on the move, seeking places where they can balance affordability, quality of life, and economic opportunities. Some states have become magnets for these families due to their unique combination of benefits. From job growth to housing affordability, these factors make a compelling case for relocation. Below, we highlight four states attracting middle-income families and explore seven key reasons driving this trend.

1. Affordable Housing Markets

One of the top priorities for middle-income families is finding a home within their budget. States like Texas, Tennessee, Florida, and Idaho offer housing markets where the cost of living is more manageable compared to coastal states. These areas boast lower property taxes and ample housing options, from single-family homes to modern apartments. For example, Texas offers spacious homes at prices that are a fraction of what you’d find in California or New York. Affordable housing allows families to allocate more resources toward education, savings, and leisure.

2. Thriving Job Markets

Economic opportunities are another significant draw for middle-income families. States like Florida and Texas are known for their booming job markets, thanks to industries such as technology, healthcare, and tourism. Florida’s robust hospitality sector and Tennessee’s growing automotive industry offer jobs that cater to various skill levels. Meanwhile, Texas has become a hub for tech startups and established companies alike, providing stable employment opportunities. These growing economies also contribute to lower unemployment rates, creating a sense of financial security for relocating families.

3. Lower Taxes

Tax policies in these states often favor middle-income families, making them more attractive destinations. For instance, Florida, Tennessee, and Texas do not impose state income taxes, allowing families to keep more of their earnings. Idaho, while not tax-free, offers relatively low state income tax rates. These tax-friendly environments can significantly reduce financial strain and provide families with greater spending power. Lower taxes also mean more money can be saved for long-term goals, such as retirement or college tuition.

4. Strong Educational Systems

Quality education is a top consideration for families with children, and these states deliver on that front. Tennessee, for example, has made significant investments in its public school system through initiatives like the Tennessee Promise, which offers free community college for high school graduates. Texas is home to some of the best school districts in the country, providing robust academic and extracurricular programs. Florida offers a variety of school choice options, including charter schools and scholarship programs, giving families greater flexibility. Access to strong educational resources ensures that children can thrive academically and socially.

5. Family-Friendly Communities

Beyond housing and jobs, these states foster family-friendly environments that make them ideal for raising children. Florida’s abundance of parks, beaches, and family-oriented attractions like Disney World cater to an active lifestyle. In Idaho, smaller towns like Coeur d’Alene provide tight-knit communities where neighbors look out for each other. Texas and Tennessee also feature neighborhoods designed with families in mind, offering amenities like playgrounds, community centers, and safe streets. A supportive community enhances the overall quality of life, making these states more appealing to relocating families.

6. Access to Outdoor Recreation

Outdoor Recreation
123rf

Middle-income families increasingly value outdoor activities as a way to spend quality time together and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Idaho is a haven for outdoor enthusiasts, offering activities like hiking, skiing, and fishing amid breathtaking natural landscapes. Florida’s sunny weather and miles of coastline make it a paradise for beach lovers and water sports enthusiasts. In Texas, families can explore diverse terrains, from the Gulf Coast beaches to the sprawling Hill Country. Tennessee offers scenic beauty with the Great Smoky Mountains, attracting nature-loving families looking for adventure.

7. Lower Cost of Living

Overall affordability is a crucial factor driving families to these states. Living costs in Texas, Florida, Tennessee, and Idaho are generally lower than in major metropolitan areas like Los Angeles, San Francisco, or New York. Essentials such as groceries, utilities, and transportation are more budget-friendly, allowing families to stretch their dollars further. This lower cost of living provides financial breathing room and reduces stress, enabling families to enjoy a higher quality of life without sacrificing their savings.

Why Families Are Choosing These States

The combination of affordability, economic opportunities, and quality of life makes these states prime destinations for middle-income families. Moving to Texas, Florida, Tennessee, or Idaho offers families a chance to secure a better financial future while enjoying a vibrant lifestyle. If you’re considering a move, these states provide compelling reasons to make a change. Share this article with friends or family who might be thinking about relocating—they may find their next home in one of these thriving states.

Do you live in one of these states? What pushed you to make the move and was the move successful? Let us know in the comments below.

Read More:

Backpacking on a Budget: 10 States Where Your Dollar Goes the Farthest

These Are The 5 Poorest Zip Codes In Texas and 5 Of the Richest

Latrice Perez

Latrice is a dedicated professional with a rich background in social work, complemented by an Associate Degree in the field. Her journey has been uniquely shaped by the rewarding experience of being a stay-at-home mom to her two children, aged 13 and 5. This role has not only been a testament to her commitment to family but has also provided her with invaluable life lessons and insights.

As a mother, Latrice has embraced the opportunity to educate her children on essential life skills, with a special focus on financial literacy, the nuances of life, and the importance of inner peace.

Filed Under: moving Tagged With: affordable living, cost of living, education, family-friendly states, job markets, middle-income families, moving trends, outdoor recreation, relocation, tax-friendly states

How to Survive Being Broke

July 20, 2020 By MelissaB 3 Comments

Many of us have been broke.  It’s not a fun place to be.  You may feel depressed and desperate, but recognizing that you won’t always be in this position is imperative.  There are steps you can take to live a more comfortable life financially.  Until then, here’s a primer on how to survive being broke.

How to Survive Being Broke

How to Survive Being Broke

If you’re broke, you must take care of your immediate needs first.

Short Term Action to Take

Maintain a Positive Attitude

Many people who are broke become depressed.  They don’t see any way out of their situation and can’t imagine a future where they’ll be in a better position.

To successfully beat being broke, you need a positive attitude.  Research stories of people who were broke and went on to become successful and much more comfortable financially such as Erin Brockovich (played by Julia Roberts in the movie Erin Brockovich) or Chris Gardner (played by Will Smith in the movie, The Pursuit of Happyness).

Remember that life can change quickly.  You may be broke now, but you likely won’t be in the same position in five years or even two years.

Live on Beans & Rice

How to Survive Being Broke
Photo by Paul Hanaoka on Unsplash

The next step is to trim your expenses as much as possible.  Since food is often the largest monthly expense behind rent, that’s the best place to start.  You may love to eat salmon and steak, but now is not the time to do so.  Now is the time to eat the proverbial beans and rice.  For instance, when my mom and dad were first married and broke, my mom would buy one pork chop, pound it flat, and then split it between the two of them.  Once they had two kids, she would buy two pork chops and pound them flat to make four servings.  Now is the time to stretch your food as much as possible and buy the least expensive food you can.

Choose Your Friends Carefully

What financial position are your friends in?  You’ll want to find friends who are mindful of their money and not spendthrifts.  When my husband and I were first married, we were broke.

Some of my coworkers invited us to go with them out to eat.  The other two couples were both financially comfortable, and they chose a Mexican restaurant.  To my dismay, there were no prices on the menu.  We ended up spending too much that night, even though we tried to make frugal choices.  It was just an expensive restaurant.  We couldn’t go out with my coworkers again because we couldn’t afford their lifestyle.

If you try to maintain friends who are in a better financial position than you, you may never become financially comfortable.

Entertain at Home

How to Survive Being Broke
Photo by Johanna Dahlberg on Unsplash

Just because you’re broke, you don’t have to give up your social life.  Instead, change the way that you socialize.  Instead of going to a bar or restaurant and spending a lot of money, invite friends to your home.  Have a potluck at your house or have a game night.  Once a month my parents used to have their friends over in the summer for a volleyball night.  Be creative.  You’ll find there are plenty of ways to socialize without spending a lot of money.

Find a Hobby That Pays

Sometimes when people are broke, they have a lot of time, but not much money.  If that’s your circumstance, find a hobby that pays.  For instance, my uncle started a small side business for athletes at his former high school.  He would comb through micro fiche to find all of the articles for a particular year about the high school football team.  He’d print these out and bind them all together and sell them to the athletes.  He made some money on the side, and the former athletes had a scrap book of all the old newspaper clippings from their glory days.

Other ideas might include gardening, crafting and selling the product on Etsy, doing genealogy research for someone, building web sites for others, etc.  You’re only limited by your imagination in what you can do.

Long Term

When you’re broke, you may immediately think just of the short-term, but you must also think of the long-term.  How will you get out of this situation so you’re not broke your entire life?

There are several important steps you should take.

Earn a Degree

Photo by Juan Ramos on Unsplash

If a degree would help you secure a better job, than look into taking college classes.  When you’re already broke, you may feel like you have you have no time or money to do so.  However, if you don’t take steps to improve your situation, you’ll remain broke for much of your life.

I had a friend, Becca, who was raising her niece and nephew.  Money was tight, but she prioritized her education.  She took one or two classes a semester, putting in much of her study time early in the morning or at night when the kids were asleep.  It took her many years to get her degree, but she did.  Now, she lives a comfortable, middle class life and has a professional job.

Learn about Finance

If you don’t already have a solid background on personal finance, now is the time to learn.  This doesn’t have to cost any money.  You can borrow books from the library, take free finance classes online, and read blogs.  Learn all you can about managing money.  I’m not just talking about ways to save money, but ways to build your emergency fund and invest so you don’t end up broke again once you get out of your current situation.

Final Thoughts

How to survive being broke is a challenge for many people.  However, the first step is a mental one.  Realize that you’re currently broke, but you won’t be broke for the rest of your life.  You can make both short-term and long-term changes to improve your life and vastly improve your financial situation.  Many, many other people have done so.  Learn about those people and take concrete action to improve your current situation.

MelissaB
MelissaB

Melissa is a writer and virtual assistant. She earned her Master’s from Southern Illinois University, and her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Michigan. When she’s not working, you can find her homeschooling her kids, reading a good book, or cooking. She resides in New York, where she loves the natural beauty of the area.

www.momsplans.com/

Filed Under: budget, Debt Reduction, Married Money Tagged With: beating broke, budget, education, tight budget

4 Side Hustles for Teachers

April 15, 2019 By MelissaB Leave a Comment

If you’re currently a teacher, you likely know that while this occupation can be rewarding, it doesn’t pay very well.  You may be looking to supplement your income in the evenings or the weekend.

If you’re a former teacher who is now staying home with your kids, you may be looking for a way to bring in money utilizing your teaching skills.  However, you’ll need flexibility so that you can do your work when your children are sleeping at night or napping.

Luckily, there are plenty of ways to earn a side gig with your skills as a teacher.

Private Tutor

Teacher Hustles
Make Money as a Teacher

One of my friends worked at Nielsen, became a high school math teacher, and then stayed home when she had children.  For the last 10 years, she has been a private math tutor.  She gets her clients from referrals from her former colleagues and through word of mouth thanks to satisfied customers.  She makes several hundred dollars a month and enjoys being able to still teach even though she is no longer working full-time.

VIPKID Tutor

If you have a bachelor’s degree, you can get apply for a job at VIPKID teaching children in China how to speak English.  Most of the available tutoring hours are very early in the morning or late in the evening when your kids are likely already in bed.  You can set your own schedule and decide how many hours you want to work each week.

Depending on your experience, VIPKID may pay up to $22 per hour.

Curriculum Developer

Many former teachers make a nice income developing curriculum and selling it on Teachers Pay Teachers.  Other teachers are always looking for quality curriculum material and homeschoolers also take advantage of the site.

Online Teacher for Gifted Students

A number of prestigious colleges such as Johns Hopkins, Duke, and Northwestern offer online classes for gifted children.  You can teach here, and the schedule offers flexibility as you can decide what semesters to teach and what classes to teach.  You’ll be able to challenge gifted students, and you’ll have students who will likely challenge you, too.

If you don’t want to work with gifted students, you can also look at the many online schools available for K-12 students.  You can teach from home, and you may have to have a live course or tutoring once a week.  My kids were enrolled in an online school this year, and every time they had a tutoring session or interacted with their teachers, the teachers always worked from home, which provides a great deal of flexibility.

If you’re a teacher looking for extra income, you can see that there are a variety of ways to do that, and this list isn’t exhaustive. Here’s another list of ways to make extra money that’s not focused on teachers, but could certainly apply to teachers.  If you’re a teacher who opted to stay home with kids, there are many ways you can work from home using your skills and keeping current so you’ll be able to reenter the teaching workforce should you decide to in the future.

If you’re a teacher or were a teacher, have you found ways to turn your skills into a side gig or part-time income stream?  If so, what do you do?

MelissaB
MelissaB

Melissa is a writer and virtual assistant. She earned her Master’s from Southern Illinois University, and her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Michigan. When she’s not working, you can find her homeschooling her kids, reading a good book, or cooking. She resides in New York, where she loves the natural beauty of the area.

www.momsplans.com/

Filed Under: Education Tagged With: education, extra income, income, income streams, money, side hustle, side income, teacher, teaching

  • 1
  • 2
  • Next Page »
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Improve Your Credit Score

Money Blogs

  • Celebrating Financial Freedom
  • Christian PF
  • Dual Income No Kids
  • Financial Panther
  • Gajizmo.com
  • Lazy Man and Money
  • Make Money Your Way
  • Money Talks News
  • My Personal Finance Journey
  • Personal Profitability
  • PF Blogs
  • Reach Financial Independence
  • So Over Debt
  • The Savvy Scot
  • Yes, I am Cheap

Categories

Disclaimer

Please note that Beating Broke has financial relationships with some of the merchants mentioned here. Beating Broke may be compensated if consumers choose to utilize the links located throughout the content on this site and generate sales for the said merchant.

Visit Our Advertisers

Need to change careers? Consider an Accounting Certificate Program from WTI.