4 Cities Where You Can Live for Free in 2025

BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast

One of the best ways to “live for free” is a strategy almost every successful real estate investor uses at some point in their journey: house hacking. You’ve probably heard of it before—house hacking allows you to significantly reduce (or eliminate) your mortgage/rent payment, so your housing cost hits rock bottom or even zero. This helps you save more money every month, invest faster, and reach financial freedom after a short (but worthwhile) period of sacrifice.

Which US markets are best for house hacking, getting a great job, and paying next to nothing for housing? We’re presenting four of the best house hacking markets in the country, some of which you’ll probably be tempted to move to. These markets all have lower home prices but respectable wages, things to do, and great rents for you to collect.

Who better to judge these markets than the man who wrote The House Hacking Strategy, Craig Curelop? Data scientist Austin Wolff is pitching these four real estate markets to Craig and Dave as the house hacking duo votes on whether they’d move to that market to house hack or stay put where they are.

In This Episode We Cover:

How to reduce (or eliminate) your monthly mortgage/rent payment with house hacking

The different levels of house hacking (comfort vs. profitability)

What makes a market worthwhile to house hack in (it ISN’T just about the money)

A mountain biking capital with booming job growth and low home prices

A “smart-grid” affordable city close to two major markets

Great jobs, an excellent airport, solid schools, and strong growth from this underrated southern market

Buying a house for under $300K in this city with a sports atmosphere

And So Much More!

Links from the Show

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Join the Future of Real Estate Investing with Fundrise

Grab Craig’s Book “The House Hacking Strategy”

Find an Investor-Friendly Agent in Your Area

The 10 Best Markets for Your First House Hack

Connect with Austin

Connect with Craig

Connect with Dave

(00:00) Intro

(01:57) What is House Hacking?

(05:11) Should You Move to House Hack?

(07:51) 1. Fayetteville, Arkansas

(11:59) 2. Chattanooga, Tennessee

(15:39) 3. Charlotte, North Carolina

(20:08) 4. Indianapolis, Indiana

(24:56) How to Start House Hacking

Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-1077

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