If you want low COL, sorry but HI is NOT a candidate. We have very high COL, plus airfares.
It definitely has a lot of commuters as well and our traffic and parking are bad.
WUE and National Student Exchange are great merit award programs. You do have only the list of participating Us and further restricted by participating majors.
Generally, the WUE discounts are available at universities and majors that are not heavily subscribed. In practice, this means those universities and majors which are not very selective. For example, in the WUE list at http://wue.wiche.edu/search_results.jsp?searchType=all :
I also live in NY and many people are very happy with SUNY schools and the low COA. With the new Excelsior program (if one qualifies) that COA is down to $20k. If one qualifies for the program (must have income of $125k or less) and student commutes it’s practically free.
@Sybylla @northwesty obviously WUE isn’t unlimited–the UCs (except Merced) and UDub don’t participate, for example. That being said, some kids desire to leave their home state. WUE is the reason one of my financial safety schools is an OOS public. With WUE and without scholarships, the cost of UNR is about the same as the cost of U of Idaho, for a student from Southern Idaho. Sure, some states have higher-ranked public universities. But for me, WUE has allowed me to get a good education outside my home state, which I think is valuable.
Back decades ago,my sibs and I used the National Student Exchange program to get a taste of a residential college away from home while paying 50% over resident tuition. It was a nice option and had a number of schools participating. My sister chose UMass Amherst and another sister and I chose UOregon.
The schools and requirements for that program and WUE change so it’s imoortant to get the latest info if you will be trying to use the program. The spots are competitive as it is considered a merit award.
I’m an east coast transplant living in IL and while I love it here, it’s not super fabulous in terms of affordable in-state college options. COA is over $31k for state flagship, and merit money not an option for the vast majority of students. Plus our state government finances are in shambles. Going OOS or private is definitely more cost efficient for many students.
Florida, Georgia, North Carolina or Virginia.
Nurse001,I realize that you are in state, but my son was admitted EA as an OOS student to UNC. He is super excited as it is his top school. Like many others, he received academic and merit (music) money from U of South Carolina Honors, University of Maryland Scholars program and will be getting money from NYU, though we have not gotten the official number yet. Still he will likely go to UNC so your comment about your son receiving grants in the following three years after being admitted freshman year peaked my curiosity. Are these reserved for in-state students or are they open to others as well and if so, how do they come about? Thank you for your input!
I would be wary of VA, which does not cap OOS students. There always seems to be some reporting of a local high stats kid who was valedictorian not getting in to UVA, or William and Mary, or James Madison.
@percussionboymo. 1st year he did not qualify for any merit or financial aid money. When it came around to sophomore year we did have a change in financial income. Granted it was not huge but I sent in the reconsideration for financial consideration with all the backup paperwork. From there my son received a grant and work study. Plus there are so many ways for your child to lower costs. My son was RA sophomore year and now senior year and his room is free. That is a $7,000 savings a year. This year he is an office assistant, while room is not free, he gets paid well every 2 weeks so that is spending and food money. Plus do not get unlimited meal plan unless you know for a fact your child will eat all his meals there. That was a much wasted lesson we quickly learned. One other thing once he is a student he will constantly get stuff in email to apply for different scholarships that are always coming up. So many ways to save. My son did get into Maryland OSS honors as well but they did not offer him any money. I would be happy to answer any questions about UNC as I have a couple of years under my belt 
Ok @Nurse001 really…your son received additional need based aid based on a reduction in income.
Then he got an RA job which certainly isn’t a slam dunk to be counted on for any student.
@percussionboymo you can’t count on getting additional grant money from UNC CH unless you have a reduction in income, and your son really can’t count on becoming an RA. Reducing the cost of the meal plan will help…but not THAT much.
In addition, your music sons merit aid is likely a performance award based on his audition. Not likely that will increase either.
If UNC CH isn’t affordable to you as an OOS student now, then it won’t likely be in subsequent years either. The school meets full need.
Yes, that is certainly true as the OOS costs are very expensive. The one point I was trying to get across is there are ways to get costs down after a child becomes a student but if the OOS costs are not affordable then I would definitely consider the lower cost colleges. My son also had an out of state college that was his number one college over UNC but it was not affordable to us so he had to pick from instate. In the end everything works put. I am sure your son will land at the school he is supposed to be at
This poster is looking for places to possibly relocate with modest living costs…and good potential for college choices with decent costs.
Paris is lovely…but doesn’t meet any of the criteria the poster set forth in the original post.
Nurse001, thank you for sharing your son’s experience trying to save some money while attending UNC. We were fully aware at the time of application that Uncovered was probably not going to give us any money so we were not surprised. However, it is hard to turn down Maryland with a $10,000 a year reduction in tuition and 0 from Uncle. Of course there is so much more that goes into making a decision about which college to attend. I would love to be able to hear more about your son’s experience at UNC but I fear that I have hijacked this thread far too much already. Perhaps I can message you?
@percussionboymo Sure PM me as I would be happy to discuss UNC.
@greenwitch that happens everywhere. Most of the Virginia schools have at 65%+ in state.
Maybe so, but NC is more of a sure thing. 82% of students at UNC Chapel Hill are instate.
Wisconsin. Great two-year technical colleges (check it out), great non-flagship universities in Milwaukee, Green Bay, LaCrosse, Plattville. Excellent flagship in Madison. Lots of fresh water, lakes, scenic views. 2% unemployment, low-cost housing, particularly in small cities and towns. Bread basket of America.
Cleveland, Oh…
Cleveland has some wonderful East Side suburbs with good school systems and very affordable housing.
Ohio State and Miami U are solid state colleges.
Ontario would be tough to beat. Obviously NC, Va, GA, FL…but also Indiana, Iowa, Mich.