owning a good home with land on RN salary

[HoneyDinkley]

To all the RN's out there...is it possible to be single and own a good home with an acre or two of land separating you from your neighbors? I'm an LPN student working towards becoming an RN, and live in an apartment complex. It used to be ok but there are a lot of teenagers around here now whose parents let them hang out in the breezways and make noise. The apartment office is no help whatsoever. So my dream is to someday be able to buy a good house with my RN salary with enough land separating me from my neighbors. It sounds really expensive but can it be done? I'd love to hear from any single, home-owning RN'S that can understand what i mean!! :)

[ruralgirl08]

I guess it depends on the cost of real estate in your area. For playing it safe on a single income, consider buying something up to 3 times your yearly salary, (is the rule I was told.) But banks will likely lend more if you can manage it, hopefully that helps a little.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

I agree with the PP - the cost of land (developed & undeveloped) varies too much to make any type of generalizations. I will say that in my neck of the woods, real estate is still very affordable. I know many nurses (including myself) who are single homeowners.

A word of advice, unless you are really keen on raising goats or really like continuous mowing & fence maintenance - you may want to downsize your ideal lot size a bit. I foud that half an acre is just about right to ensure privacy & not break the bank paying the 'yard guy' - LOL. Life's too short to spend it all on yard work.