Where's this cheap housing? Do these locations with cheap housing have ample jobs that pay more than 10 bucks an hour? Do those jobs offer benefits? Are there actually houses for sale (that are actually affordable/livable)?
I checked my hometown's listings (SW Iowa). There are 16 houses for sale. 8 of those have 1,250 square feet or more (9 have 1,000 sqft or more). One of those 9 houses is under $100,000, is 122 years old, and looks to need quite a bit of work on the outside and at least some on the inside (it looks to be livable, but definitely needs work). The next cheapest house that is 1,000sqft or bigger is $142,500. The ethanol plant is offering $23/hr. The new math teacher might make as much as $38,000/yr. Most jobs seem to be maybe $12-15/hr, if that.