I mean, if all you want is mediocre food chains, fast food, a bowling alley, and a movie theater, you're pretty set. That's not enough for me, hence why I left.
My mom bought a tear-down for less than $100k in a small Southern city last year. It really needs a shit ton of work and we'll probably sink another $200k into it over the next 10 years. We are basically going to replace the entire house, in stages as we can afford it. But the point is that 1) she can live in it during this time, and 2) she's building equity in it.
Still, I'd rather rent in California than own in the South. Good for her though.
I live in such a town. You could buy a gorgeous mid century style home for less than that. It's very close to one of the best universities in the county. There is an Amtrak station that is 2hrs from a major city. It's only a 2hr drive to two other major cities. A lot of nice bike paths. It's in a large blue state. Only 15-20 minutes to a mid sized city Fiber Internet is available. Cons: Schools aren't the best, because there is quite a bit of poverty because it's a low cost of living area. Property taxes are quite high. So if you don't have kids it is a decent place to live. You could also move out of city limits where you're outside of the school district as that is the majority of property taxes.
Literally like 50% of the US. The further out you go, the lower the cost of property and houses gets. The issue is living that far out of town. My parents manage to do it, I couldn't.