Stay in the USA. Easy to find affordable real estate no matter your budget.

Too many naysayers don't realize how ridiculous their local cost of living is, and how a simple move can cut that by orders of magnitude.

The key is being willing to move. Once you are, options abound. Get busy on http://zillow.com and search regions and price ranges; to get in the mindset, start by searching whole states for properties under $1000 (not a typo).