Image your favourite vacation film. Perhaps it’s a scene from “Home Alone” in Illinois, or one of many dozens of Hallmark movies set in small-town New England (although many are filmed in Canada). You in all probability bear in mind them for his or her snow, romance, humor, and festive miracles — they might have even made you need to go to or stay within the cities they depict.
However what are these locations like in actual life? If you happen to have been to maneuver to considered one of these locations at this time, might you afford to calm down, or would the value tag break the vacation spell?
Let’s discover how reasonably priced a number of the most iconic film cities actually are. From timeless classics to up to date hits, cozy up and take a snow-covered journey that will make you consider issues a bit in a different way.
1. “It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946) – Seneca Falls, New York
Median sale worth: $260,000
Median family revenue: $54,400
This vacation basic is about within the fictional city of Bedford Falls, which is usually considered primarily based on Seneca Falls in Upstate NY — a quiet, snowy hamlet filled with small-town appeal. The true-life city even celebrates its Hollywood reference to a devoted museum and huge annual competition.
If you happen to noticed the film’s quaint streets, string lights, and old-school appeal and thought it will be a pleasant place to go to or stay, you’re in luck. Seneca Falls’ median sale worth is sort of half the nationwide fee, just like close by cities like Rochester and Syracuse.
2. “Home Alone” (1990) – Winnetka, Illinois
Median sale worth: $1,758,000
Median family revenue: $250,000
You might bear in mind the basic brick houses and snow-covered lawns of the “Home Alone” world, the place Kevin fended off two bumbling burglars and discovered to outsmart the grown-ups round him.
The film is about in real-life Winnetka, Illinois, and on the floor, it’d seem to be an awesome place to stay. However most individuals would have a tough time affording it. Houses repeatedly promote within the tens of millions on this upscale suburb, and six-figure salaries are the norm. Actually, the real-life house of the fictional McCallister household, dubbed the “Home Alone house,” bought for $5.5 million in early 2025.
On the entire, Chicago is comparatively reasonably priced, however its suburbs are sometimes rich and outlined by basic American structure.
3. “A Christmas Story” (1983) – Cleveland, Ohio
Median sale worth: $249,000
Median family revenue: $67,586
Whereas the film is about in Forties Indiana, a lot of “A Christmas Story” was filmed in Cleveland, giving town a everlasting place in holiday-movie historical past. The enduring home — now a museum — is tucked into the Tremont neighborhood simply minutes from downtown. You may even spend the evening and get up in a pink bunny swimsuit holding a Purple Ryder BB gun, similar to Ralphie dreamed.
For these serious about recreating the Christmas magic, Cleveland is a really reasonably priced place to stay, repeatedly rating as some of the reasonably priced huge cities within the nation.
4. “Elf” (2003) – New York, New York
Median sale worth: $770,000
Median family revenue: $81,228
A extra fashionable basic, “Elf” is all about discovering the magic of the Massive Apple: towering Christmas timber, glowing storefronts, and big-city vacation enjoyable. It was filmed on location all through NYC, giving it a real-world really feel.
The Hobbs household’s house is positioned at 55 Central Park West, a landmarked constructing adjoining to Central Park. It’s a major location for metropolis dwelling, however can be tough to afford at this time — a studio condominium prices almost $800,000. And on the entire, New York is among the costliest cities within the nation.
Quite a few different vacation motion pictures have been set in New York through the years, together with “Miracle on 34th Street” (1947), “Scrooged” (1988), and “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” (1992).
5. “Romance at Reindeer Lodge” (2017) – Jamaica, Vermont
Median sale worth: $400,000
Median family revenue: $71,364
Vermont has performed host to loads of vacation motion pictures, however almost all of them have been set in fictional locations. “Romance at Reindeer Lodge” is among the uncommon ones set in a lodge within the real-life city of Jamaica, Vermont — although it was truly filmed in Connecticut. The film is stuffed with snowy landscapes and rustic appeal.
Jamaica is a really rural city in mountainous southwestern Vermont, surrounded by ski resorts, parks, and quaint mattress and breakfasts. It’s comparatively reasonably priced, however primarily house to part-time residents or distant employees. Shopping for a home will price round $400,000, which is slightly below the nationwide fee.
6. “Christmas in Conway” (2013) – Wilmington, North Carolina
Median sale worth: $470,000
Median family revenue: $63,165
“Christmas in Conway” is a quintessential Hallmark film: small-town appeal, huge romantic gestures, and a lovestruck neighborhood. It was filmed all through the Wilmington space, utilizing its landmarks and coastal appeal to deliver the story to life.
Wilmington has truly served because the backdrop of quite a few different Hallmark movies, together with “Christmas in Harmony” (2021) and “USS Christmas” (2020). The historic port metropolis prides itself on its vacation spirit, particularly alongside the Riverwalk, the place timber, boats, and buildings are all adorned with hundreds of lights and occasions are held almost each day.
If the film magic gave you the itch to make the transfer, Wilmington is fortunately a comparatively reasonably priced place to purchase a home. The median sale worth is simply above the nationwide common, and family incomes come near matching the associated fee.
7. “A Biltmore Christmas” (2023) – Asheville, North Carolina
Median sale worth: $450,000
Median family revenue: $78,996
Set within the Blue Mountains of North Carolina, “A Biltmore Christmas” follows a screenwriter researching a basic vacation movie who magically steps into its world. It was filmed on the well-known Biltmore Property in Asheville, North Carolina.
The Biltmore Property is a real-world escape to an age of romance and gilded-age extravagance. It was commissioned by enterprise tycoon George Vanderbilt within the late Nineteenth-century and at this time is the biggest privately-owned house within the U.S., at over 175,000 sq. ft. You may tour it year-round, and it’s extremely adorned for the vacation season.
Shopping for a home within the space is pretty affordable, too. Asheville is reasonably priced for the area, with house prices and incomes pretty effectively aligned.
8. “Christmas at Dollywood” (2019) – Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
Median sale worth: $555,000
Median family revenue: $53,839
“Christmas at Dollywood” is a Hallmark basic about new beginnings and surprising romance. The film is about and filmed within the namesake Dollywood Parks & Resort, which is positioned in Pigeon Forge close to Tennessee’s Nice Smoky Mountains.
The movie mirrors actuality in some ways: Dolly Parton performs herself because the park’s proprietor — she is the real-life part-owner — because the resort gears up for its Smoky Mountains Christmas competition, which is definitely a beloved custom within the area. Plus, it does snow in Pigeon Forge just like the film depicts, though often only for a day or so.
If the film gave you the itch to maneuver, it might be tough to purchase a home, sadly. Pigeon Forge is costlier than close by main cities like Knoxville, and the median sale worth is about $100,000 above the nationwide common.
9. “The Polar Express” (2004) – Durango, Colorado
Median sale worth: $733,000
Median family revenue: $79,545
“The Polar Express” is a fantastical movie filled with childlike curiosity and believing within the inconceivable, and that break up carries into the true world, too: You may truly journey the well-known practice. Operating from mid-November by the New 12 months, the practice leaves from Durango, Colorado and takes passengers on a festive 75-mile journey to the “North Pole” (Silverton, CO).
Different “Polar Express” recreations happen all through the nation, from Chicago to St. Louis, however Durango’s is iconic due to its snow, panorama, and magical vacation spot.
Shopping for a home on this winter wonderland could show tough, although, because the median sale worth of a house is sort of twice the nationwide common. Incomes don’t come near assembly the affordability threshold, both.
10. Most Different Vacation Films – Cities in Connecticut
Median sale costs: $278,000 to $2,238,000
Median family incomes: $41,972 to $250,000+
Statewide median sale worth: $460,000
Statewide median family revenue: $91,665
If there have been one state synonymous with fashionable Christmas motion pictures, it will be Connecticut. Through the years, 22 movies have been filmed all through the state, together with “Christmas on Honeysuckle Lane” (2018), “One Royal Holiday” (2020), and “The Noel Diary” (2022). “Christmas in Connecticut” (1945) was arguably the primary film to deliver the vacation spirit to the state.
It’s not onerous to see why Hollywood likes the Structure State. Historic cities like Stamford, Norwich, Hartford, and New London supply excellent backdrops for vacation magic, with storybook structure and snowy New England appeal. You may truly take a tour of all 42 cities and villages in Connecticut the place vacation motion pictures have been filmed to totally indulge within the surprise.
If you happen to fell in love with the area’s colonial appeal, you’ll be happy to know that many areas of Connecticut come at decrease prices, like Woodstock and Groton. On the flip facet, Darien and Stamford are among the many costliest locations, with costs and incomes far above the statewide median.
Methodology
Housing market knowledge comes from Redfin as of November 2025. Revenue knowledge comes from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2023 American Group Survey 5-12 months Estimates.
