I live in SW PA (McKeesport, outside of pittsburgh.) If you live in an urban area around here, it's cheap, but as witt all places, the cheaper you go, the worse crime gets.
We have 2 lots and out land is valued at $600, and the house is at $2000 because of the neighborhood. Butler county is more expensive, but it's a lot nicer! Cleaner, less crime, and more of a country setting. On of my ex-girlfriends lives there and I loved it there. Then again, I'm an old fashioned guy (even tho I'm only 21)
As for the doublewide question, my city's High School has a vocational school built in, and they do 1 or 2 doublewides a year. They run everything underneath and just leave spools of romex long enough to go to the panel without a j-box. They leave a 4' section of wall undone where the panel is, and after assembly, they wall it up. For a bunch of urban high schoolers, they do a hack of a job, usually better than many contractors around.
The plumbing in these particular houses are all on one side, and the heat vents are run underneath as well. These get donated for Habitat for Humanity.
