I'm a poor so my budget is $350k. Jarrell has some stuff under that range but then you're paying a 3% tax rate which pushes the payment higher on top of being in a town that is just a bunch of houses behind a truck stop.
Bertram/Liberty Hill is too expensive now (for me). I rarely see anything my price range come up in Florence; mostly houses on acreage. Circleville and Granger always seem to be older homes priced super high and I really don't have the disposable income to be fixing up an older house or dealing with shit breaking down due to age. In Belton, I can get something at or below my price range that was built in the last few years and have a decent tax rate as well.
I just signed a contract a couple weeks ago for a new build in south Belton that the builder says may take up to 12 months. I figure that gives me time to kinda keep watching the market and I can bail with only my earnest money lost if something better comes along in that timeframe. If not, I just buy the new build since I already locked the price of the home.