Buying a home in this economy is far from an easy feat, one so famously tough that millennials' eternal renter status has sparked its own genre of memes. Yet amid skyrocketing prices, the old argument of "why not move somewhere more affordable?" has started to lose its punch, with traditionally inexpensive locations like Tampa, Nashville, and even Detroit putting eye-popping price tags on their properties. 

From St. Louis to Denver, here are 22 once-affordable American cities that sure aren't now, according to median home price data from Redfin.