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If you don't mind living in France, for $500k, you can have a _very_ nice house with a swimming pool on the French Riviera for this price. You'd be less than 30 minutes away from Cannes, Nice & Monaco; 45 mins away from Italy. Addidional bonus: There are plenty of tech jobs in Sophia-Antipolis (our version of the silicone valley).
I have a license in real estate appraisal. In this industry, the most important thing is location, location, location. A home located on one side of town may be $$$$$$$ more/less than the exact same home on the other side of town.
In San Antonio, Texas or surrounding areas. It's possible to snag a spanking new 3000 sq ft home with a pool on your very own 1 to 2 acres for UNDER $500K.
Home for Sale in Century Oaks Estates
And because it's so easy to get a home here in Texas, the foreclosure rate has really gotten up there. You could even buy several distressed properties for $500k and flip that money or rent them out and let your renters pay your mortgage.
Interesting thread. I bought a house in Austin in 2004 for just under $200K. Nice neighborhood, in the city, with a decent yard and garage. Suburbs would probably be twice the house and yard for the same money.
I enjoy visiting the East Coast and California, but as everyone has pointed out the house prices there are crazy. It really comes down to your own set of values and priorities. What do you really want to spend your money on? I think it's great that there are so many options available.
Ayuh, location, location, location: my hometown is in midcoast Maine, which was a very poor region when I was growing up but which has been booming in recent years as both a retirement and tourism destination. There, house prices are based on three factors:
Location: waterfront (bay/ocean) brings top dollar, sometimes rivaling the prices in Mass and NY/LI and similar locations
Location, location: water view (no water frontage, but view from across the road) - half the cost of the waterfront for otherwise identical property
Location, location, location: no water view (and the further away, the lower the price) - half again
So you could drop $500,000 for a prime spot, $250,000 for a spot with a nice view (like my sister's house), or under $100,000 for something off in the woods somewhere (or less, depending on how far out).
I must admit, sorry to break into Alison's thread, that is quite tempting. I like living in France, spent quite a few years there.....I have property further north in France but I'm looking to sell, poss changing for something in the south or maybe northern Spain. Dunno yet. I was thinking about Ireland as I have family there but man that there is a crazy property market and I do prefer a drier climate (no offence now bhoys.)Quote:
Originally Posted by rvince
Is this just a scam to get all the punters round cos they think you're leaving us Ali? like those girls who are "giving up escorting" every two weeks? only joking love, you know you're here forever, you'll miss blighty too much, the rain, the stodgy food, the chavs, repeats of george and mildred.........YOU ARE NUMBER SIX!!!!!............YOU CAN NEVER LEAVE THE ISLAND!!!
A scam to get the punters round. Nooo, that would never work. The phone's been off the for the last 2-weeks anyway. :-)
Speaking of France though, that had come up in conversation a few times. The attraction of real onions, real garlic, and real fresh bread has it's appeal. None of this forced supermarket rubbish. It's the language barrier though, at the moment I can only say "Do you speak English," and "My name is."
Mind you the French don't put up with governments. If there's anything they don't like they just turn lorries sideways across the motorways and set fire to them. With no recourse whatsoever. We maybe need some of that here.
You can always come to Denmark Alison ;) Although our taxes here makes everything so expensive, so don't expect a mansion here, lol.
Thurmont?Quote:
Originally Posted by fhsjazztrumpet2
As a tourist it most definately wouldn't be a problem as 99% of shop owners/clerks speak a decent english. As a fulltime resident, knowing the basics of the language would definately help! ;-) (although there are a load of british people who come here when they retire and they don't speak a single word of french)Quote:
Originally Posted by Alison Faraday
Yeah, we can be easily pissed off at times, but overall we're nice people :-)Quote:
Originally Posted by Alison Faraday
(I've returned temporarily ... still under the weather, though)
Beside a brew of syrup, lemon, and hot water, is there anything else for a semi-dry hacking painful cough?
A few years ago, I traveled through eastern Texas and Arkansas and one could literally own a home for $15,000. Yes, it was a shack, and not in the best part of town, but one can't buy a shopping cart out here in southern California for that amount. A decent home in Fort Worth could be had for $70,000.
I think the median price out here in SoCal is something like $475,000. That would buy a little palace in places such as Atlanta.
A friend of mine lives in ND, in a small farming town of 750 people. The woman who lived across the street from here recently died so her family auctioned off the house and the 1 acre of land it was on, and it went for 2,500.00, yep two thousand five hundred dollars, lol.
Oh no :-( Erm, have you tried something like Airwaves, those really hot chewing gums? They're quite good for clearing you out.Quote:
Originally Posted by Realgirls4me
Still reading through these.. I guess another requirement would be quiet, I like to hear the birds. No really, I do :) But nothing like Alabama, I just have visions of that film Deliverance with Burt Reynolds in it.
Slightly warming to France though. What's the population density like? Say in the countryside? The density in the countryside here is still quite high since they're building on it left right and centre, there's not much left.
What's an "Airwave"? Is that available here in this country I wonder?Quote:
Originally Posted by Alison Faraday
Thank you, by the way, Alison for the suggestion. :)
Erm ang on :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Realgirls4me
These things, the blue ones at the top are best. Hope you feel better soon, it's really draining been down. ((((((((((hugs))))))))). If it's any consolation, you'll be over it by this time next week. :)
http://www.wrigley.com/wrigley/image...s/side_air.jpg
OMG, $2.5k!! ND.... Dakota!! Right where's that? What happens there? :) Oooh, spacial disturbances.Quote:
Originally Posted by NYTSJulie
http://www.spacew.com/gallery/image000643.jpg
Thanks for the hugs and for the suggestion, but I've had this for over a week now. I usually can get through most cold symtoms in three or four days. This virus, or whatever it is, has been very persistent. The worst part is not being able to sleep because of the non-stop dry coughing. Sudafed PE did knock it down a bit. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Alison Faraday
I don't think I've seen those packs.
Can you grab some anti-biotics off a Doctor or someone? Not that they'll kill a virus but will boost your immune system. Anything which will give you a kick. Also, lots of fruit veg, no processed foods. Could cold Red Bull work? That's perked me up before when I've been down, otherwise the worst solution going.Quote:
Originally Posted by Realgirls4me
I hope you feel ok. :)
Thank you for your concern and suggestions, young lady. I'm about to go eat now in fact ... healthy for the most part (tuna sandwiches,juice,etc). :)
Not to mention the humour barrier, French cannot get english sarcasm,Quote:
Originally Posted by Alison Faraday
I thought red bull wasn't available in U.S. because it contains TAURINE which is a carcinogen, ever wondered where TAURINE comes from girls? Think about it. YUP , thats right , BULLS TESTICLES! How ya like your red bull now?Quote:
Originally Posted by Alison Faraday
Not to mention that, for some unfathomable reason, they actually think Jerry Lewis is funny.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kriss
-Quinn
Pop density is much lower than England, especially where you are. There's no pressure to build in the countryside away from the major cities, there's still plenty of property available. France has great trains and buses, communications, absolutely excellent health service, it's a thoroughly modern European State, but still life, at least outside of Paris, is lived at a civilised pace-- I called a large company in eastern France today at 1.45 local and the sweet receptionist said, can you call back in half an hour, they're all still at lunch....This is normal...Quote:
Originally Posted by Alison Faraday
Friends drop in for aperos and stay till ten but nobody is ever on time....Lunch is still THE meal and can take 2-3 hours...Everybody bitches about the Government and the weather...Despite what you see on the telly and a bit of habitual shoplifting (it's a kind of protest) the French are a VERY law-abiding lot.
Very little crime in rural areas and frankly even the places the French shake their heads and warn you about are not seriously scary (even in Paris,) though opportunist theft is quite common in the big cities...Having said that I remember once being in a big market in an African area of a large city, which most of my French friends wouldn't go near and though I was mad to. I carelessly mislaid my wallet. When I missed it went back to the last stall thinking "That's a goner" only to be confronted by a huge West African with a grin about three feet wide running towards me with it in his hand...who proceeded to lecture me about leaving my wallet around in the market...In five years living in France I never locked the house or car doors when I was at home....
Actually the only real issue is the language. You're either one of those people who is comfortable in another language or you're not, and this has little to do with fluency....I hear what rvince says, in the south English is common (Est-que t'es francais rvince?) but to really get to know the French and make friends you do have to learn to speak the language, but as long as you make some sort of effort they'll be happy until you're up to speed, most people under 50 have at least basic English....
Things to watch...The climate in much of France is not as attractive as you may think. Summers are certainly warm but winters can be much colder than you're used to. Better in the west/south. French lorry-drivers are a bloody menace...Oh yeah, after-sales service can be iffy, some stores no prob, there's an issue, we replace it, others just assume you're working some sort of scam (don't buy electrical goods from Leclerc.) Working for an employer in France is dead easy but running your own business is MUCH MUCH more complicated and expensive than it is in the UK, even after the kind attentions of Mr Brown these last 10 years.
If you want more info Alison, PM me-- I lived there a while.