1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.
  2. We've had very few donations over the year. I'm going to be short soon as some personal things are keeping me from putting up the money. If you have something small to contribute it's greatly appreciated. Please put your screen name as well so that I can give you credit. Click here: Donations
    Dismiss Notice

Question of the Day #15: If you could afford to live anywhere, where would it be?

Discussion in 'General Discussions' started by genuinemommy, Oct 9, 2015.

  1. genuinemommy

    genuinemommy Moderator Staff Member

    If you could afford to live anywhere, where would it be?

    This is an extension of the question posed in day #13. Sure, you have your reasons for choosing where you live now. But what if money were no object?
    Where would you live?
    What kind of home would you want?
    Would you have even considered living where you do now?

    Have you ever visited a place and felt immediately at home? If so, would you choose to live there specifically?
     
  2. Lindy

    Lindy Moderator Staff Member

    Location:
    Nebraska
    I'd live in a little beachside cottage on West Balboa Blvd or West Oceanfront Ave in Newport Beach, California.
    A two (short) block walk to the beach and another 50 yards to the water's edge. I've stayed several times at an impeccably kept little old 'fifties motel there.

    Bay Shores Peninsula Hotel in Newport Beach, CA | Newport Beach Hotels | Newport Beach, CA 92663

    I love the ambience, the food, the pier. Everything but the price, which for a little 700 square foot cracker box would be about $1.5 million.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  3. Street Pattern

    Street Pattern Very Tilted

    I think I mentioned earlier that a billion dollars wouldn't make much difference in my life at this point. Given my age, I don't have many years left to live.

    Oh, I might get a pied-a-terre in Manhattan or something, for visits, but I'd continue to live in the same town that I do now.

    Now, if the billion dollars came with 100 more years of life, then I'd want to move around and get to know some places. I'm thinking of some of the world's great historic cities. Prague or Vienna, say. Or Paris, London, Dublin, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Barcelona.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  4. ASU2003

    ASU2003 Very Tilted

    Location:
    Where ever I roam
    Living in Vegas on the Strip would be interesting for a year or two. Silicon Valley would be interesting for the same amount of time.

    I liked living in central Arizona, but I'm afraid that there are too many people there now. And the four Summer months were too hot during the day for the types of apartments and homes that they build there.

    Michigan is great in the Summer months, but winters are too long.

    I've been in Ohio for 12 years and it is a good balance, and the job is here.

    I would like to try living on the coast around Miami, and if I had to live in a different country, Sydney, New Castle, Brisbane, or Cairns on the East coast of Australia would be at the top of the list.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  5. Stan

    Stan Resident Dumbass

    Location:
    Colorado
    I live in a log home, in the middle of the National Forest now. More land would be nice; but I'm where I want to be.

    Yep, took me 20 years; but I did it.
     
    • Like Like x 3
  6. CinnamonGirl

    CinnamonGirl The Cheat is GROUNDED!

    We talked about moving to Seattle or Portland a few years ago, before the shop kinda fell into our laps. I vetoed the idea at the time because it seemed too far from my family.

    ...and then I visited friends near San Francisco (with a side trip up to Oregon to see ZS & BabySquirrel), and realized I'd made a terrible mistake. I fell in love with the Pacific Ocean, which I hadn't seen in person until then. The West Coast as a whole felt every kind of wonderful to me.

    A house overlooking the Pacific (or maybe the San Francisco Bay) would be lovely...but I'm not sure I could deal with city life. Maybe I could live on my own little private island and not have to deal with people.

    In the other thread, I mentioned Colorado as well ... I'd love an isolated cabin in the mountains, maybe near a lake (@Stan, dude, you're livin' the dream, let me tell ya. :) )

    And if money were really no object, I'd like a place in the French or Italian countryside. Or maybe Ireland. Hmm. I've also fantasized about Denmark many, many times.

    Okay, okay, so this is getting longer than necessary, and there are lots of places I'd be happy. Leaving exact location out of it, perfection would be: old stone house with lots of land, in the middle of nowhere. Mountains or water nearby, preferably both. The area immediately surrounding the house would be calming and secure, but outside the fence, everything would be wild and untamed. Lots of wildlife. Very few people.
     
  7. fflowley

    fflowley Don't just do something, stand there!

    I would keep our place in upstate NY.
    And add a place in Miami Beach. Mid-beach is nice, somewhere around the Fountainebleau.
    Then there would be the ski condo in the Alps.....
     
  8. POPEYE

    POPEYE Very Tilted

    Location:
    Tulsa
    I honestly couldn't say where my paradise is
     
  9. rogue49

    rogue49 Tech Kung Fu Artist Staff Member

    Location:
    Baltimore/DC
    Too many places.
    I'd say if I could afford it, I'd have many small places in a variety of locations all over the world.
    Kind of like a Tapas meal...but with real estate ;)

    But in truth, I like it here...best balance of all worlds & climate (or close by) ....for me
     
    Last edited: Oct 10, 2015
    • Like Like x 2
  10. Borla

    Borla Moderator Staff Member

    That would be my choice as well, if money were no object.

    A place on a nice lake in the Rockies or Canadian woods, a place on the beach on the Gulf coast, something in the PNW, a penthouse in midtown Manhattan, and a landing spot or three in Europe.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  11. Lindy

    Lindy Moderator Staff Member

    Location:
    Nebraska
    You two guys must like humidity. I hate humidity. If money were no object, you would have to pay me to live on the gulf coast, or pretty much any coastal area between DC and Galveston. I'd take a beach shack in SoCal over a mansion in Miami. But, that's just me. Did I mention that I hate humidity?:rolleyes:
     
  12. rogue49

    rogue49 Tech Kung Fu Artist Staff Member

    Location:
    Baltimore/DC

    Well, yes & no...
    I hate real thick humidity, especially since I run hot...so I could never live in the deep south or Florida or Texas coast.
    BUT...I need the humidity now...it repaired my lungs.
    The years I lived in San Diego, not only did I have allergies from the year round dying foliage (cause there's no water), which attacked my lungs only, making me cough incessantly,
    but all the dry air also aggravated it...drying out my lungs which made me cough even more.
    I kept getting lung infections...so much so, the antibiotics were starting to wear off.

    So when I escaped San Diego and decided to move to the DC/Baltimore region...I was saved and healed literally. (BTW, the docs couldn't figure it out...I had to figure it out myself...confirmed later by a brilliant allergist)
    Not only were my allergies confined to only a season of 2 weeks (late fall)
    but I could literally feel how the humidity in the air felt upon my lungs...OMG, the green, puffy clouds, rain...I was excited by RAIN!!
    Over time, the humidity in the air repaired my lungs.
    I'm still a bit sensitive due to some scarring from the continuous coughing back then (bad, like bull horn bad, and people thought I needed CPR bad)

    So I have to live in a somewhat humid area, I need it.
    Like I would do well in a place like Vegas, with my specialty in databases, and I love the lifestyle...but I could never live there for any time. (just really fun visits)

    We all have our limitations, this is mine.
    But it wouldn't prevent me from having little places all over the damn world if I was rich. (I'd just pick moderate areas with a variety of weather and greenery)

    I'd have a place in San Diego but I think I'd let my friends live in there as caretakers...then visit every once in a while for an extended stay. (I can deal now that the docs and me have figured out everything out)
    Perhaps, one here in DC/Baltimore. (I love the access to all the museums and other events year round)
    One in OKC...but separate from my dad (it really is a very fun city, I just want some buffer from his chaos)
    One in Northern Portugal, my base for European exploration (I've been fascinated with the area since I've seen the awesome estates for sell and the culture there)
    Then I'd have other little ones at my discretion as I found favorite places...each packed with memorabilia...and in different styles.
    Just small places, since I've found that real estate goes up exponentially for space, location, taxes and maintenance. (plus you can sell quick if you don't want it)
    Even an island...my own Hedonism. ;)

    And finally, after I explored the world...figured out a really good location.
    Only THEN would I figure out where to build my grand estate.
    Express my long time architect that I never became...and I do mean grand...Batman/James Bond like grand.

    So I better get kickin' making those billions, right?? :cool:

    But in all seriousness...I'd say, one on this side of the pond to represent
    and one in Northern Portugal would be perfect for that side of the pond. (something reasonable)
    Both around 300K
    But 300K can get you a BIG estate off a river off the coast in Northern Portugal. (so there's only maintenance you have to think off)

    And that's perfect there, moderate climate, nice humidity from the coast.
    Decent economy & politics, nice culture with my style of food.
    And like I said, it's a home base to explore and enjoy the rest of Europe at my discretion.
    So that's where I'd plan to have a 2nd place.
    But I don't want to leave the US either, family, friends and it's own dynamics and culture.
     
    Last edited: Oct 11, 2015
    • Like Like x 1
  13. Borla

    Borla Moderator Staff Member

    I hate humidity. The places I'm referring to are the "Emerald Coast" sections of the Gulf Coast. And I'd spend late spring/early summer there, and late summer/early fall there. Low 80s and not humid at all. Perfect beach weather.

    I want no part of the southern Gulf Coast. :D
     
    • Like Like x 2
  14. genuinemommy

    genuinemommy Moderator Staff Member

    There are a lot of places that are special to my husband and me. I would love to be able to live in a place for a few months, experience it, and move on. But to have our current place as a home base. Even and especially with children, we would prefer a nomadic lifestyle. I want to see too much of this world first hand, and to experience many cultures. We love traveling together. We love seeing each other's responses to new places. But we also want our feet firmy planted somewhere, to have a place to return to where we know people.
    If we could live anywhere, it would be... Everywhere. And here.
     
    • Like Like x 2
  15. ASU2003

    ASU2003 Very Tilted

    Location:
    Where ever I roam
    I have figured out that I want to be a nomad too. It is very tricky having to make plans day to day, but traveling is also getting easier with cell phones and the internet.

    I could fit my stuff into a storage locker, but it is the money and the long term prospects of live when I'm old and retired that makes me hesitant of trying it. But, if certain political leaders get elected, or I don't have my current job anymore, it will be on. I don't have many bad things to say about this area, except there is no beach and the winter is 4 months too long.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  16. Chris Noyb

    Chris Noyb Get in, buckle up, hang on, & be quiet.

    Location:
    Large City, TX
    If money were very plentiful, I'd prefer to live on a wooded ranch/farm (not in the true working sense) of about 100 acres. I'd leave 80 acres 'to nature' but with hiking trails, 10 acres semi-cleared, and 10 acres cleared for a house, large workshop, large garage, etc. The house would be large, but not too large, and a simple design. The one thing I'd be extremely careful about would be the foundation (this is based on the current problems we have in our house). I'd have a corner kitchen with plenty of room, many windows, and easy access to the patio (this because our kitchen is galley-style with no windows, and it's a bit cramped).

    I'd like to have the above in the Texas Hill Country because of the beautiful scenery. Maybe some property along the Pedernales River. The problem is the current conservative Republican political control/climate in Texas bothers me. If I found a state where my tax dollars would actually be used for worthwhile social programs such as public schools, healthcare for the poor, etc., I would be tempted to settle there.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  17. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    I'd probably want to live in Vancouver, B.C. I love the people, the city, the surroundings. It has the perfect blend of mountains and water for me. I like city life and culture, so that's part of it for me.

    I'm pretty fortunate to live where I live. 60k people, university town, little crime, ample outdoor recreation, an hour one way to the beach, an hour the other way to the mountains. Sure, we work elsewhere, but the commute is no worse than what we'd face living in PDX, and the benefit to living here versus the towns we work in is considerable. My husband is a peace-loving vegetarian. His kind is not looked upon well in the towns we work in. So we'll stay where it's safe and we can go out to eat.
     
    • Like Like x 1