Congratulations! We finally bought after eight years as well, but not in California which is still such a challenge. Prices seem to be where they were when we started looking, which was a shock then so nothing really changed in our view. We rather begrudgingly wasted eight years waiting, due to others’ greed and stupidity. Such is life, and we accept the Great Recession was (is) a once in a lifetime event.

After a lot of soul searching, and with probably only another 10-15 healthy years ahead of us, the price to pay to live here just didn’t add up. It’s a personal/cultural thing. I’m from the UK and my wife from Taiwan and we’re both well traveled, so our outlook is going to be different. For us France still remains one of the most extraordinary place in the world and offers a life style second to none. Its rich cultural heritage and emphasis on living is a huge lure so we will be spending much of the year there, where wonderful old manors, chateaux etc can be bought for less than a SFH in established neighborhoods in CA. Maui will become home in a few days time for residence and tax purposes, and of course being one of the most beautiful places in the world, is in our view more deserving of the premium you’d expect pay, which actually turned out to be better value. Two wonderful homes in two top destinations for the price of one in California was a no brainer.

Please forgive me for highjacking your post, but I thought it might offer a contrasting story, but one which also ends happily. I hope you enjoy your new home.

Big thanks go to Rich and many of the other long term posters who have contributed some great insights, and helped me enormously. The tenor seems to have changed a little from the old days (I was qwerty007 then), but that’s understandable.