One for Bearishgirl

[flyer]

Another good option for living elsewhere without buying, is having reciprocal relationships with friends and family in other locales.

We seem to have friends/family who have some amazing homes in great locations around the world, and we stay with them for extended periods just about every year. In turn, they know they are more than welcome to stay with us in RSF. In our minds, this is the best of all worlds. This might be something to consider for those who don’t want to make the buying leap.

[UCGal]

[quote=bearishgurl]
In other words, while shopping CA, you had much higher standards for a retirement home than you did in HI or France.
[/quote]
Wow – I read the same threads from Jazzman, and did not reach the same conclusion. I have no way of judging whether he had higher standards in one place or the other.

… Nor do you.

I will say that he bought *different* homes in HI and France, than he was looking at in Santa Barbara… but that doesn’t mean he was applying lower standards to those homes. Just that he found homes that fit his needs and made him want to purchase in those locations.

I don’t want to get in a pissing war with you… but when you make statements that are so judgemental, people tend to get annoyed with you.

Feel free to find random quotes of posts I’ve made through the years here to show why you’re right and I’m wrong.

[Jazzman]

[quote=bearishgurl]

FSD, I think I suggested Ojai to Jazzman as an alternative to pricey SB in the first thread I pulled up. I don’t recall but either he didn’t find anything he liked there or didn’t want to compromise from SB. Again, nothing wrong with his choice not to.
[/quote]
Did look at Ojai, and would often go there from Santa Barbara. It is small so choice is limited and prices not much different.

[Jazzman]

[quote=FormerSanDiegan]I think it’s pointless to argue whether a place in Hawaii plus France better, worse, or equivalent to a place in Santa Barbara. Or whether the view in the western US is soulless. These can’t be proven. There’s no data that can be brought that can decide.
[/quote]
Agreed. You can’t make comparisons and shouldn’t try. You can however espouse the virtues or otherwise of a place and say what makes you happier, which I guess is what it is all about in the end.

[ltsddd]

Jazzman,
That’s a gorgeous looking house. Can’t go wrong with either Maui or France. Congratulations.

[FlyerInHi]

Did you investigate Temecula, jazzman? There are rolling hills, wineries culinary delights and beautiful views.

2000sf in France? That’s tiny. For the same price you can get a 3500sf house with 2 laundry rooms, one upstairs and one downstairs. You also get to enjoy central air and heat. Do you have that in Dordogne?

The sidewalks around your neighborhood in Temecula are paved for when you need a wheelchair. Of course how can you beat California’s first rate hightech 911 system? They will send out the best paramedics and 2 fire engines to save your life when you have a stroke or heart attack.

Oh and remember that we have the best freeways here. You can ride in luxury in your SUV. Who wants to walk among the masses of unbathed Frenchmen and Frenchwomen with hairy armpits?

There are a number of hiking trails and wonderful outdoors activities in the Temecula valley area. Plus you’re not far from the beaches of San Diego and Orange County. And the excitement of LA is but a drive away in your luxury SUV.

See, you didn’t investigate long enough the values that California has to offer.

BTW, what’s unesco anyway? Some kind of socialist agency of the UN? They have a secret agenda to take over the world so you can’t trust them anyway.

[The-Shoveler]

You left out the casino, They have penny machines where you can spend the better part of a day on just a few dollars.
I actually won about 6 dollars off one of the machines once.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=UCGal][quote=bearishgurl]
In other words, while shopping CA, you had much higher standards for a retirement home than you did in HI or France.
[/quote]
Wow – I read the same threads from Jazzman, and did not reach the same conclusion. I have no way of judging whether he had higher standards in one place or the other.

… Nor do you.

I will say that he bought *different* homes in HI and France, than he was looking at in Santa Barbara… but that doesn’t mean he was applying lower standards to those homes. Just that he found homes that fit his needs and made him want to purchase in those locations. . . .[/quote]

Uhh, except … he DID apply lower standards to his retirement home search after he decided to give up his home search in CA. He decided he wanted TWO homes for the same investment he was willing to make for ONE residence in CA.

Jazzman states here that he is now purchasing a ~2000 sf home in France which not only does not appear to have a garage big enough to park in, it is located approx 117 miles (188 kms) from the coast.

http://www.distance-calculator.co.uk/distances-for-arcachon-to-sarlat_la_caneda.htm

In addition, he purchased a condo (1300-1400 sf? … IIRC, he posted the size somewhere but can’t recall) last year on or near a beach on the island of Maui, HI, USA.

Correct me if I’m wrong here, Jazzman, but weren’t you looking in the $750K to $1M range in your choice CA coastal cities for a single-family principal residence to retire in? Weren’t all of your first choice cities and areas in CA which you were shopping in situated within five miles of the coast?

Three of the areas on your list (Marin County, Palo Alto? and Santa Barbara) were (and are) epicenters of the original environmental movement on the west coast of the USA. For example, smoking is banned in almost all public places in and out of doors in Santa Barbara proper. No franchises (incl big box stores) or comm’l signage larger than about six feet in diameter and no higher than about 25 ft are have EVER been allowed in the coastal cities of Marin County (incl the bayfront cities of Sausalito and Tiburon).

There are several other CA coastal cities and adjoining enclaves with similarly strict regulations.

This type of regulation doesn’t come cheap. Pristine environment? SURE! Undisturbed open space and protected wetlands? In abundance! It takes an astute city council who understands the far-reaching ramifications of their decisions to realize the gravity of their positions of land stewards of some of the finest coastal land in the world. Unlike the sellout SD city and county officials in prior years and decades (they’re only now beginning to get a clue), officials in other choice CA coastal jurisdictions have ALWAYS been fully cognizant of the ramifications of their votes on the many ordinances before them and managed to vote in the very best interest of the environment of their respective cities and constituents.

These very exclusive areas are the same areas where Jazzman posted he was shopping in between 2010 and 2012.

I have stated repeatedly here that there is nothing wrong with deciding not to purchase a retirement home in any of them, instead deciding to retire elsewhere. Last time I looked, this was a free country and free world.

Again, folks, you get exactly what you pay for in this life. Sometimes you get lucky, but with RE, more often than not, that “luck” was caused from HARD WORK, creating “sweat equity.”

If you will indulge me, Jazzman, I just have a few questions for you:

Did you place offers on any condos in CA?

Did you place offers on any homes without garages or with a (substandard) one-car garage in CA?

Did you place offers on any properties situated over 100 miles from the coast in CA? How about 30 miles from the coast?

In brief, what were the approximate sizes (sf) of the houses you placed offers on in CA?

Thank you in advance of your responses, Jazzman. BTW, the country or farm? house you are buying in France is very pretty as are the photos of surrounding areas you posted 🙂

Your answers should clear up any confusion in this regard so I will “rest my case.”

LOL, Flyer_in_High, is your “Temecula” suggestion supposed to be a tongue-in-cheek depiction of what Jazzman could have purchased there (65-70 mi from the coast) for approx $488,110??

[bearishgurl]

[quote=The-Shoveler]You left out the casino, They have penny machines where you can spend the better part of a day on just a few dollars.
I actually won about 6 dollars off one of the machines once.[/quote]

Yeah, and the thick cig smoke from the “smoking section” comes out of the ceiling vents in the non-smoking section to pollute ALL patrons’ air.

Gawd, I can’t stand casinos.

[The-Shoveler]

[quote=bearishgurl][quote=The-Shoveler]You left out the casino, They have penny machines where you can spend the better part of a day on just a few dollars.
I actually won about 6 dollars off one of the machines once.[/quote]

Yeah, and the thick cig smoke from the “smoking section” comes out of the ceiling vents in the non-smoking section to pollute ALL patrons’ air.

Gawd, I can’t stand casinos.[/quote]

They do filter a lot of that out but yea that is a point.
I was actually Joking about spending that much time in the Casino, But I did go in there once, put two dollars in a penny machine, I was not meaning to spend that much time finally I gave up trying to lose my two dollars and cashed out my 6 dollar winnings LOL.

[The-Shoveler]

Actually it’s about 15/18 miles (as a crow flies) depending on where you are to the coast, I have gotten to the beach in 35 minutes sometimes from TV.

[flyer]

Actually, the lifestyle FlyerInHi described is probably perfect for some people–so, IMO, and as another poster mentioned–no judgement call can really be made on who has a “better life.”

Personally, we’ve lived and visited enough places to know we want our home base to remain in San Diego, with extended travel elsewhere. We have many friends who have purchased properties elsewhere, living in two or more places, and most have ended up coming back home to CA.

They are very glad they kept their homes here–especially as they got older and couldn’t, or did not want to travel as much–so I’ve seen both sides of this equation.

All of us are only here for a relatively short time, so, again, IMO, the main thing is to love life–wherever you choose live!

[bearishgurl]

[quote=The-Shoveler]Actually it’s about 15/18 miles (as a crow flies) depending on where you are to the coast, I have gotten to the beach in 35 minutes sometimes from TV.[/quote]

Ama-a-a-azing, shoveler. In the late 90’s, early ’00’s, I kept seeing articles in the U/T (about overbuilding in Riv Co) stating that Moreno Valley was 60+ mi one way to work (LA area?) for most of its dwellers. Is that 60 mi round trip or 60 mi one way?

[FlyerInHi]

Value is subjective. But I’m with jazzman in spirit.

Bearish, here are objective measures for you to bolster your argument. the houses I’ve been to in France don’t have washer dryer hookups. They don’t have built in dishwashers. They don’t have new granite countertops and new cabinets. They don’t have 3 car garages. They don’t have walk in closets. They don’t have modem windows that seal well. They don’t have separate showers (usually bathtub with handheld shower and no curtain. They don’t have AC so it’s hot in the summer. Things are old, rustic and worn.

The house structure might be forever but you’ll die in a few decades. The fit and finish are decades old and need doing up (as te Brits say)

Generally Europeans live in less comfort than we do. But they have more cultural stimulation. Labor and material are more expensive and the houses are old.

Maybe jazzman’s house needs some refurbishing.

I have an old condo in a 80s building I remodeled. It’s not a stone building I can pass to my grandchildren. But it has all the finish and comfort for me, right now.

The problem I find with europe is that unless you have a rich budget, you can’t afford a good house full of conveniences. You can’t easily run to home depot and easily find a fixit contractor like you can in America

Hawaii is old and shabby compared to the mainland because labor and material are expensive. But there no centuries old house here. House are pretty much wood houses designed to last 50 years, and many are past that now.

[The-Shoveler]

[quote=bearishgurl][quote=The-Shoveler]Actually it’s about 15/18 miles (as a crow flies) depending on where you are to the coast, I have gotten to the beach in 35 minutes sometimes from TV.[/quote]

Ama-a-a-azing, shoveler. In the late 90’s, early ’00’s, I kept seeing articles in the U/T (about overbuilding in Riv Co) stating that Moreno Valley was 60+ mi one way to work (LA area?) for most of its dwellers. Is that 60 mi round trip or 60 mi one way?[/quote]

In this case I think we are talking about retired people BUT!!!

It Depends, LOL, there are quite a few who work local, I even know several who commute FROM SD to Temecula for work.

Even the ones who work in L.A. will a lot of the time catch the train in Corona.
But there are the extreme commuters as well yep.

Yet A lot of them only go as far south as Carlsbad others catch the bus at the mall and commute via the metro station in Oceanside.

I don’t live in TV anymore but I do Telecommute.

Also KB homes just announced that there are starting several projects all over the IE
I guess they see some demand.

[Author]

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