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But let me once again look in the bright side of the coming societal melt down; it could have a positive side effect of population reduction and definitely WILL have a reducing effect on consumption.[/quote]
Wow sprite that’s some bright side you have:D
Littering drives me crazy, I just don’t get it!!! I don’t think it’s just over population, most are just brain dead from a lousy diet and hours of garbage TV. That along with no proper instruction growing up. Though the military has everyone beat when it comes to the daily amount of pollution they spew onto our planet.
I almost did that Sprite, I had gotten myself in some heavy debt through bad timing and some health issues. Long story short, my biz picked up in a big way and I payed it all off in about a year and a half, not out of a moral obligation, but to protect my credit rating. Sure if we get the catastrophic melt down you expect who cares? But I don’t agree with that scenario (completely) and as you know everything is based on your credit rating in this country.
Until that blip I always ran zero debt and it feels good to be debt free again with my 795 credit score intact. But if my biz would not have picked up, I would have had no issue at all walking on that debt, I would not have slaved for years and years to pay it off.
I have a friend in Florida who paid $240k for a condo that is worth $75k now. He felt morally obligated to pay the note off, then after a discussion with a friend with views more in-line with Sprites was ready to walk. But after a meeting with a lawyer he was told that he could be liable for the debt for up to 20 years? Personally I would take the risk, he wont. What do you know about this?
I agree Scott, our (USA) glory days are gone and the middle class, well when I look at housing prices by me, don’t know how they do it. I decided not to purchase a home here in NYC/NJ. That said there certainly plenty of people in NYC buying what most would consider very expensive real estate.
I am in the process of buying a small home in West Palm Beach, Fl. and will run my NYC based business from there. Even if my income halves (don’t expect it will) I will still enjoy a much better life and weather. Total housing costs will be about $700 per month, that includes insurance and taxes. Taxes alone on a home we almost bought here would have been about $12,000 per year!! My current heating bill alone is $350 per month. I would love to be in CR, but just can’t make that happen quite yet. But hey, now I’ll be only 2.5 hours away!
We are just hunkering down and living in the moment, I hope for the best though, we’ll all just have to wait and see.
In a former incarnation I was the singer for a punk rock band and wrote a line “I don’t know what the future holds; but it’s grim from what I’ve been told”. Thought you might get a kick out of that…lol.
You’re in Miami Sprite? Nice just came back from 10 days there and loved it! Have not been there since the late 80’s when I first discovered South Beach as a cheap, fun winter get away. It was (imho) better then, not the big scene it is today. Beautiful weather for all 10 days! Cool nights hot days on the beach. I just bought a house in West Palm beach, cheaper than Costa Rica, though CR, that’s where my heart is and will start building there this year.
ps. I know your thoughts on the dollar and US economy, I’ve been lucky and my gains in equities over the last 6 months bought the WP house. I’ll be out of equities when the fed shuts off the spigot:D I still think if the US goes the way of the dodo bird, CR and the rest of the world won’t be a very comfortable place to be either. No sense debating it, what will be will be, all we really have is the present moment. But hey, I do have a plan B just in case the plunger team doesn’t show up to save the day.:wink:
Oh yeah to the OP’s original point, you can’t argue that knowing the language of your adopted country is a large benefit and will certainly make life more enjoyable and productive. But I would not put off a move because you cannot converse yet in the native tongue. Immersion is certainly the best way to go about learning a second language IMHO. I lived in France and still enjoyed it without knowing much French, though my ex was native. I certainly missed out at dinners, especially after the wine started to flow. Getting around day to day, for better or worse many knew enough English, that along with my limited French I was getting by. This is my same same experience in Costa Rica, at the beach where we spend our time, all my Tico friends (we have many after 8 years, surfers tend to bond over what we do) speak English and help us with our Spanish. I have not spent more than 2 months at a time there but we still enjoy it fully and of course look forward to speaking better Spanish.
I am now sick of the snow and cold! I don’t know what caused me to write romantically about the devil white stuff!:evil: Must have been the Christmas spirit…..
Not very inspiring, but Colts Neck is a bit different than Camden:wink:. I must say I am enjoying the burbs after 29 years in Manhattan and renting has been just fine, especially with the outrageous property taxes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colts_Neck_Township,_New_Jersey
I am leaning towards a casa in CR.
Regarding ss we pay into it via a tax.I am self-employed and pay 15.2% of my income. If the government was to eliminate it there goes a great piggy bank they have been “borrowing ” from. Most die before getting back what they put in.
My point is this is not a handout, most of us have paid into this fund and simply expect a distribution at the time of our retirement. The government acts as the custodian of these saved funds, just as Fidelity does. So indeed we have saved for retirement via our social security payments. You pay in for say 45 years and on average you receive payments of maybe $1300 per month for 12 years.
So many depend on SS income for retirement as will I. The thought that they would end it seems unlikely, unless of course they are looking for a spark to throw the country into chaos and then rebuild a totalitarian state from there. I would prefer a lump sum payout option as I no longer trust our (any of them) government to do the right thing by the people.
If it were to end I would assume those of us who have paid in for many years would get a check mailed to us? They would have to have some sort of phase out policy, this wont happen cold turkey imho, if it happens at all.
I would be building with no leverage, just a small place, all I need after living in apartments in NYC for 28 years. I don’t anticipate a very large income in retirement, so having a house with no mortgage will be key.I purchased my property about 4 years ago for $6 a M2 and its paid in full and the development has been completed.
PS.
RE: Miss the snowHad a great New Years skiing…I am now over the cold, miserable comes to mind:)
[quote=”waggoner41″][quote=”*Lotus”]I’ll spare all the details, but was broke 3 years ago, 70K in debt. Now: Debt paid off,business doing well(self employed). I am a enjoy life kind of guy, play first work second, my attitude has changed a bit after 2008.[/quote]
If your business is doing that well in the current economic environment what are your prospects for the next three to five years?
With a falling housing market in the U.S. and renting cheaper than owning in the U.S. while prices remain stable in CR (ask Scott to confirm this) I would wait on the home in CR while driving for the best deal on a home in NJ.
One caveat: The U.S. is not the economic giant that it was before 2000 and you may be looking at massive changes in the world financial system as well as a devaluation of the dollar vs other currencies.
With the Fed QE1 we have seen an effective devaluation of our purchasing power in CR of nearly 14% already and QE2 to come. Thanks to CR government support of the dollar it is not as bad as in other nations (20%) but I am not sure that this policy can continue in the face of QE2.[/quote]Waggoner: I have enjoyed your posts and videos! My problem seems to be I do well when my back is against the wall, get a little soft (more trips to CR:wink:) when things are good. That said I need to adjust my attitude, you are right, I have done well under terrible economic circumstances, why wouldn’t I do well as things “improve”? Thanks.
[quote=”DavidCMurray”]*Lotus, let me throw another dynamic into your considerations. Setting aside issues of money, anticipated property value trends, etc, just what is your emotional investment in either your living accommodations in the U.S. or your house-to-be here in Costa Rica?
Are you comfortable to continue to rent your current housing, paying off the owner’s mortgage each month and having little influence over its maintenance and development, or do you wish to live in a setting in which you have more control and influence, a setting in which you can invest both financially and emotionally? Is your housing a home, or is it just a place to get in out of the weather and change clothes?
Do you want the responsibility for the property or not? Do you wish to be at your landlord’s mercy about the color of the walls and how the snow is plowed, or do you wish to make those decisions and many others for yourself, and reap the rewards or suffer the penalties for your decisions? Clearly, some folks really don’t care; others do. Which one are you?
And what about a property in Costa Rica? Do you want a second “anchor”, a place you are always welcome, or is that not important? And are you willing to take the associated risks?
It’s said that we all make some 80% of our decisions on emotional, not rational, bases. If that’s true, *Lotus, what are the emotions associated with the choices you’ve laid out?[/quote]
I was looking forward to your comments David.
I am in the real estate business and that is one of the most important things I try and help people do, balance the emotional and financial components of the transaction. That said I have little emotional attachment to owning a home. I know I am paying off my landlords mortgage but live in a beautiful home built in 1930, he’s about $100k underwater on his loan. I would love to own here at the right price and the way things are going that may be sooner than later:wink:Over the long haul, all things considered your primary home may return you 4% a year. But for me with my record of holding onto cash, I think buying a home makes sense, regardless of the nominal return I will have an asset to sell at the end of 20 years(if I live that long)Some would call this “forced savings” my savy investment friends cringe when I say this:)
In my line of work one deal could change the entire equation and even after say using cash to buy here, I could find myself in a position to build my little dream home in CR. But for now I have what I have and can’t do both; but I would like to do something. I won’t rush into either but what to do has been on my mind now that I have clawed my way out of the abyss (yet again!) Yeah…..I’m tired of it, looking for more continuity in our lives.
I may go the two family route here or even a end unit townhouse if we make buying here a priority. The idea of building in CR is to secure a “hard asset”, after 8 years spending quite a bit of time in CR, this is where I will retire. What it comes down to is I have just had no luck holding onto cash! Seems owning a home somewhere is the right thing for me to do.
You and I share the same opinion on Real Estate here in my neck of the woods. That said I feel prices are getting to levels where buying could be an option if you have at least a 10 year hold time. Trying to balance the emotional as well as financial component of such a decision, certainly in no rush to buy here:)
Yeah holding 85% in cash 15% in a variety of emerging market/mining ETF’s that have been doing well (for now). Would love to hear what you are doing with money these days:wink:
The fact is I’m just not very good at holding cash, as my income goes up and down (along with my work habits) I have a history of burning through that paper stuff. Thought having a house either in CR or here with a “until I die” or at least 20 year hold period would make sense for me. Who knows what will happen to our fiat paper, but at least I can live in a house:wink:
