>You need to pack up and move to Ga! Even in the metro area you can get gas for $1.49. There are parts of Downtown Atlanta that are undergoing a revival where older houses are kind of pricey but nothing like that. Even in the closer burbs 500,000 would buy a very exclusive large new home. We are about 90 miles south of Atlanta in a small town and our house is about 1200 square feet, built in 1973, on 2 acres and would go for about $75,000.

What a difference a few thousand miles makes. < g >

Tom;

Wow, two acres! My neighbors ate ten feet from me on either side. In San Francisco (I am fourth generation) the houses are side by side. There is only a small air gap between houses.

I have an acquaintance who lives near Atlanta and he loves it. Out here a one bedroom apartment goes for $2400 or more. The economy is great - the pay is amongst the highest in the nation but the cost of housing is out of site. Monthly payment for a house with $100,000 down runs about $4000 for a simple three bedroom stucco, with two car garage. Many people move to the valley (central) and drive 70 miles or more each way in bumper to bumper traffic. By the time you get home from your commute, your wife and kids are gone and that dream house you bought is being sold to pay attorney fees for the divorce.

The water system for San Francisco was built in the 1920's when there were only 3 million people in the entire state of California. We now have more than 30 million people that are willing to be counted. Our power generation does not meet the needs of the consumers. Housing is very expensive. Traffic is bumper to bumper. Come live in California and enjoy the "good life".

I have to find a place to retire where I can afford to pay the rent. At present if I were retired I could pay half of the rent with my retirement income and still live in my house. Do you see a problem? There is great discussion on the media about the young cannot afford to buy a house. Well, the retired have less income than the young. My 20 year old daughter makes over $50,000 and cannot afford a place of her own. The average retired person does not make that kind of money but there is no mention of a "problem" with retired persons living here.

At times like this Mexico looks good. Many Americans who are retired live in Mexico and seem to enjoy it. If the entire nation had the problem with greed that we enjoy in Silicon Valley, then it would not matter where you live.

I have a close friend who is from Germany and bought a lovely home in Georgia. The real estate agent said: "Mr. Schnieder, we Southerners have something in common with you Germans. We both lost the war"!

Tom