i'm biased, i'd stay in czech republic. and a house i like would be max $250-$300k - i dont need 4 bed- and 4 bathrooms

put it away for retirement or invest it

Definately somewhere in SoutEast Asia.

Spain is FULL of hot chicks! At least in Barcelona area

Buying a house is an investment, he will always have the equity, and more than likely will also gain appreciation.

:thumbsup

I lived in Malta for a year. If you want lots of hot girls, great weather 8 months of the year (the other 4 months isn't exactly shit lol) and good fresh food then look no further. I can email you pics of my 3 bedroom apartment we rented, it would cost about $250,000 to buy but this place was insane. Central location, close to the beach, tons of places to eat all around me, a harbour close by, and a 10 min ferry ride away from the capital - Valletta. Also the club strip is a $12 taxi ride away or a $1 bus ride away. Clubs close at 8am. Bottles of Vodka cost $100 TOPS! Thats VIP.

All in all it is a great place, nights out are cheap as shit, $3000 USD would be more than enough if you didnt have to pay rent.

Bad points:
It gets SUPER warm in summer, it can get 45 Celsius.
Service in restaraunts isn't the best, it isn't shit either, but not many people tip so servers are low paid and not making much on top of it.


Overall, I loved it. Europe is on your doorstep, Ryanair fly out of Malta to everywhere in Europe, you can explore a new place every month and still have money left out of your $3000 quite easily. Not to mention you will buy a nice place to live in for half of what your budget is. The market is booming there, so buy a place for 250k and rent out 2 rooms for 250 euros per week per room. Gives you another $3000 a month to spend having fun.

it is an investment but not always the most wise ones. It depends on where, when and what he buys. People who bought right before the market crashed a couple years back over paid where too much just to see them lose 20-30% of that equity a couple years later. It might take 10+ years for them to regain that equity. If the person sells before then they will take a pretty big loss. On the flip side if he buys when it's the lowest and gets a great deal, then he could see a nice appreciation over the next couple years.

Cancun, Mexico.
Maximum temperature are 89 or 90 degrees, but you wont feel it, because you'll live in an AC'd house, drive an AC'd car, etc. And if you're at the beach, it's quite breeze.

If you go for Australia, then Brisbane is a really great city indeed!

Barcelona is in one of my favorite cities, but the only downside would be that it's more expensive then Brisbane.

I do not recommend Costa Rica, violence has increased and price of course from starving locals is crazy. Boquete is a good choice, it had a hype 2 years ago and theres a lot of big houses for a very low price... do some research

www.cometoboquete.com

can't believe nobody said Miami... last time i've been there was pretty awesome as long as you're on a beach side

I must have seen a different Austin during my 4 months living there.
It was humid and the town is just old. I know its the capital but without the college I don't know how it even made the map.

Bli hvor du er ;)

If you mean NYC, you'll need at least double that monthly income...and 500k in Manhattan might get you a 1 bedroom or studio apt. Out of Manhattan you can buy something nice for that money.

Costa Mesa Ca.

It's affordable and nice on the east side. Newport Beach is a few minutes away ;)

I thought they trojan horse only US and Europe. They are spreading fast. :(

Costa rica

Here in Cyprus, some local banks offer up to 12.5% yearly interest on bank deposits. Out of your 500K you can get monthly $5200. You can rent a crazy villa with a pool for 2K per month and live like a king with the rest. No need to buy a house and get tied to a place. Check it out, it is an EU country, very popular tourist destination. Life is peaceful, very low crime rate. The island has nice resorts and sandy beaches, lots of sunshine. A lot of people from UK immigrate here.

12.5%??? for reals?? where can i see more details about that

If they have their funding cot at 12,5% something is very wrong, can't they get money anywhere else (like european central bank?)? even when interest for countries like greece, ireland, etc. went trough the roof you never saw banks offering anythign close.

Any idea on what rate they charge for mortgages and other loans?

I just went to a bank this morning. Check privatbank.com.cy and look for Cyprus branch and check the deposit rates. A deposit of 150K for 5 years ― 12,5% annually with monthly interest payment. Over 300K the rate is negotiable.
The fact is that only 100K Euro is guaranteed by the government in case the bank fails.

Retirement in Austria would be awesome, I think it's same for Switzerland.

their website is really suckee i wouldnt trust a bank with a website like this, i emailed them anyway lets see what they come with

costa rica has gone to shit in the past 2 years. In particular, Jaco Beach.

Thailand is ok, but the problem with Thailand is you never know what will happen as far as foreigners living and working here.

Actually, the big question you need ask yourself is are you even going to be allowed to live in any of these countries? You cant just fly to any country you want and live there. You need migrate via a residency visa first, then later get your citizenship. In third world countries like the Philippines you just pay a bribe, but in countries like Australia, France things are very tough. A lot will depend on your current citizenship, age. health, religion, when migrating to another country.

Tell that to the home owners in the US, Greece, Russia, etc. A home has not been a good investment for quite sometime.

If you dont mind a bit of rain San Sebastian in the Basque country.

Amazing beaches, wonderful city and superb food, you can buy your fish straight off the boats.

for now...:Oh crap

A house is a necessity --but it is not an investment.

Investments kick off cash, they don't consume it.

:warning

Hot, humid, and lots of crime.

No, thanks.

And don't forget, great offshore haven! Super low taxes...

Shit i just checked for Costa Rica
Sorry but it ain't cheap !

For instance the cars.
Geeeee almost 4 000$ for an old 1992 Toyota Tercel WTF ???

As for the houses:
http://www.puravida.com/realestate/homes-for-sale.html

The whole Yucatan area is amazing. I would love to move there myself. Great food, cheap health care, property taxes for most places are about 100 bucks a year or less, not to mention the weather, beaches and gorgeous girls.

Chula all the way

buying a house AT THE WRONG TIME is not an investment, its a mistake.

You buy shit when the market is low -- just like with stocks.
Sucks for the idiots who buy stocks when the market is high or when houses are on an upswing.

Appreciation = cash
Equity = Cash

Equity in a house allows you to have both the asset of the house itself, as well as borrow against it for currently low interest rates.
When you sell your house, you get all the money back you paid into it. When you rent, you move to a new place, you don't get jack shit.


So lets see... spend $2000/month renting and leave in 2 years with $0.
Or buy a house for $2000/month and in 2 years get $48,000 back (minimum)


Or buy a house cash for $350K.
Sit on it, pay no rent, get appreciation all on its own in the backend.
Take out a HELOC at 3% and use the cash to invest in further opportunities that return more than 3%.
Guess what?
That house is now a 2-pronged investment. You make money on the house it self, and the equity makes you money else where as well.

So that original $350K is now making you money (a large amount of it) in 2 different places at the same time.

although the housing market is down, the prices did not change much in the northeast. I did get a good interest rate at 4.375 but did not get a super deal offered in other parts of the country. The job market did not get hit as hard here either, except in finance.