Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > California
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
 
Old 10-19-2009, 08:37 PM
 
Location: Queensland, Australia
3 posts, read 5,524 times
Reputation: 10

Advertisements

Hey all,

I am an Australian-American dual citizen. I live in Australia and I have never lived in the US, so I have very little knowledge about its cities (hence joining city-data).

I am interested in finding out more information to decide if investing in American real estate may be a viable option. I am not neccessarily interested in the cheapest suburbs, but am keen to find out about the best value locations, and those with future growth potential.

Basically, houses in Australia are unrealistically priced, and in general, it looks like you get more for your money in the USA.

Personally, the criteria I am interested in is:

-security
-quality of surrounding infrastructure
-Visual amenity, good views/scenery
-availability of cycle paths and parks
-proximity to good shopping/medical
-"things to do" eg museums, cafes, bars, beaches, rivers etc
- affordable yet close to affluent areas

It'd be great to learn if there are any "best kept secrets" out there, but I doubt anyone would tell me anyway :P Any info would be appreciated!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 10-19-2009, 08:49 PM
 
11,715 posts, read 40,438,984 times
Reputation: 7586
The good values are not in California. Other states like Texas are better in this respect.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-19-2009, 09:02 PM
 
Location: Queensland, Australia
3 posts, read 5,524 times
Reputation: 10
Quote:
Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia View Post
The good values are not in California. Other states like Texas are better in this respect.
lol well I am considering nation-wide. I just posted in Calif. forum cos that will more than likely be my first stop when I visit!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-20-2009, 07:41 AM
 
Location: Alaska & Florida
1,629 posts, read 5,381,173 times
Reputation: 837
Quote:
Originally Posted by jet1985 View Post
Hey all,

I am an Australian-American dual citizen. I live in Australia and I have never lived in the US, so I have very little knowledge about its cities (hence joining city-data).

I am interested in finding out more information to decide if investing in American real estate may be a viable option. I am not necessarily interested in the cheapest suburbs, but am keen to find out about the best value locations, and those with future growth potential.

Basically, houses in Australia are unrealistically priced, and in general, it looks like you get more for your money in the USA.

Personally, the criteria I am interested in is:

-security
-quality of surrounding infrastructure
-Visual amenity, good views/scenery
-availability of cycle paths and parks
-proximity to good shopping/medical
-"things to do" eg museums, cafes, bars, beaches, rivers etc
- affordable yet close to affluent areas

It'd be great to learn if there are any "best kept secrets" out there, but I doubt anyone would tell me anyway :P Any info would be appreciated!
When you visit California, I would say parts of San Diego, parts of Orange County (Irvine), parts of the Bay Area (Walnut Creek).

However, California's real estate market is still worse than many parts of Australia.

Las Vegas would have the best real estate deals, you can easily drive there from California. Prices have dropped so much, you can get a very nice house or condo for $200,000 USD. When I mean nice, I mean granite kitchen counters, marble bathrooms, new construction etc. The Summerlin area of Las Vegas is a nice area with miles of jogging paths.

There are also many good deals in South Florida...Palm Beach Gardens, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Weston.

ps. I used to live in Gold Coast...we bought our house for $700,000 AUD, 2 years later sold it for $1 million and now our neighbors told us it's probably worth close to $2 million, amazing how the prices have increased so much.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-20-2009, 12:39 PM
 
1,312 posts, read 6,467,337 times
Reputation: 2036
Quote:
Originally Posted by jet1985 View Post
It'd be great to learn if there are any "best kept secrets" out there, but I doubt anyone would tell me anyway :P Any info would be appreciated!
Real estate speculation is just like any other kind of investment: there is a proportional gradient between risk and gain. The highest potential gains entail the highest risk of losses. The safest investments typically produce the lowest gains. In a market like this one you can play either end or both, but there's no "sure thing" in the speculation game. It wouldn't be called "speculation" if there were.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-20-2009, 12:41 PM
 
Location: Oakland, CA
1,554 posts, read 5,288,997 times
Reputation: 713
Quote:
Originally Posted by jet1985 View Post
Hey all,


Basically, houses in Australia are unrealistically priced....
Replace Australia with California.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-04-2009, 01:15 AM
 
Location: Queensland, Australia
3 posts, read 5,524 times
Reputation: 10
Thanks for the suggestions! I will be visiting the states next month and driving across from LA to Florida (My grandparents have a flat in boca raton, I will be in that area) so I may get a chance to check out some of those places. I am also visiting vegas for a few days!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-04-2009, 06:20 AM
 
Location: Alaska & Florida
1,629 posts, read 5,381,173 times
Reputation: 837
Make sure you check out the Summerlin area of Vegas.

I drove from San Francisco, CA to Boca Raton, FL last summer, if you want tips on a route to take, let me know.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > California
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 11:34 AM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top