Today just for poops and tee-hees I decided to find out what kind of houses I could buy in the greater Las Vegas area with the money I spent on my apartment. What I found kinda made me sad.
Las Vegas is one of the hardest hit areas right now in the economic crisis that the US is suffering from. Perhaps I shouldn't have picked an area that's already down on its luck but its staggering what I found today. Also keep in mind that it is reported that 1 in 5 mortgages in the US is worth more than the actual value of the home in question. Crazy. So let's get on with my findings.
First, let's look at this home. Built in 2006, this house is three times the size of my apartment. It has three bedrooms and three bathrooms. There's a two car garage and central air-conditioning. There also appears to be an in-ground pool in the backyard as well. All for roughly the same price as my place.
Then there's this house. Built in 2007, it is over four times the size of my place. Three bedrooms, pool, air-conditioning... blah blah blah, you get the picture, it's seems like an awesome home. It's been on the market for just about three months. Again, it's in the same price range that I paid for my apartment.
The thing to notice here is that I didn't just go hunting for these bargains. There are literally pages and pages of listing of similar homes built within the last three years that are all dirt cheap compared to real estate here in Vancouver. If you want to look at the rest, click here for the list.
It's very difficult to comprehend how situations are so completely different in the US. If only I could drive down to LV, buy one of the houses, and put it in my trunk for the drive back to Canada.
Judging by the number of hits this blogs receives daily from Google, a lot of people are looking for this info, so I'll do my community service and provide it.
The first bit of pricing info has been revealed for Panasonic's new line of 2009 plasma HDTVs. If you look here, the prices are actually quite reasonable given the considerable improvements made over the 2008 models. I've got my eye on the 46-inch TC-P46G10 which appears to be retailing at $1700 USD. It should be available this month, possibly a bit later for Canada.
I didn't realize it until today but US President Barack Obama attended at a Washington Wizards game on Friday night. Now, it's not usual for sitting Presidents to attend sporting events but they usually do so in the comfort and safety of private suites, above and away from the "common" folk.
So where did President Obama sit? He sat courtside... as in right next to the court that the players play on and right next to the fans that are at the game. In this news story, you can read and see video from the game.
I'm not sure who in the Secret Service decided this was an acceptable situation to put the President in. He was sitting right next to normal, common people. Amazing. I bet his security detail was extremely nervous the entire time he was there. If it were up to me, he'd been up in a suite by himself, with the first ten rows below the suite cleared out. Instead, he sat courtside and drank a beer... in a glass. He even chatted with a little kid in a Wizards jersey.
I can't even begin to imagine Prime Minister Harper sitting in row 4 at section 101 at GM Place, handing over hot dogs to the family next to him.
On Sunday, Sleep Country Canada delivered a bed to my apartment. Though the whole purchase cost me over $1000 after taxes, it only consisted of a mattress, box spring, and a simple metal frame. I easily could have spent half the money but I was warned not to go cheap on the bed since getting some good sleep is a vital part of living well. If I get a cheap sofa, that's ok since I'm guessing I'll be spending more time on my bed than on my sofa.
Once I get the desk in there, I think I'll be ready to settle in. I believe I can be still comfortable without the TV, coffee table, sofa, and vacuum. Those things will have to wait until my bank account recovers. :(
I have a slight headache right now and I am feeling a general fatigue. Despite this, nothing else ails me. In my experience, my body is currently deciding if it's going to succumb to whatever foreign invaders are in me or if it's going to fight it off successfully.
There has been quite a devastating bug or virus that's been going around the studio lately. It's taken out several people for days at a time. I thought I had missed the worst of it but perhaps I was wrong.
Let's see what happens in the morning. Oh by the way, I know my female readers love it when I refer to myself as "daddy".
