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Hello again all,

I should start off by saying that my life seems to have been nothing short of a twister in terms of changes since bringing my true love to this country.

Because of her, I should say that my life is never boring and my social calander is always full.

As it so happened there is yet another big change in my life plans.  I won't say that it is totally her decision, because we made this choice together but if it weren't for her I definitely would not be doing the things I am doing.

I should say that we are now moving and have already sold our house.  I didn't even have a chance to get the word out to the general public yet and we already had a very decent offer on our house.  We have plans to move from Lexington, Ky. to the Dallas area. (Jack, look out we'll be coming to your town soon.)

I have lived in my house for about 6 years.  I bought the house under a distressed situation so I got it for a great price. ($38,000) and today I was made and offer for ($60,000) Not a bad investment/profit in my opinion.  

The only stipulation we have on the sale is that it should pass a termite inspection which should be no problem.  Just a few months ago we were talking about moving to Dallas in a couple of years, then a couple of weeks ago we made a decision to move to Dallas sometime in December and because of this new situation, it looks like we will be moving sometime late October/early November.  

I will say this, when you marry a lady from the FSU you will surely never be bored.

For those in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, I look forward to joining your company soon.

... in response to Good news on the homefront :-)))), posted by Oatmeal on Aug 21, 2002

Congrats and best wishes. All that I can say is that if you HAVE to live in Texas, DFW is as good as it gets ;)

... in response to Re: Good news, posted by Rags on Aug 21, 2002


But the jobs seem easier to find here...

... in response to Good news on the homefront :-)))), posted by Oatmeal on Aug 21, 2002

Uhhh Oatmeal,

I think you must have left a 0 off the price of your house...

38000???  Are we living in the same country?

In Ca where I live, the mean house price is $400,000.

38,000 barely gets you the dog house out here.

Good luck in Dallas.

Wayne

... in response to Re: Good news on the homefront :-)))), posted by Wayne1 on Aug 21, 2002

$38,000 is the actual price.

It was a great deal for me and really it was luck that was smiling on me that day and also yesterday.  Things now just seem to be fitting right into place where as normally it is an uphill battle.  Perhaps it is just meant to be.

... in response to Re: No joke., posted by Oatmeal on Aug 21, 2002

Sounds like my escape from the Silicon Valley area of California should be to Kentucky.  Maybe I'll look into it.  I went house hunting and saw a nice 3 bedroom that I thought would probably be worth around $300,000 and I suffered some sticker shock when I saw the flyer had it listed at $945,000.  The real estate market here is being driven up by way too many people.  I'm happy to hear about more normal places.

... in response to That's amazing, posted by Ramblin on Aug 22, 2002


I thought that the Silicon Valley was normalizing now thanks to the dot com becoming the dot bomb?

When I was there it was insane. They actually were auctioning houses... not selling them.

I attended a party at my CEO's house in Palo Alto once... it was nice... he paid 1.5 million for it... Someone asked me what I thought.

I said... not bad. But my house in Texas is bigger... and it was on a lake! It didn't cost one fourth of my CEO's house.

Prices were just nuts! I actually commuted to Mountain View to do my job. It was cheaper than my company giving me a cost of living raise.

The cost of living raise would have been 60%!

... in response to Re: That's amazing, posted by MarkInTx on Aug 22, 2002

Since the dot com bomb, most money is going into real estate instead of the stock market and start ups.  I stopped by a house for sale on the way home from work tonight and it was not that good of a house in not that good of a location for $540,000.  It's insane.

... in response to just the opposite, posted by Ramblin on Aug 23, 2002

Back before our mergers, the CEO of our compnay seriously considered moving our company to Austin to reduce costs.

I will say that Mountain View had about the best weather of anyplace I have ever lived. ANd you were close to the Ocean, or mounatins depending on your mood.

I know it is all location, location, location...

But $350K for a two bedroom bungalow that couldn't be 1100 square feet? It was nuts.

... in response to Re: just the opposite, posted by MarkInTx on Aug 23, 2002

Yes, that's what I was going to say:  location, location, location, so is there any other location that compares favorably and that a fsu bride might like?  I don't really believe that your place in Texas that is a large house by a lake is 4 times less valuable of a location than Sunnyvale or is Texas really that bad of a place?

... in response to exactly so, posted by Ramblin on Aug 24, 2002


I don't live there anymore... my Ex-Wife #2 got that house...

But as for "is Texas really that bad of a place..." don't let a Texan hear you say that :-) 185 men died while defending the right for Texans to live here and live free in a little place called the Alamo... And we still take that pretty seriously...

Honestly, though, it depends on what you want. Certainly the weather is better in Northern California. And, from a job opportunity (especially when I was in Mountain View) it's hard to beat the Silocone Valley for my field. I was out there for two weeks, and I started getting headhunters calling me and offering me a better job!

But, my company wanted me to move to California, and I wouldn't. I wasn't about to pay those prices. And it's not just real estate... that trickles into the whole economy. And the taxes you folks pay in California!

It's incredible! They tax everything!

In Texas, we don't even have state income tax.

And, for all the money Californians pay for school taxes, their schools consistenly rank among the worst in the country, whereas Texas schools consistently rank amongst the best.

As for where an FSU woman wants to live... I think that Texas has a certain mystique to it. And to a woman from Kherson who has spent winters shivering without heat... the idea of movign somewhere that has hot summers, and mild winters does not bother her in the least.

I don't know what you do for a living... but if you're in the Tech business, you might take a look at Austin. It has quite a few tech companies, and is a really cool city. Most of the time State Capitals are the armpit of the state... but that's not true here. Austin, Texas is one of my favorite places on earth.

... in response to Well... to be specific, posted by MarkInTx on Aug 24, 2002

Yes, California schools as a whole do not do well in standardized testing...untill you look at the stats. Each city has the good schools and the bad ones, depending on the etnic mix and the income levels. You were mentioning Mountain view, not far from there in Palo Alto is the nation's best educated public school...they performed almost a perfect score (as a school average!) on the SAT9 due to the fact the parents are mostly well educated professionals.
 Then go a few miles away to East palo Alto, and you see some of the worst schools in ghetto condition.
 

  Yes, it is location, location, location..

... in response to Re: Good news on the homefront :-)))), posted by Wayne1 on Aug 21, 2002

8 years ago you could buy a house in the city of Minneapolis for $28,000, (minor work needed, not the best area of town). You could buy a turn key ready to rent duplex at the same time for $50,000 (I know I bought one). That same duplex would be now be worth $170,000+

Isn't owning real estate great?

I believe that some parts of the country a house can sell for $38,000. When I went to visit Houston last year I was amazed to see brand new contruction 3 bedroom homes selling for $60,000. In Minnesota the same home would sell for $150,000 at that time, in CA. I am sure it could fetch $300,000+.

What I think is amusing is that a fully western rehabbed apartment in the city center of Kiev is more expensive than a condo in downtown Minneapolis.

BTW a bare(walls need to be painted, doors installed, carpet put in and other finishing work) 5 room flat on main street in Odessa will cost you $160,000. A Ukraine standard of living flat (in Odessa) (roaches, 2 rooms, no hot water heater, but private bathroom (a lot of apartments have a community bathroom/shower for the entire floor.)) will run you about $15,000 now, $25,000 if you want to be near city center.

Real Estate investing is a hobby of mine, :-) and I am just starting to learn about Ukraine real estate law.

... in response to Off topic, home prices., posted by MNKenr on Aug 21, 2002

I am always amazed as to the property values in the FSU considering the average wage. My wife has a one room flat in Moscow that can fetch $20-25k and it is still in the same condition (never upgraded) as it was when it was built 40 years ago. My wifes also has a 3 room flat that has been fully upgraded(but no dishwasher) as any American apt. and could sell for $70k-80K easily. She rents out the 1 room flat for $300/month to friends of her mothers, her mother keeps the money because she lives on a $50/month pension.
 I am told that when a Russian family wishes to purchase a flat in Moscow, they come with cash. There is financing available but I am not sure of the intrest rate the banks there charge.
On another note, regarding savings intrest rates:
My wife is upset because our joint savings account earns a very meager sum, less than 4% per year. She tells me that her money in a Russian bank earned 3% per month! Now as I recall..I tell her, it was not long ago that the banks failed...and everyone lost thier money. She says yes, that is true...but at least the Russian banks did not steal from you every month, as it is the practice of our banks do not give a good rate of return!

... in response to Re: Off topic, home prices., posted by Apk1 on Aug 21, 2002

I will take a 4% return on savings per year any day if it means I can get a 5.5% loan based on 'virtual' equity of my home.

The less banks pay bake the less you have to pay them to borrow money.

I wonder if one could 'invest' in a Ukraine bank savings account and realize a 3% gain per month. I would gamble $1000 and test that. That is a massive gain that has a rate of return that any person would want to take advantage. It is hard to imagine that a bank would pay 3% per month, but I have been surprised before by the strangeness of Ukraine economy.

MNKen

... in response to Good news on the homefront :-)))), posted by Oatmeal on Aug 21, 2002


Hey thats' great.

I'll take you and yoru wife to some BBQ when you get here!

Whereabouts in our fair metroplex are you going to live? Do you know yet?

I'm in the mid-cities area, and Jack is a little north of there... I can't remember where Karl is now, but I seem to think it's not too far from here, either.

We'll all have to throw you a welcome to Texas party!

... in response to Welcome Neighbor!!!, posted by MarkInTx on Aug 21, 2002

Mark,

 Do you know about the party/get-together this Saturday at Grapevine Lake? I was not able to make there previous get-together but think I will go this Saturday, it is a new group of AM/RW for the most part I suspect.

... in response to This Saturday, posted by Jack on Aug 22, 2002

Nope... didn't know about it.

Can you email me the details?

I'm actually free this Saturday because my ex has my daughter this weekend... And I Grapevine Lake is very close for me...

... in response to Re: This Saturday, posted by MarkInTx on Aug 22, 2002

.

... in response to You just want to go look at all those hu..., posted by Oscar on Aug 22, 2002

Naaa...

The "Russian Lips" I want to look at are 7000 miles away from me. The rest of them are just going to be taunting me with what I have... but can't have yet...

However, I am hoping to meet some lovely ladies who can befriend mine when she gets here.

And, also, Lake Grapevine is one of my favorite places in the metroplex, so I can hardly lose :-)

... in response to Re: This Saturday, posted by MarkInTx on Aug 22, 2002

I have sent e-mail asking for directions earlier, will let you know. I won't make it until about 4pm. Will probably bring my Golden Retreivers in case you got a new pet.

... in response to Re: Re: This Saturday, posted by Jack on Aug 22, 2002


I actually rescued a stray a month ago or so...

But I'll probably leave him behind, just because I don't know what the arrangements are at the picnic/party.

Maybe I'll take him for the next one.

Is this an "official" group?

... in response to Welcome Neighbor!!!, posted by MarkInTx on Aug 21, 2002

Probably somewhere in the North Dallas area closer to Jack.  I talked to a real estate agent about the Flower Mound area.  Really, I can't make any decisions until I arrive in Dallas to see for myself what or where I am interested in.

... in response to Re: Not exactly sure yet, but..., posted by Oatmeal on Aug 21, 2002


Flower Mound isn't bad. I looked there myself before settling where I did.

Depends on what you're looking to pay.

One thing... you won't find houses here for $30,000!

However, there is NO state INCOME TAX! So that's a big plus.

... in response to Welcome Neighbor!!!, posted by MarkInTx on Aug 21, 2002

I look forward to it.  I love BBQ.

... in response to Good news on the homefront :-)))), posted by Oatmeal on Aug 21, 2002

What the heck is going on?  All of the live posters here seem to be from freakin Texas (execpt oscar and a couple others) or going there.

Hell o/m you don't even eat hamburgers.  I'll send you a box of quaker instant for a house warming gift when you get there.

One word....
whataburger.

No... Jack in the Box..

lol!

... in response to what is it with dfw???, posted by BrianN on Aug 21, 2002

I do not know what is with texas but, I prefer my four seasons here in the northeast. Sometimes to hot and somtimes to cold but usally just right. I have everything I need with in 2 hours, mountians to beaches. I also have every entertainment that is possible from theater to sports.

... in response to what is it with dfw???, posted by BrianN on Aug 21, 2002

Brian,

Admit it... you know you miss living here...

... in response to Re: what is it with dfw???, posted by MarkInTx on Aug 21, 2002

Mark,

What is it with you guys in Texas chasing FSU girls?

When I was in Texas, the girls were very pretty and sweet.

Has it changed since I was there?  I was in heaven in Texas.

Wayne

... in response to Re: Re: what is it with dfw???, posted by Wayne1 on Aug 21, 2002

Well,

They ARE pretty.

I have said more than once that Texas has women that -- looks wise -- compares at least as favorable as the FSU (or Colombia for that matter...)

I could DATE these women forever. But I want to be married, and therein lies the problem...

I find that (generally) the women (my age) that I find are in one of two camps:

1) Overweight and have let themselves go or

2) Fit, gorgeous, and driven... and they have arranged their lives so they really don't need a man. Which is fine, I guess, but I like to be needed.

I want a family that comes together and become a single unit, indivisible... not two corporations who have merged as long as it is profitable to do so, and then split when the going gets rough...

... in response to what is it with dfw???, posted by BrianN on Aug 21, 2002

I know of two other RW couples w/plans to move here to the Dallas area. The guys are not necessarily posters here.
The summer here has been relatively mild, but still too hot by Russian standards. So, how's the weather in San Diego?
Karl