It's your decision but... everybody volunteers his opinion on it in your country

[Martinus]

So I am considering buying a new flat, and apparently everybody is an expert and happy to discuss for hours prices, locations and whatnot.

What are similar topics in your country?

[Pedrito]

Women, cars, football.

So very italian.

L.

[Eddie Teach]

Fashion sense. People keep telling me I should pick my pants up off the ground.

[Brazen]

House buying has gone off the boil here. Child-rearing is probably one, though apparently is one hasn't bred oneself, one is not entitled to tell parents they should make their offspring pick up the litter they dropped, for instance.

Also: about time a man of your means moved on from a studio flat.

[The Larch]

Women, cars, football.

So very italian.

L.

Basically the same over here.  Add some politics to spice it up and you're served.

[Martim Silva]

The common folk?

Breaks donw by age:

Kids/Young adults: videogames, other games, cartoons, money, chicks, soccer, soccer, soccer, soccer, soccer.

Adults (25-55): money, money, money, high taxes/home payments, politics, kids, soccer, soccer, soccer.

Older folks: money, pensions, pensions, soccer, soccer, diseases, diseases, diseases, diseases.

Women add talk about marriage and kids (which scares all the men away - then they'll talk about weird stuff, like the blood they let out once a month).

[Malthus]

It's real estate here as well. The Canadian housing market has gone bonkers.

Parents all talk about the pains they have to go through to get good childcare/educational opportunities for the kids. If you want daycare in Toronto, you have to be prepared to jump up from the bed and rush out to sign a waiting list before the cum is yet dry.

[Grey Fox]

Every subject is fair game. I learned that on languish.

[Martinus]

House buying has gone off the boil here. Child-rearing is probably one, though apparently is one hasn't bred oneself, one is not entitled to tell parents they should make their offspring pick up the litter they dropped, for instance.

Also: about time a man of your means moved on from a studio flat.

I fell in love with a 3-room "loft" style flat (83 sq. metres for the not spatially-challenged, with additional 10 sq. metres of a loggia/balcony) in a new condo built not far from where I live now.

It has a library/working room just by the main door (handy if I need to meet clients at home), a huge living room opening into a kitchen and with windows from three sides (one of which is the loggia/balcony), a spacious master bedroom, a bathroom, a toilet and a small cloak room. It has air conditioning (which is still quite a rare option in Poland), and some other goodies.

The only problem is that it costs about 350k quid.

I'm going to see it on Saturday (so far only saw plans/visualizations).

[Zanza]

Didn't you tell us some time ago that you make $400,000 a year? A 350,000 GBP appartment should be well within your means.

[Grey Fox]

House buying has gone off the boil here. Child-rearing is probably one, though apparently is one hasn't bred oneself, one is not entitled to tell parents they should make their offspring pick up the litter they dropped, for instance.

Also: about time a man of your means moved on from a studio flat.

I fell in love with a 3-room "loft" style flat (83 sq. metres for the not spatially-challenged, with additional 10 sq. metres of a loggia/balcony) in a new condo built not far from where I live now.

It has a library/working room just by the main door (handy if I need to meet clients at home), a huge living room opening into a kitchen and with windows from three sides (one of which is the loggia/balcony), a spacious master bedroom, a bathroom, a toilet and a small cloak room. It has air conditioning (which is still quite a rare option in Poland), and some other goodies.

The only problem is that it costs about 350k quid.

I'm going to see it on Saturday (so far only saw plans/visualizations).

Why so small?

[Brazen]

Didn't you tell us some time ago that you make $400,000 a year? A 350,000 GBP appartment should be well within your means.

I was going to say that, and you don't run a car or have kids or a gold-digger boyfriend.

[Martinus]

Didn't you tell us some time ago that you make $400,000 a year? A 350,000 GBP appartment should be well within your means.

Errr. No, first of all. I said I make about $130,000 per year. Not sure where you got the $400k figure from. Plus yes I can afford it (though probably would need to take a loan for at least 30% of it). But it is still a shitload of money.

[Malthus]

Didn't you tell us some time ago that you make $400,000 a year? A 350,000 GBP appartment should be well within your means.

Errr. No, first of all. I said I make about $130,000 per year. Not sure where you got the $400k figure from. Plus yes I can afford it (though probably would need to take a loan for at least 30% of it). But it is still a shitload of money.

And here I was, wondering when you'd made partner. 

Having 70% in hand = you can easily afford it, though.

And yes, it is a shitload of money. When I bought my house, I had an extreme case of cold feet looking at the certified cheque I was handing over - so. much. money! 

Though the price is what, around $700k? That seems steep to me for a three room condo, it is more or less what I paid for my house, but prices are of course local. 

[Martinus]

No, it's closer to $500,000 - the prices are weird in Poland right now. Also, it seems I earn more (I haven't been checking the exchange rates lately) - according to the current rate I earn closer to $170,000.

But yeah it's pretty steep, but then Warsaw is expensive, and this is pretty much the middle of the city center, right next to a district of restaurants, theatres and parks on one side, and embassies on the other (this is pretty much 100 metres from the US and the Canadian embassies). Plus it's 5 minutes walk from my office.

And not to jinx it, but I may make a counsel this summer.