John has a long mustache - Edward the Asshole plans to invade Normandy

[Barrister]

Let us know if you do actually pull the trigger on anything Ed, and how it goes from there.

Current thinking in the Barrister household is after retirement in 20 years is to downsize the Canadian property and buy a place in Italy to live in for half the year.  I know, I know - the downside is living with Italians for six months.

I obviously don't have the resources you do, but with the house paid off at that point (heck - probably a bigger more expensive house paid off at that point) the numbers do seem to work from what I can tell from online browsing.

So, for all your talk about how much you loved living in the frozen wilderness you've finally come to your senses and decided to live amongst civilization. 

It's also a matter of what can I convince my wife to do.

Also having to think practically - we're talking about retirement.  Living in the wilderness is a young man's game.

[Ed Anger]

There is a high risk of wasting quite a bit of money on overpriced property in a country that is on the precipice above a socialist nightmare. Do be careful.

Careful?  I love how he's the Decider-In-Chief for all this, and not the wife.  Talk about not being careful.

He must beat her.

Nope. She knows her proper place.

I will spoil her but in the end I AM THE KING.

[Ed Anger]

Let us know if you do actually pull the trigger on anything Ed, and how it goes from there.

Current thinking in the Barrister household is after retirement in 20 years is to downsize the Canadian property and buy a place in Italy to live in for half the year.  I know, I know - the downside is living with Italians for six months.

I obviously don't have the resources you do, but with the house paid off at that point (heck - probably a bigger more expensive house paid off at that point) the numbers do seem to work from what I can tell from online browsing.

Will do.

Hopefully you would do Northern Italy, the only civilized part.

[Barrister]

Let us know if you do actually pull the trigger on anything Ed, and how it goes from there.

Current thinking in the Barrister household is after retirement in 20 years is to downsize the Canadian property and buy a place in Italy to live in for half the year.  I know, I know - the downside is living with Italians for six months.

I obviously don't have the resources you do, but with the house paid off at that point (heck - probably a bigger more expensive house paid off at that point) the numbers do seem to work from what I can tell from online browsing.

Will do.

Hopefully you would do Northern Italy, the only civilized part.

Northern Italy was fantastic, but not so good as a winter getaway.

Would probably compromise on Tuscany / Umbria to balance out the warm weather and the civilization.

We went out to an Italian restaurant for supper last night and commented on how going to Italy had ruined Italian restaurants for us.

[Ed Anger]

We went out to an Italian restaurant for supper last night and commented on how going to Italy had ruined Italian restaurants for us.

Olive Garden sure does look icky now, doesn't it? 

[Barrister]

We went out to an Italian restaurant for supper last night and commented on how going to Italy had ruined Italian restaurants for us.

Olive Garden sure does look icky now, doesn't it? 

Give us some credit, Ed.

[Ed Anger]

 

Fazoli's then. 

[katmai]

Nope. She knows her proper place.

I will spoil her but in the end I AM THE KING.

Does your wife have a brother? 

[Ed Anger]

Nope. She knows her proper place.

I will spoil her but in the end I AM THE KING.

Does your wife have a brother? 

Why ye....HEY I GET THAT. GET YER MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER.

[PDH]

The mind follows the body.

[Jacob]

The mind follows the body.

And what a body it is...

[Zanza]

Nothing will change.

That's exactly the problem with Hollande. And Sarkozy. No one is willing to actually address the problems France faces.

[Richard Hakluyt]

Ed, an article about the property market in France which may interest you :

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/houseprices/9244152/France-faces-40pc-house-price-slump.html

The chap who wrote it is a noted doom-merchant, but the article does match the general impression I've formed about current house prices in France.

[Duque de Bragança]

Ed, an article about the property market in France which may interest you :

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/houseprices/9244152/France-faces-40pc-house-price-slump.html

The chap who wrote it is a noted doom-merchant, but the article does match the general impression I've formed about current house prices in France.

About time But it has been announced so many times that I will only believe it when I see it in Paris intra-muros and near suburbs.

[Richard Hakluyt]

Apparently British house prices have fallen by about 11% in the past 4 years, inflation comes to another 10% or so during that period. It is a slow deflation rather than a collapse, partly, I think, because even if house prices are slowly falling they are still a better bet than many other assets atm. Meanwhile, for posh property in London it seems that prices continue to rise.

That type of market is not necessarily a problem if you want to buy your primary residence and have a secure job/income. But one could get badly burned buying a holiday place and then deciding that you would rather go on a cruise than face wet and windy Normandy again.