How are your investments doing?

[jyoutz]

People just need to stop living in these places. Actually, they are moving. There has been a net loss in many high taxation locales

Then they would move next to you and you wouldn’t be happy.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Then they would move next to you and you wouldn’t be happy.

I don't mind people. The trick is having enough acreage as a buffer

 

[MossRoad]

OMG

I said the same thing after I recovered from the spit-take! They wanted something like $350K for the shack. We didn't realize it, but there was another shack at the top of the dune that they called the teahouse.

 

[MossRoad]

I don't mind people. The trick is having enough acreage as a buffer

Our rural property is our fallback should we get neighbors we don't get along with. Fortunately for us, we have a pretty good relationship with all of our neighbors at our current house. Pretty quiet neighborhood.

 

[ponytug]

People just need to stop living in these places. Actually, they are moving. There has been a net loss in many high taxation locales

I happened to look at the property taxes on our old family home in a medium sized city in the upper Midwest recently that has an assessed value about half of our ranch here, but the property taxes were nearly identical, and the estimated insurance was about the same. To say I was surprised is an understatement, but apparently the prime risks in California are earthquakes and fire, and in the upper Midwest the insurance is high because of flooding and tornados. I am still surprised at how expensive the taxes are/were. Knowing the purchase price, property taxes, and upkeep, I can't file that home or this ranch under the "great investments I have made" category.

Still, I am reminded of the old adage about real estate, "location, location, location".

All the best,

Peter

 

[mark in portugal]

Nice!

I have a 2013 Impala I paid $15K for that is now worth about $3K and it's moored in my driveway.

I had a 1965 impala; 4 door, 283 V8, 3 on the column manual, AC but no power steering.

In 1985, I saw it parked by the side of the road in southern India, out of gas, with a flat tire.
So I put some fuel in it, filled the tire, and hotwired it. Drove it to town, got the tire patched, and put it back.

It had been ordered by the US embassy in New Delhi; at that time, it was illegal for any US government agency to buy a non-US vehicle.
They gifted it to the Russian embassy, who eventually sold it, and it was acquired by an Australian named Deadman, who sold it to me.

All it needed was a carburetor, shocks, new pistons, a valve job, suspension rubbers, a fuel tank, some paint (lots of paint), new wiring, alternator rebuild, filters, tires, and a LOT of gasoline.

 

[MossRoad]

....

All it needed was a carburetor, shocks, new pistons, a valve job, suspension rubbers, a fuel tank, some paint (lots of paint), new wiring, alternator rebuild, filters, tires, and a LOT of gasoline.

Man, that's a great story!

 

[mark in portugal]

Oh yeah, it needed a clutch as well... found a plate that fit, old stock made for a bedford truck supposedly. Before replacing the tires, I laid a big patch of rubber outside the popular bar; the local boys had seen that in the movies, but never in real life.
There was no other car there that was capable of breaking traction on a dry road.

Then I sold it (at a 50% loss) to a Canadian, who had a accident the next day.
The police came looking for the owner of "The huge American car". All my neighbors told the cops they had no idea what they were talking about.
Of course everyone knew.
Anyway, he paid honorably and all.

 

[ponytug]

@mark in portugal Your write up of your RV in India is impressive. Your barge looks gorgeous, and a ton of work on your part. Thanks for sharing it.

All the best, Peter

 

[dmccarty]

I had a 1965 impala; 4 door, 283 V8, 3 on the column manual, AC but no power steering.

In 1985, I saw it parked by the side of the road in southern India, out of gas, with a flat tire.
So I put some fuel in it, filled the tire, and hotwired it. Drove it to town, got the tire patched, and put it back.

It had been ordered by the US embassy in New Delhi; at that time, it was illegal for any US government agency to buy a non-US vehicle.
They gifted it to the Russian embassy, who eventually sold it, and it was acquired by an Australian named Deadman, who sold it to me.
...

This story made me think of an old Chevy station wagon I saw parked in a public parking spot in the Netherlands. The station wagon is HUGE by Dutch standards and it was parked near a park. It was only there a day or two before it was moved. I only saw it that one time. There were small throw pillows in the car, I wish I had taken pictures of them, that looked like they might have been as old as the station wagon My guess is that the car was owned by someone in the US government or military and sold the station wagon when they moved out of the Netherlands.

 

[California]

Then they would move next to you to California and you we wouldn’t be happy.

Fixed that for you.

 

[mark in portugal]

There are a lot of big old American cars in the Netherlands. They're popular with collectors and those who like to show off their disposable income (gasoline costs are very high there).
Most have been modified to run on LPG (which is cheaper) and the resulting valve damage can be clearly smelled and heard as the V7s puff on past.

I had an altercation with a pimp once; I was evicting his girl from a rental property. He showed up with a Buick, very ostentatious there, and it barely squeezed down the canal road.
Hey, I'm American; to me, that's just a car. And find your girl a place, that's your job not mine. And take a step back, or something bad might happen.

 

[California]

This story made me think of an old Chevy station wagon I saw parked in a public parking spot in the Netherlands. ...

Kinda related - I recently posted over in the Foreign Travel thread that in the late 1970's I encountered a newly arrived Texas oilman and family in Maracaibo. (Venezuela's oil export port city).

Identified him instantly by the Texas plates (so newly arrived) on the largest station wagon Ford ever made, for 9 people and with fake woodgrain on the sides. They seemed uncomfortable venturing outside the oil company walled compound.

 

[MossRoad]

This story made me think of an old Chevy station wagon I saw parked in a public parking spot in the Netherlands. The station wagon is HUGE by Dutch standards and it was parked near a park. It was only there a day or two before it was moved. I only saw it that one time. There were small throw pillows in the car, I wish I had taken pictures of them, that looked like they might have been as old as the station wagon My guess is that the car was owned by someone in the US government or military and sold the station wagon when they moved out of the Netherlands.

I'd enjoy driving a car like that!

 

[ultrarunner]

I was in Austria and there was a old Suburban that took parking places and I guess the carb was running rich at altitude…

Villagers talked about the smelly American street tank for days…

Think it was US stationed in Germany out for a weekend?

That said many old American Iron seen as investments in Europe for those with disposable income…

 

[MossRoad]

...

Villagers talked about the smelly American street tank for days…

...

I'll have to borrow that term for our Suburban!

 

[Hay Dude]

Sold some Tesla today @493. Held onto some in case it gets even more overvalued

 

[DarkBlack]

Sold some Tesla today @493. Held onto some in case it gets even more overvalued

It is amazing how well it’s done lately, despite a less than stellar outlook

 

[Snobdds]

Sold some Tesla today @493. Held onto some in case it gets even more overvalued

Isn't it nice to bank profits rather than have paper profits.

You're learning.

 

[dmccarty]

There are a lot of big old American cars in the Netherlands. They're popular with collectors and those who like to show off their disposable income (gasoline costs are very high there).
Most have been modified to run on LPG (which is cheaper) and the resulting valve damage can be clearly smelled and heard as the V7s puff on past.
...

We have had two long vacations in the NL, about four weeks total time, and wish we could go back next year. We have stayed in two smaller cities but have driven, taken buses and trains to see other places in the country. This was the only older US car I saw. Having said that, I was watching a YouTube history video were these two guys visit places were battles took place and walk through the battle. One of the scenes was in Arnhem, I think, it was about Market Garden in any case, and they were on a street where there are WW II photos of the battle. It is surprising how well some of the city areas survived the battle(s)/war and look like they did back in the 1940s. Any who, in the background and across the street from where they were filming was a big old 1970's US car. Soooo, out of place for soooo many reasons.

In our travels, we only saw a few "large" vehicles and they really are out of place in the NL. Just not a lot of room to park. We rented an Audi "station wagon" and it was a PITA to park since the parking spaces are tiny and not many of them. I drive a full size, crew cab pickup so the size of the Audi was not the problem. LOL

We were shocked to see pickup trucks. All but one were regular cab Ram 1500s. We did see one Ford 150 and the owner did not know what he would buy when he had to get a new truck due to the regulations. We were walking around the plaza at the Pieterskerk in Leiden trying to get a good video of the front of the church, when a lifted Ram 1500 drove in and parked right at the front. The driver got out and went into the church. I think he was doing a performance of some kind based on his clothes. A lifted Ram 1500 pickup truck parked in front of the the huge Pieterskerk was odd to say the least.

For those that don't know, Pieterskerk was the church the Pilgrims went too before going back to England and getting on the Mayflower to head West.

There is housing built by the Pilgrims still in use around Pieterskerk. A mile or so away, there is a building that used to be opened to the public and was one of the oldest original houses in the city or some such. It was called the Pilgrim's Museum, if I recall correctly, but it closed down in the last year or so when the owner died. I believe the contents have moved to the Pieterskerk or some place near the church. The Pilgrim's Museum was two apartments, for want of a better term, that were one or two rooms each. One used to be the living quarters for priests that were at a church across the alley/road and the other housed some Pilgrims for a time. We were very lucky in being able to see the museum before it closed. A woman from France ran small tours into the small apartments and I could listen to her all day. She was getting PhD in history and really knew her stuff. She handed me an original book on military tactics, a copy of which would have been used by Miles Standish. The museum, and Leiden, are amazing places to visit. Soooo much history in such a small area.

This is picture of the front of the Peters Kirk a few days prior to the Ram parking near the red doors.