Reply #35: well that's a great idea that you have. i'm sorry we didn't buy

[catmother]

more real estate years ago. actually in early 97 we bought 2-1/2 acres for $48,000. we could have had 5 for $90,000 but we would have had to go into debt. right now an acre lot is going for $300,000 and if it's on a hillside which we are it's about $350,000. we also built our dream home 4 years ago before the cost went crazy. if we wanted to do it today we couldn't afford it. they tell me that my house is worth a million (2800 square feet -- custom on 2-1/2 acres) but prices are inflated right now. maybe realistically it's worth $700 -- the great part is we put a large down payment and only mortgaged $120,000 which i pay extra on the principle every month. so our mortgage is down to $97,000. but even with all this equity in the house, if we sold it where would we go -- we'd have to pay the same amount. the only thing i can think of is costa rica. has anyone checked it out. you can live there for about $600.00 a month (american money) -- they say for $1500.00 a month you can live like royalty. the average costa rican makes $250-$300 a month. so that's always a thought in our minds.

i should probably post a thread about costa rica. i've done quite a bit of research and it sounds pretty good.