[fred cook]

Ok, ok, so it was a question with too many variables! I knew that from the start. But, having been to the west coast a few times, I was always amazed at the advertised property values. So, here is a bit more information about where I live in south Georgia. I am in a small county of about 50,000 people with the largest city having about 7-8,000 residents. I am within 30 minutes driving time of 3-4 relatively large cities and about 1 hour from Tallahassee, Florida. It is about 2 hours to Jacksonville, Florida and about 4 hours to Orlando if you are towing a camper. The property is in a nice subdivision in the county with 2 to 5 acre lots. When I say wooded, my two acres has about 50 large pines and oak trees! We are on a community deep well with very good to excellent water. All the houses are on septic tanks. When I bought the lot, I paid a bit over $7,000 for it! The house cost about $70K, the pool about $25K and the shop about $20K. So I have a bit over $120K in the whole thing. What brought this question up was a discussion that I was having with the Mrs. about cost of living and property values. I suggested to her that there were places (in California, for example) where she would be living in a million dollar house. While she didn't exactly believe me, she at least started looking at our home in a new light! So, yes, it was a silly question, but what you guys have said backs up my thoughts expressed to my wife earlier! Oh, and if it was on the market here, now, I think the place would go for $250K-$300K given the current improving economy.