10 Countries Where Retirees Live Large

By Jason Notte | TheStreet.com – Wed, Jun 20, 2012 1:22 PM EDT

Retirement in the United States is nice and all, until they ask you to actually pay for stuff.

When retirees' nest eggs are a finite and dwindling resource, rising local and federal taxes can put even the staunchest, flag-draped patriotism to the test. If retirees are willing to leave the states behind, the savings can be substantial.

[Related: De-Stressing Secrets from Around the World]

The folks at International Living crunched the numbers and looked at the price of simple staples, assimilation and staying in touch with family left behind. The following countries scored high marks not only for their inexpensive living, but for overall friendliness toward American retirees:

Panama

A retiree has it pretty sweet in Panama, where a program commonly known as pensionado help retirees settle in quickly. International Living says retirees can live like kings here for $1,500 to $2,000 a month and score apartments for less than $500 a month or buy waterfront condos for less than $200,000. Pensionado, meanwhile, gives users 15% off fast food, 15% off at hospitals and clinics, 20% off professional services used in Panama, 25% off the price of food eaten in a sit-down restaurant; 25% off domestic flights on Copa Airlines, a 30% discount on public transport and 50% off movies, theater tickets and sporting events. There's no age limit for the service, either, so help yourself.

Mexico

Considering the tensions over the state of Mexico/U.S. immigration law, it's at the very least amusing to consider American workers streaming south to chase their retirement dreams. But great homes on Mexico's Caribbean coast go for less than $170,000 while places such as Lake Chapala are home to dozens of expat communities. It's not such a bad place for snowbirds, either. It's the only retirement destination on this list withing driving distance, and retirees can rent out their properties in the off months to cover costs.

Malaysia

The country's My Second Home retirement benefits program for all foreigners is a great draw, but so is the quality Internet access, cellphone coverage and roads. It also helps that it's dirt cheap. A sea-view apartment with a pool and gym on Penang Island goes for $1,000 a month, and big-budget movies usually premiere here, are shown in English and go for about $4. Oh, and there's plenty of English being spoken as well.


Colombia

Medellin has a notorious reputation among Americans who know it mostly for its drug-laden past, but that hasn't prevented a huge expat population from springing up within city limits. Medellin's El Poblado district has Japanese, French, seafood and Italian restaurants within a block of each other. Its health care system ranks atop any other stop on this list, while the cost of everything from housing to entertainment are a great fit for a fixed income.

[Related: 3 Ways to Take Control of Your Retirement]

New Zealand

The English speaking certainly helps, but so do the winters that come during an American summer. That's some pretty costly snowbirding, so maybe the proliferation and low cost of every day amenities as well as more frivolous items should be seen as long-term investments. New Zealand's reputation for healthy living and near-absent pollution should also appeal to those who want to extend retirement as long as possible.


Nicaragua

A visit to the doctor is $15. Overall health care can cost as much as 60% less than the U.S., while U.S.-trained doctors speak English and will make house calls. A huge expat population in the colonial city of Granada spends about around $1,200 a month to live there, considering a small house can be $500 to $1,000 a month to rent. The best steak dinner in town runs about $13, while regular meals go for half that and "local meals" are $2 to $3. Local beer, meanwhile, runs between 75 cents and $1.50. This makes Florida's cost of living look like Manhattan's.

Spain

Wait, the same Spain that just dodged a bailout and is still dealing with crushing debt? Yep, that's the one, but austerity measures haven't bitten into the best of what Spain has to offer. This is by no means the cheapest option on the list and, in fact, has the most expensive real estate of any country listed. That said, it's really easy to fit in, with near-ubiquitous English, three-course meals for less than $20 and modern infrastructure that places high value on convenient, punctual rail service. Combine that with teeming culture and tons of ways to pass the time and Spain can be a great fit for retirees who've already weathered a shaky economy.

Thailand

About $500 a month is enough to score a nice new home just about anywhere in Thailand. One of International Living's contributors pays just $222 a month for a beachside bungalow with air conditioning, hot water, Wi-Fi and a refrigerator. Altogether, the cost of living in Thailand sets retirees back only about $1,000 a month while giving them great amenities and vibrant cultural and entertainment options. Bangkok still gets pretty wild, but loads of expats and lots of English speakers help ease the transition.

[Related: Best Places to Retire]

Honduras

The benefits offered to retirees beyond the three-hour flights back to see the kids are fairly substantial, especially considering that expats living on beachfront property can do well here on less than $1,500 a month. The scuba diving, fishing, sailing, kayaking, snorkeling and surfing are lovely too. But even Honduras can't top the last entry on our list:


Ecuador

This basically is Florida or Arizona for the expat community. The country's retirement benefits package includes 50% off transportation, utility bills, international round-trip flights originating in Ecuador and tickets for cultural and sporting events. Foreigners can also enroll in Ecuador's Social Security medical program for $57 a month. Those over 65 also pay lower income tax. Penthouse suites and beachfront condos go for $50,000, while beachfront rentals hover around $500 a month. A retiree's entire cost of living rounds out to roughly $800 to $1,500 a month, and the neighbors more often than not are either A) other expats or B) English-speaking locals. We'll warn that this isn't exactly undiscovered country among retirees, but it's several steps up from the costly retirement kennels and golf carts of more costly American hot spots.

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Source(http://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-countries-where-retirees-live-large.html)

Search: in America's Most Walkable Cities, 2011

By Jason Notte, The Street
August 3, 2011




Living within a quick drive of work, the store, school or public transportation is nice, but only having all of those items a few blocks away makes your neighborhood "walkable."

The people behind Walk Score, a Seattle-based service that rates the convenience and transit access of 10,000 neighborhoods in 2,500 cities, have spent the past four years judging the distance between residents and amenities and ranking places based on the results. That "walkability" led to the first set of rankings in 2008 and the use of those rankings by more than 10,000 cities, civic organizations and real estate groups in the years that followed.
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Walk Score's ideal neighborhoods have either a main street or public space at the center, enough people to keep public transit running frequently and a good mix of housing and businesses. Parks and other public spaces make up a large part of the equation, as do amenities designed around pedestrians, nearby schools and workplaces and "complete streets" designed for pedestrians, cyclists and transit.

"Very often, you'll see a good pedestrian design with sidewalks and crosswalks that make a city more accessible and walkable," says Josh Herst, chief executive of Walk Score. "Even in cities that on the whole aren't that walkable, there are neighborhoods that are great places to walk."

A CEOs For Cities study based on Walk Score data insists that a walkable neighborhood adds an average $3,000 to a home's selling price. And University of British Columbia professor Lawrence Frank found that residents of walkable neighborhoods tend to be at least seven pounds lighter than their counterparts in more sprawling areas.

Here's a look at Walk Score's Most Walkable Cities of 2011 and the amenity-packed neighborhoods that made the difference:

5. Philadelphia
Walk Score: 74.1

Any tourist who's seen Independence Hall and stopped into a Wawa for Tastykakes and directions can tell you that the city's most walkable neighborhoods in Center City, the Old City and along the riverfront near Penn's Landing are some of the easiest to navigate in the country. What locals probably won't tell the average cheesesteak-chomping out-of-towner is just how easy it is to get around South Philly and its surrounding neighborhoods.

Philadelphia City Hall in America's 5th most walkable city.
Photo: flickr | bengrey

Except for the extreme northeast, southwest and northwest corners of the city, much of Philadelphia's fairly easy to get around. About 95% of the city is easily accessible by means other than a car, but it's just a matter of doing so.

There's no shortage of cars in this town, and the city's conflicted relationship with the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority may have something to do with it. Septa's bus, subway, light rail and commuter rail services handled 327.6 million passengers this year, including travelers taking the airport line right into Center City. That's great and all, but it's still less than the ridership of a Boston MBTA that covers a city nearly one-third Philadelphia's size.

4. Chicago
Walk Score: 74.3

The city's broad shoulders aren't nearly as important as its broad sidewalks and bus and subway options when it comes to walkability.

The city's restaurants, theaters, shops and other amenities are closer and more accessible the nearer one gets to Lake Michigan. Lake View and Wrigleyville or West Town and Wicker Park are great place for living car free. Stray too far west or south, however, and you'll end up in the 4% of Chicago neighborhoods that need an automotive assist.

Chicago skyline in America's 4th most walkable city.
Photo: flickr | Bryce_edwards

The Chicago Transit Authority helps level the extremely wide playing field with buses and trains that helped roughly 515 million riders get through the city last year. That includes the throngs of tourists and business travelers flying into O'Hare and Midway and taking CTA trains into the city. Another 70.5 million riders who take the commuter rail in from the suburbs each day make a strong argument to keep the car under wraps until the snow stops falling.

The town can still be a mixed bag when it comes to getting around, however. If you're barhopping or looking for good Italian beef in Old Town, Lincoln Park or Near North Side, you won't have to stray far. If you're trying to make it to a play in Pilsen after a barbecue in New City, however, it's a crapshoot.

3. Boston
Walk Score: 79.2

Residents of the Back Bay, Beacon Hill, the South End and Fenway who feel they weren't built for cars can sleep soundly knowing their neighborhoods weren't either.

It's easy to get to just about any point in this city without ever sitting behind the wheel of a car because the city's first residents needed it to be that way. The winding streets Mayor Thomas Menino calls "cow paths" were often just that. The city's Colonial-era survival was based on its density, residents' proximity to goods and services and the ability to get those goods home without carrying them a great distance.

Boston skyline in America's 3rd most walkable city.
Photo: flickr | Manu_H

"Cities that were largely built in World War II and post-World War II were built with the car at the center of them," Herst says. "When you think about cities like Boston and New York City, at least at the center of them, they were built into meaningful metropolises before the car."

The oldest subway system in America has helped make it easier for Bostonians to get from place to place, but T riders disenchanted with the aging system might prefer pulling cattle. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority moved more than 373 million riders through its light rail, commuter rail, ferries and buses last year, with 149 million of those riders taking a subway that has had portions running since 1897.

2. San Francisco
Walk Score: 84.9

Walk Score considered it the most walkable city in America back in 2008 and it probably still would be if more New Yorkers weren't paying exorbitant sums for shoeboxes in SoHo or "lofts" with a few hundred feet on the Lower East Side.

There hasn't been a whole lot of change since then, which is just how residents who've tried to minimize car-related change like it. San Francisco's compact, concise layout didn't take the car into consideration when it was incorporated in 1850 or after it was rebuilt following the 1906 earthquake. Even while the rest of America was having a love affair with the car during the 1950s, local protesters were busy stopping freeways from running through town.

S.F.'s 'Painted Ladies' in America's 2nd most walkable city.
Photo: flickr | Paul Lowry

As a result, 17 of its neighborhoods rank among the top 150 most walkable in the country, with Chinatown and the Financial District sitting behind only New York's TriBeCa, SoHo and Little Italy. Only 1% of the city lives in areas dependent on cars.

This has made the city's mass transit especially vital. Despite the expense and lack of deals for monthly passes, the Bay Area Rapid Transit subway system carried more than 100 million passengers last year and the San Francisco Municipal Railway took on another 209.5 million. That doesn't include other commuter rail and bus service from Silicon Valley and elsewhere that added more than 20 million riders to the mix. San Francisco might want to consider clamoring for a walkability recount.

"The margin is very small," Herst says. "Both cities are very walkable and we're calling on our community to vote for the city they think is more walkable to help break the virtual tie."

1. New York
Walk Score: 85.3

Manhattan's 16 miles long and two miles wide and has been walkable since the days when the only other transportation option involved an animal. Densely packed areas such as Brooklyn's Fort Green, Park Slope and Carroll Gardens and Bay Ridge, Queens' Sunnyside and Astoria/Long Island City and the South Bronx, University Heights and Fordham neighborhoods in the Bronx are giving Manhattan a run for the money thanks to tightly packed areas that are only increasing in density.

"New York's narrow move past San Francisco in the 2011 ranking is largely a result of updated census data," Herst says. "There are more people living in more walkable neighborhoods in New York."

N.Y.'s Central Park in America's most walkable city.
Photo: flickr | ZeroOne

The Metropolitan Transit Authority is feeling every bit of that growth, too. Last year, the MTA moved more than 3.2 billion riders with its buses and subways, with more than two-thirds of that total riding the rails. That doesn't even count the 81 million commuter rail riders taking the Metro-North, another 95 million on the Long Island Railroad, 4.3 million on the Staten Island Railway and millions more coming in on New Jersey trains.

Not only is the overwhelming majority of New York eminently walkable, but only 2% of all New Yorkers live in neighborhoods that require owning a car.


Source(http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/americas-most-walkable-cities-2011.html)

America's 10 Sickest Housing Markets

By Charles B. Stockdale, Douglas A. McIntyre and Michael B. Sauter

For three years, the real estate market has been going in one direction — primarily down. Some areas, however, have begun to recover. Recent S&P/Case-Shiller data show that among the top 20 housing markets in the U.S., 18 had very modest improvements in sales prices during May. Others, like Washington and Boston, have began to at least stabilize from a year ago.

More from 247WallSt.com:

• 10 Signs The Double-Dip Recession Has Begun

• The Countries With the Fastest-Growing Populations

• States Where People Pay the Most (and Least) in Taxes

Few markets, however, can match Washington and Boston. Robert Shiller has been stating that home prices could fall another 10% in the next year. Inventories in some major metropolitan areas would take years of sales to get back to 2005 levels. Then, the normal inventory of homes for sale was replaced on average every six months and it was unusual for a house to be on the market for a year. Foreclosure rates remain high and only the robo-signing scandal has slowed the process. Once this is resolved, economists fear the market will be flooded with even more vacant, unsold homes.

24/7 Wall St. has taken a new look at the housing market to find the very weakest cities by identifying those with the highest homeowner vacancy rates and rental vacancy rates. These are markets where demand has clearly collapsed. These are cities where the requirement for living space has dropped well below the national average. Further, vacancy rates of many cities were stable during the recession, but accelerated sharply higher in the last year. Similarly, housing prices in several of these markets have decreased at a faster rate in the last three quarters than during the recession. These cities, like Detroit, St. Louis, Dayton, and Atlanta, also tend to be larger and older among the top 75 metropolitan areas. Their economies were damaged long before the recession.

Methodology: 24/7 Wall St. pulled Census data on the 75 largest U.S. metropolitan areas and ranked the cities with the highest overall vacancy rates for both homeowner vacancy and rental vacancy for the second quarter of 2011. We picked the cities with the worst rates in each of the two categories to create meta-data ranks. We then removed the cities that had either improved homeowner vacancy rate in either the last twelve months or the last quarter. We believed that any sign of improvement in homeowner vacancies, the more telling of the vacancy rates, should disqualify a city. To improve our analysis, we also looked at unemployment rates for these cities provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. We also used historical median home prices, as provided by the National Association of Realtors.

The analysis shows that some cities have home vacancy rates over 5% and rental vacancy rates over 10%. Obviously, these levels of unused inventory have the effect of driving down both home and rental prices month after month. It also means that there is comparatively little demand for the purchase of new or existing homes. These ten markets are essentially dead as far as real estate prices and sales activity are concerned.

These are America's ten sickest housing markets.

1. Tucson, AZ
Homeowner vacancy rates: 6.8% (1st)
Rental vacancy rates: 15.9% (6th)
Total housing units: 440,909
Unemployment: 7.8%

Tucson's homeowner vacancy rate was 3.2% one year ago. It is now over double that. The city had a booming residential housing market before the crash. Since then, demand is so low that median home prices have dropped 18% in the past year and 33% since 2008. In addition, the city has among the highest rate of foreclosures in the country.

2. Indianapolis, IN
Homeowner vacancy rates: 5.2% (5th)
Rental vacancy rates: 13.5% (10th)
Total housing units: 757,441
Unemployment: 7.8%

The average home price has dropped by $20,000, or 15.3%, between the second quarter of 2010 and the first quarter of this year. Indianapolis's home vacancy rate of 5.2% is the fifth-highest in the country. Its rental vacancy of 13.5% of units is the tenth highest in the country. In 2009, while vacancy had not even reached its worst point, the mayor's office of Indianapolis recognized the serious problem the city faced. The city's plan to help solve the abandoned home issue states: "Indianapolis, like many communities, faces a significant challenge in dealing with vacant and abandoned properties. This challenge is exacerbated both by weaknesses in the local and regional housing markets — including an oversupply of housing relative to demand — and by the high and growing rate of foreclosures."

3. Memphis, TN
Homeowner vacancy rates: 4% (9th)
Rental vacancy rates: 13.5% (11th)
Total housing units: 550,896
Unemployment: 10.1%

Memphis's slow economic recovery has kept vacancy rates high. The metropolitan area's homeowner vacancy rate has increased from 2.5% in 2010 to 4% in the second quarter of 2011. In the city's defense, its rental vacancy rate has decreased from a staggering 21.2% in 2010 to 13.5%. This is still among the highest in the country, but it is an improvement. The unemployment rate remains at 10.1%, which is significantly higher than the national average of 9.2%.

4. Atlanta, GA
Homeowner vacancy rates: 5.4% (4th)
Rental vacancy rates: 11.8% (17th)
Total housing units: 2,165,495
Unemployment: 9.7%

Atlanta's homeowner vacancy rate of 5.4% is the fourth highest among major U.S. cities. The city, which had a significant influx of new residents, particularly from the northeast, has been hit hard. Atlanta's unemployment rate of 9.7% is well above the national average of 9.2%. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the city had lost nearly 25,000 jobs between June of 2010 and June of this year. Between 2008 and the first quarter of this year, homes have lost more than a third of their value, dropping in price by nearly $50,000.

5. Baton Rouge, LA
Homeowner vacancy rates: 3.9% (11th)
Rental vacancy rates: 13% (12th)
Total housing units: 329,729
Unemployment: 8.4%

Baton Rouge did not emerge from the recession unscathed, but it did perform better than many other cities in the U.S., in part because it is the state's capital city and in part because of the money brought in through Hurricane Katrina recovery work. However, according to one local news station, the area has built more housing structures than it could fill following Katrina. The city has not been able to break free of this situation, as both homeowner vacancy rates and rental vacancy rates have increased not only since last year, but since the last quarter as well.
By Charles B. Stockdale, Douglas A. McIntyre and Michael B. Sauter

For three years, the real estate market has been going in one direction — primarily down. Some areas, however, have begun to recover. Recent S&P/Case-Shiller data show that among the top 20 housing markets in the U.S., 18 had very modest improvements in sales prices during May. Others, like Washington and Boston, have began to at least stabilize from a year ago.

More from 247WallSt.com:

• 10 Signs The Double-Dip Recession Has Begun

• The Countries With the Fastest-Growing Populations

• States Where People Pay the Most (and Least) in Taxes

Few markets, however, can match Washington and Boston. Robert Shiller has been stating that home prices could fall another 10% in the next year. Inventories in some major metropolitan areas would take years of sales to get back to 2005 levels. Then, the normal inventory of homes for sale was replaced on average every six months and it was unusual for a house to be on the market for a year. Foreclosure rates remain high and only the robo-signing scandal has slowed the process. Once this is resolved, economists fear the market will be flooded with even more vacant, unsold homes.

24/7 Wall St. has taken a new look at the housing market to find the very weakest cities by identifying those with the highest homeowner vacancy rates and rental vacancy rates. These are markets where demand has clearly collapsed. These are cities where the requirement for living space has dropped well below the national average. Further, vacancy rates of many cities were stable during the recession, but accelerated sharply higher in the last year. Similarly, housing prices in several of these markets have decreased at a faster rate in the last three quarters than during the recession. These cities, like Detroit, St. Louis, Dayton, and Atlanta, also tend to be larger and older among the top 75 metropolitan areas. Their economies were damaged long before the recession.

Methodology: 24/7 Wall St. pulled Census data on the 75 largest U.S. metropolitan areas and ranked the cities with the highest overall vacancy rates for both homeowner vacancy and rental vacancy for the second quarter of 2011. We picked the cities with the worst rates in each of the two categories to create meta-data ranks. We then removed the cities that had either improved homeowner vacancy rate in either the last twelve months or the last quarter. We believed that any sign of improvement in homeowner vacancies, the more telling of the vacancy rates, should disqualify a city. To improve our analysis, we also looked at unemployment rates for these cities provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. We also used historical median home prices, as provided by the National Association of Realtors.

The analysis shows that some cities have home vacancy rates over 5% and rental vacancy rates over 10%. Obviously, these levels of unused inventory have the effect of driving down both home and rental prices month after month. It also means that there is comparatively little demand for the purchase of new or existing homes. These ten markets are essentially dead as far as real estate prices and sales activity are concerned.

These are America's ten sickest housing markets.

1. Tucson, AZ
Homeowner vacancy rates: 6.8% (1st)
Rental vacancy rates: 15.9% (6th)
Total housing units: 440,909
Unemployment: 7.8%

Tucson's homeowner vacancy rate was 3.2% one year ago. It is now over double that. The city had a booming residential housing market before the crash. Since then, demand is so low that median home prices have dropped 18% in the past year and 33% since 2008. In addition, the city has among the highest rate of foreclosures in the country.

2. Indianapolis, IN
Homeowner vacancy rates: 5.2% (5th)
Rental vacancy rates: 13.5% (10th)
Total housing units: 757,441
Unemployment: 7.8%

The average home price has dropped by $20,000, or 15.3%, between the second quarter of 2010 and the first quarter of this year. Indianapolis's home vacancy rate of 5.2% is the fifth-highest in the country. Its rental vacancy of 13.5% of units is the tenth highest in the country. In 2009, while vacancy had not even reached its worst point, the mayor's office of Indianapolis recognized the serious problem the city faced. The city's plan to help solve the abandoned home issue states: "Indianapolis, like many communities, faces a significant challenge in dealing with vacant and abandoned properties. This challenge is exacerbated both by weaknesses in the local and regional housing markets — including an oversupply of housing relative to demand — and by the high and growing rate of foreclosures."

3. Memphis, TN
Homeowner vacancy rates: 4% (9th)
Rental vacancy rates: 13.5% (11th)
Total housing units: 550,896
Unemployment: 10.1%

Memphis's slow economic recovery has kept vacancy rates high. The metropolitan area's homeowner vacancy rate has increased from 2.5% in 2010 to 4% in the second quarter of 2011. In the city's defense, its rental vacancy rate has decreased from a staggering 21.2% in 2010 to 13.5%. This is still among the highest in the country, but it is an improvement. The unemployment rate remains at 10.1%, which is significantly higher than the national average of 9.2%.

4. Atlanta, GA
Homeowner vacancy rates: 5.4% (4th)
Rental vacancy rates: 11.8% (17th)
Total housing units: 2,165,495
Unemployment: 9.7%

Atlanta's homeowner vacancy rate of 5.4% is the fourth highest among major U.S. cities. The city, which had a significant influx of new residents, particularly from the northeast, has been hit hard. Atlanta's unemployment rate of 9.7% is well above the national average of 9.2%. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the city had lost nearly 25,000 jobs between June of 2010 and June of this year. Between 2008 and the first quarter of this year, homes have lost more than a third of their value, dropping in price by nearly $50,000.

5. Baton Rouge, LA
Homeowner vacancy rates: 3.9% (11th)
Rental vacancy rates: 13% (12th)
Total housing units: 329,729
Unemployment: 8.4%

Baton Rouge did not emerge from the recession unscathed, but it did perform better than many other cities in the U.S., in part because it is the state's capital city and in part because of the money brought in through Hurricane Katrina recovery work. However, according to one local news station, the area has built more housing structures than it could fill following Katrina. The city has not been able to break free of this situation, as both homeowner vacancy rates and rental vacancy rates have increased not only since last year, but since the last quarter as well.

6. Dayton, OH
Homeowner vacancy rates: 4.7% (7th)
Rental vacancy rates: 10.7% (23rd)
Total housing units: 385,160
Unemployment: 9.3%

Dayton's home vacancy rate of 4.7% is the seventh-highest in the country among major cities. At one time, Dayton was a much larger city and an economic powerhouse. The Ohio city, which was a major manufacturing center, was at one point awarded more patents each year than any other place in the U.S. The city has a particularly bad unemployment rate of 9.3%. Median housing price, which stood at $109,000 in 2008, has fallen by 29%, or $27,000, between 2008 and the first quarter of this year.

7. Detroit, MI (Tied for 8th)
Homeowner vacancy rates: 2.4% (32nd)
Rental vacancy rates: 17.2% (3rd)
Total housing units: 1,886,537
Unemployment: 11.6%

The recession hasn't been kind to Detroit. Part of the Detroit-Warren-Livonia metropolitan area, it has been among the hardest hit cities in the country. Since 2005, the metropolitan area has lost approximately 323,400 jobs. Unemployment in the Motor City almost reached 30% in 2009. According to one estimate, the city had 90,000 abandoned or vacant lots or residential homes in 2010. One of the reasons the city is not at the top of this list is that the city had so many vacant properties that a huge portion of them were demolished. Regardless, at 17.2%, the rate of rental vacancy is still the third highest rate in the nation.

8. Kansas City, MO (Tied for 8th)
Homeowner vacancy rates: 3.7% (13th)
Rental vacancy rates: 11% (22nd)
Total housing units: 883,099
Unemployment: 8.4%

Kansas City's rental vacancy rate of 11% is the 22nd highest of any major city in the country, while its homeowner vacancy rate of 3.7% is the 13th highest. The city has a relatively high rate of unemployment, at 8.4%. While it's below the national average of 9.2%, it is well above the state average of 6.6%. The median home price in the city is down by $19,000, or more than 13%, since 2008. Most of that decline came in the last year. Between the second quarter of 2010 and the first quarter of this year, prices dropped by more than $25,000.

9. St. Louis, MO
Homeowner vacancy rates: 3.3% (19th)
Rental vacancy rates: 11.4% (18th)
Total housing units: 1,236,222
Unemployment: 8.6%

In 2008 and 2009, the St. Louis area has shed more than 82,000 jobs. This loss had a negative impact on the city's real estate market. Vacancy rates have continued to rise, increasing from under 2% one year ago to 3.3% in the recent quarter. The rise in vacancy rates has occurred while the median sales price for single family homes has fallen more than 19% since 2008. While rental vacancy rate, which is currently at 11.4%, has decreased slightly since the last quarter, it is still 1.6 percentage points higher than it was last year. St. Louis office vacancy rate is at 12.6%, according to real estate information company CoStar Group.

10. Oklahoma City, OK
Homeowner vacancy rates: 5.2% (6th)
Rental vacancy rates: 9.6% (34th)
Total housing units: 539,077
Unemployment: 4.9%

Oklahoma City had the sixth highest homeowner vacancy rate in the country as of the second quarter of this year. The city's unemployment rate is just 5.3%, but this low rate has not helped improve high home and rental vacancy. From last year, home sales in Oklahoma state dropped by 7.7%, according to the state's newspaper NewsOK. In the city, sales were flat from last year. Between the first quarter of 2010 and the first quarter of 2011, the median home price in the city dropped by more than 8%.

___

6. Dayton, OH
Homeowner vacancy rates: 4.7% (7th)
Rental vacancy rates: 10.7% (23rd)
Total housing units: 385,160
Unemployment: 9.3%

Dayton's home vacancy rate of 4.7% is the seventh-highest in the country among major cities. At one time, Dayton was a much larger city and an economic powerhouse. The Ohio city, which was a major manufacturing center, was at one point awarded more patents each year than any other place in the U.S. The city has a particularly bad unemployment rate of 9.3%. Median housing price, which stood at $109,000 in 2008, has fallen by 29%, or $27,000, between 2008 and the first quarter of this year.

7. Detroit, MI (Tied for 8th)
Homeowner vacancy rates: 2.4% (32nd)
Rental vacancy rates: 17.2% (3rd)
Total housing units: 1,886,537
Unemployment: 11.6%

The recession hasn't been kind to Detroit. Part of the Detroit-Warren-Livonia metropolitan area, it has been among the hardest hit cities in the country. Since 2005, the metropolitan area has lost approximately 323,400 jobs. Unemployment in the Motor City almost reached 30% in 2009. According to one estimate, the city had 90,000 abandoned or vacant lots or residential homes in 2010. One of the reasons the city is not at the top of this list is that the city had so many vacant properties that a huge portion of them were demolished. Regardless, at 17.2%, the rate of rental vacancy is still the third highest rate in the nation.

8. Kansas City, MO (Tied for 8th)
Homeowner vacancy rates: 3.7% (13th)
Rental vacancy rates: 11% (22nd)
Total housing units: 883,099
Unemployment: 8.4%

Kansas City's rental vacancy rate of 11% is the 22nd highest of any major city in the country, while its homeowner vacancy rate of 3.7% is the 13th highest. The city has a relatively high rate of unemployment, at 8.4%. While it's below the national average of 9.2%, it is well above the state average of 6.6%. The median home price in the city is down by $19,000, or more than 13%, since 2008. Most of that decline came in the last year. Between the second quarter of 2010 and the first quarter of this year, prices dropped by more than $25,000.

9. St. Louis, MO
Homeowner vacancy rates: 3.3% (19th)
Rental vacancy rates: 11.4% (18th)
Total housing units: 1,236,222
Unemployment: 8.6%

In 2008 and 2009, the St. Louis area has shed more than 82,000 jobs. This loss had a negative impact on the city's real estate market. Vacancy rates have continued to rise, increasing from under 2% one year ago to 3.3% in the recent quarter. The rise in vacancy rates has occurred while the median sales price for single family homes has fallen more than 19% since 2008. While rental vacancy rate, which is currently at 11.4%, has decreased slightly since the last quarter, it is still 1.6 percentage points higher than it was last year. St. Louis office vacancy rate is at 12.6%, according to real estate information company CoStar Group.

10. Oklahoma City, OK
Homeowner vacancy rates: 5.2% (6th)
Rental vacancy rates: 9.6% (34th)
Total housing units: 539,077
Unemployment: 4.9%

Oklahoma City had the sixth highest homeowner vacancy rate in the country as of the second quarter of this year. The city's unemployment rate is just 5.3%, but this low rate has not helped improve high home and rental vacancy. From last year, home sales in Oklahoma state dropped by 7.7%, according to the state's newspaper NewsOK. In the city, sales were flat from last year. Between the first quarter of 2010 and the first quarter of 2011, the median home price in the city dropped by more than 8%.


Source(http://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/article/113245/americas-sickest-housing-markets-247wallst)

The Best Places to Buy a Home Right Now

By Nathan Vardi and David Whelan, Forbes.com
May 12, 2011
Though home prices in most areas around the country remain weak, the attractiveness of purchasing a home continues to diminish in the wake of the real estate bust. Fears of price erosion, a weak economy and foreclosure dog markets coast to coast.

But not everywhere. In places like the suburbs of Rochester, N.Y., houses look like a great buy. You can get a relatively new 3,000-square-foot home on a nice quarter of an acre lot in a good school district for between $300,000 and $400,000. "The real estate here is very inexpensive, it's about the same as renting and it actually makes sense for families," says Delores Conway, a real estate economics professor at the University of Rochester. "The houses are solid investments with good school systems that are fairly priced."
In Pictures: Best Places to Buy a HomeIn Pictures: Best Places to Buy a Home

According to recent data put together by real estate website Zillow, Rochester is the best place to buy a home in the United States. One of the reasons Zillow rates Rochester so highly is that its foreclosure rate is a minuscule 0.24%.

In order to figure out the best places to purchase a home in the country, Zillow looked at four statistical measures in 125 metro areas as of the end of February. These factors included affordability, as measured by home price to income ratios; the unemployment picture (both the absolute figure and how it's trending over time); the foreclosure situation; and year-over-year housing price trends.

"The list is populated by markets that did not participate in the housing run up from 2000 to 2006 and therefore their housing recession has been milder," says Stan Humphries, chief economist at Zillow. "These markets are very affordable, where people are typically spending under 2.5 times their income on a house so it's pretty affordable, and they are now spending what they were paying in the 15 years between 1985 and 2000."

The housing recession in places like Pittsburgh was relatively mild, helping to land Pittsburgh second on the list of best places to purchase a home. Like Rochester, Pittsburgh depends on major university employers such as the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon. The former Steel City's median home price is an inexpensive $103,900.

The best places to purchase a home in America are mostly in the heartland, reflecting the coastal nature of the housing boom and bust. None of the best places to purchase a home are located on the West Coast in states like California, Oregon and Washington, not to mention Nevada and Arizona.

There are, however, places in the center of the U.S. that figure to be great for home purchases. In Oklahoma, Oklahoma City and Tulsa are both energy belt areas with strong economic fundamentals and housing markets that have been steady for years. And at 4.1% Lincoln, Neb., has the lowest unemployment rate of any metro area in the nation, and it's falling. All three cities made the list.

Here are the nation's five best places to buy a home right now:

5. Tulsa, Okla.

Tulsa is the 5th best place to buy a home now
Photo: Mark Gibson/DanitaDelimont/Newscom

The energy belt is a good place for homeownership as Tulsa residents can attest.
Midpoint price: $105,400
Foreclosure rate: 0.27%
Price appreciation quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year: -4.1% / -9.3%
Unemployment rate: 6.5%
Year-over-year change in unemployment: -1.8%

4. Oklahoma City, Okla.

Oklahoma City is the 4th best place to buy a home now
Photo: John Elk III/Lonely Planet Lonely Planet Images/Newscom

OKC has been booming job-wise, while the rest of the country recovers more slowly from the downturn.
Midpoint price: $109,400
Foreclosure rate: 0.24%
Price appreciation quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year: -3.6% / -3.9%
Unemployment rate: 5.2%
Year-over-year change in unemployment: -1.6%

3. Utica, N.Y.

Utica, NY is the 3rd best place to buy a home now
Photo: Richard Cummins/Alamy

This old industrial hub in upstate New York is still small. But it's been quietly reviving by attracting immigrants from Eastern Europe and Asia while remaining affordable.
Midpoint price: $98,600
Foreclosure rate: 0.08%
Price appreciation quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year: -0.7% / 2.1%
Unemployment rate: 8.6%
Year-over-year change in unemployment: 0.1%

2. Pittsburgh, Pa.

Pittsburgh is the 2nd best place to buy a home now
Photo: Jeremy Edwards/Istockphoto

Where else can you find a typical home that costs just barely six figures, root for championship sports teams, and get hired by a top university or hospital? Pittsburgh, the host of 2009's G-20 conference, has it all. What's more, Western Pennsylvania's nascent natural gas industry should provide growth for years to come.
Midpoint price: $103,900
Foreclosure rate: 0.50%
Price appreciation quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year: -2.2% / -1.5%
Unemployment rate: 7.4%
Year-over-year change in unemployment: -1.5%

1. Rochester, N.Y.

Rochester is the best place to buy a home now
Photo: Andre Jenny Stock Connection Worldwide/Newscom

Known as the historical headquarters of past-their-prime corporate icons like Kodak, Xerox and Bausch & Lomb, Rochester suffered decades of painful contraction before finding its equilibrium. The end result is affordable housing underpinned by strong remaining employers like the University of Rochester.
Midpoint price: $116,000
Foreclosure rate: 0.24%
Price appreciation quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year: -2.0% / -3.9%
Unemployment rate: 7.7%
Year-over-year change in unemployment: -1.0%



Source (http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/the-best-places-to-buy-a-home-right-now.html)

The Statue of Liberty

The National Parks Service has reopened Liberty Island to visitors
but access to the statue and pedestal will remain closed until further notice.
Next to the flag, it's America's most famous symbol for freedom an icon for the immigrant, Liberty Enlightening the World as it is officially titled is familiarly just the Statue of Liberty.

Join us on this PhotoTour as we go from lower Manhattan to Liberty's crown! All while picking up a little history along the way.
We begin here in Battery Park on the tip of Manhattan at this circular fortress called Castle Clinton. Built in 1811 to defend against British attacks, it now serves as the ticket and information center for the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island ferry rides.

Here inside Castle Clinton, the circular structure to your right houses the ticket booth. Visiting the statue does not require an admission fee. This ticket is for the ferry which is the only way to get to the island.
Currently, the ferry fee is $10 adults, $8 seniors, $4 children (4-12) and free for children under 4. Passing through Castle Clinton takes us to the water's edge where you wait on line for the ferry. There's no cover out there and it gets quite hot in the summer so bring your sunscreen!
Why is that guy standing up there?

He's telling you to get ready for the show!
For several years, these acrobatic entrepreneurs have been entertaining the lines of tourists with their amazing flipping feats.

They do request donations afterward and if you liked their show, why not give them a dollar from your group? These guys sure work for it!

The Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island ferries run about every 20 to 30 minutes beginning at 9:15 am. If you are planning to include this in your itinerary, try to do it earlier, especially in the summer months. You'll find the crowds to be smaller giving you more time to spend here or elsewhere.

Boarding the ferry, there are 3 levels to it. If you're into taking photos or home video. Try and be on the right side of the boat leaving and the left side coming back. This will put you on the direction of the statue as you approach it.

If you wish to just sit back, relax and enjoy the ride, head up top and grab a bench. There is seating below, too, but if it's a nice day, why not enjoy it!

Although you won't be seeing this dramatic image any longer, you get an idea of the great Manhattan vista as you head to Liberty Island.

Facing the opposite direction, everyone is anticipating that first close-up look at this famous statue seen in everything from history books to movies and television to all kinds of advertising.

No matter where in the world you are from, you're sure to have seen the Statue of Liberty at some point.

Here she is, the Statue of Liberty!

Since 1886 she has stood proudly in New York Harbor. A gift from "the French people to the American people," master sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi had originally envisioned this to be a new Wonder of the World to mark Egypt's Suez Canal. After history and politics got in the way, Bartholdi looked to America and saw the perfect gift to celebrate America's Centennial.

Liberty Island, until 1956, was called Bedloe's Island. When you debark the ferry, you'll walk past the concession building and towards a circular area with a flagpole in the center. Facing right, this is the magnificent view you'll see. Now, you could just take time to walk around the island but we're going right to the statue and get to the top!

Wow! Look at these lines! 2 lines form at either side and snake around to the front entrance. You have to wait on this line to climb the statue but not if you just want to take the elevator to the top of the pedestal.

Upon entering the base, you'll immediately notice this torch. It was the original which was replaced during the statue's major renovation in the 1980's. This base also redesigned at that time serves as the museum.
We'll visit that on our way down.

We start our ascent inside the pedestal. A staircase wraps it's way along the sides while an elevator is located in the center.

The elevator takes people to the top of the pedestal which has exits to outside platforms on several levels. This is best for people who may have trouble climbing or for people who do not want to wait on the long line.

We've made it past the first stage!
Now comes the tricky part. This corkscrew is a double staircase and you've got to watch your footing when you slowly climb on these small, triangular steps. It's definitely a good idea to wear sneakers or rubber-soled shoes on this excursion.

Look around at the fantastic iron skeleton which holds together the 100 tons of copper sheeting. Does it remind you of another famous large metal structure?

It was designed by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, famous for his Tower which a few people have seen in Paris!
Just a few more feet to go and we're at the top! You can really see the outline of the statue in the waves of hair at this part.
(Source: http://www.nyctourist.com/liberty1.htm)