Living like a king will unfortunately bring royal maintenance costs... I heard of a few bargains when it comes to castles in France largely because of those extra expenses. Than 1.5h by train probably means at least 2.5hours door to door from house to office. That's 5 hours return trip, a bit too much for a daily commute and you won't enjoy much of parisian life. Yet if I was to head back to Paris and could work more from home (nervously as well, as it's nice to interact with business partners/customers in the office area, and life tends to get boring without it), I would possibly consider a large house in a place like Versailles. Paris 7th, 8th and 16th are awesome areas though. If you can afford living there, they are very pleasant day to day, as a single or with a family. Besides in Paris, imo it's cheaper to rent than to buy - about 30euros/sqm/month in those same upscale areas.
===== Ptt; Thought @ first op was talking about the Indians in SD; ... badlands @ $999/+acre. LOL. I stand corrected
"Living like a king will unfortunately bring royal maintenance costs..." Well Said! I know few idiots whose philosophy is to live like a king, big house, top grade cars, top of the line eat outs etc. However to maintain this lifestyle they have to work like beggers, 6 days a week and still end of the month do not have $50 left in the pocket book while credit line keeps on increasing. Such life style breeds evilness and psychopathic actions.
Money is not the only issue. Time is just as important if not more important than money. Check out this simple calculation: 1.5 h commute 1-way. 3 h round trip (5 days a week)x(3h/day) = 15 h/week (52 weeks/year)x(15h/week) = 780 hours/year There are 8760 hours in a year. 780/8760 = 0.089041096 (aka 8.9% of your year. gone.) Considering you sleep 8 hours/day (33% of your year.) 100% - 33% = 67% 8.9/67 = 0.132835821 OR 13.3% of your awake time. I'd rather do more exciting things than use $13.3% of my awake time in the car or on the train every.
Western giant investment companies invest in Indian real estates. In fact these companies invest in sky-high priced real estates over all the world. These western investment companies betray/back stab their countrymen by sending their own people's money outside. Majority of investors with giant western countries are from their own country. People in India are suffering because of foreign investments into Indian real estates. Because of foreign investments the property price further increases. Already there is huge demand for Indian properties from India people. Due to sky-high prices Indian people cannot buy decent homes/houses. Giant companies are one the biggest reasons for price rise or inflation all over the world.
Chances are if you have the money to buy a 1.5 million euro castle, you are not punching a clock at a factory. A train ride gives you the luxury of completing some of your work while you commute to the office. FYI, millionaires generally do not sleep 8 hours per day. They sleep 4 to 6 hours per day. Clock punchers sleep 8 hours per day(or longer). But lets say the guy was an overpaid clock puncher....You think its bad spending 13.3% of your time in a tiny car or train? Try spending 50% of your awake hours in a tiny 700 sq ft apartment which isnt much bigger than the inside of a car.
There are two or more ways of looking at things. But long commutes are always draining and worst they leave merely 2 hours a day for yourself and family if you want to catch atleast 6 hours of sleep.
Peil it's 300kms from Paris... it's not gonna be that easy to live there and definetely NOT a 3hours commute - 5 would be the absolute minimum, and you intend to take a taxi in rush hours from the train station in paris it will take a little longer. Metro and trains wil lbe subject to strikes, technical delays etc... . Paris is the city in Europe with the biggest traffic jams, and there is a reason why the wealthiest french people having having company headquarters in Paris live either intra muros or in the direct suburbs, like Neuilly sur Seine (also quite expensive and very close to some parisian business districts). My friends staying in the close suburb regulary spend over 2 hours a day commuting. What about the schools for kids ? I doubt you're going to find much elite establishments around the castle. It looks like a great deal but it's going to be more of a week end destination than a place of life. It seems cheap french castles are much more difficult to sell than expensive parisian properties - where there are plenty of 1.5mil up apartments and they are an easy sell for the landlords. Your bargain won't be that clear if you can investigate further than your internet link. It's a bit like asking a wealthy hong konger why he bought extortionate real estate on the peak (the apartment you chose in Paris is in a very prime location, it's small but hardly a shithole as you put it, although I've visited much better deal with garden in front of the Eiffel Tower, but for rent) when he could live in a huge property in eastern Guangdong 300kms away for the same price - that won't make much sense Having said that, and coming back to the initial point, if you want to buy a nice apartment downtown Paris, or HK and London, better be preparer to spend -well- over 1.5million euro. And if you have a few extra million, than yes, buy a castle upcountry .
Toc, I'm afraid that's not what I meant, although i agree people should live within your means. Castles come cheap because renovation and maintenance can be absurdly expensive - my wife just told me abt 1euro french castles and altough she might have dreamed it, the point is they sell very cheap because the landlords are not able or willing to endure the cost to take good care of them. Otherwise life in Paris has higher costs than in the middle of Poitou Charentes, but if one has the means to afford them, those downtown luxuries tend to make life quite a bit smoother.