Exactly, we seem to be making the same point. Investment to some people is not the holy grail of buying a house. It is just a pleasant place to live, in a nice area to work and have children in and eventually grow old in.

By the way I can reliably inform you there are areas of N. Carolina/S. Carolina and Georgia which fit the above criteria and make sensible (although not get rich quick) investments also.

Think about this - the dollar has taken a beating, the confidence of a large slice of the American public has spiralled downward and many are tightening their belts and not looking to be careless with their money, financial institutions are keen to lend (providing you are a worthwhile risk - they have had a bloody nose with the imprudence of previous years and will not risk having their their throats cut) The USA has in no time in its history been easier to get to from other areas of the globe. There are many hundreds of thousands of motivated sellers in what was already a relatively cheap market when compared to most parts of Europe. Now if all of that and maybe a few points I've missed don't point to opportunities for the canny buyer then maybe I'm in the wrong business and should do something else.

If you want information to decide what is best for you - go over take a look talk to the local people, look into the agents windows, look at the job adverts in the local paper, ask around to see what wages are like locally, look at crime stats, schoolstats, Is there a marina planned, a golf course, evidence of industry moving in, an airport withing an hours drive, rail/bus network. the list goes on. Then if you want to go to NC to take a look - after you've done your homework - give Donna a call and see what she has that fits yours budget - Not rocket science my friend - more common sense.

Hope this answers your questions and helps. Good luck.