Wow, That Was Close

In case you've been in a coma for the past 6 months, or if you only read at a third grade level, the world's financial systems are on the verge of total and utter collapse. I actually heard one guy say he was moving his family to Zimbabwe. And as I learn to count better with negative numbers, I am reminded of when I first arrived here. I spent a few weeks looking for a place to live, spending all my free time surfing craigslist and exploring different neighborhoods. When I finally broke down and enlisted a Realtor, I was getting bombarded by them. Literally one e-mail created a crap storm of phone calls. On one particular call, the lady asked me that fateful question: "Are you interested in buying?"

Sadly, I made the mistake of actually entertaining this idea for about 6 seconds. She pestered and pestered me, and my crap storm of phone calls turned into class 5 shit twister (I almost had to call Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton). But then I started doing the math. This was mid-April, and the best case for finding a place is about a week. Factor in an aggressive 4 week closing period, and add on an extra 2 months before the first payment is due, and I pretty much was looking at having to sell it before I even made a payment. And what would I do with a house in a foreign country after I was gone? It would be a nightmare trying to manage or sell it so far away.

Needless to say, I decided to pass. And today when I read that UK home prices had fallen 16% in 2008, and experts are predicting an even worse downturn in 2009, I nearly cried. Tears of joy. I mean, even if I did manage to sell before I leave, the Pound is down 25% as well. Talk about a Chuck Norris 1-2 kick to the crotch.

The moral of this story is: I am awesome.