Ironic but perhaps also highly responsible that an oil producing country been creating the world’s largest inner city style ecosphere for people. It’s an environmental plan and design as daring and innovative as it’s purpose – to show the world the way of the future.
Masdar City’s electricity will be generated by photovoltaic panels. This being in a desert region, much required cooling will be provided via concentrated solar power. Sea water will undergo the world’s most sophisticated solar powered desalination plant treatment to provide fresh water to the complex. Landscaping within the city and crops grown outside the city will be irrigated with the grey water and treated waste water produced by the city’s water treatment plant.
The city is part of what is now known world wide as the Masdar Initiative(read more). This is Abu Dhabi’s showcase multi-faceted investment in the exploration, development and commercialisation of future clean energy sources.
Masdar City is six-square kilometres is planned to grow eventually to 1,500 businesses and 50,000 residents. It will be home to international business and top minds in the field of sustainable and alternative energy.
Now, wherefore the rest of the world’s investors to follow?
This video tells alot about San Fran – Enjoy from You Tube Holiday Makers.
If you’re going to San Francisco…always those warm fuzzy memories from a different era. The band played and I sang along. As the young ladies handed out flowers so that you could put them in your partner’s hair.
Quite a lifestyle to have if you live here.
What a difference a year and a half make. Property prices had simply gone through the roof. Speculators and flippers were out in droves everywhere. Home owners trying to sell were totally annoyed with those “vultures” as a couple of friends related to me their horror stories of having their homes descended upon by bargain hunters, who outnumbered real buyers 3 to1.
It’s Fall and the kids have gone to school. The Bay area is getting a noticeable cooler swathe of air and cooler breezes. The hot summer shorts are giving way to long sleeved hoodies. The Fisherman’s Wharf is no longer filled with holiday makers.
The very fetching waitress had time to chat with us as we watched the ferries go by the Alcatraz Island, the former but still infamous prison in the sea. She looking for another job as this one no longer pays. People do not tip enough anymore and there are far fewer customers. Many people are going broke. Her own brother is now bankrupt and house prices are so low, many people owe the banks just about everything they have.
Often times in my life I tend to run into great bargains when doing something completely different. The choice was mine to take advantage of it. It appears the areas around the city and not so much within the city itself that face the greatest failure rates mortgage defaults. Many homes are now only partly built as the builders are going bankrupt along with the defaulting buyers.
But a word of caution for would be out of country buyers – the tax system and the state are not very friendly towards you and become extremely punitive in their taxation policies.
Investing in the United States is a very involved affair, but all is not lost. In fact, done right, a foreign investor can easily treat the USA as a tax haven. And California is certainly one of the more desirable parts of the country, especially near the coast. Sun, surf, gals and dudes all over the beaches with that spectacular Pacific vista. Many have moved here and never left. I can see why anyone can fall in love with this place. The weather is balmy to boot.
Ah yes, about San Fran. This is an amazingly undulating city. The entire city is built on hills and valleys. The roads can be so steep it’s a wonder the trams ever go up and down the other side.
Despite much ado about the great real estate mortgage meltdown, this is still a bustling metropolis. Their China Town is still as busy as ever. There is a plethora of older buildings and history to take in but I avoid them. The coastal park and the sights surrounding the San Francisco Bridge is far more inviting.
The very fetching waitress had time to chat with us as we watched the ferries go by the Alcatraz Island, the former but still infamous prison in the sea. She looking for another job as this one no longer pays. People do not tip enough anymore and there are far fewer customers. Many people are going broke. Her own brother is now bankrupt and house prices are so low, many people owe the banks just about everything they have.
