Yeah, if I didn't want to live around Chinese people, I'd probably not go to China, either. As it is, I'm trying to find a condo in Chinatown. Go figure.
I think once you get used to living in a certain situation, you get freaked out by going back, even if it's what you were used to. I wasn't in China for quite a year, but when I came back, I kept looking around my hometown and feeling odd that there were so many WHITE people.
Then again, there is the habit of thinking that your original culture is somehow inferior to that of your adopted culture. They call that whitewashing, no?
will, i know exactly what you're talking about. i've heard more reacist comments about chinese people from my parents than all my other experiences put together...multiplied a few times.
It is kind of sad that we kill ourselves trying to make money to buy things we don't need while ignoring the little free things that make life truly worth living.
I'm not sure if green tea has any effect on Type I diabetics, or even how it works on Type II people who have had a good experience with it, like me. I do know that things besides insulin can actually affect blood sugar levels. Alcohol, for instance, has a big effect on blood sugar by affecting the way the liver releases glucose into your blood. So that can drop your sugar.
Yeap. I used to drink cheap teabag green tea. But lately switch to loose leaf from teacuppa.com and sometimes i go for imperialtea house to enjoy the weekend.
My favorite are teacuppa dragonwell tea which has a rich chestnutty flavor. Once i a while i like green sweet green tea like gunpowder which is a much cheaper tea compared to dragonwell..
Please write more about Zillow. I can't say how great it is. Before Zillow existed, I did it the old fashioned way. I took the listing price and divided by the square feet. The cheapest per sq ft cost warranted a second look. Now Zillow automates that for the poor people out there without a calculator. That is, they perform all the typical calculations and spit out an approximate value of the house. They even give you historical sales, comparable sales, everything!
The reason we can't trust the real estate agent is that they are only human. As I say directly in my article ...
"$150? For all that time and extra work? Not so great now, and you know, I'd feel the same way."
Freakonomics is also a study of human behaviour and the incentives that move us. I know I would not want to work harder to make an extra $150 weeks or even months later. In that time I could have sold another few houses.
I don't think the point of the article was to bash realtors. It just points out that incentives influence a person's beahvior. Realtors have an incentive to sell homes quickly. It does not mean that most realtors are purposely trying to sell your home for less money. They just have an incentive to sell it for less. It is important to understand in life why someone wants you do something.
I grew up with the stuff -- and I experienced "convini" stores on my trip to Tokyo last year -- oh how I wish they were here! (even a Famima!! closer to my house I'll take it)
Anyhow, my new fav is "Mentaiko" onigiri - spicy cod. Try it at Mitsuwa on Centinella food court. They don't have the cool crispy seaweed wrapping at this place, but their mentaiko is not cooked and dried out.
I am a real estate agent and Sellers DO NOT simply rely on our advice. Most sellers think their home is worth more than the market can bear at the time of sale and price it that way. Most agents know this and do what is called "buying" the listing by either agreeing with the seller, or by simply giving the seller a big price. Once they secure the listing the sellers usually stay with the agent as the price goes lower. That is why you see so many price reductions. Realtors keep prices high and the market moving. Buyers with questions do not write contracts. Realtors educate buyers so they can make an informed decision.
I'm Asian and I too am sick of that Asian "wisdom" thingy. My asian relatives always want me to pimp them with western vitamins. My western friends want me to pimp them with Asian herbs. I suppose we just want what we don't have.
Sure there're correlation between tea drinking and health, but could it mean that people who care more about their health tend to drink tea as well?
I suspect that the real reason Chinese and Japanese live the longest is natural selection. People who are weak just simply died out because we care a lot about having "quality" offsprings. They used to hire matchmakers that can tell if a woman can give healthy babies. Therefore, the unhealthy, undesirable genes just died out.
Green tea is categorized as "green" not from the species, but from the process. Of course, there are some tea species that more better used "green" than others. White tea didn't "lose" colour, they are "White" because they're made from very young buds which gives very light colour. Like floral or green tea, they are consumed in summer.
Anyway, I don't know if it's good for me, but greentea sure is tasty. I'm obessed with Japanese Gyokuro and SriLankan Jasmine green tea!
*BTW, Try Yellow Tea(silver needle tea) in a clear glass. The air trapped in the leave makes them "dance" up and down beautifully. Then they would all "stand up", and you know it's ready. Great with desserts. :)
I wrote the article, and I appreciate everyone's comments. To clarify, we did not purchase the condo. It was actually sold for $335,000 as the real estate agent said it would be. That information is public record and available on websites, such as www.zillow.com. I don't think the seller's agent was lying when he said he had an offer for $335K, because it actually sold for $335K. However, I have purchased a home just 2 years before (I guess I'm a budding real estate investor) using the method of relying on only 1 seller's agent. I use the story as an illustration of the motivations of agents.
I realize that some people are scared of relying on the seller's agent's advice. These people want the experience of a buyer's agent on their side. However, honestly, you need to get an independent home inspector before closing escrow. Make sure that the inspector is certified and make sure you get that inspector on your own! Do not rely on the seller's agent's (or buyer's agent's) recommended home inspector(think about it, would the home inspector really be honest to you if he gets 100% of his business from referrals from the seller's agent?)
As for comparable pricing, there are very easy websites out there to use to determine that, including www.zillow.com, or simply by looking at comparable listings on www.realtor.com. Honestly, the listing price is going to be pretty close to the actual value. Here's why: the seller's agent only makes money if they actually sell the house. They have no incentive to price the home above market price, since it'll never sell and they could lose the contract to sell the house. They don't even want to mark it up an extra $10K or so because that's an extra $600 for an extra 2 months of work. It's just not worth it to them. So they want to list the home at a reasonable or even below market price. The only exception occurs when its a for-sale-by-owner situation. These people are too emotionally attached to the home and will typically list it at 10% over market price. It's generally a bad deal to buy directly through the owner, even though you're saving 6% commission.
I'm sure there are ethically honest salespeople. I use to be one too. But, we are all consumers and we weren't born yesterday. You have to understand the motivations of the salespeople before you buy an item (house or otherwise). I hope this article could be useful for some who wouldn't otherwise understand the motivations in real estate deal.
I have heard about retired US military officers moving to Spain. China and far east, that must be some new trend. That website says over 8000 people have done it.
i've never seen cheap tea at whole foods, but i buy mine at a chinese supermarket for about 100 bags for 2.99. These are loose leaves IN tea bags... I'm sure they're not as good as true loose leaves, but they're way better than ground up leaves in tea bags. for some reason i like loose tea leaves when i go to a chinese restaurant (say no to dim sum places that puts a tea bag in their tea pot!) but I seriously don't like to deal with it when i make it at home.
Yeah, if I didn't want to live around Chinese people, I'd probably not go to China, either. As it is, I'm trying to find a condo in Chinatown. Go figure.
I think once you get used to living in a certain situation, you get freaked out by going back, even if it's what you were used to. I wasn't in China for quite a year, but when I came back, I kept looking around my hometown and feeling odd that there were so many WHITE people.
Then again, there is the habit of thinking that your original culture is somehow inferior to that of your adopted culture. They call that whitewashing, no?
will, i know exactly what you're talking about. i've heard more reacist comments about chinese people from my parents than all my other experiences put together...multiplied a few times.
During housing market downturns do you get a lot more unreaonable customers?
True story: I recently asked my parents whether they would enjoy retiring in China. They said no.
When I asked them why, they said "we don't really want to live in a place with so many Chinese people."
It is kind of sad that we kill ourselves trying to make money to buy things we don't need while ignoring the little free things that make life truly worth living.
According to Zillow, mine doesn't exist!
I'm not sure if green tea has any effect on Type I diabetics, or even how it works on Type II people who have had a good experience with it, like me. I do know that things besides insulin can actually affect blood sugar levels. Alcohol, for instance, has a big effect on blood sugar by affecting the way the liver releases glucose into your blood. So that can drop your sugar.
What type of diabetes do you have? If you have type 1, then it seems like nothing but insulin would be able to lower your blood sugar...
Yeap. I used to drink cheap teabag green tea. But lately switch to loose leaf from teacuppa.com and sometimes i go for imperialtea house to enjoy the weekend.
My favorite are teacuppa dragonwell tea which has a rich chestnutty flavor. Once i a while i like green sweet green tea like gunpowder which is a much cheaper tea compared to dragonwell..
...just informed me that me house is worth even less than I thought. Great.
Andrea, you rock.
Etan
http://ateava.com/
http://blog.ateava.com/
Please write more about Zillow. I can't say how great it is. Before Zillow existed, I did it the old fashioned way. I took the listing price and divided by the square feet. The cheapest per sq ft cost warranted a second look. Now Zillow automates that for the poor people out there without a calculator. That is, they perform all the typical calculations and spit out an approximate value of the house. They even give you historical sales, comparable sales, everything!
The reason we can't trust the real estate agent is that they are only human. As I say directly in my article ...
"$150? For all that time and extra work? Not so great now, and you know, I'd feel the same way."
Freakonomics is also a study of human behaviour and the incentives that move us. I know I would not want to work harder to make an extra $150 weeks or even months later. In that time I could have sold another few houses.
I don't think the point of the article was to bash realtors. It just points out that incentives influence a person's beahvior. Realtors have an incentive to sell homes quickly. It does not mean that most realtors are purposely trying to sell your home for less money. They just have an incentive to sell it for less. It is important to understand in life why someone wants you do something.
Hi Tannaz!
I grew up with the stuff -- and I experienced "convini" stores on my trip to Tokyo last year -- oh how I wish they were here! (even a Famima!! closer to my house I'll take it)
Anyhow, my new fav is "Mentaiko" onigiri - spicy cod. Try it at Mitsuwa on Centinella food court. They don't have the cool crispy seaweed wrapping at this place, but their mentaiko is not cooked and dried out.
cheers : )
I am a real estate agent and Sellers DO NOT simply rely on our advice. Most sellers think their home is worth more than the market can bear at the time of sale and price it that way. Most agents know this and do what is called "buying" the listing by either agreeing with the seller, or by simply giving the seller a big price. Once they secure the listing the sellers usually stay with the agent as the price goes lower. That is why you see so many price reductions. Realtors keep prices high and the market moving. Buyers with questions do not write contracts. Realtors educate buyers so they can make an informed decision.
I'm Asian and I too am sick of that Asian "wisdom" thingy. My asian relatives always want me to pimp them with western vitamins. My western friends want me to pimp them with Asian herbs. I suppose we just want what we don't have.
Sure there're correlation between tea drinking and health, but could it mean that people who care more about their health tend to drink tea as well?
I suspect that the real reason Chinese and Japanese live the longest is natural selection. People who are weak just simply died out because we care a lot about having "quality" offsprings. They used to hire matchmakers that can tell if a woman can give healthy babies. Therefore, the unhealthy, undesirable genes just died out.
Green tea is categorized as "green" not from the species, but from the process. Of course, there are some tea species that more better used "green" than others. White tea didn't "lose" colour, they are "White" because they're made from very young buds which gives very light colour. Like floral or green tea, they are consumed in summer.
Anyway, I don't know if it's good for me, but greentea sure is tasty. I'm obessed with Japanese Gyokuro and SriLankan Jasmine green tea!
*BTW, Try Yellow Tea(silver needle tea) in a clear glass. The air trapped in the leave makes them "dance" up and down beautifully. Then they would all "stand up", and you know it's ready. Great with desserts. :)
You just totally gave away my upcoming article about Zillow. Why? Whyyyyyyyyyy?
You know, I am starting to wonder about Brazilians. Yes, they do seem to be unnaturally sexy, but yeesh.
I wrote the article, and I appreciate everyone's comments. To clarify, we did not purchase the condo. It was actually sold for $335,000 as the real estate agent said it would be. That information is public record and available on websites, such as www.zillow.com. I don't think the seller's agent was lying when he said he had an offer for $335K, because it actually sold for $335K. However, I have purchased a home just 2 years before (I guess I'm a budding real estate investor) using the method of relying on only 1 seller's agent. I use the story as an illustration of the motivations of agents.
I realize that some people are scared of relying on the seller's agent's advice. These people want the experience of a buyer's agent on their side. However, honestly, you need to get an independent home inspector before closing escrow. Make sure that the inspector is certified and make sure you get that inspector on your own! Do not rely on the seller's agent's (or buyer's agent's) recommended home inspector(think about it, would the home inspector really be honest to you if he gets 100% of his business from referrals from the seller's agent?)
As for comparable pricing, there are very easy websites out there to use to determine that, including www.zillow.com, or simply by looking at comparable listings on www.realtor.com. Honestly, the listing price is going to be pretty close to the actual value. Here's why: the seller's agent only makes money if they actually sell the house. They have no incentive to price the home above market price, since it'll never sell and they could lose the contract to sell the house. They don't even want to mark it up an extra $10K or so because that's an extra $600 for an extra 2 months of work. It's just not worth it to them. So they want to list the home at a reasonable or even below market price. The only exception occurs when its a for-sale-by-owner situation. These people are too emotionally attached to the home and will typically list it at 10% over market price. It's generally a bad deal to buy directly through the owner, even though you're saving 6% commission.
I'm sure there are ethically honest salespeople. I use to be one too. But, we are all consumers and we weren't born yesterday. You have to understand the motivations of the salespeople before you buy an item (house or otherwise). I hope this article could be useful for some who wouldn't otherwise understand the motivations in real estate deal.
I have heard about retired US military officers moving to Spain. China and far east, that must be some new trend. That website says over 8000 people have done it.
i've never seen cheap tea at whole foods, but i buy mine at a chinese supermarket for about 100 bags for 2.99. These are loose leaves IN tea bags... I'm sure they're not as good as true loose leaves, but they're way better than ground up leaves in tea bags. for some reason i like loose tea leaves when i go to a chinese restaurant (say no to dim sum places that puts a tea bag in their tea pot!) but I seriously don't like to deal with it when i make it at home.
This store has a wide range of teas:
http://www.adagio.com/green/index.html
You can try the samplers and get 6 different teas.
Personally I love genmaicha with the popped rice.
But the brilliantly delicious stuff is pricey. I drink midrange tea.
But yes, even the expensive stuff is cheaper than a latte. :)
Do they do a hard pull credit check when opening a new account?