In 2008, Dan Buettner wrote a best seller called Blue Zones in which he tackled the topic of happiness and the secrets of some of the happiest places on Earth. Not surprisingly, San Luis Obispo was one of the first mentioned. What makes San Luis Obispo one of the best places to live? Well, lets find out.

People are happier when their surroundings are beautiful and nice. in San Luis Obispo County, not only is there quick and easy access to the arts through many museums and theaters, but the natural surroundings are stunning. In SLO county, there are stunning velvety hills that roll throughout the county spotted with beautiful vineyards and orchards. The homes are not crammed together, five stories high. Almost every lot has a quarter of an acre or more, giving residents room to breathe. In fact, there are currently almost 350 listings that are on lots larger than 1 acre. San Luis Obispo also has limits on signage, limiting the size and type of advertising business can do. This makes it much easier to enjoy natural surroundings.

Physical health and emotional health are more closely related than many people might guess. There are many opportunities to exercise in San Luis Obispo, largely due to the aggressive greenbelt plan and an ordinance limiting housing growth to 1% per year. This has resulted in surrounding the city with 3000 acres of open space made up of parks, hiking trails, biking trails, and wildlife preserves. San Luis Obispo City is also a very walkable city. This allows for residents to actively get from place to place, reducing the frustration that comes from driving on busy streets as well as giving residents an easy way to exercise. Surprisingly, drive through restaurants have been banned since the 1980′s which has been very beneficial to the public health. the obesity rate there is 17.6% vs the national average of 26.5%. Smoking is also strongly discouraged in San Luis Obispo. With a ban on smoking in front of business buildings and in parks and playgrounds, the city hopes to “de-normalize” smoking. This has resulted in a smoking rate of 11%, one of the lowest in the country.

Its quite plain to see why the residents of San Luis Obispo are so happy and mentally well.  Do you think that sounds pretty appealing? Well, pack your bags and find a home for you, by visiting http://sanluisobispocaliforniahomes.com/.

Ironically, the economy is one of the factors in making the homes as affordable as they currently are. When homeowners fall short of their payments, they may either lose their home, or try to sell it for a price that is much less than it is worth to try to cut their losses. Seattle currently houses many foreclosed and short sale homes, offering screaming deals to house hunters in the Seattle area. You can view homes such as the ones described above by visiting Washington short sales.

Fixing up an older home is becoming a more and more popular way of saving money when buying a new home. There are hundreds of homes in Seattle right now that are under $150,000 that could really use a nice little remodel. To see for yourself, visit the affordable Seattle homes to find homes for you. The prospect of ‘flipping’ a house really works out for some people, but really turns sour for others. Experience, time, and money are three things that you must have at least a little of in order to have a successful project. Each home that needs to be fixed is at a different level, as well as the expectations of the fixers. This is why it is extremely vital that you analyze and evaluate to what scale the home will need to be worked on. Are the fixes you’ll need to do simple ones that can be done yourself, or difficult and complex projects that will take an expert to do? What is a rough estimate of what all of these fixes are going to cost? Do you have the time it will take to repair the home? All of these items will be well worth your time to sit down and evaluate to see if it is really going to be a good investment to buy a rundown home to fix up.

Re-decorating is a fun way to customize your home while saving money. You would be amazed at what a little sand paper and some spray paint can do for an older piece of furniture bought for a few dollars at a garage sale or local thrift store. Ugly chairs and other pieces of furniture can be re-upholstered with the fabric of your choice to make your home unique to you. One of the most popular DIY items on the web right now are custom home decor pieces made from items found at a thrift store. There are so many DIY projects on the web right now, that you could transform the interior of your home yourself.

Well, you know what to do! Why not start buying? Find a house that can be transformed into the beautiful home you’ve been dreaming of

Here is some more information about Real Estate in Tooele Utah

Tooele Utah is one of the hidden secrets for Utah Real Estate. Tooele is a decent sized city with small town feel. It has all the modern amenities one could ask for, and is within half an hour of Salt Lake City, Utah’s capital.

The Tooele area is surprisingly green and luscious, and surrounded by picturesque mountains. There is always something fun to do in Tooele, whether it be going for a hike or horse back ride, or visiting the Miller Speedway.

Real Estate in Tooele Utah is substantially cheaper than other parts of the state. You can find everything from vacant land, to condos, to foreclosure homes.One of the best things about buying Tooele Real Estate right now is that mortgage interest rates are at all time lows. Real Estate in Tooele is very inexpensive right now, and the all time low interest rates make the cost of buying, less expensive than rent!

via Why You Should Consider Tooele Real Estate.

Real Estate markets are always changing and it is important to keep up on the latest trends and developments in the market you may want to buy into. Since November, the number of houses listed went down by 18.5% with over 14,000 homes in November to less than 12,000 this month in January. However, this is not too surprising. The National Association of Realtors track real estate trends, and in the last few years, January has been the month that has set record or near-record sales. The trend will probably continue to decline, as April through July tend to see the highest sales. This season is when kids finish out semesters, when the weather is nicer, and when it is generally most convenient for people to move. To see every home listing in Orange County, please visit the Orange County California Real Estate website and find your home!

Condos, new homes, foreclosures, and properties have gone down in number of listings. However, condominiums are the type of home that had the biggest decrease in number in the last few months. Condos are extremely popular in California, Orange County in particular. Starting in January, Condos begin to really step up in sales. Condo buyers want to get into their new homes and get ready for the beautiful California summers and beach fun. If you have been looking for a condo in Orange County, feel free to visit Orange County Condos for Sale

For the last two or three months, there has been only one single category of homes that the number of listings have increased. Short sales in Orange County are steadily increasing over the last few months, and, on a wider scale, have been increasing over the last year. If you would like to see all the short sale listings in Orange County right now, visit Orange County Short Sales. Short sale homes all over the country are increasing in numbers due to the current economic conditions. RealtyTrac has found that short sales account for 12% of home sales nationwide. That has increased from the 10% in the same quarter of last year. This general trend in our country is no different than what has been happening in Orange County. Orange County is typically one of the more expensive markets, which may be why this trend has been especially true in this area. Orange County’s average home value is $530,400 which is quite a bit higher than the $384,200 that rest of California is at. The median income in Orange County is not much higher than the rest of California, with only a 15% increase.

Looking for Real Estate in a specific area of Orange County? Try looking at Irvine California Homes.

• Preston Idaho Real Estate
• Preston ID Homes for Sale
• Preston Idaho Foreclosures
• Land for Sale in Preston Idaho

If you’ve never heard of Preston before, it’s a quite little town right on the border of Utah and Idaho. It’s located in the fertile Cache Valley region. It is also where the film Napoleon Dynamite was made, and the home of that films directors.

via Valu Homes » Blog Archive » Valuable Homes for Sale in Preston Idaho.