Worlds apart: the search for a home in a million
“Washing machine and dishwasher ready,” boasts the blurb for a new semi-detached in Dublin 14, close to Dundrum, Clonskeagh and UCD, which also features a “backyard garden”. The price tag is $995,000 (€768,000).
The same money in Buenos Aires will net something a bit bigger — a 7,500 square foot home which comes with a swimming pool in the garden, a covered barbecue area for those long, hot evenings and a whirlpool tub in the master bedroom’s en-suite.
Alternatively, follow the example of some of Ireland’s golden circle and head to the Cayman Islands, where a 3,500 square foot property can be had for $20,000 (€15,400) less than that semi-d in Dublin 14. Located just a few minutes from Georgetown in the South Sound area of Grand Cayman, this house features four bedrooms and bathrooms as well as a two-car garage with guest room, a deck for entertaining guests and an in-ground, stone-walled pool for staying cool.
Back in Latin America, there’s a $1 million tag on a Spanish colonial-inspired home in San Jose de Pinilla, Costa Rica, within a golf and beach community. As well as three bedrooms and bathrooms and a solarium, this home boasts a maid’s room, guest rooms and an outdoor pool.
In the United States, home could be the historic Lakewood/Balmoral area of Chicago, and a renovated four-bedroom townhouse with four bedrooms; or in New York anyone with a million to spend can bag an apartment in midtown with views of downtown Manhattan, the Hudson River and the Statue of Liberty.
It may only have one bedroom and one bathroom, but this 794 square-foot pad is in a building whose residents enjoy a health club, pool, jacuzzis, saunas, concierge service, and free breakfast every morning.
A Californian historical and cultural landmark can be bought for a million dollars. With 2,880 square feet spread across three stories, this house has with wood-carved stairway railings, has five bedrooms, five fireplaces, and landscaped gardens outside.
Elsewhere in the US, a million will land a two-storey, six-bedroom brick manse in Atlanta; or 6,000 square feet of neo-classical New Orleans in a house which has seven bedrooms and a lot more.
For those who like a dramatic sight to greet them in the morning, $1.15m will buy a three-bedroom apartment in Sydney with spectacular views across the world-famous harbour.
Or for the active, a gym comes as part of a large home in Johannesburg, South Africa, which also includes an office, four bedrooms and chef’s kitchen with a covered patio for outdoor entertaining.
Closer to home, there’s a two-bed apartment near central London, or a three-bedroom townhouse — featuring a wine cellar — in a trendy Paris district.
