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So I was looking at property in Nairobi, Kenya.

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DrPizza said:
Why does that look good on paper? You can get just as much house in the US with even more land involved than 1/4 or 1/2 acre. I think that Detroit would be better to live in than Kenya; compare it to what you can get for a quarter mil in Detroit even. (And, there are nicer areas than Detroit in the US with similarly depressed property values.) Hell, in my county, it was only 2 years ago that the average cost of land finally exceeded $1000 per acre.
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He could come and be my neighbor. Property is in a subdivision that is 2 minutes from rural farm land and rural housing.

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/14436-Pond-Bluff-Dr_Van-Buren_MI_48111_1116356637
 
This is also close to the price in the OP
l8239b142-m0m.jpg
 
A guy that my dad recruited from South Africa had an 11 bedroom mansion on several acres surrounded by a giant wall w/ barbed wire, private security force, swimming pool, tennis courts, etc...

He sold it for $150K USD when he moved to the US.
 
kranky said:
Karen is a nicer suburb of Nairobi. With a walled perimeter topped with razor wire, and a 24/7 rotation of askaris (guards), you would be completely safe. You can hire a guard for about $30/month. They don't have gun-toting gangs roving the area. Most theft is a crime of opportunity.

<--Has been to Karen.
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Was this business or pleasure? How was the scenery?
 
I was there for 2 weeks staying with my brother in law. Within a few hours drive you could be either in the middle of downtown Nairobi (chaos) or so far out in the sticks there was only a faint path to follow for miles around.

If you avoid the man-made slums the scenery is very nice but it's the wildlife that is more compelling. Zebra, antelope, wildebeest, giraffes in abundance. What was amazing to me is that you could drive for a couple hours on a dirt path, and out of nowhere there would be a small Masai village. And there would be a small store, and that store would have Coke and Fanta for sale. Where the heck does it come from?

The roads are horrendous and even in the city you have to be prepared for a 12" deep pothole, or the edge of the road to suddenly narrow by a couple feet, at any time. Out of the city the paved roads are not quite wide enough for two cars to pass at high speed comfortably, so you have to pay attention to oncoming traffic in case they want too much out of the middle of the road.

The people were very nice and when I was with them I spent most of my time answering questions about the US.

My favorite story was sitting around a fire at night with the askaris, talking about the US, when I had to sneeze. I pulled out my handkerchief and sneezed a couple times, then blew my nose into it, folded it up and put it back in my pocket. There was a minute of silence before one of the askaris said, "Excuse me, Mr. kranky, may I ask you why you are saving that?"
 
kranky said:
My favorite story was sitting around a fire at night with the askaris, talking about the US, when I had to sneeze. I pulled out my handkerchief and sneezed a couple times, then blew my nose into it, folded it up and put it back in my pocket. There was a minute of silence before one of the askaris said, "Excuse me, Mr. kranky, may I ask you why you are saving that?"
Click to expand...

i wonder that myself and i live in the usa.
 
kranky said:
I was there for 2 weeks staying with my brother in law. Within a few hours drive you could be either in the middle of downtown Nairobi (chaos) or so far out in the sticks there was only a faint path to follow for miles around.

If you avoid the man-made slums the scenery is very nice but it's the wildlife that is more compelling. Zebra, antelope, wildebeest, giraffes in abundance. What was amazing to me is that you could drive for a couple hours on a dirt path, and out of nowhere there would be a small Masai village. And there would be a small store, and that store would have Coke and Fanta for sale. Where the heck does it come from?

The roads are horrendous and even in the city you have to be prepared for a 12" deep pothole, or the edge of the road to suddenly narrow by a couple feet, at any time. Out of the city the paved roads are not quite wide enough for two cars to pass at high speed comfortably, so you have to pay attention to oncoming traffic in case they want too much out of the middle of the road.

The people were very nice and when I was with them I spent most of my time answering questions about the US.

My favorite story was sitting around a fire at night with the askaris, talking about the US, when I had to sneeze. I pulled out my handkerchief and sneezed a couple times, then blew my nose into it, folded it up and put it back in my pocket. There was a minute of silence before one of the askaris said, "Excuse me, Mr. kranky, may I ask you why you are saving that?"
Click to expand...

TBH, I wonder the same thing. I think it's disgusting that people walk around with snot-filled cloth.
 
kranky said:
I was there for 2 weeks staying with my brother in law. Within a few hours drive you could be either in the middle of downtown Nairobi (chaos) or so far out in the sticks there was only a faint path to follow for miles around.

If you avoid the man-made slums the scenery is very nice but it's the wildlife that is more compelling. Zebra, antelope, wildebeest, giraffes in abundance. What was amazing to me is that you could drive for a couple hours on a dirt path, and out of nowhere there would be a small Masai village. And there would be a small store, and that store would have Coke and Fanta for sale. Where the heck does it come from?

The roads are horrendous and even in the city you have to be prepared for a 12" deep pothole, or the edge of the road to suddenly narrow by a couple feet, at any time. Out of the city the paved roads are not quite wide enough for two cars to pass at high speed comfortably, so you have to pay attention to oncoming traffic in case they want too much out of the middle of the road.

The people were very nice and when I was with them I spent most of my time answering questions about the US.

My favorite story was sitting around a fire at night with the askaris, talking about the US, when I had to sneeze. I pulled out my handkerchief and sneezed a couple times, then blew my nose into it, folded it up and put it back in my pocket. There was a minute of silence before one of the askaris said, "Excuse me, Mr. kranky, may I ask you why you are saving that?"
Click to expand...

I always appreciate a first hand perspective. It does sound like a nice play to explore and have fun in.
 
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