http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/business/20160310/carmel-among-popular-sites-for-affluent-seeking-getaways-from-silicon-valleyStressed at work in your high paced tech job? Harried lifestyle? Looking to "unplug" and get away to spend quality time with loved ones? Then you too can spend $3.6 million to $11.8 million on a vacation home. Just 2 hours from Silicon Valley, you can start your weekend off right by fighting terrible traffic to get to your personal oasis. Once there you can read and send emails in total tranquility and then fight traffic on your return home in two days. Property taxes will only run you in the neighborhood of $36,000 to $118,000 per annum.
/sarcasm
Ok, so there's a part of me that thinks "hey, if I had the money that looks nice!" But then again, the people they interview still work and seem to be looking for a way to deal with the pressures of daily life. Why not sell the vacation home, avoid the additional taxes, and maybe move to a slightly less expensive part of the Bay Area (Menlo Park and Atherton are crazy expensive) and then work less or not at all? 4%, on say $5 million invested, that's $200,000 a year.
I'm sure it's nice and I would enjoy it at first, but I know the novelty would quickly wear off and it would become mundane. I would then feel like I was paying a ton just to maintain something I don't really enjoy. For my money I would rather go camping or backpacking in the back country - now that's unplugging!
Or perhaps I'm too middle class in my outlook at the whole point is to join an elite club and be surrounded by other elites? Just trying to figure out what the allure is.