2014-03-04: Economics

Picturesque and Practical rarely occupy the same location

Rain provided a picturesque stroll to the shops last night . Mostly because one of the side streets is still dirt so it gets all orange colours.
When the roads were being done in this suburb (about a decade ago) people had to chip in with the council. Apparently in some cases people had to take a loan / be helped out by neighbours so the whole street could come up with the funding.
In others the roads simply didn't get done and are still dirt.

I don't know which one was the communist thinking ("band together" vs "government should provide") and which was capitalist ("user pays" vs "individual choice").
But I don't have to walk up the dirt street in the rain or the snow so I don't really mind and will let them work it out themselves.

I think that makes me laissez faire.

Morning Snow.

• Poland has €73 billion in grants from the EU coming in over the 2014-2020 period.
• Białystok has 51% of the population under the age of 35 (and 14% unemployment)
• Warsaw has rental returns of ~8% for larger apartments in the two best suburbs
• The Polish equivalent of the Fed Reserve just cut official interest rates to 1.5%
• Mortgages appear to run at about 3% (Official rate + 1.3)

Evening Snow

A quick browse of real estate sites for Warsaw shows a medium size (big by Polish standards) 3 bedroom apartment on the edge of the fanciest suburb selling for AU$200K.

One of my theories about being "rich" is in the measurement. I figure the ability to wake up and think "I'd like to go to X and do Y" and then do so without having to organise anything must surely count as being "rich". Or "lazy". Either way I like it.

Night Snow. I guess Global Warming is a myth after all.

Having a room with a bunch of our activities equipment and a bed in each city we like is surely a big step towards this particular measurement. The math seems to indicate it is a self funding option in Warsaw (and could even count as a sensible investment). Now I just need to find people open to the idea of renting it even though one room is full of crap and we could appear at any moment to claim that room.

As with all plans this will take a while to implement but on the surface it holds promise.

Food & Beverage Review: Grzane Piwo (Koreb)

Mulled beer is not high on my list of things to order but we were given two of these. They are unpasteurised so we have to drink them soon.

Not a bad one. Often the hops go all weird and super bitter when the beer is warmed up. Light christmas spices, pretty neutral finish. Not bad when it is snowing outside. Apparently a monastic recipe. Might actually be the best beer from this brewery as the others all have pretty bad ratings, no one else seems to have been game enough to try this on ratebeer.

Rating 7/10 (we got two, we have to have another)