lol i agree wtih Weiner yayy ny!

75!

the world hates american policies .. that was surely a factor ...plus truth be told, many manhattanites didnt want the olympic to be held, hence public support was not unanimous ..

NYC doesnt need to prove anything ..manhattan is an olympic village in itself... i liked this comment:


"We don't need reassurance from the International Olympic Committee or anyone else that New York is a world class city," Weiner said. "We don't need to put New York on the map. It's already the center of the universe."

::sniff i was hoping new york would get it even tho albany rejected it..

heheh sorry 4 the bumph overload shirin, you're not even a london dweller..

Labina: you are so cute..thanks for the posting :)

londoners rejoice.. since i work for the halifax i thought i'd show you this snippet they sent us all today.. about house prices in london due to olympics (just make sure you buy BEFORE 2012)...

& don't go too googly eyed reading all the hard facts & figures..

"Olympic Games
London has won the race to host the 2012 Olympic Games.

London succeeded after an 18-month race, competing against Paris, Moscow, New York and Madrid.

The decision was announced at 12:49 BST today in Singapore.

On the ball as ever, the Halifax has produced research showing the link between hosting the Olympic Games and the impact on property values.

Generally speaking, host cities have seen house prices rise by more than the national average:

House prices go for gold in Olympic host cities

With London bidding for the 2012 Olympic Games, Halifax has examined the link between hosting an Olympic games and the impact on house prices.

The regeneration effects from hosting an Olympic games has generally had a positive impact on house prices. Each of the previous four host cities have
seen house prices rise by more than the national average over the five year period in the run-up to the Olympic games, the main period of Olympic related
development activity. The level of outperformance was, on average, 18 percentage points.

Barcelona was the best performer with prices rising by 131% versus an 83% increase in Spanish house prices in the five years leading up to the 1992
Olympics.

Table 1 House Price changes in Olympic cities in the 5 yrs leading up to the Games

5 yr % increase host city 5 yr % increase host nation Difference
1992 Barcelona 131% 83% 49%
1996 Atlanta 19% 13% 7%
2000 Sydney 50% 39% 11%
2004 Athens* 63% 55% 8%
Average 66% 47% 18%

*Data for Greece is for 4.75 years not 5 yrs (see notes to Editors for House
Price Sources)

Key Findings:

* Hosting an Olympics is usually associated not only with an increase in
sporting facilities but also an upgrade of transport and cultural/leisure facilities. Barcelona Athens and Sydney all saw a significant upgrading of their urban infrastructure and this city rejuvenation is likely to encourage higher house prices.

* In Barcelona, amongst the Olympic related projects, 78 km of new roads were created. There was a 17% increase in the sewage system, a 78% increase in green zones & beaches and a 268% increase in the number of ponds & fountains.

* The scale of Olympic redevelopment is reflected in the high costs associated
with hosting an Olympics. The Barcelona Olympics was the most costly of the recent Games at an estimated cost ?8.1bn. The estimated costs for other Olympics were for Atlanta ?1.5bn, Sydney ?2.5bn and Athens ?8.0bn.

Tim Crawford, Group Economist at Halifax, said

"Hosting an Olympic games encourages city regeneration and is usually accompanied by an improvement in facilities and transport links. These factors tend to be positive for house prices. Homeowners in Hackney and Stratford, could potentially reap similar benefits to other Olympic precincts over the
longer term."

Regeneration boosts prices in Olympic surrounds at Sydney 2000 Games

* Areas close to the Olympic complex usually see the largest increase in house prices as they benefit from improved facilities and better transport links. This
was clearly evident in the main area of development for the Sydney Olympics, Homebush Bay, a former industrial site 20 minutes from the centre of Sydney.
House prices in Homebush rose 70% in the five years in the run-up to the Olympics, compared to a 50% increase in Sydney house prices.

Table 2 House Prices in Sydney in the lead up to the yr 2000 Olympic Games

1995 2000- Year of the Games % Increase over 5 years
Homebush $248,000 $422,000 70%
?98,704 ?167,956
Sydney $197,000 $295,000 50%
?78,406 ?117,410
Homebush house price as a multiple of Sydney 1.26 1.43
Source: NSW Department of Housing

* In Atlanta house prices rose by 19% in the five years leading up to the 1996
Olympic games. This compares with 17% price growth in Atlanta's home state,
Georgia and 13% growth in the US over that period.


Looking forward to the 2012 Olympic Games bid......

* The housing market in East London and particularly Hackney seems the most likely to benefit from hosting the Olympics. In Hackney, the heart of the proposed Olympic bid, the average house price is ?250,107, 87% of the average house price in Greater London. Over the past year house prices in Hackney rose by 6%, slightly below the 8% increase in prices for Greater London.

* East London would see a massive upgrade in facilities if it hosted the Olympics. The area would benefit from a 500 acre Olympic Park reaching from the
Hackney Marshes to the Thames, which is planned to include an Olympic stadium, aquatic centre, along with several other sporting complexes and a 17,800 person
Olympic village. It is estimated that there will be 5,000 new homes on the site post the Olympics. There are also proposals for a 45% increase in capacity on
the London Underground's, Jubilee line, along with plans for the creation of a transport hub in Stratford only 7 minutes by train from Kings Cross station and
designed to carry 320,000 people per hour. (Source: london2012.org)

Signs of a Commonwealth games effect in the housing market.....

* The Manchester Commonwealth Games prompted redevelopment and rejuvenation of
central Manchester and provided a spur to house prices in the area. In the five years leading up to the 2002 Commonwealth Games house prices in central
Manchester rose by 102% versus a 52% rise in prices in the North West and an 83% increase in prices across the UK.

Table 3 House Prices in Manchester in the lead up to the Commonwealth Games

2002- Year of the Games 1997 % Increase over 5 years
Central Manchester ?98,461 ?48,796 102%
North West ?96,048 ?63,298 52%
UK ?136,074 ?74,388 83%

* Five years before the Manchester Commonwealth Games, house prices in central
Manchester, at ?48,796, were 23% below the average for the North West region. At the end of the Games year, prices in central Manchester, at ?98,461, were 2.5%
higher than the North West region average of ?96,048.

* For the Manchester Commonwealth Games ?670m was spent on infrastructure, operations and regenerations. 85% of this was spent in East Manchester, the site of the Games. Additionally, the timing of the Commonwealth Games brought forward
a number of transport schemes in the region.

* In other Commonwealth Games cities the house price effect has been less pronounced. In Kuala Lumpur, host of the 1998 games, house prices were up 48% over the five years to 1998 versus a 40% rise in Malaysian house prices.

However, house prices in Kuala Lumpur and the rest of Malaysia dropped more than 9% in 1998 as the country suffered the ill-effects of the Asian crisis.
Additionally, house price performance in Melbourne, host of the upcoming 2006 Commonwealth games, has lagged behind the national average. They are up 23%
since the end of 2001 versus a 45% increase in Australian house prices. A large increase in the supply of city apartments has limited house price growth in
Melbourne.

Notes to Editors:

1. This research has been compiled using house price data from the NSW
Department of Housing, the Real Estate Institute of Australia, the Bank of Greece, the US Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, the Bank of
Spain, the Centre d'Estudis Olympic along with the Halifax house price index database.

2. While sources and types of price data varies across countries, where
possible prices quoted are crude averages annual house prices, and index movements are based on crude averages. Crude average prices can be affected by
changes in the sample from period to period.

3. A five year time horizon for house price comparisons has been used because this is the phase when most Olympic related development is undertaken.

4. Data about the London Olympic bid was sourced from the London Olympic bid
site, london2012.org

5. Data on past Olympic Games and the Manchester Commonwealth Games has been
sourced from the UK Parliamentary select committee on Culture, media and sport, along with Manchester City Council.

6. On July 6th 2005 the IOC announces the winning city to host the 2012 Olympic
Games.

7. With over 22 million customers, HBOS is the UK's largest mortgage and
savings provider as well as being the UK's leading bancassurer. Approximately one in four mortgages in the UK are arranged by the HBOS Group."

when asian woman and men age .. they start to look the same .. and thats freaky (no not you FON!)

Zztop: LOL...thats funy..did you ever watch that episode of Seinfeld where Kramer puts them to sleep in these gigantic set of drawers?? Hilarious...DC: Yeah Asian women are beautiful and they never age...I see them all over Manhattan..they are so tiny and delicate...I wouldnt mind picking up another language..French or Japanese..or even Mandarine ;)

most americans wont fit in tokyo apartments or homes...

Did i mention i am a professional 'houseboy' at your beck and call.. :P Actually japanese women are pretty attractive compared w/ other asian countries. The only problem i faced was the communcation barriar.. They are very shy to speak english cause they don't wanna offend you. So, i had to learn a lil japanese.. Tokyo had the olympic games in 64'. paris would've been sooo nice.

DC: Didnt Tokyo have the Olympics at one point?? Its sad that Paris lost the bid for 2012 Olympics..that would have been awesome...London sounds kind of boring...hehehe. I am joking london crew..dont get mad at me now ;)

DCguy: Wow, you were in Tokyo..thats awesome. I want to go there too..maybe I should quit my job and become a nomad...go to every country, meet a HOT boy in every country...oops..did I say that out too loud??? kidding..hahahahaha...Humble: awwww..I am not that bad. Come on, I admire beauty...woman or a man..we all are beautiful, made from the same cloth..Mamad: You sicko..hehehe ;)

Tokyo is awesome. I lived there for one year. Great people, great sightseeing and not to mention food! Tokyo would have been an amazing city to host.

I'm so looking forward to the gymnastics..hmm better stop there before this gets X-rated....but for all you (future 2012) dirty old men...you know what I was thinking....

Humble: LOL..actually I know some Korean men that are pretty attractive...Before I couldnt tell the difference, now I can tell the difference b/w a Korean man and a Chinese man...even Vietnamese man...

Actually Tokyo is the most expensive place to live in...http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/06/20/expensive.cities.ap/ Actually I wouldnt mind living in Tokyo either..all the sushi you can have :) Besides, the city is beautiful...Have you seen Lost in Translation, that movie rocks and gives you a good idea about Tokyo...Zztop: you are so loyal to us :) Good job ...sensible man !!

london is more expensive to live in than nyc .. and with half the amenities and panache .. not good value !

i would take the "empire State" over "big ben" anyday ..

Mamad: LOL..thats too funny..you are ruining my childhood memories..you are very bad man ;) lol..

Mickey got the wrong end of the stick and thought mini was telling him she's going crazy when she said: "sorry mickey I'm fuckking goofy".