A friend bought a decent townhouse in San Jose last year for $1.4M. The mortgage, property tax, and homeowners insurance on it with a $280k down payment is $9k a month. Have to earn $200k after taxes just to pay the mortgage. The European mind cannot comprehend this either. 

 There is a reason why real estate is cheaper in Europe. Local incomes support it. I see more Americans buying up property there in the future and further pissing them off.