I would choose to be right here in the burgeoning urban sprawl of Charlotte, North Carolina.
I had no idea housing was so expensive in Canada or New Zealand. I wonder why that is, when both countries have so much available space? My original point about US$400,000 houses in my county was not to say that houses were terribly expensive - my family of 9 lives in a new house with plenty of space for well under $200,000 - but that there are obviously a considerable number of people around here with very large incomes.
Auckland's housing is astronomically expensive. In Dunedin (4th largest city - population 125,000) a similar house costs about 30% cheaper. The problem is no one lives in those places.
I think it is probably related to the national psyche. Unlike the United States, businesses still concentrate in the traditional urban centres and poeple don't usually move to another cities unless he has decided to go live there for the rest of their lives. Everyone still wants to live in Auckland because it is where all the important jobs exist if you are not a farmer ;-), but planning regulations make building new homes impractical. Add to it migrants just like we were about 14 years ago - prices naturally go up as a consequence.
Just it is true that I think even the "expensive homes" in Organge County in Southern California is nothing when compared here. A "palace" sized home would costs at least NZ$1.5 million in regions like RD3 (meaning the middle of nowhere), while you will need at least NZ$5 million (=US$3.55 million) right here in Auckland regardless of suburbs.
You have to be within commuting distance of the good upper level jobs. That means Toronto, some in Vancouver, and some in Calgary and the booming new cities of Alberta such as Fort McMurray.
That where the "real jobs" are in Canada. Almost all corporate headquarters in Canada are in Toronto and some in Calgary.
In Vancouver the reason why houses are so expensive is because of foreign buyers. The locals can't afford to live there anymore when foreigners keep on snapping up condos like they are going out of style.