My rents are $1200-1700 depending on size and location.I use oak cabinets not only because I can get all wood chinese imports as cheap as the particle board crap from the home center, but because its classic, no one is going to respond strongly like they might to painted, or dark.

I've found some interesting info for LA: "West Coast cities like Los Angeles will continue to draw large amounts of Chinese investment as that country's real estate bubble continues to deflate and investors seek safer havens for their money."

Not sure about Chicagoland, but in LA there are these chinese run granite and kitchen cabinet shops all around, cheapest slab (tiger) or bainbrook brown, at around 100-120 and 300-400 on those gallo/giallo lines, those are the prices per slab, usually 2'x8'. installation is about 300 on my end, but that's in-house prices and basic install, I'd imagine somewhere around 500/slab retail price.

One can argue that the wealthy Chinese will continue to buy and bid up prices in the OC to unsustainable levels, but in a deflationary environment, immigration slows down significantly.

and with nothing more than a high school diploma he'll be digging ditches for the Chinese if things don't work out.  

Ms Osborne would only say that the FBI does not confirm or deny investigations.Often, when a Singaporean is in trouble overseas, a relative might contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for assistance.But an MFA spokesman says the ministry has not been approached for assistance.The New Paper on Sunday team visited the CTL Global office at One Pemimpin twice, and the door was locked on both occasions.CALLS UNANSWEREDCalls to the numbers listed on the website also went unanswered.A check with neighbouring offices found that no one had been seen going in or coming out of the unit since three months ago.Twice, the team visited her condominium, but nobody answered the door even though Chinese New Year decorations were up.An e-mail sent to Ms Tan also went unanswered.But TNPS understands that Tan and CTL Global are not only foraying into Cambodia, but have also conducted webinars (seminars via the Web) since Jan 8 to attract investors from the country.

Overall, houses this age are very, very common in my area, so I tend to treat this all as second nature - the same way some folks look for the dreaded "grey plumbing" or "Chinese Drywall" as the common landmines in their area. 

Hey guys, I recently purchased a home in Lee County Florida (think Cape Coral/Fort Myers area) that has Chinese Drywall.

If you're an Chinese guy in your 30s and shopping in the 3 cities you just mentioned then you are probably: Looking for neighborhoods with Character, Not overly asian but close to asian restaurants and stores, and good schools.

Prices will go down, as cheap Chinese steel will hit the US markets.