Canada Cottage Country Real Estate – Part Five

Ontario Cottage Country Is Quickly Becoming A Real Estate Hot Spot

First Published Date: Jan 23, 2009

Muskoka, 1 ½ hours north of Toronto, is a land of beautiful lakes, waterfalls, and wooded pine forests that has become well known for its’ beautiful terrain. Long known as a home to wealthy sportsmen who settled here from the British Isles, this little piece of heaven is quickly developing into some of the most sought after real estate in the world.

Muskoka is comprised of a group of townships including Georgian Bay, Huntsville, Lake of Bays, Bracebridge, and Muskoka Lake Township. With over 2500 square miles of untouched wilderness in Muskoka there is an uncanny few amount of permanentresidents. Just over 50,000 residents call Muskoka their permanent home. There are nearly 100,000 more seasonal land owners that call Muskoka their home away from home.

The exciting natural beauty of this area has a setting of pristine lakes mixed in with natural rocky shores and magnificent landscapes. The real estate here is sought after because of the peacefulness it brings to calm your soul while still offering access to sports, shopping, and entertainment.

The 3 major lakes, Muskoka, Rousseau, and Joseph, offer more than 100 miles water for your boating pleasure. Residential cottages have hefty price tags but are a cherished family gathering place to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and are generally passed down through the generations. Some of the beautiful cottages here feature gazebos, boat houses, automobile garages, and full length cottage decks. Custom woodwork and one of a kind designs in fireplaces andstaircases are among the most beautiful and elegant features one could hope for. Custom stone walkways, upper decks on the boat houses and even specialaccommodations and extra rooms are some of the options that these countryside cottages offer.

As for activity options in Muskoka the list goes on and on. Nearby museums, sledding, and parks are just a few of the activities that are available in Muskoka. For the sportsmen there is plentiful fishing and hunting activities, not to mention snowmobiles, flying tours, camping, and incredibly beautiful golf courses. For the women there are numerous shopping venues, exhibits of fine art, and delicious restaurants about. Or perhaps spending the day in one of Muskokas’ full service spa and salons where you can restore health and beauty to your body and soul while being pampered to the highest possible standards.

Real estate prices range from $100,000 on the low end to upwards of $2 million for the extravagant properties. Real estate agents online have properties listed with plenty of pictures and well written content to help you learn about the area. If you are in the market for a vacation home and enjoy the peace and tranquility of preserved wildlife I highly recommend you look at Muskoka as an option. Of course you better have your cheque book ready too!

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the realestateexpedition.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to A Dawn Journal. This article originally published on the above website on Jan 23, 2009.

Canada Cottage Country Real Estate – Part Five

Ontario Cottage Country Is Quickly Becoming A Real Estate Hot Spot

First Published Date: Jan 23, 2009

Muskoka, 1 ½ hours north of Toronto, is a land of beautiful lakes, waterfalls, and wooded pine forests that has become well known for its’ beautiful terrain. Long known as a home to wealthy sportsmen who settled here from the British Isles, this little piece of heaven is quickly developing into some of the most sought after real estate in the world.

Muskoka is comprised of a group of townships including Georgian Bay, Huntsville, Lake of Bays, Bracebridge, and Muskoka Lake Township. With over 2500 square miles of untouched wilderness in Muskoka there is an uncanny few amount of permanentresidents. Just over 50,000 residents call Muskoka their permanent home. There are nearly 100,000 more seasonal land owners that call Muskoka their home away from home.

The exciting natural beauty of this area has a setting of pristine lakes mixed in with natural rocky shores and magnificent landscapes. The real estate here is sought after because of the peacefulness it brings to calm your soul while still offering access to sports, shopping, and entertainment.

The 3 major lakes, Muskoka, Rousseau, and Joseph, offer more than 100 miles water for your boating pleasure. Residential cottages have hefty price tags but are a cherished family gathering place to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and are generally passed down through the generations. Some of the beautiful cottages here feature gazebos, boat houses, automobile garages, and full length cottage decks. Custom woodwork and one of a kind designs in fireplaces andstaircases are among the most beautiful and elegant features one could hope for. Custom stone walkways, upper decks on the boat houses and even specialaccommodations and extra rooms are some of the options that these countryside cottages offer.

As for activity options in Muskoka the list goes on and on. Nearby museums, sledding, and parks are just a few of the activities that are available in Muskoka. For the sportsmen there is plentiful fishing and hunting activities, not to mention snowmobiles, flying tours, camping, and incredibly beautiful golf courses. For the women there are numerous shopping venues, exhibits of fine art, and delicious restaurants about. Or perhaps spending the day in one of Muskokas’ full service spa and salons where you can restore health and beauty to your body and soul while being pampered to the highest possible standards.

Real estate prices range from $100,000 on the low end to upwards of $2 million for the extravagant properties. Real estate agents online have properties listed with plenty of pictures and well written content to help you learn about the area. If you are in the market for a vacation home and enjoy the peace and tranquility of preserved wildlife I highly recommend you look at Muskoka as an option. Of course you better have your cheque book ready too!

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the realestateexpedition.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to A Dawn Journal. This article originally published on the above website on Jan 23, 2009.

The Ten Tallest Buildings in the World

The Ten Tallest Skyscrapers In The World

First Published Date : Jan 29, 2009

For many years the Empire State Building in New York, USA was the unrivalled nominee for being the tallest building in the world. Since this building was completed in 1931, at 381 meters high, technology would have to advance for nearly seven decades before its height could be surpassed. In 1996, Shun Hing Square in Shenzhen, China became the world’s tallest building, at 384 meters.

Whilst there are many tall buildings currently under construction, in terms of actual completed tall buildings which are both completed and still in existence (for example the World Trade Centre is no longer on the list), and taller than the Shun Hing Square, there are several, which have displaced the Empire State Building to now ranking 14th on the list, followed by the Shun Hing Square in Shenzhen at number 13.

The Two International Finance Centre in Hong Kong, at number 10, is followed by the Jin Mao Building which is next at number 9 and the 8th tallest building is the Guangzhou West Tower, Guangzhou in China.

The 7th tallest building in the world is the Wills (formerly Sears) Tower in Chicago. Number 6 on the list is the Greenland Financial Centre in Nanjing.

The Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, follow at numbers 4 and 5, and then there is the Shanghai World Financial Centre, China, placed at number 3. The previous tallest building in the world was the Taipei 101 Tower in Taipei, Taiwan and now this is surpassed by the re-named Burj Dubai – making it the tallest building in the world – the Burj Kalifa, in Dubai.

There are criteria which must be met for being the highest building in the world which is not just a matter of constructing a huge antenna on top of the roof to gain that extra size. According to the Council of Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, towers per se do not count, unless they also have floors so as to qualify them to be classified as buildings. A building such as the Taipei Tower is named as a tower but is still a building for ranking purposes because of its design and intended use as a commercial, residential or manufacturing building which is actually occupied. Height is measured from the ground to the structural highest point of the roof – spires are included but you cannot add into the count such things as flag poles or radio masts or antenna.

Heights and rankings of tall buildings are often disputed, and other lists which are informed from web based data may vary from the official listing above, which has been made up from data obtained by the Council. There are many other buildings around the world still in process of construction but they do not form part of the list because to meet Council requirements – a building must be “topped out”. Burj Kalifa is 828 meters high which tops the Empire State by just over double its size – the amenities of the buildings today are far in advance of the original pioneer development – the Empire State Building.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the realestateexpedition.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to A Dawn Journal. This article originally published on the above website on Jan 29, 2009.

Burj Khalifa — The Tallest Building in the World

World’s Tallest SkyScraper

First Published Date: Feb 6, 2010

In September 2004, the Burj Dubai project started, intending to build what was expected to become the world’s tallest building. In officially opening the building, this January of 2010 – some two years after the originally intended completion date in 2008, the opening ceremony is a testament to the spirit of co-operative human endeavour, overcoming all obstacles, including the global recession, to achieve an outcome which is recognized as being second to none – the achievement of having built the tallest building in  the world.

Despite good progress until late 2008, the fate of the Burj Dubai was left somewhat in the balance when the exposure of the emirate of Dubai to the financial havoc caused by global recession became apparent, with Burj Dubai looking likely to become one of many fire sale items that might need to be sold off to get the emirate out of the red. However, in the pomp and ceremony of the opening day was included a re-naming ceremony for the Burj Dubai – and it was formally opened as the Burj Khalifa – by way of tribute to the leader of Abu Dhabi – Sheik Khalifia bin Zayed Al Nahayan  who recently provided financial assistance to the neighboring Dubai to the tune of  CAD 11 ($10) billion securing the financial future of Dubai and ensuring completion of the Burg Khalifa, enabling it to take its place as the fully accredited tallest building in the world. It can be seen from 95 kilometers away. The Khalifa Tower is around half a mile high and overlooks the entire city, including existing tall buildings, it is expected to be a tourist magnet, not only for its unique height, but its location from which can be accessed all of the wonders of Dubai – the world’s largest arch bridge, the twirling tower, a refrigerated beach and some artificial islands shaped like a map of the world – for a vacation or a stopover, this new centre for tourism in Dubai promises an experience in the grandest style and well worth including in your travel plans, particularly for those who enjoy fine dining and those who love to shop.

There are over 160 levels in the Burj Khalifa – including the area given over to the Armani Hotel. The elevator has the longest travel distance in the world and there are double deck elevators which travel at 10 meters per second-the highest speeds to take you up to the highest level observation deck, where breath taking panoramic views can be enjoyed by night and day. Most of the lower levels of the Burj Khalifa are taken up by the luxurious Armani Hotel with 160 guest rooms, suites and nine hundred one or two room living accommodation units. There are 37 floors of office space all fitted out with the very latest in design and e-technology – the Burj Khalifa is a new hub for both business and social interaction and will bring some much needed new tourism and trade into the economy of Dubai.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the realestateexpedition.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to A Dawn Journal. This article originally published on the above website on Feb 6, 2010

Can All Skyscrapers Be Tasteful Modern Architecture?

The Dos and Don’ts of Tasteful Architecture

First Published Date: Oct 03, 2009

In the present day, so much of building seems to be obsessed with size. There was a time when you could build the world’s tallest building – assuming you had a spare few hundred million dollars, anyway – and sit back and relax for a decade or so, knowing that if anyone asked about the world’s largest building, your name would come up. Now, the moment someone builds a dizzyingly tall skyscraper which surpasses all that has gone before, you can be sure that there is someone sitting, taking notes and saying “Right – I want it about ten meters taller than that one, OK?”

The upshot of this is, increasingly, a dislike among many for such grandiose statements of intent. People are uncomfortable with massive buildings – mostly not out of a sense of vertigo, but simply from personal taste. The Ryugong Hotel in Pyongyang, as well as being about a half of the way to completion, is enormous – and at the present time, grotesque. Although the Burj al-Arab is to many people’s tastes – including the tennis legend Roger Federer, who spends time there – to others it is a statement of pointless size, a standing monument to dimension rather than architecture. If we keep building them taller than the last one, sooner or later we will have revolving restaurants in lower earth orbit. The food will be terrible, but the waiting lists will still be epic.

This is not to say that large buildings cannot be aesthetically impressive, and anyway, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. However, it has to be said that there could be a lot more concentration on other aspects of what makes a building impressive. Invention and subtlety can go a long way, so why do we always insist on a building which breaks the clouds and keeps on going?

There are other mistakes made by architects who simply hear the bit where the person commissioning the building says “.and I want people to talk about it!”. Building something that will be memorable can just be about complementing your surroundings in the most attractive way, but all too often architects – through their brief or through their overarching ambition – will look to assault the senses. If they can’t build it taller than the others, they will use more lights. If they cannot do that, then they’ll try and shape it like something no-one else has thought of. Ambition does not have to equal grandiosity.

Then again, there are probably many of us who will admit to having a keenness for a particular building which conforms to all of the lazy standards and that may well be the reason they keep getting built. However much we may wince at what we see most of the time, we look at – for example – Dubai’s Rose Rotana and think “I should be appalled, I should be feeling sick, but for some reason it works”. Well, some of us do, anyway. And that is the point – there are so many ways in which a building can offend, but if enough of us say “Hmm, I like that!”, then they will continue to be built.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the realestateexpedition.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to A Dawn Journal. This article originally published on the above website on Oct 3, 2009.