That’s something of an exaggeration; salaries are higher, but not two to three times higher, generally speaking. We coasties just suck it up and pay extra and/or run up huge lines of credit to support the coke/hookers/German sports car lifestyles that we live. 
Stranger
250k USD = 147k GBP. That won’t buy you much in London - maybe a broom closet or studio with a shared WC with the flat next to you. Get an hour or so outside London, and you could find a 1br 1ba flat for that; get up in the midlands and you could get a 2br flat. Further north (Manchester) and you could get a decent house (2br or so).
London is hella-expensive. 1br flats in London go for around £200k (350k USD), unless it’s a former crack den in a crappy neighborhood like Hackney that would take thousands to make livable. Houses are insane - a terrace house (middle of a row) will cost you a minimum of 300k GBP (so about 550k USD) with little or no outside space.
Needless to say, as I ain’t rich, I rent. I rent a 2br flat in SW London and share it with a flatmate. I pay £1100 per month (split between us) which converts to about $1870.
Howdy neighbor. All this time I thought I was the only Buffalo area doper. How 'bout them Sabers?
Where I live, $250 000 AUD isn’t likely to get you anything. But if you do get lucky and find a something for that much it will probably be a 2-4 bedroom house with 2 bathrooms and maybe a pool because that’s all we’ve got here. If you just cross the street, though, $250k will get you a house like that fairly easily.
Lets see, currency converter says that $250,00 is approx. £140,000, which in the bit of London I live in gets you…
Nothing. Nada, zip, zero, zilch.
Not even a studio apartment.
Two hundred and fifty pounds though, gets you a one-bed apartment similar to the one I’m in.
Hmm, Glendale, CA. 250k will get a refrigerator box in a an alley somewhere.
[url=http://www.realtor.com/FindHome/HomeListing.asp?snum=8&locallnk=yes&frm=byzip&mnbed=0&mnbath=0&mnprice=225000&mxprice=275000&js=off&pgnum=1&fid=so&stype=&mnsqft=&mls=xmls&areaid=55119&poe=realtor&zp=55119&sbint=&vtsort=&sorttype=&typ=1&typ=2&typ=4&x=91&y=16&sid=060C3DC52EAFC&snumxlid=1055022046&lnksrc=00002] Not too far from my place
(sorry 'bout that)
Hey, this is my alley! Get your own damn box!
Stranger
When I went to search, I decided to see what was the most expensive house in the city on the market - it was $399,000 and had all the pretty fixings. It was a bit shocking that that would be the most expensive thing that didn’t have farmland included.
As for the OP, this house is $284,000 CAD (so it fits in). For a condo, we have this.
Another Fairfax County resident here (near Fort Belvoir). I did a MLS search in our zip code recently for a similar query, and 250K would not buy you a 2 bedroom condominium. It would however put a large down payment on a detached house.
In my town there are currently 7 houses for $225,000-250,000 according to relator.com. This will get you: 2-3 bedrooms, 1-2 bathrooms, 778-1,440 Sq. Ft. on less than an acre to 2 acres of land.
According to Realtor.com, you can get a nice 1-2 bedroom, 1-1.5 bathroom Co-op. OR, you could buy 2 of these fabulous 1 bedroom, 1 bath condos for ~$80,000 a piece.
Of course, the crappily built McMansions down the street from me are being sold for over a million dollars, shoddy wiring and all.
WoW 250k will get you a nice place with nice acreage here. Maybe even one on the river. (trade the acreage for river view and chance of flood and no availble flood insurace in the area…)
250USD is 367NZD, and in our suburb of Auckland would only buy a two or three bedroom, 1 bath weatherboard in need of work. The average house price around here would be roughly double that.
In the bit of Melbourne I live, $250k US ($332k AUD) *might * get you a slightly decent two-bedroom flat (apartment) or (if you’re very lucky) a really grotty and in need of serious renovation house.
In Los Angeles, that kind of money would get you a cozy little dwelling that came with a chain, a stake, a ceramic dish and a sign that said PHYDEAUX over the door.
My section of Rochester has a nice-looking small four bed two bath house. Not much land, but I’m within walking distance of downtown, so land isn’t really available in the city. Moving out of to the suburbs opens up all sorts of things for that kind of money. Not all the suburbs, but most of them would be available with that kind of money - and would include nice plots. If one wanted river, lake or canal side property, price goes up, of course.
Hmmm, $250K might get you a 2BD condo in a not-very-nice area around here. But you won’t find one.
Naw, changed my mind- probably a 1BD condo.
Realtor.com had one at $249,900: 4 Bed, 3 Bath 3,000 Sq. Ft. 1.5 Acres. It was a bit out of town, though. For comparison, I bought my house in August, 1 BR, 1BA. 1000 Sq. Ft. on a 60’x100’ lot, no garage, right in the middle of town for $52,000.