Over Thanksgiving, I was in NYC. My aunt is a realtor and put us up in an empty place going to contract. Nice place and all; good location, good building. 1 bedroom, 1.5 bath with previously fantastic views now obstructed by new construction. Final price? 1.2 million. Thing is, the buyer didn't care about the obstructed views, because like so many apartments in Manhattan, for the buyer it's just (another) pied-à-terre. If I had the bucks to spend on a secondary residence, I'd choose the cave cathedral every time.
I live in LA. I looked at houses down here because it's what you do and I didn't know the market. I quickly discovered I'd spend a half million dollars living anywhere vaguely livable. Then I moved to Playa Del Rey, which is legitimately livable. The houses around here are a million, million and a half. So for shits and giggles, I looked to see what a million, million and a half gets you where I want to live.