tough times for plutocrats (cont'd)

Summer: The living wasn't so easy
Crain's, Sept. 1, 2008

He and his wife are empty-nesters wanting to sell their newly remodeled, $1.2-million River Forest home and move into a downtown condo. They first listed their house in June 2007, then took it off the market two months later to make some improvements. In May, they listed the house again and prepared for a sale. They're still waiting.

"When we relisted the house in the spring, I figured that by Labor Day we'd be downtown when the fall season of social events takes place... It would be great to go home and change for an event without having to drive back and forth."

The constant showings, too, made for a wearying summer. "The frustration level of dealing with buyers who've been back six times just wears you down," he says. "My wife says if they come back a seventh time, we're not making the bed."

North Shore real estate agent and avid sailor ....., 46, also has had to scale back. Her son ...., 17, a junior at New Trier High School in Winnetka, and daughter ...., 19, a sophomore at Connecticut College, both sail competitively. It's a pricey sport: Competing internationally can cost from $30,000 to $100,000 a year, including entry fees, travel, accommodations, boat charters, coaching and equipment, she says.

Though Ms. .... and her husband, ...., also a broker, are working harder than ever for every sale, they were unwilling to cut back on the number of trials their children compete in. So they're still traveling, but not in the style they're accustomed to.

"You know those dingy motels off the interstate with the hurricane fence around the pool?" Ms. .... says, referring to her family's frequent trips to Florida for competitions. "I used to think, who would stay there? Well, that's me now, sitting there on the concrete patio with my laptop and cell phone."

More accustomed to the Four Seasons, Ms. .... now takes along a suitcase filled with pressed table linens to wrap the mattresses in. "You can't be too careful," she says.
. . .

There was another perk in being the rare American in a European city for ...., 31, a special events coordinator at Loyola University Chicago. A flea market vendor in Florence, Italy, sold her a leather purse at half his asking price because he felt sorry for her. "I just pleaded and pleaded with this guy," she says. "Finally he said, 'OK. You Americans don't have it easy, I know.'"