> The cheapest studio apartment in Western Europe or Japan ends up with better infrastructure than the $2M duplex in California This is a strange comparison, h

> The cheapest studio apartment in Western Europe or Japan ends up with better infrastructure than the $2M duplex in California This is a strange comparison, housing prices depend on many different factors and you can get really crappy small apartments (including the plumbing) in expensive parts of London or Monaco for that kind of money. If the $2m home in California has mediocre doors and plumbing, it's probably just due to lack of attention/clue by previous owners, possibly also from abundance of crappy plumbers because everyone in the business makes plenty of money from rich people in the area.