Aspen, Colo. is the most expensive place in North America to build a ski home, according to a recent study by high-end home design company Pollack + Partners.

If you're planning to build in Aspen, expect construction costs (materials) to average $950 per square foot and the project cost (materials + labor) to be $1,235 per square foot.

"Aspen is at the top of the list perennially because it is the most exclusive ski resort out west," Chris Pollack, president of Pollack + Partners, told Business Insider. "And that factor lets it demand the highest prices for construction costs. Everyone wants to be there."

Big Sky, MT came in second on the list, at $900 per square foot for construction and $1,170 per square foot for the total project.

Pollack said Big Sky's prices were so high because all of the workers and materials needed to be imported to the very exclusive mountain.

"Where the labor pool comes from is pretty far from Big Sky," Pollack said. "Getting people, equipment, and materials up there takes at least about an hour and a half, depending on what you are shipping up there, and that drives labor costs up."

Take a look at the top seven places on the list:

DON'T MISS: Presenting The 10 Most Outrageous Ski Homes Currently On The Market

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We spotted this sign on a roadside cart in Karatu, a town outside the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in northern Tanzania.

The "Hillary Clinton Shop" appears to sell beaded Maasai necklaces, carved masks, and other souvenirs.

Disclosure: Our trip to Tanzania, including travel and lodging expenses, was sponsored by the Tanzania Tourist Board, Africa Adventure Company, Singita Grumeti Group, Coastal Aviation, Qatar Airways, Tanzania National Parks, Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority and Wildlife Division.

SEE ALSO: You've Never Seen Anything Like This Luxury Hotel On A Tanzanian Crater

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The Los Angeles estate known as the Robert Taylor Ranch, which was once on the market for $65 million, is hitting the auction block without a reserve price at the end of November.

Taylor was best known for his role as Billy the Kid, as well as countless other films he starred in during the 1930s and '40s.

The ranch, on 112 acres, is known for being the largest residential property in Los Angeles. The main home spans 11,700 square feet, and has 12 bedrooms and 4,000 square feet of office space.

It has been listed over the years for prices as high as $65 million, but recently had a sticker price of $19 million, according to The Los Angeles Times.

DON'T MISS: Buy The Most Expensive Home In Sydney For $58.5 Million

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The first lawsuit has been filed over the "dangling crane" incident that forced residents and businesses near under-construction luxury highrise One57 to evacuate during Hurricane Sandy, and more are on the way.

On Friday, two dentists filed a $5 million lawsuit in federal court blaming contractor Australia's Lend Lease Construction for the crane collapse, according to Yahoo News.

And now The Hurwitz Law Firm is seeking additional plaintiffs for a suit it plans to file against the city, crane operator, and developer —Curbed obtained a copy of a flyer it is circulating in the area on Monday.

We reached out to the firm's Michael Hurwitz to find out more. He told us via email:

It is too soon to put a dollar amount on the damages we are seeking from each defendant, but I can tell you many local residents and businesses have sustained a variety of damages and ongoing interruption in ways that may not be readily apparent.

As we continue our investigation into the cause(s) of the accident, and the overall construction permitting process (inclusive of the developer's acquisition of floor area development rights enabling them to build to such heights), we will be able to form an opinion as to appropriate monetary & injunctive relief to be sought.

The law firm filed a summons and notice with the NY County Supreme Court on Friday. It alleges negligence and gross negligence resulting in the crane collapse, and will seek compensatory and punitive damages from the defendants.

Below is the summons:

Now go inside the new luxury building >

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Some people say America's "small towns" are a dead concept, that mom-and-pop stores are a thing of the past, and that quintessential neighborhood relationships aren't built for the 21st century.

Map publisher Rand McNally and USA TODAY are rebutting that notion. They partnered up to compile a list of the best small towns in America, asking people to vote on factors including friendliness, food, and beauty.

So if you're in a mood for a trip, and New York, LA, and Chicago aren't quite your style ...

#10 Tybee Island, Georgia

Population: 2,990

Closest major highway: U.S. 80

Tybee Island, located on Georgia's coast right near the South Carolina border, is known for its relaxing, laid back atmosphere, great seafood, and breathtaking views — 272 of its 499 votes were awarded in the "Most Beautiful" category. 

The island has centuries-old historical monuments, notably the Battery Garland of Fort Screven — which was used in the Seminole War (which is also known as the Florida War).

Source: Rand McNally and USA Today, 2012 Best Small Towns in America and U.S. 2010 Census

#9 Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania

Population: 4,781

Closest major highway: Interstate 476

Just a couple hours away from New York City and Philadelphia lies Jim Thorpe, ranked number nine. A stunning 442 of its 510 votes came in the "Most Beautiful" category. Many come to take in the sights provided by Flagstaff Mountain and the Lehigh Valley, and use the beautiful setting to enjoy outdoor activities and sports.

Source: Rand McNally and USA Today, 2012 Best Small Towns in America and U.S. 2010 Census

#8 Cloudcroft, New Mexico

Population: 674

Closest major highway: U.S. 82

Aptly named, Cloudcroft sits 9,000 feet above sea level, and boasts great winter sports for visitors. It's charming, fun, and quaint. The Lodge Resort, a local treasure, offers plenty of activities, and the town even has its own Opera company. Like Jim Thorpe and Tybee Island, Cloudcroft's ranking is due to its beauty — it received 405 "Most Beautiful" votes.

Source: Rand McNally and USA Today, 2012 Best Small Towns in America and U.S. 2010 Census

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The Hamptons got an injection of culture when the new Parrish Art Museum, the first new art museum on the East End in a century, opened its doors in Water Mill this weekend.

Plans to move the museum from its longtime home in Southampton to the hamlet of Water Mill were announced several years ago, but it wasn't a smooth journey.

After Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron revealed its blueprints for the new structure, the project's $80 million budget was slashed by two thirds and the architects were forced to go back to the drawing board.

The result was a simplified design — instead of interlocking galleries, the museum was built as a long, narrow barn with a corrugated roof, New York Times architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff wrote in 2009.

For the most part, Ouroussoff liked the scaled-back design, noting that it took advantage of the light and blended well with the surroundings. But he lamented that the architects were forced to simplify their design to keep within their budget:

What’s scary is what the design suggests about the future. Is this kind of downscaling the beginning of a trend? Herzog & de Meuron is not the only architecture firm that is being put through this process. Just a few days after I saw the new Parrish design, Rem Koolhaas told me that he was in a similar predicament over a condo and screening room design in Manhattan.

It makes you wonder if the cultural consequences of the financial collapse will be as liberating as some have predicted. I’ll be as gleeful as anyone if the excesses and vulgarities of the past decade really do turn out to be over. But it will be a shame if the atmosphere of creative experimentation that coincided with them is over too.

Even so, now that the building is complete, reactions have been mostly positive. Bloomberg's James S. Russell recently visited and praised its simplicity, writing:

Up close the Parrish is quietly monumental. Its great length — 615 feet, or about two football fields — and almost windowless solidity exude a powerful primordial calm. It makes the many dormers of the wannabe French Provincial winery next door look tortured.

The new Parrish has three times the exhibition space of the old museum, as well as an event space that will likely be popular with the Hamptons society crowd come summer. Its collection includes more than 2,600 works, many of which are on display for the first time.

Photographer Jeff Cully at EEFAS praised the new museum's size and open layout. He shot some aerial video of the museum in the days before the opening, and shared it with us.

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Have you got a cool million or two and a burning desire to live next door to President Barack Obama? You may be in luck.

The empty lot next to Obama's Chicago home is for sale.

"We reached out to the Obamas through his curator and the Secret Service to see if he wanted to purchase it first and they declined," said @properties agent Anthony Rouches.

While it's not been formally listed, Rouches said his clients are hoping to get $899,000 for the corner lot at 5050 South Greenwood Avenue, which they bought in March 2008 for $675,000.

"We're just testing the market to see what kind of interest there is in it," he told AFP. "There haven't been too many presidents with a piece of land next to their house for sale."

The house on the other side of the Obama home sold two years ago for $1.4 million, which was considered to be significantly higher than the market rate.

The empty double lot is currently being maintained by the Secret Service, which has also barricaded the street to prevent anyone but residents and their guests from entering.

Obama and his family rarely spend the night there.

Rouches noted the value will also be boosted by the fact that there are so few "buildable lots" in the historic Kenwood neighborhood on Chicago's South Side.

He thinks it will likely end up being purchased by someone who wants to build a single family home, but it could also be a good site for luxury townhomes.

The empty lot has caused controversy for Obama in the past.

Tony Rezko, a former fundraiser for Obama and other prominent Illinois politicians, purchased the lot after Obama bought his home in 2005 and later sold Obama a portion of the land.

Rezko is currently serving time in prison on fraud and bribery charges as part of the federal investigation which led to the conviction of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich on corruption charges.

Obama was not implicated in the scandal.

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The New York Times restaurant critic Pete Wells absolutely slams celebrity chef Guy Fieri's new Times Square restaurant, Guy's American Bar and Grill, before giving it zero stars and a "POOR" rating.

And Wells does so in a hillariously weird review, with the whole thing in questions directed at Fieri, basically accusing him of never even setting foot in the place.

All 50 questions are worth a read, even down to the tasting notes at the end ("The well-meaning staff seems to realize that this is not a real restaurant.")

But these are a few of Wells' finest zingers:

Why is one of the few things on your menu that can be eaten without fear or regret — a lunch-only sandwich of chopped soy-glazed pork with coleslaw and cucumbers — called a Roasted Pork Bahn Mi, when it resembles that item about as much as you resemble Emily Dickinson?

When you have a second, Mr. Fieri, would you see what happened to the black bean and roasted squash soup we ordered?

Hey, did you try that blue drink, the one that glows like nuclear waste? The watermelon margarita? Any idea why it tastes like some combination of radiator fluid and formaldehyde?

And unsurprisingly he complains about the buzzword-heavy menu, calling it a "whirling hypno wheel" where "adjectives and nouns spin in a crazy vortex."

It almost makes us want to go check out the horror show for ourselves.

Read Wells' full review here >

SEE ALSO: Inside The Biggest Celebrity Chef Restaurant NYC Has Ever Seen

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Live in a beautiful Tudor home on 20 acres of land in Tuxedo Park, GA for $14.9 million.

The home has 11 bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, and four half-baths.

The estate has a wine cellar and a grotto, a spa, guesthouse, and a theater.

Welcome to Tuxedo Park.

The home is two stories.

When you first walk in, you'll see this huge chandelier and double staircase.

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Median household income in the United States declined for the second straight year, according to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau last month.

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The Audi TT is a pretty sporty car, but it looks like one owner has made a few modifications to add some extra power to theirs.

Spotted in Dongguan, China, the size of the wing added to the rear of the car makes one wonder what the owner has changed under the hood.

This photo was posted to Car News China, which shared it with us.

Have you spotted a rare or unusual way of getting around in your travels? Did you take a photo? Do you like sharing? Let me know via e-mail: adavies@businessinsider.com or on Twitter: @adavies47.

SEE MORE: Audi's $110,000 S8 Is An Amazing Living Room On Wheels

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The island behind Javier Bardem's master hideaway in "Skyfall" does not have a happy story.

If you've seen the 23rd Bond film, you remember the abandoned island housing Bardem's villain. Its remains reminded us of the ruinous, barren wasteland Christopher Nolan depicted in "Inception."

Unlike Nolan's film, the deserted island shown in the latest Bond flick isn't a dream. It's real. 

And, it didn't always look the way it did in "Skyfall." 

Located off the coast of Nagasaki, Japan, is the now-abandoned island of Hashima.

In 1959, the small island was overflowing with people, of essential use to Japan for its underground coal mines. Today, the abandoned Hashima mirrors a post-apocalyptic world.

A documentary of the island appearing on YouTube reveals some of the more harrowing details of the island.

Located nearly 18 miles from Nagasaki, Japan is the island of Hashima.

Also known as Battleship Island, the entire plot of land is 480 by 150 meters.

(Japan Guide)

The Mitsubishi Corporation purchased the island in 1890 with the purpose of using the island as one of Japan's primary coal mining facilities during World War II, the Korean War, and afterward.

(Japan Guide)

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It has long been suspected but now it is official: our chocolate bars are shrinking.

For the first time, the Office of National Statistics has revealed that the size of our chocolate bars and bags of sweets have reduced by as much as 10 per cent in the past year.

The government agency took the unusual step of mentioning the development in its latest consumer price index report so that the public were aware they were getting less for their money.

Rising food prices were said to be a major factor in the jump in October inflation to 2.7 per cent, up from 2.2 per cent the month before.

But the ONS also said consumers were facing inflation “by the back door” as confectionery products were being reduced in size but still costing the same money.

The report said: “The main upward pressures came from potatoes (where there have been reports of low yields as a result of the poor weather in recent months), fruit, and confectionery.

“In the case of the last of these, a number of confectionery products have reduced in size.

"This is treated as a price increase as consumers get less for their money.”

Richard Campbell, a statistician at the ONS, said: “We are always careful to compare like for like so if people are getting less for their money then it is effectively a price increase.

“Our price collectors noticed that chocolate bars and bags of sweets were decreasing in size by around 10 per cent so we felt it was important to inform the public.

Cadbury recently decreased the weight of its Dairy Milk chocolate bar from 49g to 45g while continuing to charge 59p.

It reduced the size in the wake of rising fuel and cocoa prices.

A 205g bag of Rowntree's Fruit Pastilles Sharing Bag reduced to 170g, a 175g Smarties bag is now 147g and Nestle's Munchies Pouch dropped from 150g to 126g.

The shrinkage has been attributed to the rising cost of production and seems to have centered on family pack sizes, which are easier to alter than the single bars.

A spokesman for consumer magazine Which? said shrinking products could be an underhand way of inflating prices and called for pricing to be clearer and the food companies to make any changes obvious to their customers.

Global food costs had increased because of poor harvests in Britain and in the US which had a knock on effect on animal products such as milk.

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Hong Kong has overtaken New York City as the most expensive shopping area in the world, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

Retailers located in the booming luxury area of Causeway Bay paid an average of $2,630 per square foot for the 12-month period between June 2011 and June 2012, a stunning increase of 34.5 percent over the previous year.

Other shopping areas in Hong Kong are also booming thanks to an estimated 30 percent sales growth. Tourists and mainland residents are helping drive demand for luxury handbags, watches and jewelry. 

New York City, Paris and Tokyo also saw growth. London's Bond Street slipped off this year's list on weak national demand. 

#10 The average annual rent on Tokyo's Omotesando was $972/square foot

Japan became an even more desirable retail destination after luxury brands such as Prada sought to expand in the area. Prime streets will "continue to see growth in occupier demand."

Source: Cushman & Wakefield

#9 The average annual rent on Tokyo's Ginza was $1,057/square foot

Brands like American Eagle and Old Navy entered Japan this year, drawing in crowds of shoppers and raising rents in the area. 

Source: Cushman & Wakefield

#8 The average annual rent on New York City's Madison Avenue is $1,100/square foot.

Leasing activity has picked up in the "prime" segment of luxury retailers. That's good news for Madison Avenue, which houses premier shops like Rebecca Taylor, Rag & Bone and Theory. 

Source: Cushman & Wakefield

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Drive through the nicer parts of Los Angeles and see all the late model luxury vehicles.  Mainly expensive Mercedes, BMW’s, Audis, Bentleys, and big SUV’s. 

Most are leased because of a loophole in the tax code allowing the business write off of almost the entire lease payment multiplied by the percentage of business use (which is rarely audited by the IRS).  

Real estate brokers (many selling just one house a year), attorneys, business owners, and drivers of corporate cars drive expensive leased vehicles because their lease payments can almost entirely be written off using an exaggerated business use percentage.

If a vehicle is purchased, the allowable depreciation is limited to the value of an ordinary basic car, so the additional depreciation amount for expensive luxury vehicles cannot be written off.  

However, this “luxury automobile limitation” does not apply to leased vehicles, which is main reason that most of the late model vehicles in Los Angeles are leased. 

Instead of having the major depreciation limits for purchased luxury vehicles, the business lessee deducts the FULL business use percentage of their lease payments adjusted by a just a tiny “inclusion amount” added back to income. 

This inclusion amount added back to income is so small that the owner of a $150,000 vehicle stating that 85% of his miles driven are for business can write off virtually 85% of his big lease payments. These tiny "inclusion amounts" are taken from a price-based table issued in IRS Publication 463, Travel, Entertainment, Gifts, and Car Expenses.

And there is no exclusion amount for leased vehicles with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR – the manufacturer’s specified fully loaded vehicle weight) over 6,000 pounds.  This is the reason that so many of these luxury vehicles rolling around Los Angeles are big, gas-guzzling SUV’s.  Note that even a relatively small all wheel drive Volvo XC-90 has a qualifying 6,003 pound GVWR. 

There are more major loopholes. This over 6,000 pound GVWR loophole for leased vehicles works even better tax wise for purchased vehicles. There are no depreciation limits on purchased vehicles with a GVWR over 6,000 pounds. Couple this with a Section 179 deduction and $25,000 of the vehicle cost can be deducted annually. 

And then after $50,000 deductions for business use over two tax years (could be 13 months), the grossly over depreciated vehicle can be given to another family member and there is no recapture of the over depreciation because there is no sale. Should our tax code provide big tax incentives to buy or lease big gas guzzling SUV's?  

There is no reason why the tax code should subsidize business use of luxury cars and SUV’s.  The vehicle purchase or lease tax deduction for all business use should be limited to that for a $30,000-$40,000 vehicle with no GVWR, Section 179, or leasing loopholes.

Our Los Angeles streets are filled with late model luxury vehicles because of these unfair tax loopholes, with over 95% of the luxury cars and over 80% of the big SUV's from foreign manufacturers.  Eliminating these tax loopholes would benefit domestic car manufacturers, would help the U.S. balance of payments, would reduce pollution from big luxury cars and SUV's, and would significantly raise tax revenues. 

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The Archduke Joseph Diamond has set a new world record for a colorless diamond after it was auctioned off for $21,474,525 (£13.53 million).

The price, at the Christie's auction in Geneva on Tuesday, was well above the expected $15 million and more than triple the price paid for it at auction almost two decades ago.

The 76.02-carat diamond, with perfect color and internally flawless clarity, came from the ancient Golconda mines in India. It was named for Archduke Joseph August of Austria, the great grandson of both a Holy Roman emperor and a French king.

The seller, Alfredo J. Molina, chairman of California-based jeweler Black, Starr & Frost, said immediately afterward that there were two main bidders and that he was delighted with the result.

Mr Molina said the winning bidder, who wished to remain anonymous, is going to donate the diamond for display at a museum.

"It's a great price for a stone of this quality," Mr Molina said. "It's one of a kind, so it's like saying 'Are you pleased when you sell the Mona Lisa?' Or 'Are you pleased when you sell the Hope Diamond?'

"It's all what the market will bear, and the stone sold for a very serious price."

The diamond passed to Archduke Joseph's son, Archduke Joseph Francis, who put it in a bank vault. It then went on to an anonymous buyer who kept it in a safe during World War II.

From there it surfaced at a London auction in 1961, then at a Geneva auction in 1993, when Christie's sold it for $6.5 million.

It wasn't the only mega-diamond to go under the hammer at Tuesday's auction in the hotel room packed with well-heeled bidders. Beneath a row of three enormous chandeliers, the participants eagerly pounced at the jewels while competing with bidders from around the world calling in to Christie's employees seated in rows on both sides of the room.

But perhaps the buyers weren't entirely immune to the harsh financial climate in Europe - or at least some Geneva version of it.

Two plus-sized diamonds did not sell Tuesday night. A yellow diamond with 70.19 carats failed to sell because the final bid was 2.8 million Swiss francs, just slightly below the reserve price. A 12.16 carat pink diamond didn't sell because the final bid was 1.8 million francs, well under the reserve price.

SEE ALSO: The Most Expensive Jewelry Ever Sold At Auction

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For hotshot real estate broker Oren Alexander, it's better to have "a piece of the pie than none of it."

That's why Alexander, 25, is never afraid to split a listing with a more experienced broker to help seal the deal.

When Alexander, a broker for The Alexander Group and Prudential Douglas Elliman, first came to New York City in 2008, he would loop in other agents he felt brought value to the listing.

"It's better to share the deal, than not get the deal at all," Alexander told Business Insider.

Alexander said that often people confuse age with experience, but having another broker who had been in the business for a few years by his side helped ease the minds of clients when he first started.

"I wasn't scared to bring in a seasoned broker when I just started," he said. "And that's an issue for most young brokers; they get caught up with the exact dollar amount of the commission. But you can get more deals when you use veterans to split it."

DON'T MISS: Some Real Estate Agents Will Go To Crazy Extremes To Sell A House

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The pursuit for self-esteem has launched hundreds of books, TV shows, and blogs over the past 30 years, all trying to be the definitive source for improving self-confidence.

But science has also gotten in on the action, studying behavior and media consumption as potential factors for improving our opinions of ourselves.

We scoped out some recent studies to bring you 10 scientifically proven ways to boost your self-esteem, including spending time with your dad and voting Republican.

Spend a few minutes on your Facebook wall.

According to a study by social media researchers at Cornell, Facebook walls can have a positive influence on the self-esteem of college students.

63 Cornell students were left alone in the university's Social Media Lab and seated either at computers with Facebook, or at computers that were turned off. The students with access to Facebook were allowed to peruse their wall posts and newsfeed for three minutes, and then all students were asked to fill out a questionnaire designed to measure their self-esteem.

The students who were allowed to spend a few minutes on Facebook had much more positive feedback about themselves than those who had sat in the control group with no computer access.

Go out and get some exercise.

A Canadian study from the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute found that overweight teens reaped psychological benefits after exercising twice a week for 10 weeks.

30 adolescents ranging in age from 12 to 17 were asked to either ride a stationary cycle or play an interactive video game of their choice for one hour.

Following the sessions, each group was asked to rate how competent they felt academically, socially, and athletically, as well as how they felt about their body image and self esteem.

Though little physical change occurred over the course of the experiment, the teens who exercised rated their self-confidence much higher than their video game-playing counterparts.

Create your own digital avatar.

A new study from the University of Missouri found that creating an avatar alter ego can serve as a positive influence in a person's life.

The study questioned 279 people who play the virtual reality game Second Life and found that the closer people felt to their avatars, the more likely they were to live a healthy lifestyle and have higher self-esteem in real life.

The avatars boosted feelings of self-worth and even inspired people to get fit to look more like their digital selves.

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The developers of new luxury highrise 50 United Nations Plaza held an official groundraising ceremony on 46th Street and 1st Avenue today, and from a newly released rendering, the building looks like it will be fantastic.

But that's to be expected from Zeckendorf Development, who are also the masterminds behind 15 Central Park West and 18 Gramercy Park.

The 44-story building will have 87 units. One-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom units will be available. There will also be a handful of full-floor homes that will span about 6,000 square feet.

The gem of the property is a two-floor penthouse that will have 10,000 square feet of living space. The penthouse will also have an infinity edge pool.

Ceiling heights will range from 10 to 16 feet and each residence will have floor-to-ceiling windows. The building will have a spa and an exercise pool.

The tower will be the first residential building in the United States designed by Foster + Partners, a London-based architectural firm.

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Real estate prices in Hong Kong are sky-high.

Hong Kong is already one of the most overpriced markets in the world, according to buy-to-rent ratios, and home to the most expensive street in the world.

It's also the most expensive place to rent a luxury apartment, and Hong Kong's Causeway Bay just overtook New York City's Fifth Avenue to become the most expensive shopping street in the world.

We took a look at some of the most expensive homes currently on the market in this over-the-top city.

For $23.2 million, buy this home known as Strawberry Hill in The Peak, one of Hong Kong's most exclusive areas. The home has three bedrooms and one bathroom.

Click here to see more photos of the home >

For $24.3 million, buy this 3-bedroom, 4.5-bathroom home in Tai Hang. The house has a terrace and an elevator.

Click here to see more photos of the home >

For $28.3 million, purchase this nearly 4,000-square-foot home on Mount Kellett Road in The Peak.

Click here to see more photos of the home >

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