Richard K. Green is director of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate. Before participating in a panel on the high cost of living in Los Angeles, he explained what L.A. has in common with Madison, Wisconsin—where he previously lived and taught—and a nightmare where his Ph.D. is revoked.
What profession would you practice in your next life?
I’d be a musician.
What does L.A. have in common with Madison, Wisconsin?
Madison has pretty decent Mexican food, believe it or not.
How do you like your eggs?
Poached.
Where do you go to be alone?
In L.A., it’s so hard to get anywhere, generally I just stay at home to be alone. In Madison there was a place I used to go to all the time to be alone, but it took 10 minutes to get there from my house, on my bike.
Do you have any recurring dreams or nightmares?
Not recently. I used to have a nightmare about them taking my Ph.D. away from me, but I haven’t had that in a long, long time now.
How would you describe yourself in five words or less?
I’m a reasonably nice guy.
Do you know any poems by heart?
I used to: “Fern Hill” by Dylan Thomas. If I thought long enough I still could probably get through it.
What’s the strangest thing in your medicine cabinet?
I have this thing that, if you have bad sinuses, you use to pour saltwater through one sinus and have it come out the other.
What advice do you give to first-time real estate buyers?
Make sure you like it, make sure you’re going to stay there for at least five years, and make sure you can afford it.
If you had one more hour in the day, what would you do with it?
Either listen to or play music.