change the install location???

Will it work to have different apps in different Applications folder locations and the will still update? I.e. can I have one app in /Applications and another in ~/Applications?

It should because Mac OS X is designed to find apps in both locations. When you create the ~/Applications folder, Mac OS X should give it the Apps folder icon, rather than the genric folder icon. In my experience does work. In my case I don't use the ~/Apps folder, but I prefer some apps to be in my Mac HD/Apps/Utilities folder, a nested folder. The MAS sees them in the Utilities folder and updates them in place.

That's great!

If this works, then one can really have the apps in different locations. 🙂

Just move them to the place you want them after they've been download. I will try at home tonight.

I think that you are reading more into what I am stating. You should not locate apps outside of where Mac OS X expects to find them and where apps expect to be placed. Those are two locations; Mac HD/Applications/ and ~/Applications/ or further nested inside those locations. If you place apps outside of those two locations you may experience issues with improper app functioning. Large, complicated apps, especially those that use an installer as opposed to simple drag & drop installation, have auxillary files that expect to find their associated apps in only those two locations and are hard coded by file path to find them there.

YMMV

Thanks for the heads-up, but most apps in OS X can be run from whereever really. The ones that require to be in a special location (Applications) aren't many in my experience.