debraran

I saw a THH show about a couple moving to a tiny home in Montana. He wanted wheels, she didn't, they showed 2 rustic cabins, all over 500 sq feet with land by a river or stream with gorgeous views and 1 240 sq foot mobile tiny home without a stove (59,000)....guess what they picked? ; ) With all the tiny homes I've seen on THN, this one was "blah" for the cost but it fit what he wanted. They got land free for exchange of work for the time being. What I found interesting was the prices out there. I never looked into Montana real estate but thought 210,000 was a lot for a one bedroom home but it had 6 acres. The last was under 200,000 but only 1 acre. It just seemed all over the place in pricing. The announcer said they both had entry level jobs out of school and 35,000 in school loans and needed to be frugal so when the first was 210,000 and then 185,000, I thought that was a lot but I've been out of the market for a long time.

They have some shorter video clips of Tiny Luxury on HGTV. I prefer the shortened version, show couple, show finished product. ; ) What I don't understand is how they spend 70.000 or more on these fancy homes with granite and beautiful appliances etc. and NO closets...I mean none. One home had a TV coming out of their table, bookshelves built into the stairs, but in the loft, no room for clothes, mattress takes up the entire floor. There are no cupboards except for food, no laundry or place for even a hamper. Is it just me or can you live in one outfit? http://www.hgtv.com/shows/tiny-luxury/episodes/tiny-home-in-lake-tahoe

I agree. When my cousin went to UK for 9 months, he actually went alone and wife stayed here with kids (she came in summer)He met other expats but mainly from his work. I did read a long time ago, that people in videos are sometimes not really friends and everyone has to want to be filmed, even the neighbors.

Tennessee to Germany, Found the wife a bit annoying but I know that might not be the real her. If my husband was the working spouse and I kept insisting he drive an hour a day so I can be near possible friends, I think he would be a little annoyed. I wouldn't want to make his job harder in a new environment but that's me. They usually don't stay for a long time when going for work. I did like the second 2 bedroom with spiral staircase though that they took and they didn't have the usual pet that couldn't get up the stairs. ; ) The third apartment was cute, in suburbs, a touch of home with a nice deck, 2 bedrooms for only 1000 a month, 600 under budget. Understanding they were living in that one when they filmed the show already, the commute was probably not a big deal to either of them so the best choice. It does seem they have met a lot of friends already. That always seems to happen in foreign countries while in the US, so many people say how hard it is to make friends when you move.

I noted the floor to ceiling windows in the bathroom and bedroom with no curtains...not much around but still. One way to keep an eye on things. ; ) I wouldn't drop 50.000 on a house for the kids but since they are teens, maybe she is thinking of renting it later. I don't know who would want it out in the middle of nowhere, but you never know. An incinerating toilet was a first for me. I guess it burns the waste? I hope they do behave and not wreck the house but that is between parent and child.

That's true for many parents, although some have kids that only can visit a few times a year if they are lucky because of location. Bedroom space is the last thing they need. I know one family that has 2 pullout couches and portable cribs and it's like camping out but it's that or a hotel. Most of the time it's fine, you only sleep for a few hours, kitchen, living room space is more needed. That's why it didn't surprise me when a free-spirit mom who bought a tiny house and no room for grown kids, moved a few years later. If I were a betting person I'd think someone had a child or got married.

I knew someone who had relatives in Bermuda. She would stay with them. Definitely 2 ;prices in Bermuda, theirs and for others looking. I could never pay that much more. I enjoyed going there many years ago, From CT, it was quick, clean and I could walk from one end to the other. Living there...no. I also couldn't listen to the "guest" talk again. Does anyone move without thinking about guests? Might be scripted but I know my hubby could never read "I have to have an extra bed for guests who will come once a year or less" I would get what I could afford.

New Tiny House Nation show for a foundation home...yea! 560sq feet. Two children, one in remission who's 3 from stage4 kidney cancer. (wishing her the best) and a 1 1/2 year old. Downsizing from a 3400 sq foot home. They mention things like togetherness, saving money, maybe a job change, I wondered about medical bills too. I have to say my inner child, my kid fantasies, was brought out in this home. I loved that kids room! Tree house from a real tree, ball pit, storage, slide. I am thinking when the son is older, they have land to expand if they want too, you can see other homes around and they seem to have enough land. (3 acres) Crozet Virginia. I really liked this one. Master bedroom tiny and they might want to close in patio one day or put up temp walls to keep snow out but I think nicely designed. I'm not sure they mentioned cost. Here is an article for those who can't get FYI anymore. I see it on Amazon. http://www.roanoke.com/photo/virginia-family-on-tiny-house-nation/collection_48704cd9-0cdd-5371-84c8-b1e61a101e3a.html This article mentioned 115.000. http://www.richmond.com/entertainment/virginia-family-featured-on-tiny-house-nation-this-saturday/article_847909d1-f281-5997-a27b-a75733bb6f14.html?fb_action_ids=1342476219205710&fb_action_types=og.comments

Yes, I did..that took a lot of work I'm sure to get it done. One scene had the wood of full of mud they were bringing into the house. I'm sure it took longer than they said to get it finished. No heat source either so a summer/spring get-a-way. I think the son will be bunking with them. ; ) The mud without a shower source...not fun. Nice conversation piece though. (I'd save the 50,000 myself though) They are doing duel buses in the future and other containers. Definitely creative, zoning board would be suspect if they were considered permanent dwellings I'm sure. I hope they still let you watch future shows on FYI site in the future without a cable company.

Another "build a house out of nothing" show. FYI had a free showing of the first one. Kind of cool in a way but unless I missed something, there was no bathroom as stated in the beginning and I have no clue how they got water or electricity. I also didn't see a fridge or even a mini one. It seems like they will saturate this theme in the future, but it's nice to reuse old things to make new ones. I think it's interesting but the lack of explanation makes me feel it's more for show than usable. I might have missed something getting a cup of coffee, but if we have to hear about glass, floors and how to fit countertops, throw in how the couple will get the necessities to live out there. http://www.fyi.tv/shows/you-cant-turn-that-into-a-house/season-1/episode-1

I liked him too. He was more "real" than most and no annoying mother to act overbearing which is "script" a lot. The first one in he Jewish quarter was interesting...but being tall is a problem with those slanted ceilings but the built in 1600's building was interesting. The second was better and of course the third was ideal but over budget. The third had so much more for 125more a month. It made me think for maybe 50 or 75 more a month, he'd find something better. Where I live, to get a jump like that, you need to be 500 more a month or a drive to downtown. But Rome is Rome. I agree, he made a good choice and one day he'll have his oven. ; ) What a nice level-headed young man.

yes, that was why his wife was SO sure he'd find something soon. If he really was going to be home all day, cutting the lawn isn't such a big deal and I'm sure it's inexpensive to hire someone.

It depends on the family. I knew someone who had 2 children from Korea...she didn't want them to visit or identify with it much and she was in the minority in most international adoption groups. Later both her children visited and did internships there as adults. I think as we get older, we are more interested in our roots, where we came from. I have a feeling though that the Mom and Dad wanted to be there more than the kids did. It's cheaper and an adventure compared to here.

I found them annoying, especially the wife. I'm not sure if the son had any special needs but they seemed to want to get away for awhile to regroup. She was worried about too many people in one bathroom? There's 3 of them....how many times or hours just she spend in there ? No school area? You can find space easy enough. Those had to be " you have to have a problem" issues. (i hope) The one they picked was my favorite. I thought for the area, it was a nice space. There was something else going on there but whatever it was or is , I hope they enjoy it. My daughter is in CR for 3 wks for a program but not in such a nice area.

I liked her too. I think they might have been closer friends than they cared to say for whatever reason, but it's nice to know someone well in a new place. They did wear out the dogs name...we love our pets, my lab is the "best kid" most of the time, but you have to think of both of you. I don't like leaving my dog outside for long periods of time, I'm a walker and that's good for both of us, twice a day. This was the first time I noticed, the places were realistic for a budget renter, not cheap in price, but for what you would pay, its much less than you would get in a lot of places. I hope she is happy there and lives life to the fullest. I agree with Mojito, that guests going that far will probably be few, a one bedroom probably would have been enough. Most people are advised to have a job lined up when moving to another country, especially so far. It's so expensive and what do you do if you can't find one? I give anyone a lot of credit to do it. My daughter loved England, went for a year in college, a year for her Masters, but later said, as much as she adjusted to it, it was never "home". She realized she really didn't want to live there long term but it was an experience she'll always have.

It might be that they were homeschooled before and a continuation of that and I don't think International schools are free in France so unless they have a good grasp of the language, might have felt it to be too stressful. If you don't know french well, a website on moving said " If you arrive as a minor and you don't speak French, you'll have to take the UPE2A class to learn the language. If you're an adult, you are not required to learn the language (though obviously it helps)." This article touched on it also. https://www.frenchentree.com/living-in-france/education/homeschooling-in-france/ My daughter taught English in France for a year and it was interesting. She was in the Brittany region.

I liked Barry and Ginger, seemed "normal" and the apartments were nice. I think he gets around very well with his prosthesis. He was using the stairs well but maybe all the time would be tiring. The last home was very interesting. Not my style but I can see someone saying it was cool. I didn't have many windows at all. I think I would dread those stairs after a while even if in good shape. That was a lot of stairs! I liked the 2 bedroom the best also. We shared rooms a lot growing up so that's not as big a deal for me, it's nice but not a deal breaker. I think budget is not really a rigid budget since most go over. When I was younger, if I said, 600 a month was it, 650 probably would have been my limit, not 900. ; )

I know many parents that stay for a while in their home or forever and many kids do come back while finding work or in between jobs if laid off. I would never do it unless I had too....I want them to visit and maybe grandkids one day. If I had a huge home I would downsize but never go tiny. There was a woman who had a multi-colored tiny house on THH and she loved books. There was a lot of purple and pink I think. It was shown on a lot of promos, etc. She was telling her son on the show how bad she felt there wasn't room for him and so on. I see a couple of years later, it's for sale. Cute, cozy and cramped can be wearing on anyone. The throwing out or donating to get something new is a nice idea but not always practical and sometimes I'm sure grows weary for some.

Adjusting to Amsterdam, wife who was from Japan, had been living in US 10 years, moving to Amsterdam because her 40 year old husband was "now or never" and they can both work from home. Can she adjust again and being an accountant, go over budget?? My husband was in a mood and kept asking me how I can watch the same theme over and over, one wants to be over budget, "what's 500 more?", same person insists on canal view, etc. I kept telling him, your right, it's dumb but I like to see the apartments, what's shown, etc. and kind of mute the rest. He couldn't on this one and went to walk the dog, lol. It was worse than others in the producer "must have an issue" theme and it does get old, but they must feel just showing someone with logical needs is boring.

18 year old Jaden from Colorado wants a tiny house instead of a dorm. Budget 75,000. It took a minute to find out parents were doctors so the promo made sense. A few doctors I knew rented condos for their kids, but a tiny house, no. I live in the north east and many students rent rooms in nice homes under 800 a month, so even over 4 years, it's not as much as that but not a home. It said she secured her own loan? At 18? I can't imagine that without her parents signing. Once I got past that, I really didn't like the second home, It wasn't laid out well at all but she picks it. The first larger one was more practical. She really seemed to love the composting toilets, almost too much. ; ) The third one was more retro, bathroom didn't have door and again not very good layout. I guess seeing hundreds over the years on TV and online, when one is built without using space well, it seems odd. If you want to live in a large rectangle box, make the space as efficient as possible. But I guess everyone likes different things. A friend of the family is giving her land for 100 a month. Sweet. Dog, cat and now she has baby chickens.....I wonder what her major will be.?

New Tiny House Nation show, Tech couple (Dr and lawyer) build a tiny house on 20 or so acres they bought to be tech free on weekends. It's not even 400 sq feet. They rent their now their larger home during the week, so they weren't moving out all together. 2 kids under 4. There is something they aren't saying, but I'm not sure what it is. I see other homes around, but it's farm land, cows, etc. They have a composting toilet, very fancy bathroom/sauna, and nice tub. The parents loft is not railed...the kids has an up and down railing, so low in some parts, higher in others but a rail. Kitchen had no table, the only table was outside and Zack did a neat job of having it fold down from side of houses and the underside matches the siding so it's hidden. But where do they eat when it's hot or raining, etc. ? They wanted room for relatives to eat over. They figured up to 18 at max. 20 people using a composting toilet.....: / Some things made sense to me, others didn't. They said it was budgeted at 65,000, I don't know if it went over but it really wasn't kid friendly. The mom said in the one month f/up that she wished she put a kid crawl space to connect the lofts (they had ladders) One was not even crawling yet and her loft is completely open.....Dr and lawyer seemed a little odd in that regard. No crib in f/up. Wondered if they stayed more than a day at a time. Having a space to be out in the country or decompress is nice without WIFI or TV but there seemed to be a lot not said and I wondered if this might be a rental one day.

Yes, when I see the puzzles with furniture Zack Giffin does on THN, it's cool to look at, you pull this cubicle out, take out this, this turns into a stool, you turn this over and it's a table, and on and on. The couple is always speechless and probably thinking, "We aren't doing that every time we eat". One TH dweller said the fold down tables are great but you realize you really want one surface you can put flowers or mail. It's not so much clutter, but just a surface. So her table ends up being up most of the time. I got a used table that Ikea makes for my daughter. It's been shown on Tiny House Hunters a few times. She loves it and you can have a full table or half.

I always have a drying rack out. So many things I don't like to put in the dryer or my daughters like to hang instead, bras, delicate shirts,yoga pants, sweaters. Towels, socks, tees, get put in dryer but a lot of things don't. My Mom had just a washer for years, had a drying rack in basement and clothes line outside. So excited when she got dryer, sheets and towels felt so nice but then the drama started..."you shrunk my sweater!, my jeans are shorter" lol The new dryers weren't fancy, hot and hotter...but we survived. She kept hanging certain things and drying others.

Some of that is personality too, I always had to research everything even before the Internet. I was taught a lot by having kids that went abroad in college and after for a 6 months to a year, I learned about dryers, how much less is in stores, what "American" things aren't available, what rents usually are like etc. A friend of mine told me about mini washers and appliances in UK compared to our over-sized ones. Most of the time you don't need larger. What I don't get and think is crazy, is when a company moves you, a job is sending you and they act clueless. My cousin went to UK for 6 months with his bank's help for his job and they helped with settling in, some money, but they made sure you were prepared. If you are free-lancing and doing a travel blog, maybe not, but a company usually makes sure you are aware of differences that would effect your time there. It makes it less dramatic though for TV

This forum mentions it also. https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187323-i135-k5265256-Washing_machines_in_apartments-Berlin.html My daughter is in UK and although dryers exist many don't use them. Most of her clothes she dries on a rack (even in states) because of shrinking or delicate material. She misses it for towels and things like that.