Mediocre Gatsby

The son did mention that something (one of the bathrooms, I think) in one of the Paris apartments looked just like his mother's place in Irving.

He said he's an intellectual property lawyer; I looked him up (of course!) and he's a partner at his firm. I laughed when he said he was saving money for his mom like a good Gaysian son. I really liked this episode and I'm glad she found what she wants.

That guy was wacky. I get not wanting to be near power lines or even cell towers, but he was going to work in telehealth and you'd think that besides great internet service, he'd want good cell service as a backup. And stairs provide too much exercise before bedtime! I liked the woman and was happy to see that she was getting some satisfaction from taking on projects. We hear a lot about how it's great to be walking distance to a train station (coming from CA, I, too, would always be looking at parking issues if I bought a home) but no one mentions whether or not it would be noisy living close to a train line. Maybe they're so ubiquitous that you hear the noise wherever you live?

Kansas: Couple who felt they rushed when they bought their last house, and was looking again. I was sure they'd go for house one, the only one that had a sun room and a fenced yard for their dog. The one they bought had no fence because the HOA fees covered cutting the grass. I didn't get a Chicago episode! Too bad because I love those.

Raleigh: Since the guy made a point of saying that the woman was putting down the down payment, it sounded like they had that discussion. Michigan: For some reason I thought they'd pick the second house (cabin-y) but I could have seen them in any of the houses. They weren't too picky or annoying, which is the low bar that is all I expect HH to meet!

Why should she spell inspirational when she can just keep saying "inspo"? They were kind of annoying. I knew they'd chosen the townhome because of blue tape on a wall, and I thought, you guys might be better off without a yard. I wonder if HH sent out some kind of casting call for people who had inherited the money to buy a house or for a down payment for a house.

The whole time I was thinking, supportive undergarments! The woman drove me slightly batty. It seemed like she had to be always "on." Maybe a holdover from these last few years of doing online programs. She complained that the third house was "everything Christian wants." No, *every* property started out with the horses' needs. The third property was the closest that Christian got to a distant second. And of course she had to constantly talk about how she likes American things. Dubai to Australia: After Annoying Horse Woman I was in no mood for Everything Was Better in Dubai woman. I ended up looking at the properties and forwarding through the talking heads. I've seen the realtor before, right? Do people in Australia not remove their hats indoors? Both of these episodes were so aggravating with people acting like they deserved everything when they *knew* their budgets were low. Even if it's just producer manipulation that they keep mentioning it, it's not anything I'm interested in listening to.

Boston: I forgot to say, they eat with her parents 2-3 times a week! What's that all about? I wouldn't want to eat with anyone that many times a week! Especially since at one point he asked what time they needed to be there "tonight," and she said "3 pm." Those are some long evenings.

The Boston couple walked into one place that was nothing but white everywhere. They both said: "I love the color!" Me at home: "WHAT color?" I thought the gold hardware on the cabinets was hideous.

She said they'd been together for 28 years and would have been married for 24 this year, so that's a long time. It did somewhat temper my amazement at her clothes and hair style. I don't know if she was suddenly dressing that way as a newly single person, or if that was the way she was all through her marriage (like maybe her job was to look young?) I did get annoyed with how often she described the kind of property she was coming from. LADY THAT'S GONE.

The way he kept apologizing.

I wondered about this, too, when they came back. They work under a Network Code agreement, not the contracts that SAG/AFTRA is striking. https://www.sagaftra.org/sag-aftra-statement-regarding-saturday-night-live#:~:text="The program is a SAG,show prior to the strike. SNL takes shots at who they want to, so it didn't bother me that they had Biden up on a ladder or people throwing wadded-up paper at a teacher. As a lawyer, I have to say that I would put engineers above us in the "help deliver a baby" category. I expected that the pilot was going to say he could do it.

I liked Nate's monologue; I haven't seen him much so it was new to me. There were an awful lot of empty minutes at the end, weren't there?

Charleston, WV: Wow you can get a lot of house for your money. What a cute place. I didn't really like any of the houses that much, but the house she chose did have a big lot for privacy and for Havoc. I wouldn't be surprised if Havoc is a character from a movie or a video game or something. He was a cute kid.

I've never been fond of the houses they show where the bathroom is right off the kitchen. Sicily: I figured she had taken the first house when the realtor raved about the wraparound terrace and then they didn't show it at all until the reveal. I assumed the buyer already had stuff out there. This was another interesting place for me. I might have gone for #3 depending on how close it was to the downtown - that terrace was amazing and if she continues to spend 2 months a year with her kids in the United States, I thought that that terrace might make a very attractive feature for renting out the apartment while she's gone. But then really, any of them would probably do that.

Cincinnati: I was sure they'd take the first place, since the second had no parking and the third was full of furniture. That house was kind of amazing. I was surprised that the woman kept raving about needing a kitchen island when she said that she used hers mostly for science projects and folding laundry - does that really have to be done in the kitchen? But they were dedicated to living downtown, so that worked best for them. 9 moves for his military career - wow.

To delete, you should be able to put your cursor after the "quote" and backspace until it's gone. I forgot about the 65" tv! I tried to picture it, and couldn't.

They really were; I was invested in them! I'm glad they found a place at a reasonable price and with reasonable HOAs. They will have to get used to doing shopping all at once or get delivery. But it didn't sound like the lady was going to work from home every day, so grabbing things on the way home is also an option. All of the places were cool.

Those Atlanta young women were picky! And I laughed at the "influencer" wanting to be close to the city so she could "get good food," I assume she meant scrounging it for free at parties and such. I thought that the most aggravated I could ever be at the use of "bandwith" was when my coworkers use it instead of "time." As in, "I don't have the bandwith to do that." But this broker using it for "budget" was next level annoying. As in, this house is priced low enough that one of the women would have the "bandwith" to hire someone to cut the grass.

The thing about the South Carolina house for me was their plans to have a winery onsite. I thought they'd take the last house, which had no HOA and big trees that would be great to sit under. The house they picked DID have an HOA, so I'd be surprised if they can have a business right there on the premises. And the back yard was bare. I would have picked the third house (of course we don't know if they even saw it).

The Dunning-Kruger School of Home Renovation!

Dating couple in Minnesota: I was very interested in them, considering the little discussion we had here about unmarried couples linking their finances for a house. Two engineers (analytical thinkers, I bet!) who'd been dating for a year and a half decided to move in together. And whichever person liked a potential house more would be the sole name on the mortgage, while the other paid rent. They ended up with "her" house, which I thought was the best choice for them right now, since it was close to everything they like to do. The guy had some good ideas about putting sweat equity into houses, and getting more house for their money by moving away from the city. But I was thinking that if they stay together, they'll probably ultimately end up buying something together that meets more of both of their needs. This seemed like the time to be close to the things they like to do.

He also said something like, if he got that bigger room for his office, then the wife could put the crib and the baby's toys in the smaller room and "I'd have what I want and you'll [wife] have what you want," so her "wants" are entirely aligned with the baby's. Nice.

New Orleans: Last night we had Dead Dad Lady and tonight it's My House Burned Down Lady. Do you really need a "hook" to be on House Hunters? She talked about safety measures the most at the third house (his childhood home) so I knew that's the one they picked. He seemed a little immature. I wish the grandfather had also brought a tree to plant for the woman's daughter. But he said at the beginning that things wouldn't get "serious" until his son's kid was born, so maybe they're not that close to the daughter (maybe she has other grandparents nearby - I hope so).

I saw the end again today when I was starting my next show, and I'd forgotten that Meg was smiling and happy on the riding lawn mower at their house. It occurred to me to wonder why she was so sour (h/t Crashcourse) at the other houses even though they were never contenders. (I was too busy rage watching to think of that during the show.) What was that all about? She just really got into what she saw as the concept of the show? Usually the HHunters just breezily disregard the things in the unchosen houses that go against what they said they want. But she seemed actively offended. Anyway, I'm willing to concede that Meg might be fun when she's gotten what she wants, though I wonder how often that happens.