House Hunters International - General Discussion

[biakbiak]

I don't think I could go back to a one bedroom after having lived in a two bedroom with my boyfriend for over a decade. Our guest room gets used frequently by guests but even when it doesn't, it doesn't languish unused. It's great having that extra space for a wide variety of reasons and I would gladly pay the additional cost. 

Plus the place they got not only had an additional room it had outdoor space. The one bedroom seemed tiny and ridiculously laid out.  $200 for an extra room, a living room twice the size of the one bedroom apartment and a balcony and that would have been $200 I would gladly spend. Heck if it was that much of an issue on budget they could do a few nights a month for the spare bedroom on Air BNB. 

Edited December 2, 2016 by biakbiak

[chessiegal]

It's so unclear to me how spouses are able to work abroad, particularly in England. Our daughter did a semester of law school in London, and her husband couldn't work. I know this show won't show the realities, but we're curious.

[chocolatine]

4 hours ago, chessiegal said:

It's so unclear to me how spouses are able to work abroad, particularly in England. Our daughter did a semester of law school in London, and her husband couldn't work. I know this show won't show the realities, but we're curious.

I'm not an immigration expert, but I knew several American couples when I lived in the UK in the early 2000s where the "primary" spouse was in grad school, and the "trailing" spouse worked. The grad school spouses were there for the entire program though, not just a semester, so that might have made a difference.

[biakbiak]

2 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

I'm not an immigration expert, but I knew several American couples when I lived in the UK in the early 2000s where the "primary" spouse was in grad school, and the "trailing" spouse worked. The grad school spouses were there for the entire program though, not just a semester, so that might have made a difference.

Also, how vague she was about her job other than that it was super similar to her job in CO, I wouldn't be surprised if she had a job with her home company working remotely and yes those jobs exist in social work. 

[chocolatine]

13 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

Also, how vague she was about her job other than that it was super similar to her job in CO, I wouldn't be surprised if she had a job with her home company working remotely and yes those jobs exist in social work. 

I was wondering about that too, since social work is the kind of field that requires local training and qualifications. She's probably had that remote working arrangement all along and the "will we be able to afford this place on one salary" angst was producer-driven.

5 hours ago, biakbiak said:

Plus the place they got not only had an additional room it had outdoor space. The one bedroom seemed tiny and ridiculously laid out.  $200 for an extra room, a living room twice the size of the one bedroom apartment and a balcony and that would have been $200 I would gladly spend. Heck if it was that much of an issue on budget they could do a few nights a month for the spare bedroom on Air BNB. 

It was $400 extra per month. The two-bedroom was $3000/month, and the one-bedroom was $2600/month. The floor plan wasn't the greatest, but it was closer to the tube and had a better kitchen. To each their own, but I'd rather save $4800/year than have a spare bedroom in a place I'm just renting. 

[biakbiak]

20 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

I was wondering about that too, since social work is the kind of field that requires local training and qualifications. She's probably had that remote working arrangement all along and the "will we be able to afford this place on one salary" angst was producer-driven.

It was $400 extra per month. The two-bedroom was $3000/month, and the one-bedroom was $2600/month. The floor plan wasn't the greatest, but it was closer to the tube and had a better kitchen. To each their own, but I'd rather save $4800/year than have a spare bedroom in a place I'm just renting. 

It was 400 above the place with the tiny living room but "only $200 more than their "budget" the kitchen  had more counter space but had stairs in the middle and there was literally no place to have friends over because the kitchen ad no place to eat and you would be hard pressed to have more than two people eating dinner in the living room. The place they chose had room enough for friends coming over for dinner and people eating at a dining table, add an extra room, an outdoor space and it was also close to transport deal done. My boyfriend and I just had cold/flues from hell that lasted two weks. I would pay $6000 dollars a year for both of us to be in a private room away from  activity with a tv (also extra storage), room for a chest freezer, an Aero garden and extra bikes, a place to read that isn't your bedroom, and a place for people to visit or crash sign me up(Luckily my place is rent controlled but even that price didn't seem weird for what the got in London). Even in England the chance to use that terrace outweighs the cost but to each their own.

To be fair I am writing this from my kitchen because my friend stopped by after work and started getting sick and throwing up so we couldn't have her either use BART or a Taxi to go home, and we have a frhiend visiting and my boyfriend has to get up at 5 am. I have found extra rooms usually get filled and don't languish. Also, it might be the former Seattlite current SFer but I would get an umbrella and a heating lamp and use that terrace a ton.

Edited December 2, 2016 by biakbiak

[JennyMominFL]

3 hours ago, chocolatine said:

I was wondering about that too, since social work is the kind of field that requires local training and qualifications. She's probably had that remote working arrangement all along and the "will we be able to afford this place on one salary" angst was producer-driven.

It was $400 extra per month. The two-bedroom was $3000/month, and the one-bedroom was $2600/month. The floor plan wasn't the greatest, but it was closer to the tube and had a better kitchen. To each their own, but I'd rather save $4800/year than have a spare bedroom in a place I'm just renting. 

I'm guessing that they were very new to London. I spend a lot of time staying in Putney, right next to Fulham and I got through it a lot. The bus system is extensive and they are on practically every block in Fulham.. And they are cheaper than the metro. None of those homes would have had that long of a commute to Hyde Park. Honestly, most Londoners  are pretty used to a 45 minute to an hour commute. My friend commutes daily from Putney to his job at the BBC in White City. It's just part of life in London. I know exactly were the cheaper place was and they would have had to do a bus to the tube. No different than most Londoners daily commute. Fulham is a great great area, but it's one of the more expensive ones.

[Spunkygal]

Denver to London: yay! My favorite British realtor, Richard Blanco, is back. I was beginning to wonder if he had kicked HHI to the curb. However, I wish he'd trim his beard closer like he used to....it is taking over his face. 

I thought they chose the right flat. The one bedroom gave me claustrophobia. I would have chosen either #1 or #3 but the fact that the first had the outdoor space was my winner. I do appreciate Richard expressing concern about the second bedroom languishing but I doubt it will. Heck, if I had a loved one living in London and they had a corner for me to curl up in, I'd be over the pond twice a year. And with both of them work, which I think they knew all along she had a job, 200 pounds over budget wasn't too bad. 

[juliet73]

I LOVED the London realtor! Husband was fine, but the wife bugged me!  She was such a wet noodle!!  I would have went with  #2. They weren't going to live there forever.  They could have saved the extra money and used it towards traveling (or hotels for when her family is constantly visiting) or towards a future apartment.  I have a feeling if he didn't go with her choice, she would have sulked in the corner until he changed his mind. 

[TVForever]

18 hours ago, chocolatine said:

I was wondering about that too, since social work is the kind of field that requires local training and qualifications. She's probably had that remote working arrangement all along and the "will we be able to afford this place on one salary" angst was producer-driven.

Pretty sure you nailed it. I wish they would stop with this already. 

[AuntiePam]

I liked the Swiss-American couple buying the B&B in Burgundy.  It made sense that they'd go over budget in order to have something ready for guests. 

The other two places were good possibilities too, especially the one that only needed a new kitchen -- that guest suite was the very definition of "charming".  I also would have been leery of the one with the spongy floor.

[TVForever]

Especially since, for the money, the place they chose was ready to rent. The savings of the other places might have been lost in the cost to fix up, plus the "lost" money of not being able to rent right away. 

I don't know why, but I liked that couple too. The husband especially seemed so easy-going and pleased for his wife.

[proserpina65]

On ‎12‎/‎02‎/‎2016 at 8:54 PM, juliet73 said:

I LOVED the London realtor! Husband was fine, but the wife bugged me!  She was such a wet noodle!!  I would have went with  #2. They weren't going to live there forever.  They could have saved the extra money and used it towards traveling (or hotels for when her family is constantly visiting) or towards a future apartment.  I have a feeling if he didn't go with her choice, she would have sulked in the corner until he changed his mind. 

I probably would've gone with flat #3 myself, but was that the one that was OMG! fifteen minutes from the tube station?  Dude annoyed with his whining about that, since a lot of Londoners have a longer walk than that to public transport.  I guess if the outdoor space was that important to them, then it was worth it to go over budget, but still, didn't like either one of them.

But yes, Richard is a doll.  If you haven't seen the HHI:Renovation where he buys and renovates a house in East London, you really should.

Edited to note: outdoor space is not a big deal to me and I wouldn't pay $200 extra every month for it, but I can see where it might be worth it if you really wanted your own outdoor area.

Edited December 5, 2016 by proserpina65

[abbyzenn]

• Swiss-American couple who bought the B&B in Burgandy.  I didn't get why she wanted it there if he is still working in Switzerland.  Certainly Switzerland gets a lot of tourists.  When he kept bringing up about the mortgage on their Swiss house I thought why don't you sell it and rent a small apt since he's only there part of the time.

Is it a trend for young couples to cook in the kitchen together?  They all seem to bring up this as a reason for the kitchen being too small.

[Kohola3]

Quote

Is it a trend for young couples to cook in the kitchen together?  They all seem to bring up this as a reason for the kitchen being too small.

Not in my universe. Half the time the guy doesn't even know how to hold a knife. I think it's just another production-driven plot point.  Gotta have SOME reason to complain.

[biakbiak]

7 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

Not in my universe. Half the time the guy doesn't even know how to hold a knife. I think it's just another production-driven plot point.  Gotta have SOME reason to complain.

Everyone's universe is different in mine it's quite common though not at all limited to young couples. 

[KLovestoShop]

Could not stand the woman buying in Mexico.  To me, she and her male friend seemed to be the poster people for the ugly American.  She had a tiny budget but insisted on having it all.  She didn't seem to get that when you choose a small Mexican city, in the mountains, parking spaces aren't a local priority.  

[Ohwell]

That woman was literally an ugly American.

[mojito]

I thought the Guanajuato lady was fine. Quite enthusiastic, energetic. She had a small budget, but she stuck to it. There were things she wanted, but I didn't think she insisted on anything except a view, and in the end, she got the view. 

Her friend's use of the words "schmutz" and "schlep" was humorous. I liked when he said something like "Only $80,000?!" when he heard her budget. 

I'd like to know how she gets along in Mexico. Kudos to her for having the guts to make a change, going it alone, and sticking to her budget.

[SmithW6079]

3 hours ago, mojito said:

I thought the Guanajuato lady was fine. Quite enthusiastic, energetic. She had a small budget, but she stuck to it. There were things she wanted, but I didn't think she insisted on anything except a view, and in the end, she got the view. 

Her friend's use of the words "schmutz" and "schlep" was humorous. I liked when he said something like "Only $80,000?!" when he heard her budget.

Did she make up a name for the show? "Monisha" is Indian in origin, and she didn't look Indian. In fact, it looked like she was wearing a wig, which made me wonder if she were an Orthodox Jew.

Oy! Her friend was annoying. We get it, you're an effete East Coast Jewish homosexual.

[speac]

I thought the worst problem with the Guanajuato lady and her friend was they were both poor actors.

[chocolatine]

2 hours ago, SmithW6079 said:

Oy! Her friend was annoying. We get it, you're an effete East Coast Jewish homosexual.

Seriously. I grew up with Yiddish-speaking grandparents, and this guy was too much even for me.

3 hours ago, SmithW6079 said:

Did she make up a name for the show? "Monisha" is Indian in origin, and she didn't look Indian. In fact, it looked like she was wearing a wig, which made me wonder if she were an Orthodox Jew.

It's usually only married women who wear wigs. She could be a Hin-Jew (one Indian parent, one Jewish).

[Thumper]

Eh.  I thought they were entertaining.  I didn't put much more thought into it.  I just wondered why she chose the place with all the stairs when she was so concerned about stairs if her parents came to visit.  Producer-driven story line?

[mojito]

Quote

Did she make up a name for the show? "Monisha" is Indian in origin, and she didn't look Indian. 

I have yet to meet anyone named "Michelle" who was French....

[pep4]

So the kid that Larry David gave a sewing machine to grew up and moved to Monaco.

[chocolatine]

Is it just me, or does the husband in the Cheltenham episode totally look like Fabrice Morvan from Milli Vanilli with his hair down and hat on? I kept waiting for him to start singing - or rather lip synching - "Girl You Know It's True" to his wife.

[JennyMominFL]

He did look a bit Milli Vanilli. Boy were they insufferable

[laredhead]

Did anyone else get the impression that he did not want to leave the U.S. to live in England?   

[Ohwell]

9 hours ago, chocolatine said:

Is it just me, or does the husband in the Cheltenham episode totally look like Fabrice Morvan from Milli Vanilli with his hair down and hat on? I kept waiting for him to start singing - or rather lip synching - "Girl You Know It's True" to his wife.

Nah.  Fabrice Morvan is cuter, IMO.

[mojito]

Quote

Did anyone else get the impression that he did not want to leave the U.S. to live in England?

It's like you're in my head, I sensed the very same thing.

Had it not been for his declarations of love for his wife, I might've really disliked the guy. It started with the orange shoes. 

While fast-forwarding through the commercials, there was a promo for "Big Little Lies" with Reese Witherspoon (good book, by the way). Initially I thought it was the wife in this HHI episode and that I had fast-forwarded too far. 

[KLovestoShop]

The friend of the Philippines guy was an immature jerk.  He obviously thought he was hot stuff, yeah right.  He needed to be told that this is his friend's house and not his personal party palace.  

[abbyzenn]

I thought the couple moving from NC to Cheltenham was one of the oddest they've had on this show.  Who has 180 pairs of shoes??????  Hoping not to sound sexist but especially why would a man need/want that many?  I don't know any men who color coordinate their clothes and shoes or for that matter heels vs flats.  So why would you have that many shoes?   Was he planning on doing anything in England other than visit the pubs and make friends?  When they were debating about which flat to rent and she was talking about outdoor space for the dog (which I think is a must) I was thinking well he'll be home all day so he could take the dog out.  She didn't show any personality and he came across as a diva.

[Kohola3]

180 pairs of SHOES?  That means you only wear a pair two days of the year!

[debraran]

I googled their names and found this...nice wedding photos. ; ) Made them have more personality than the show did.

http://www.laurenwrightphoto.com/married-tj-libby-atlanta-ga/

[AuntiePam]

What ticked me off about the Rotterdam couple was her comment that it'd be okay if her pets trashed the furniture, because it was dated anyway. 

So did they have a house in Rochester or not?  At the beginning, he said they sold their furniture and rented their house, and we saw a house.  Toward the end, he said they rented out their 'apartment'.  How long can you live in another country (or anywhere) on what you got from selling furniture and renting a small house in Rochester? 

[Pickles]

I also really disliked the Rotterdam couple. Of course, I posted about it in the wrong thread. Who lets their pets trash the place? They were dimwits.

[chocolatine]

Why bring the pets in the first place if the primary reason for the move is to travel? If they're on a tight budget, adding pet sitting expenses isn't exactly practical. There's also quarantine and many other pet-specific immigration requirements. I'm not a huge pet person myself, so maybe I can't relate, but it just seems like a bad idea all around.

[biakbiak]

19 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

Why bring the pets in the first place if the primary reason for the move is to travel? If they're on a tight budget, adding pet sitting expenses isn't exactly practical. There's also quarantine and many other pet-specific immigration requirements. I'm not a huge pet person myself, so maybe I can't relate, but it just seems like a bad idea all around.

With a health certificate/pet passport, shots and a microchip most places in the EU don't require a quarantine, even the UK doesn't quarantine anymore under those guidelines from most countries.

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, chocolatine said:

Why bring the pets in the first place if the primary reason for the move is to travel? If they're on a tight budget, adding pet sitting expenses isn't exactly practical. There's also quarantine and many other pet-specific immigration requirements. I'm not a huge pet person myself, so maybe I can't relate, but it just seems like a bad idea all around.

Because they're part of the family.  Unless it would be detrimental to them - I'd only be going for a fixed period of time, and the quarantine requirements and my time away made it less stressful for my cats to go live with my parents than come with me - I wouldn't be moving anywhere without my pets.  And the procedures for bringing pets with you into a new country are much easier in many places now than they used to be, so it's largely a non-issue for many moves.

I didn't see this episode, so I don't know what their specific circumstances were.  But, to me, the default is to take your pets and only a set of circumstances that makes that bad for the pets justifies a different choice.

Laughing about undisciplined pets trashing furniture, though - I have nothing for that one.

[StatisticalOutlier]

Re: Rotterdam woman who wanted an oven so bad because she loved to bake.  And what did she bake?  Banana bread.  Even I can make banana bread.  That's not baking.

[cyberfruit]

The second apartment in Rotterdam had me drooling. I want it!

Man, I miss NL sometimes. 

[AuntiePam]

Just now, StatisticalOutlier said:

Re: Rotterdam woman who wanted an oven so bad because she loved to bake.  And what did she bake?  Banana bread.  Even I can make banana bread.  That's not baking.

Tru dat.  Plus, she's in the Netherlands -- there's probably a bakery on every corner. 

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 12/16/2016 at 7:38 AM, abbyzenn said:

I thought the couple moving from NC to Cheltenham was one of the oddest they've had on this show.  Who has 180 pairs of shoes??????  Hoping not to sound sexist but especially why would a man need/want that many?  I don't know any men who color coordinate their clothes and shoes or for that matter heels vs flats.  So why would you have that many shoes?  

I figured he collects them.  Those boxes looked like they were for sneakers, not Cole Haan loafers. 

Sneakers have manufactured drama like release dates and limited editions.  I assume that very serious sneaker collectors never even wear theirs, but I don't know about someone with just a couple hundred pairs. 

[chocolatine]

3 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

I figured he collects them.  Those boxes looked like they were for sneakers, not Cole Haan loafers. 

Sneakers have manufactured drama like release dates and limited editions.  I assume that very serious sneaker collectors never even wear theirs, but I don't know about someone with just a couple hundred pairs. 

A million years ago when I used to watch MTV Cribs (is that show still on?), many of the rappers who were showcasing their houses had huge shoe collections. And most of the shoes looked pristine, so yes, they were treated more as collectors' items than footwear.

[mojito]

Rochester to Rotterdam.

Maybe it was my mood, but the wife irritated me a lot. She'd ask, "Does it have _____?" And when the answer was "no" she said, "I'd rather have _______". Must've been my mood 'cause I normally don't hiss "shut up" at the TV. 

If I were moving to the Netherlands and most of the places didn't have an oven, I would assume that a part of my new lifestyle would be shopping in bakeries. Just like I'd assume that shopping for food would be more of an every day practice and that city areas would have busy streets. What was the woman's problem with the traffic when she couldn't hear it in the apartment?  When the wife talked about banana bread, I thought that it would be funny if the real estate agent said, "Bananas are hard to come by here".

For those of you who have lived in Western Europe....Do you have any sense pet ownership there vs the US? I'm kind of surprised at all the Americans who take their pets to rent city apartments in Europe and points south of the US and then want outdoor space. Outdoor space is about the last thing I would expect to find in an apartment rental. 

[chessiegal]

I've never lived in Western Europe but in June we visited France and stayed in Normandy, Paris, and Provence. My God, the French love their dogs! They take them everywhere - some restaurants even let patrons bring them inside. And they don't pick up after them either, so you have to be careful when you're walking on the sidewalks.

I know someone who lived on a sailboat in the Caribbean for almost a year. She said you could always tell the French boats at anchor by all the laundry hanging everywhere and at least 1 dog, usually more.

[chocolatine]

15 minutes ago, mojito said:

For those of you who have lived in Western Europe....Do you have any sense pet ownership there vs the US? I'm kind of surprised at all the Americans who take their pets to rent city apartments in Europe and points south of the US and then want outdoor space. Outdoor space is about the last thing I would expect to find in an apartment rental. 

I've lived in apartments both in Europe (Germany/UK/Spain) and in the US (Seattle), and in my experience, pet ownership is a lot less common among European apartment dwellers than among US ones. Like the Rotterdam realtor said, many landlords don't allow pets due to the damage they do to flooring and furnishings, and pet sitting/boarding/walking services aren't as common, so pets aren't practical for people with "on the go" lifestyles.

Edited December 18, 2016 by chocolatine

[biakbiak]

It depends. My parents were the only Americans living in their apartment building in Prague and nearly all their neighbors had dogs. My friends recently moved to Berlin and they found it easier to find a place that allowed dogs than they did when living in San Francisco.

[Pine]

Cheltenham couple was confusing, although they were there for her job.

The Rotterdam couple were the most confusing.    They just didn't have an adventuresome personality.   Like the world's largest ball of twine would be more interesting than the Mona Lisa.  I am sounding snobbish, but there's just something off about this couple.

And please do some with your hair Rotterdam HH girl, again just off to me.

Edited December 18, 2016 by Pine

[MsProudSooner]

Was the Rotterdam couple the ones who moved there with no jobs?  How does anyone rent an apartment to people who don't have jobs?  I find that very had to believe.