House Hunters International - General Discussion

[awaken]

Yeah, what was that little room off the bathroom where he wondered if the neighbors would hear him?  

And I can’t see how an average sized person could fit in that little toilet room!

really enjoyed seeing Hungary though!  

[seacliffsal]

That small toilet room in the Budapest reminded me so much of a similar sized toilet room I had in my apartment in Japan.  Couldn't really close the door as my knees extended past the door jam.  Fun times.

[ZoZose]

Yeah I doubt that the internet English teachers are still in Budapest. They were pleasant enough but they seemed like they were just trying out living there for a little while, not long term. I didn't see the beginning so didn't hear about leaving their dog behind. That first apartment was quite seedy looking I thought. The huge garbage cans filled with garbage right in the lobby would have turned me off immediately. I wondered how often they're emptied and whose responsibility it is. Also, in winter/bad weather, if the garbage couldn't be picked up, wouldn't the lobby start to smell? Ok so I overthought this one at lot lol. And was there graffiti or some kinda writing on the wall of the balcony of that place? Just odd, like that toilet cubicle with the door that couldn't close once you're sitting on the toilet. 

[SmithW6079]

Ecuador: what a couple of morons. Who decides to move to a beachfront community when they're afraid of the ocean and tsunamis? Did the wife know how ridiculous she sounded? And he was no better. Plus, all the bickering was uncomfortable to watch.

On 4/27/2018 at 10:47 PM, laredhead said:

I did enjoy the animation of the giant squid snatching the fisherman off the beach when they showed the maps of each place they looked at. 

Shoot. I wasn't paying attention. I love the maps. 

Hungary: I found them a little annoying, but I liked the apartment they got, even though they complained about neighbors having to pass their windows on the common walkway.

Spain: This couple was relatively low drama, although the husband got a little annoying with his complaint about close neighbors.

Do these people not understand how apartments work? I'm househunting myself, mostly looking at co-ops, and I know that I will have to deal with neighbors that are basically on top of me and who will pass in front of my windows. That's why they make curtains and drapes. 

[Kohola3]

23 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

At the beginning of the episode the narrator spoke about how they had to change their lives and make sacrifices in order to move and they mentioned that they had to "get rid of their beloved dog."

You don't "get rid" of a "beloved dog" for convenience.  You don't get rid of any living creature just because it's convenient. That "sacrifice" was for their own selfish reasons and it was the dog that suffered.  Unless I was in the military and had no other option than to leave any animal behind (and there are people like me that sign up to take them in for the deployment period) there are few acceptable excuses for that kind of behavior.  Beloved my ass.

[rlc]

Freiburg: Run, Gordon, run!

[Irlandesa]

On 4/28/2018 at 4:37 PM, laredhead said:

Anyone think the Dallas to Budapest couple is still in Budapest?

I don't know but I did notice a mistake with the voiceover.  She said that the couple moved from Budapest to Dallas instead of from Dallas to Budapest.

[magemaud]

2 hours ago, rlc said:

Freiburg: Run, Gordon, run!

Her laugh drove me up the wall and she was SO bossy! 

[Ohwell]

And on a shallow note, Freiburg woman was in serious need of some Proactiv for her skin.

Edited May 1, 2018 by Ohwell

[magemaud]

6 hours ago, Ohwell said:

 

And on a shallow note, Budapest woman was in serious need of some Proactiv for her skin.

 

So was Freiburg woman 

Edited May 1, 2018 by magemaud

[IrishImport]

14 hours ago, rlc said:

Freiburg: Run, Gordon, run!

Gordon was adorable. And seemed so nice. But his girlfriend, that voice, that laugh, that attitude. Could barely watch but wanted to see more of Gordon. No wonder she’s worried about being together longer than 90 days! Maybe it was just camera nerves. Hope she’s nicer in person. He must like her for some reason.  

And the place they chose...that “kitchen” is smallest I’ve ever seen. They must eat out a lot. 

Edited May 1, 2018 by IrishImport
Typo

[sempervivum]

Freiburg girl- it's crazy, but it's so rare to see anyone with bad skin on this show that I was totally distracted. She looked like a burn victim; I mean, it's her call, but you're going to be on a very popular TV show, a little concealer would be nice. 

[Ohwell]

3 hours ago, magemaud said:

So was Freiburg woman 

Oops, that's who I meant.  I'll make the correction. ; )

[Spunkygal]

Freiburg woman: "I think not-so-normal suits us."

Me: "You said it!"

Edited May 1, 2018 by Spunkygal

[slasherboy]

On 4/29/2018 at 10:57 AM, Kohola3 said:

You don't "get rid" of a "beloved dog" for convenience.  You don't get rid of any living creature just because it's convenient. That "sacrifice" was for their own selfish reasons and it was the dog that suffered.  Unless I was in the military and had no other option than to leave any animal behind (and there are people like me that sign up to take them in for the deployment period) there are few acceptable excuses for that kind of behavior.  Beloved my ass.

I'm in the camp that immediately hated (yes, hated) these people for abandoning their dog.  Yes, I know (think!) they didn't literally leave it in the street alone, but even re-homing a pet (beloved? yeah, right!) just so they can be international jet-setters (haha) is no excuse.  When someone adopts an animal, it's a lifelong (for the pet) commitment.  I would never, ever, ever do what they did.  Hate them.  

[nanometer]

4 hours ago, IrishImport said:

Gordon was adorable. And seemed so nice. But his girlfriend, that voice, that laugh, that attitude. Could barely watch but wanted to see more of Gordon. No wonder she’s worried about being together longer than 90 days! Maybe it was just camera nerves. Hope she’s nicer in person. He must like her for some reason.

I also wondered about camera nerves. Either that or she's really that awkward. I also got the vibe that she likes him more than he likes her.

Remember when Gordon explained the meaning of falling into one of the street canals—that you'll marry a Freiburger? Looked like she was tempted to fall in after he said that. So awkward (again!)

[chessiegal]

13 hours ago, Ohwell said:

And on a shallow note, Freiburg woman was in serious need of some Proactiv for her skin.

As someone with Rosacea, I emphasize. I have a topical cream that helps once I've taken antibiotics to get it under control. I mentioned to my dermatologist that stress seems to bring outbreaks. His response - absolutely.

[chocolatine]

Did Gordon say what he was going to school for? Freiburg has a very good university (I almost did a second masters' degree there), so I'm wondering what necessitates having him go to school an hour away. While I think the girlfriend was selfish to make him do all the driving, I wonder why he can't commute by train. Germany has an excellent public transit system, and even small towns get hourly train service. The train wouldn't take much longer than driving, and he could sleep or study during the commute. And I have to agree with the girlfriend that living in Freiburg gives them more to do. If I had a choice between living in a lively city with a longer commute, or a sleepy village with a shorter commute, I'd choose the city. 

[Irlandesa]

3 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

While I think the girlfriend was selfish to make him do all the driving, I wonder why he can't commute by train. Germany has an excellent public transit system, and even small towns get hourly train service. The train wouldn't take much longer than driving, and he could sleep or study during the commute. And I have to agree with the girlfriend that living in Freiburg gives them more to do. If I had a choice between living in a lively city with a longer commute, or a sleepy village with a shorter commute, I'd choose the city. 

We had too little information but I thought her position that they should live in Freiburg was perhaps more practical than they let on.  If they live in between, they might need two cars which could be costly.  Of course, if there are trains, they could both commute but going out on the town would be difficult if they didn't choose one city or the other. (Not that we know what the other town is since they didn't even look at an apartment where he went to school.)  Another thing to consider is that he might not go to school every day.  The commute might be 45 minutes but one he only does a few days a week as opposed to her every day job.

[Ohwell]

10 hours ago, chessiegal said:

As someone with Rosacea, I emphasize. I have a topical cream that helps once I've taken antibiotics to get it under control. I mentioned to my dermatologist that stress seems to bring outbreaks. His response - absolutely.

I hope you meant "empathize."

[chessiegal]

5 hours ago, Ohwell said:

I hope you meant "empathize."

Yes! 

[AnnaRose]

On 5/1/2018 at 4:57 PM, slasherboy said:

I'm in the camp that immediately hated (yes, hated) these people for abandoning their dog.  Yes, I know (think!) they didn't literally leave it in the street alone, but even re-homing a pet (beloved? yeah, right!) just so they can be international jet-setters (haha) is no excuse.  When someone adopts an animal, it's a lifelong (for the pet) commitment.  I would never, ever, ever do what they did.  Hate them.  

I won't get into judging them on their motives, but I disagree about re-homing a dog to another loving home.  I had a boyfriend long ago and his ex-wife in another state got engaged, and the new fiancee didn't want their son's dog and wanted to put it to sleep. (Now that was terrible!)  I drove to that state to take the dog until their son was able to move and live with his father and take the dog back.  I adored that dog and totally spoiled her... and she was happy as could be with me.   I had her for about a year and a half, and then she went to live with my boyfriend and his son, and although I was broken-hearted, she was still happy to have kind, loving people taking care of her.

[awaken]

Freiburg woman was annoying. If she didn’t want to compromise on their first apartment together to make it doable for him, I’m not sure moving in together is going to work out very well!  And they both looked in need of a good hair washing. 

[magemaud]

On 4/26/2018 at 6:33 PM, IrishImport said:

 

I liked the guys looking to start a B&B in Tuscany too. But I had to laugh when the realtor said it was only a 10 minute walk to that beautiful hilltop town. Only if you’re a mountain goat. 

 

Friends and I rented a villa in Sant’ Albino, the town where they didn’t buy the last house because it was too far from Montepulciano. I had to laugh when they claimed the place they bought, which looks like it’s at the bottom of the mountain, was a ten minute walk to town. Even in a car, it was a steep climb and I can’t imagine anyone walking up or down  that road. 

Edited May 3, 2018 by magemaud

[Thumper]

Texas newlyweds moving to London.  The very young wife so annoying.  "Notting Hill, charm, Notting Hill, charm, Notting Hill, lather-rinse-repeat ..."  Ugh.

Edited May 3, 2018 by Thumper

[doodlebug]

1 hour ago, Thumper said:

Texas newlyweds moving to London.  The very young wife so annoying.  "Notting Hill, charm, Notting Hill, charm, Notting Hill, lather-rinse-repeat ..."  Ugh.

Truly one of the worst, expecting ‘London charm’ on a tight budget.  Heck, she complained about using metric settings on the oven!   So whiney!  Not sure why she thought a basement studio was so  fab  just because it was in a more expensive neighborhood. And the ‘charming’ fireplace that she had to have was obviously not usable, so who cares? She came across as very snobby and, at the end, was so self congratulatory for being so terribly brave in moving ‘halfway around the world’ to London!

[magemaud]

She was annoying, but we were treated to RICHARD and his great snarky comments! 

[doodlebug]

5 hours ago, magemaud said:

She was annoying, but we were treated to RICHARD and his great snarky comments! 

Hey, he was ready to ‘tear his hair out’ in frustration over their demands. Love him!

[TVForever]

Texas Newlyweds to London:

I’m usually pretty good at reminding myself that the person I’m seeing on the show isn’t necessarily what she/he is like IRL, that much of what they’re saying is producer-driven. But it was REALLY hard to do with that woman. Oh my goodness, was she annoying.

The first apartment had the most space and should have been fine. Granted, being next to a schoolyard might not be the best place for someone working from home, but I suspect that would not have been an issue if the apt was next to a school in her precious Notting Hill. She was just determined to find something wrong with the place because it was in the wrong neighborhood. A non-working fireplace, 2 steps down into the kitchen, no London charm in the kitchen. No, no, and no, complete with her shaking her head. I liked the studio also. It was cute and perfectly large enough for a couple. Over budget, but just eat out less. At least they’re both working. The Accountant and his Princess should be just fine.

[DanielleBowden]

Was there any closet space in the flat they chose?  I didn't see any but she was complaining about the small closet in the 3rd flat.  Also, plenty of space to swing various cats!  Love Richard!  

[Vivigirl10]

Quote

2 steps down into the kitchen

OMG! Now not only do we have to worry about children falling to their deaths off of a few steps, grown adults are susceptible too! She literally described going down two steps as "dangerous".  For real.  Dangerous. 

Quote

 And the ‘charming’ fireplace that she had to have was obviously not usable, so who cares? 

I immediately laughed at that too.

1 hour ago, cecehe said:

Was there any closet space in the flat they chose? 

I didn't see any!  When they were standing in the kitchen, there was a set of metal bars there.  I wonder if that's where you'd hang your clothes??

[sempervivum]

London couple- I couldn't believe this 'princess' claimed she had to (martyred sigh) be forced into moving-temporarily-from LUBBOCK TEXAS to LONDON! Oh the humanity.

They could have purchased one of those Victorian cast iron mini-fireplace surrounds at one of the many, many collectible dealers in London, and propped it up in one of the other, cheaper places, since that seemed to be the only thing in the studio that she actually considered 'charm'.

Hubby was cute and had a nice dry sense of humor.

[mojito]

Notting Hill nitwit seemed to be one who wanted to be able to tell people that she lived in Notting Hill, just like she wanted to tell all her friends in Lubbock that she had a big house in Dallas. She did not put her best foot forward, and seemed more shallow than sophisticated.

I wonder, when people get a unique "opportunity" to go overseas for a job, just how long they'd unsuccessfully been job hunting in the US beforehand. In this case, I doubt that the husband was getting paid much, considering his budget, and I would think if the company were subsidizing him at all, he would have had been able to afford a better place. I've a feeling that that the purchase of that big house in Dallas was not at all imminent and wasn't put on the back burner because of his landing this job in England. 

[Spunkygal]

We are going to London in July and I want to look her up so I can kick her ass. I promise y'all, not everyone in Texas is this ridiculous. She embarrasses me. Oh, and I want to take Richard out for drinks.....many drinks! ?

Edited May 4, 2018 by Spunkygal

[laredhead]

The Texas woman was yet another whiny wife who has been ripped from her homeland to be dragged across the ocean to a foreign country.  Oh good grief, get over your princess self I kept yelling at the TV.  Embrace the experience, and realize you could have been sent to someplace less desirable.  If I heard Notting Hill one more time I was going to throw up.  

A couple of things - don't try to navigate those kitchen stairs in 4" shoes.  Wear something more sensible and problem solved.  In the first apartment she went on and on about both of them not being able to be in the bathroom to get ready in the morning at the same time.  She works from home!  She can get ready anytime.  She doesn't have to be in there with her husband at the same time.  Someone upthread said she wouldn't have complained about the school yard at the first place if the address had been in Nottingham, and they are correct.  This woman goes into my top ten list of the HHI most whiny women.

There was a small cabinet in the room where the fold down bed was located.  Nowhere near the size of the closet in the 3rd one, and probably about the size of the storage unit in the first one.

[Ohwell]

The funny/sad thing about Princess Notting HIll is that I'd bet good money the only thing she knows about the area is what she saw in the movie.  She probably imagines herself standing in front of Hugh Grant.   

[doodlebug]

3 hours ago, Ohwell said:

The funny/sad thing about Princess Notting HIll is that I'd bet good money the only thing she knows about the area is what she saw in the movie.  She probably imagines herself standing in front of Hugh Grant.   

I thought the same thing; and/or it was the only part of London that her nitwit Texas friends would recognize, other than Buckingham Palace; so she had to live there so they could be jealous.  I’ve never been to Lubbock, but I’ve been to London many times and would jump at the chance to live there myself.

Edited May 4, 2018 by doodlebug

[chocolatine]

1 hour ago, Ohwell said:

The funny/sad thing about Princess Notting HIll is that I'd bet good money the only thing she knows about the area is what she saw in the movie.  She probably imagines herself standing in front of Hugh Grant.   

This x 1000! Notting Hill in and of itself isn't that special other than having a silly rom-com named after it. There are many neighborhoods in Northwest London that are just as "charming" but cheaper.  

[Babalooie]

4 hours ago, laredhead said:

she went on and on about both of them not being able to be in the bathroom to get ready in the morning at the same time.  She works from home! 

I caught that, too.  My main regret was that Richard the agent didn't eat them alive with the snark.

[doodlebug]

32 minutes ago, Babalooie said:

I caught that, too.  My main regret was that Richard the agent didn't eat them alive with the snark.

I wish one of these days, we'd get an extended version with behind the scenes commentary from Richard concerning the caliber of clients he deals with on this show.  I'd pay to watch that.

[chocolatine]

13 minutes ago, doodlebug said:

I wish one of these days, we'd get an extended version with behind the scenes commentary from Richard concerning the caliber of clients he deals with on this show.  I'd pay to watch that.

Maybe he'll write a tell-all book.

[SmithW6079]

On 5/1/2018 at 5:52 PM, nanometer said:

I also wondered about camera nerves. Either that or she's really that awkward. I also got the vibe that she likes him more than he likes her.

Remember when Gordon explained the meaning of falling into one of the street canals—that you'll marry a Freiburger? Looked like she was tempted to fall in after he said that. So awkward (again!)

 

On 5/1/2018 at 10:20 PM, chessiegal said:

As someone with Rosacea, I emphasize. I have a topical cream that helps once I've taken antibiotics to get it under control. I mentioned to my dermatologist that stress seems to bring outbreaks. His response - absolutely.

Aw, I kind of liked the girlfriend in Germany. I think she was nervous, sure, but I also think she's generally socially awkward. Her skin was bad, but as someone who has rosacea too (currently it's in remission) it didn't look like a typical rosacea rash. 

I didn't like the apartment they chose, with the teeny-tiny kitchen.

Portugal couple: The wife was really annoying at first, especially when she kept going on and on about the slanted ceilings in the first house. Not that she wasn't right, but know when to shut up about something. And every time she mentioned about the kids destroying the antique furniture, I wanted to shout at her to teach the kids to respect where they lived. I couldn't believe the housing prices.

Mexico: I may have whined "No" out loud when the couple rejected the amazing high-rise apartment. I get why they did, but it was absolutely stunning. The view (especially down at the pool) freaked me out a little, but overall, it was gorgeous. I thought the wife (as usual) was being selfish with her attitude of "maybe the kids will like a 30-minute walk to school."

[mojito]

NC/MA to Adelaide

The husband declared that he wanted to move to Australia because they have such a good work-life balance there. So what is he doing? Working his same job in Adelaide for the same company. How does that make sense? Maybe it is his goal was to land another job in Australia.  

You gotta have great job security to take your American job with you elsewhere. You can be the great employee who doesn't require housing in an office building. You can also be the one people think of as making it difficult to schedule meetings with because of the time difference. I've been through that a lot. Somebody will be working off hours; most likely on those days he'll be working in the evening and maybe into the wee hours. I wonder what it's like to be laid off when you're working overseas?

I liked that the mother was happy about there being an upstairs. Apparently, she's experienced at teaching small children to go up and down the stairs and not break their necks. Perhaps she should teach this skill online. 

[Pickles]

NC to Adelaide. There was clearly much missing from the backstory. The wife said she and her parents had vacationed there last year and then she decided they just HAD to move there. Really? And what did the wife do for a living? She mentioned she would be working. Yes, the husband is doing the same accounting job that he did in NC. It is on his LinkedIn. No mention of Australia. I thought it was a weird episode.

[Kohola3]

1 hour ago, mojito said:

The husband declared that he wanted to move to Australia because they have such a good work-life balance there. So what is he doing? Working his same job in Adelaide for the same company. How does that make sense?

I wondered that as well. Working at home means less commuting time so he has more to spend with the kids?  You don't need to move halfway across the world to do that;  just set up a workstation in your current home and tell your boss you aren't driving in anymore.  And if the whole thing was so that he could be near a beach, the US has plenty of coastline to chose from.  The whole thing was goofy.

And having worked for a multinational corporation, scheduling meetings can be a nightmare. I had to go into the office in the middle of the night for some overseas meetings.  Or those in Europe or Asia did - we took turns to make it fair.

[laredhead]

"I liked that the mother was happy about there being an upstairs. Apparently, she's experienced at teaching small children to go up and down the stairs and not break their necks. Perhaps she should teach this skill online. " - LOL, loved that one, Mojito. 

The condo they chose is really small, and the bathroom they showed looks really tiny.  I'm not a fan of the huge bathrooms that most HH's seem to want, but this one was even too small for me. 

Maybe the husband does a type of work that he doesn't have to interact with his co-workers or clients very often, but I can see how the time/date difference could be a problem.  Never thought about it before.  I generally enjoy the Australian episodes, and did enjoy seeing the children at the animal exhibits.

[chocolatine]

On 5/4/2018 at 2:06 PM, mojito said:

The husband declared that he wanted to move to Australia because they have such a good work-life balance there. So what is he doing? Working his same job in Adelaide for the same company. How does that make sense? Maybe it is his goal was to land another job in Australia. 

In my experience, having the same job in another country can make a big difference. I used to work for a large international tech/e-commerce company headquartered in the US. I worked at the company's German office my first three years there, and then transferred to the HQ in the US. I was still doing the same job, but on a different team. In Germany, I had three more weeks of vacation time, and rarely had to work evenings or weekends. If I had to work in the middle of the night - fixing a bug when I was on call, or rolling out a new feature - I was entitled to 10 hours of "continuous rest" per German law, so if I was up until 2am working, I didn't have to work again until noon. My German boss never sent me "urgent" emails outside of work hours.

In the US, doing the same job, I regularly worked evenings and weekends (as did all of my coworkers), my boss regularly emailed me on weekends expecting an immediate reply, and made me pull all-nighters to put together all the data she needed for a presentation she was giving the next morning (I was never told about those presentations more than 24 hours in advance). Granted, the company is notorious for the brutal way they treat their employees (you may or may not have read a New York Times article about it a few years ago), but countries like Germany have laws in place to prevent that.

[Kohola3]

12 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

...but countries like Germany have laws in place to prevent that.

Yeah, from what I've heard, many many countries treat workers so much better than the US.  Work life balance is considerably better.  Not sure about Australia but it's possible.

[mojito]

Quote

In my experience, having the same job in another country can make a big difference. I used to work for a large international tech/e-commerce company headquartered in the US. I worked at the company's German office my first three years there, and then transferred to the HQ in the US. 

I didn't hear him say that he transferred to a branch office or headquarters in Australia and was now reporting to different management, so it was my understanding that he was merely doing his job for his US company in Australia. Your scenario makes sense, though, if he's reporting to Australian management now. I've worked for many large high-tech corporations, and work-life balance much depended on your management. My last two managers didn't like me working many extra hours.

[Vivigirl10]

On ‎5‎/‎4‎/‎2018 at 2:43 PM, Pickles said:

NC to Adelaide. There was clearly much missing from the backstory.

My only thought was the husband had had an affair and the wife was moving him as far away from the mistress as possible! 

 

On ‎5‎/‎4‎/‎2018 at 1:06 PM, mojito said:

I liked that the mother was happy about there being an upstairs. Apparently, she's experienced at teaching small children to go up and down the stairs and not break their necks. Perhaps she should teach this skill online. 

  Maybe she can teach adults too?  So the Notting Hill Wife won't fall to her death off of her two kitchen steps?