House Hunters International - General Discussion

[mojito]

Australia to Rome

I liked the boyfriend's place much, much better than the ones she looked at. Yech.

So she's making a living wage escorting visitors around Rome to try out food vendors? I was not creative enough when I chose my line of work.

[CrazyInAlabama]

RVers to Ecuador-I guess they think they're getting a million dollar place for peanuts.      And the shocking raising of the price they can pay, plus building a pool.    Why do they need a pool when the ocean is right there?    And I guess the talk about tsunamis since was just for the show, since they bought right on the beach.  

Edited September 8, 2018 by CrazyInAlabama

[LittleIggy]

Ecuador: Dude, a couple of blocks from the ocean won’t protect you from tsunamis. See those mountains? They will. ?

I thought House 2 was fine. I doubt the relatives in KY would come down to visit a lot. There was that lovely rooftop area plus a huge outdoor living room in the courtyard. 

[biakbiak]

3 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

And the shocking raising of the price they can pay, plus building a pool.    Why do they need a pool when the ocean is right there?   

The pool and ocean are different experiences it’s nice to have both. I would have wanted to buy the land even if not to add the pool because it was so crazy close to their house, in fact I am wondering if it being available as a separate lot was a red herring.

Edited September 8, 2018 by biakbiak

[CrazyInAlabama]

It very well could have been a red herring, but by the realtors to make the story more interesting, because I'm sure they already owned the property.    The HHI episodes have been said to do all types of interesting timeline alterations, so I'm sure it was all for publicity.     

The second one was much nicer, and I imagine the relatives would have survived living in some resort hotel for their stay. 

I have the distinct suspicion that the entire Ecuador HHI was a big advertisement for moving to Ecuador, and staying to spend your money.   I'm guessing that the buyers got a super deal on the house and the land, and a really cheap deal on that pool.   Wonder how they'll feel when the tsunami comes to visit?    

Edited September 9, 2018 by CrazyInAlabama

[Pickles]

The RV to Ecuador was such a farce. The husband basically said he would be happy living in a shack, did not want to go over $150k, cheaper was better, blah, blah. So, they ended up buying the house for $179k and surprise! They suddenly had more money in the budget than they thought and could buy the lot next door and build a pool! For some of these episodes the producers must write a script and hand it to the house hunters. Here is your storyline. Memorize your lines.

[slasherboy]

18 hours ago, biakbiak said:

The pool and ocean are different experiences it’s nice to have both. I would have wanted to buy the land even if not to add the pool because it was so crazy close to their house, in fact I am wondering if it being available as a separate lot was a red herring.

I immediately figured that empty lot went along with the house because they were both enclosed in the same fence.  Nobody would fence in their own home with an empty lot if they didn't already own it.

Very cool just the same, and I liked the couple.  They were fun.

[awaken]

On 9/4/2018 at 9:39 AM, puppytoes said:

St martins episode-  the woman was so annoying and  I wanted to cut that stringy long hair which was so unflattering.

The bleached blonde hair did her no favors. Very Barbie-looking. And you could see the white around her eyes from self tanning, which made me sad. 

I found it distracting how she called it St Marden. 

They seemed like a fun couple though, and seemed to enjoy each other. Curious if the B&B or concierge business ever took off! 

[LittleIggy]

NY to Amsterdam: That tulip farm was gorgeous. I wonder what the girlfriend did for a living. Consulting about what? Being shallow?

[biakbiak]

5 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

NY to Amsterdam: That tulip farm was gorgeous. I wonder what the girlfriend did for a living. Consulting about what? Being shallow?

Based on her story I imagine a very wealthy family. But she consultants for beauty brands.

Edited September 11, 2018 by biakbiak

[Kohola3]

8 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

NY to Amsterdam: That tulip farm was gorgeous. I wonder what the girlfriend did for a living. Consulting about what? Being shallow?

He seemed like a sweet young man, I only hope someone as self-absorbed as she seemed doesn't break his heart.  The pictures of the farm were stunning.  The colors!

[biakbiak]

9 minutes ago, Kohola3 said:

He seemed like a sweet young man, I only hope someone as self-absorbed as she seemed doesn't break his heart.  The pictures of the farm were stunning.  The colors!

At the end it seemed he was actually running a successful international business where a train commute was cool  and not a working farmer. 

I actually found them cute.

[sempervivum]

NY to Amsterdam- He seemed way too young for her. I was also amazed that she hadn't already put him on a teeth-whitening regimen.

That open bathroom was stunning but would be a big NOPE from me.

[LittleIggy]

54 minutes ago, sempervivum said:

NY to Amsterdam- He seemed way too young for her. I was also amazed that she hadn't already put him on a teeth-whitening regimen.

That open bathroom was stunning but would be a big NOPE from me.

Wonder if they could put a curtain across the front of the bathroom area? That really was ridiculous. Every time you hear someone on the steps, you’d have to yell “Stop! On the throne down here.” And I don’t want to think of the smelly times!?

[LittleIggy]

WA to Thailand: I guess the mattresses there are like the ones in China. It was like sleeping on a sheet of plywood. It killed my back.  I finally bought a foam pillow to put on the mattress and sleep on. 

[Pickles]

WA to Thailand. I wasn't convinced the teacher woman was happy to be there. I felt like she was second guessing her decision to move.

[LittleIggy]

1 hour ago, Pickles said:

WA to Thailand. I wasn't convinced the teacher woman was happy to be there. I felt like she was second guessing her decision to move.

That’s understandable early on when you move to foreign country that is so different from what you are used to.

Edited September 12, 2018 by LittleIggy

[KLovestoShop]

Yes, it is daunting to move to a country with a very different culture, but I wonder if the woman had done any kind of research as to what the Thai lifestyle would be.  To me, it appeared she didn’t do much in the way of checking out the Thai way of life.  I tend to agree with Pickles that she found the differences to be too much.  At least she chose the apartment that was in the city where she had access to a lot of activities. 

[biakbiak]

I laughed when the friend In Kirkland said there wouldn’t be any rain, unless your only planning on being there for six months you will definitely be getting rain!

[Pickles]

Oregon to the U.K. That wife drove me crazy. So much talking and a constant smile plastered on her face. She was even grinning like a loon when she talked about her little girl missing her friends and her son being anxious. And I didn't quite understand--she and the husband would both be homeschooling the kids? He was going to be working on US time while in the U.K. Was she working at all? I think she said she gave up her home based business to make the move. I am thinking Beauty Counter, Tupperware, etc. Thought they were ridiculous wanting four bedrooms. When guests come to visit, have the kids share a room. 

[LittleIggy]

Oxfordshire: Yeah, the wife’s manic affect drove me nuts. I thought at the beginning she said they both worked for companies that had opportunities to work overseas. Maybe I misheard. Why were they homeschooling the kids in the UK?  Not as if there was a language barrier. How were the kids going to make friends?

Always great to see Richard! He needs his own HGTV series.

Edited September 13, 2018 by LittleIggy

[biakbiak]

3 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

I thought at the beginning she said they both worked for companies that had opportunities to work overseas.

She did say that and later said she was giving up her home based business to home school so it was confusing.

[Rosebud1970]

Portland to Oxfordshire: Why on earth would you move your kids to a new culture (about which you admit they're 'anxious') and then homeschool them so that they will never get to learn anything about the new culture they've supposedly adopted?

 

Husband's excuse? He's going to be working on US hours and he's never get to see the kids. Well, then, what's the point?

And this insistence on a room for guests? Honey, you're from Portland. Oxford is a long, long way away. Your guests are not rushing to visit.

 

Creepy people. I feel for their kids.

[Kohola3]

2 hours ago, Rosebud1970 said:

Portland to Oxfordshire: Why on earth would you move your kids to a new culture (about which you admit they're 'anxious') and then homeschool them so that they will never get to learn anything about the new culture they've supposedly adopted?

 

Exactly what I kept muttering during that whole mess of an episode.  Nothing like immersing yourself in another culture and shutting yourself and  your kids away from society.  And that whole perky "you must have a good teacher" at the end.  Shut up.

I wanted her to quit yammering and stop grinning like a hyena for one single minute.  Loved it when she said no one had some to visit "but they are coming" with a question mark at the end.  Dollars to donuts nobody shows.  

[doodlebug]

3 hours ago, biakbiak said:

She did say that and later said she was giving up her home based business to home school so it was confusing.

Yeah, it was weird.  I would presume her home-based business was selling Mary Kay or Thirty one.  I doubt her income was significant since she certainly didn't seem worried about losing it.  She was really 'extra' though, wasn't she?  I'd love to join Richard for a cup of tea and snark to talk about her.  All the bragging about how she was going to be expanding her childrens' cultural horizons was way over the top considering they were in ENGLAND, for God's sake and she wasn't even going to let them interact with the locals at school.  Poor kids, she must be exhausting to be around, she seems to always be 'on', definitely an attention-seeker.

Meanwhile, the husband was a bundle of anxiety.  No wonder their son is anxious.  He said he took a pay cut and would be working US hours, there was no talk of a commute for him; it sounded like they (she) chose Oxfordshire because it was 'Englishy' and suited her fantasies of life in Britain.  That being the case, he is probably working from home, too, so why couldn't he join the kids for breakfast?  There are plenty of parents who work second shift who still manage to interact with their kids, including mine.  My dad got up early, made us breakfast and took us to school every day because he worked evenings and often didn't get home before we were in bed. I probably spent more time with him than my friends did with their dads who worked days. It's not that hard.

The four bedroom thing was puzzling.  A sofa bed or futon would've worked well enough.  The kids could double up with an air mattress in one of their rooms.  The house they chose was large enough, but I thought the décor was kind of appalling but it seemed to fit right in with the wife's aesthetic despite her protestations.

[doodlebug]

4 minutes ago, Kohola3 said:

Exactly what I kept muttering during that whole mess of an episode.  Nothing like immersing yourself in another culture and shutting yourself and  your kids away from society.  And that whole perky "you must have a good teacher" at the end.  Shut up.

I wanted her to quit yammering and stop grinning like a hyena for one single minute.  Loved it when she said no one had some to visit "but they are coming" with a question mark at the end.  Dollars to donuts nobody shows.  

Somehow, I think the family and friends back in Portland are glad to have a break from her.

[scootypuffjr]

Portland to Oxfordshire. You guys said it all already. The wife was driving me nuts, smiling SO BIG all the time; it was creepy, it got so I had to avert my eyes during her talking heads. The husband said he could tell by her expression when she really liked something - how could that be? Her expression never changed. Ever. And why home school? Isn't that part of the local experience? And how are the kids supposed to make friends?

And I am so beyond tired of "friends and family, friends and family" and needing an extra bedroom- I am at least aware enough that if I moved overseas, or even to the other side of the country (or even a couple of states away), I'm not seeing my ex-local friends again, unless I travel back myself. And maybe I'd see my family once a year, if I was lucky. Do these people think they're so exceptional and irreplaceable that everyone they know will want to spend all their vacation time and money going to see them? At least the wife admitted that no one had come to visit yet, but remained (characteristically) optimistic.

Yay for Richard Blanco! Always a pleasure.

I know I just repeated everything y'all already said, but I had to vent. Phew! I feel a little better now :-)

[Vivigirl10]

Quote

When guests come to visit, have the kids share a room. 

Thank you and for everyone else commenting the same thing!  I was yelling at the screen, are you not thinking of this easy fix??  Frustrating and stupid episode. 

[Ohwell]

Oxfordshire:   In the beginning when the couple was talking with the real estate agent, I was just waiting for her to mention "English charm" and when she did, I immediately changed the channel.  Plus, she had a creepy grin. 

[mojito]

Portland to Oxfordshire:

I thought I had nothing else to add to previous comments. But then I wondered one thing: we only saw the kitchen of the first place, not the other two places. I was looking forward to this starry-eyed mother's comments about English style when she took a gander of the kitchens. (I have never used the word gander before. Where did that come from?) I thought not showing the kitchens was a glaring omission. 

I hated the way the mother seemed to be trying to force her opinions on her kids. It doesn't have the charm "we" want, etc. Yeah, I'll bet the kids were losing sleep over that.

scooty, I agree with you about local friends. They tend to forget you once you move away. 

I think Aubrey from Flip or Flop Vegas had something to do with the decor of the place they picked.

The husband's talk about working the hours he'll be working struck me as bogus. I've worked three different shifts and what he'd be working, considering the time difference, would be the equivalent of a swing shift (4 pm to 12 pm or 1:00 am local time). Big deal.

I get the feeling the home schooling is a way to make the wife feel useful. How are your kids going to show off their new British accents if they don't get enough exposure to them? What will all your visiting friends think if you don't sound British and live in an ordinary home? Bet she fakes an accent when they come to visit.

[scrb]

I’m thinking the guest room for friends and family is a producer suggestion.

There may be some people who plan to have people over a lot but either drop it after awhile or their guests don’t bother unless it’s some glamorous locale.

[ML89]

Portland to Oxfordshire: that whole thing was weird. I do have to agree that the first house was a white box - wow, was that a white box and I usually don't have a problem with neutrals. I would have been in house 2, unless that was a bad neighborhood in Oxford, because you were in Oxford. For all her claims about not wanting suburbia and to be part of the English culture, she's home schooling and the kids are playing in the back yard? 

Also what is this Oxford Castle thing? I did a summer semester at Oxford in the late 80s and I don't remember this at all. Looks like some new tourist trap thing.

But her grin was completely creepy and I got the feeling hubbie just went along - he seemed like he got dragged into the marriage, the kids, the job change - and seriously, it's Oxford, it's not Thailand. I'm sure the Washington girl would have been happy to trade with them.

[puppytoes]

13 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Oxfordshire: Yeah, the wife’s manic affect drove me nuts. I thought at the beginning she said they both worked for companies that had opportunities to work overseas. Maybe I misheard. Why were they homeschooling the kids in the UK?  Not as if there was a language barrier. How were the kids going to make friends?

Always great to see Richard! He needs his own HGTV series.

She was a manic Barbie!  The children should have been enrolled in an English school so they could interact with other local children.  I found Barbie to be very selfish.

[ML89]

14 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Always great to see Richard! He needs his own HGTV series.

I like this idea. Richard and Arlene from France, maybe? They can roam around Europe and give house tours. Sort of David and Hillary without the house renovation drama.

[javajeanelaine]

Portland woman: NO ONE is coming!

 

I'm hoping that the guest room thing is a producer driven suggestion.  Otherwise, it's crazy.  It's an expensive proposition to fly overseas.  I have a friend in Oxfordshire who I visited four years ago.  She wants to know when I'm coming again.  Let me save up some $$$!

[izabella]

They should have gone with needing the extra bedroom for his home office since he'd be working from home.  No one is visiting you from Oregon!  I moved from the midwest to California for seven years, and my family visited twice, and if friends visited, it was because they were already in town for a conference or something. 

[Ohwell]

2 hours ago, ML89 said:

I like this idea. Richard and Arlene from France, maybe? They can roam around Europe and give house tours. Sort of David and Hillary without the house renovation drama.

And I'd include that cute realtor from Ireland with the delightful Irish accent.

[ML89]

18 minutes ago, Ohwell said:

And I'd include that cute realtor from Ireland with the delightful Irish accent.

I almost put him in the original idea! Yes, definitely. 

[Rosebud1970]

11 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

Exactly what I kept muttering during that whole mess of an episode.  Nothing like immersing yourself in another culture and shutting yourself and  your kids away from society.  And that whole perky "you must have a good teacher" at the end.  Shut up.

I wanted her to quit yammering and stop grinning like a hyena for one single minute.  Loved it when she said no one had some to visit "but they are coming" with a question mark at the end.  Dollars to donuts nobody shows.  

And another thing.

What was with the weird insistence on buying their own furniture? They apparently weren't planning on shipping their stuff from the US to the UK, yet did not want a furnished place. So...? Why insist on buying furniture for a rental? Foreign cooties? 

I'm at a loss to explain this. Either the HHs want an unfurnished place because they're bringing their stuff; or they want a furnished place because they've left everything behind/sold it to fund the trip.

But this? Goes along with the other weirdnesses.

[Kohola3]

41 minutes ago, Rosebud1970 said:

Why insist on buying furniture for a rental?

To "make their own"?  At the same time they were talking about his pay cut and having to stick within a budget. Furniture is NOT cheap!

[jcbrown]

I agree with everything that has been said about the scary manic wife in the Portland to UK episode. Why take a pay cut for an ex-pat assignment so you can move overseas, continue to work on US time, and try to prevent your kids from being exposed to a new culture by home-schooling them? I've never heard of taking a pay cut for an ex-pat assignment. Maybe they were on the run from the law? I know you probably wouldn't go on a TV show then but they did seem pretty dim.

[Babalooie]

Just for fun...here he is!    

http://www.richardblanco.com/profile/

[Kohola3]

The Tulum couple - I was continuously distracted by that sun damage (hopefully not cancerous) spot on the Realtor's arm!

[LittleIggy]

49 minutes ago, Kohola3 said:

The Tulum couple - I was continuously distracted by that sun damage (hopefully not cancerous) spot on the Realtor's arm!

OMG, yes! Me too! And all those freckles on her arms. 

I did like the husband saying the “kids” didn’t get any say in what they bought since the kids weren’t buying it. I’m glad they picked that house. It was my fave.

4 hours ago, Rosebud1970 said:

And another thing.

What was with the weird insistence on buying their own furniture? They apparently weren't planning on shipping their stuff from the US to the UK, yet did not want a furnished place. So...? Why insist on buying furniture for a rental? Foreign cooties? 

 

The manic wife mentioned not furnished not the husband. He wasn’t insisting on not furnished. In any case, they chose the garishly furnished place.

[LittleIggy]

9 hours ago, ML89 said:

I like this idea. Richard and Arlene from France, maybe? They can roam around Europe and give house tours. Sort of David and Hillary without the house renovation drama.

I’d rather watch them have cocktails and dish about the craziest/weirdest clients they have shown homes to.

[sempervivum]

11 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

The Tulum couple - I was continuously distracted by that sun damage (hopefully not cancerous) spot on the Realtor's arm!

Yes, she had a cute face,  but I kept thinking 'Honey, look into sleeves'. Also long pants, actually.

I wonder what the skin cancer rates are among expats in these tropical paradise places ? The husband's bald head already seemed to have some skin lesion-looking things on it, and bikini wife won't keep that nice (for her age) body skin long the way she's exposing it (too late for her face).

The place they choose was pretty, but I don't understand how it could be so 'private' when it was squashed between 2 much taller buildings-at least one of which had windows overlooking the HH house.

[debbie311]

Portland to UK.  She wore me out.  No one is going to visit you honey.  I am sure your "friends and family" are glad for the break from you.  I thought the husband looked very unhappy.  When wife described husband, she said "He is very practical and thinks about money." Um ... yeah, and lucky for you that he does.

When the episode started, I said to my husband, I am sure they are moving to Europe to be able to "spend more time together as a family."  Because we know that's not possible in the U.S.  Another thing that bugs me.

[Kohola3]

2 hours ago, debbie311 said:

Because we know that's not possible in the U.S.  Another thing that bugs me.

Yeah, we 'Muricans are just to danged busy to even acknowledge our families.  We are off doing, well, apparently something else.  Not sure what that is though.  All of the families I know spend plenty of time doing things together.

I guess these idiots will spend lots of time together since they are apparently going to be locked in that house 24/7 since the kids are not venturing out to school and he's working from home.  

[Ohwell]

5 hours ago, sempervivum said:

I wonder what the skin cancer rates are among expats in these tropical paradise places ? The husband's bald head already seemed to have some skin lesion-looking things on it, and bikini wife won't keep that nice (for her age) body skin long the way she's exposing it (too late for her face).

Both husband and wife seemed to want to show off their bodies.  In the opening credits it showed him with his shirt off and her romping in a bikini.  Granted, they were in good shape, but I predict they'll be looking like rotisserie chickens pretty soon if they don't cover up, especially her. 

And the real estate agent (if that's what she really is) needs to go to a dermatologist, ASAP.  That thing on her arm didn't look good, and her skin was parched.

[puppytoes]

17 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

The Tulum couple - I was continuously distracted by that sun damage (hopefully not cancerous) spot on the Realtor's arm!

Agree and she really can’t carry off the one shoulder outfit.