House Hunters International - General Discussion

[LittleIggy]

3 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

Or that the streets were heated.  Looks like a place I'd like to visit since I love winter.

Me, too!

[mojito]

Switzerland to Finland

Geez, 20 minutes is too long to walk? Someone smack that girl for me. She acted as though she'd be wearing snowshoes and slogging through a couple feet of snow each day. And it's not like she's coming from a balmy climate. And what's with everything that's been around for more than a few minutes being "old"? Kids today. They're so annoying and spoiled and they won't stay off my lawn. 

But at least she didn't pick the place that was $200 over her budget.

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 2/1/2019 at 8:52 AM, sempervivum said:

Merida -They were desperate to have their kids 'learn about how other people live'. So instead of the first place, which looked to be in an actual lower middle class neighborhood,

I didn't see the episode, but have a friend who's looking into moving to Merida who did see it, and she said they showed one place in Progreso, but didn't show or mention the bad stuff there, like street dogs, trash, and abandoned houses.  That would be a little too much local color for me.

She also said the rents mentioned on the show seemed kind of high compared to what she's been seeing--that you can get nice houses all over Merida for $1,000/month, and on-the-beach houses with pools for as little as $1,000/month.

For what that's worth.

 

7 hours ago, mojito said:

Switzerland to Finland

Geez, 20 minutes is too long to walk? Someone smack that girl for me. She acted as though she'd be wearing snowshoes and slogging through a couple feet of snow each day.

I got curious and looked at the weather there.  The winter temperatures aren't particularly extreme.  The average high drops to below 40 degrees in mid-October, and doesn't go back above 40 until mid-April.  And the difference between the average high and average low in the winter is right around 10 degrees, which tells me the days are not only short but overcast, which always makes it seem colder.  Hence the millions of saunas, I assume. 

So it's not extreme, but it sounds relentless and dreary, and I think walking in it 40 minutes every day would get old to me, despite the fact that I'm a big fan of transportation walking.  And just looking at a completely frozen-over lake from my balcony would have me scurrying to the sauna on the regular. 

[pep4]

AZ to Paris:  This will come as a shock, but our FACT CHECK shows some of the State of the Episode claims were BS.  Versailles is only 45 minutes from Paris by train, and any place close to where they showed the nearby 3rd house on the map was less than an hour from Paris via transit, not 1.5 hours. 

FACT CHECK #2:  Adrian's glasses were indeed awesome.

Edited February 6, 2019 by pep4

[LittleIggy]

Prague: That tv was not from the seventies. 🙄 She must have got a TESOL certificate from a place that would get her a job at a private language mill.

[buttersister]

Finland. Good choice of places, aka, she didn’t see anything better than the place she chose. Worked hard to sell her winter anxiety in the face of daddy’s friend’s daughter and realtor’s assurances. Cause it might look like she was calling them liars!

[Kohola3]

7 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Prague: That tv was not from the seventies.

I had to chuckle when the young "realtor" said it was from a museum.

[StatisticalOutlier]

Something odd I noticed on the Finland episode:  At the end when they were playing cards, we could see the guy's hand, and he had the cards splayed backwards, with the upper right corner of each card showing.  But the upper right corner of playing cards is blank; that's why you splay them so you can see the upper left corner.  Is there a card game where you don't even know what cards are in your own hand?

[Kohola3]

2 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

Is there a card game where you don't even know what cards are in your own hand?

Yes, it's called House Hunters International Fake Friends.  You grab nameless strangers off the street and pay them $50 to come in, smile, and look like you are having fun.  No skills required, obviously.

[ECM1231]

19 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Prague: That tv was not from the seventies. 🙄 She must have got a TESOL certificate from a place that would get her a job at a private language mill.

I was kind of surprised she was a dance instructor who had owned her own school as she did not have a dancer's body.  The apartment she chose had no oven and was very small.  Even though the loft had no privacy, it was only her living there. A portable a/c unit would have solved the heat issue. Likewise, a countertop convection microwave/oven could have been purchased for the place she chose. 

[chessiegal]

2 minutes ago, ECM1231 said:

I was kind of surprised she was a dance instructor who had owned her own school as she did not have a dancer's body. 

They showed a picture of her when she had the dance school - she was much thinner.

[biakbiak]

Was the real estate agent in Prague using mistress and concierges  as euphemisms because what he was describing sounded much more like a brothel with pimps!

Edited February 7, 2019 by biakbiak

[LittleIggy]

2 hours ago, biakbiak said:

Was the real estate agent in Prague using mistress and concierges  as euphemisms because what he was describing sounded much more like a brothel with pimps!

It was a place where a guy could rent a mistress for the evening! 😆

[Kohola3]

I quite liked the Utrecht family, they seemed to enjoy each other.  Nice to see smiling rather than sniping.  The whole pool table thing was a bit odd but after the "reveal" it made sense that they wouldn't have moved it out and back in for the show.

[blueray]

I just recently saw an episode with a couple moving from Canada to Australia. Anyhow, the guy was moving for school. He just seemed like a jerk, even the realtor didn't like him. He didn't seem to understand that his girl-friend was moving for him and was going to be the bread-winner for a time. He kept wanting stuff outside their budget.

[NJMom]

The Utrecht wife was full of it with just moving there. In order for Holland to allow duel citizenship, you must have had a home in the Netherlands for at least 3 years that you lived in. I know because my husband is Dutch and can't get duel citizenship. The US will allow it, Holland will not.

[Kohola3]

1 minute ago, NJMom said:

The Utrecht wife was full of it with just moving there. 

I thought her mother was Dutch.  Perhaps she was born there.

[NJMom]

1 minute ago, Kohola3 said:

I thought her mother was Dutch.  Perhaps she was born there.

Doesn't matter. My husband was born and raised there. 100% Dutch.

[sempervivum]

Utrecht- With the way this show cheats, the couple may have already bought the house 3 years ago. What I didn't understand was why the wife didn't get citizenship, although of course it's the Dutchies' country and they make the rules!

I was once again annoyed by a switcheroo in the 'must haves'. They absolutely HAD to have 4 bedrooms and a guest room/office. They ended up paying $50K over budget for 2 bedrooms, making their teens sleep in bunk beds in a room also occupied by a pool table.

[javajeanelaine]

I didn't see the Canada to Australia guy as a jerk.  Pretty mild mannered and he gave in to her request for a one bedroom.  I did see her as obsessive about getting a dog though.

[Kohola3]

44 minutes ago, sempervivum said:

They ended up paying $50K over budget for 2 bedrooms, making their teens sleep in bunk beds in a room also occupied by a pool table.

I think you hit the nail on the head when you said they bought the place long ago.  They probably decided not to bother to move the pool table out for the filming because of the expense - the cheap, rickety looking bunk beds wouldn't be hard to store.  So the "must have" story was just to throw us off.

[LittleIggy]

13 hours ago, blueray said:

I just recently saw an episode with a couple moving from Canada to Australia. Anyhow, the guy was moving for school. He just seemed like a jerk, even the realtor didn't like him. He didn't seem to understand that his girl-friend was moving for him and was going to be the bread-winner for a time. He kept wanting stuff outside their budget.

I found him annoying, too. If I was going to move around the world to support someone through medical school, I would get a ring on it first. Glad she got her dog.

Utrecht: Wonder if the canals get smelly in the summer.

[mojito]

Quote

 If I was going to move around the world to support someone through medical school, I would get a ring on it first. 

I don't even know about moving across the street to support someone through medical school, even with a wedding band!

Edited February 10, 2019 by mojito

[Mittengirl]

Australian med student must have had parental/trust fund financial support in addition to girlfriend’s job.

 That whole story made no sense to me.  Is it easier to get in to med school in Australia?  Or maybe cheaper?  Which seems unlikely since most schools charge non-residents more in tuition.  Maybe he had an in on the admissions committee or faculty. 

[LittleIggy]

8 hours ago, Mittengirl said:

Australian med student must have had parental/trust fund financial support in addition to girlfriend’s job.

 That whole story made no sense to me.  Is it easier to get in to med school in Australia?  Or maybe cheaper?  Which seems unlikely since most schools charge non-residents more in tuition.  Maybe he had an in on the admissions committee or faculty. 

Is it because Canada and Australia are both in the British Commonwealth?

[HappyHanna]

Tblisi to Zanzibar

I joined the boards (finally, after a long time lurking) just so I could comment on this episode! A family whose modus operandi is traveling the world and experiencing different cultures, and the wife is that stressed at anything that isn't a totally modern, western home (and what exactly was wrong with the kitchens in the other places, multiple ovens was too stressing?)? She doesn't know what the spray hose next to a toilet is for? She only wears short dresses in a place that is almost entirely Muslim? I am going to guess that their international school actually was putting them up in the apartment they picked, but come on!

[proserpina65]

On ‎02‎/‎04‎/‎2019 at 11:43 PM, Pickles said:

I liked the young woman moving from Switzerland to Finland. She chose the right apartment. Ten minute walk to most everything. Washer and dryer in her apartment was a big plus. She was worried about the intense winters, but you might be until you experienced the first one. Nice that she had a family friend living there. 

There is no job perfect enough for me to move somewhere with that much winter.  But I did like the apartment she chose.

[proserpina65]

On ‎02‎/‎06‎/‎2019 at 8:36 PM, ECM1231 said:

I was kind of surprised she was a dance instructor who had owned her own school as she did not have a dancer's body.  The apartment she chose had no oven and was very small.  Even though the loft had no privacy, it was only her living there. A portable a/c unit would have solved the heat issue. Likewise, a countertop convection microwave/oven could have been purchased for the place she chose. 

The having to go up and down stairs to use the bathroom at night would've made that one a no-go for me.

[LittleIggy]

Merida: Wonder How much that reno is going to cost. I would like to see how it turns out. The doggie was adorbs.

[pep4]

Denver, Minneapolis, Vienna to Sweden:  I knew they'd choose Mr. Roper's building.

[LennieBriscoe]

Gothenburg, Sweden---Three's a Crowd!  "Ricardo, Ricardo, Ricardo!" Man, if I were the other girl, I'd be TICKED. ROYALLY. The apartments were all lousy for her.

[ML89]

9 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Merida: Wonder How much that reno is going to cost. I would like to see how it turns out. The doggie was adorbs.

That ending was sad. She really looked like she was psyching herself up to keep going - she should have gone for the first place that was finished but over budget. Put some down and then rent out the other room. The other two places were money pits. I'm betting she won't be there in another year.

[Kohola3]

17 minutes ago, ML89 said:

The other two places were money pits. I'm betting she won't be there in another year.

I'm thinking the same thing.  Those three filthy toilets made me recoil in horror.  I can't imagine even starting to work on that place.  And with no furnishings or appliances in addition to a total rebuild, I can't see how that choice was less expensive than the finished one.  And I seriously doubt she's ever had boarders - you'd have to be pretty desperate to stay there for more than $1 a night.

I guess everybody's dream is different. I hope she's happy but somehow I doubt it.

[mojito]

Long Beach to Merida

Geez, $50K doesn't even buy a decent tiny house...

Her hopes for her new place were too risky for me. Rent out a room to a string of strangers with no separation between you and them. In the "boonies" of a foreign country. Sounds like a Dateline intro. 

BUT, I give her a lot of credit for living among the people that she claims to like (how many people do that on this show?) as the only foreigner, and speaking some Spanish. I'm sure she'll be fluent in no time.

I may have to track down that $80K place that she couldn't afford....

[javajeanelaine]

I know it's all fake but doesn't anyone research the real estate before pulling up stakes and moving??

[LittleIggy]

Merida: I wish the real estate agent (I like her) had told the HH that the potty chair she almost got stuck in was the second bathroom. 😆

I wonder if the place with three toilet stalls (was that the one she bought?) used to be a restaurant. I wonder how she will get the money for the reno.

Edited February 13, 2019 by LittleIggy

[biakbiak]

I hoped they laughed and laughed at the coworker he just met pretending to be so over involved in his financial decisions because that was one of the  most ridiculous things I have ever seen on this show.

Edited February 13, 2019 by biakbiak

[mojito]

CT to Melbourne

The guy had a pretty high jerk quotient, I thought. Wanted it all, even if he went over budget. He complained that the outside of one apartment building looked old/dated. Had to have new, new, new. Washing machine/dryer in its own room. Apparently was a clothes horse. 

The over-budget place he picked was nice enough, though. 

[CherryAmes]

American woman relocating to Broome, Australia last night.  Back story was non-existent and unless she has a generous savings account it seemed odd to me that she could afford $2,000 a month without a job but even so I liked it.  She seemed like a nice person and, for a House Hunter, wasn't over the top demanding.  I also liked that at the end she had a job she liked (which of course she already had when the show was being filmed but this is HH so whatever).  Anyway I suspect she moved to Australia to get away from a bad relationship and I don't blame her for not wanting to talk about it.  It was refreshing to see a show where I liked the person - usually I want to yell at them to grow up!

Edited February 13, 2019 by CherryAmes

[deirdra]

7 hours ago, CherryAmes said:

American woman relocating to Broome, Australia last night.  She seemed like a nice person and, for a House Hunter, wasn't over the top demanding.  

I'm not a fan of people who dump their dog on their parents and then get a replacement that they will dump on someone else when they leave. 

[CherryAmes]

12 minutes ago, deirdra said:

I'm not a fan of people who dump their dog on their parents and then get a replacement that they will dump on someone else when they leave. 

See for me I have a problem with the people who go on HH and make decisions based on their pets.  To me that's just nuts.  I've lost count of the number of episodes that have them claim (whether they mean it or not is open for debate of course) that they can't buy or rent this or that place, that is otherwise perfect, because Rover wouldn't like it.  I roll my eyes so hard at these people I end up with a headache,

[Homily]

34 minutes ago, deirdra said:

I'm not a fan of people who dump their dog on their parents and then get a replacement that they will dump on someone else when they leave. 

When we got relocated to the UK for my husband's job my parents offered to take our cat.  I didn't hesitate to take them up on that!  I think re-homing her was a better choice than having her go into quarantine for IIRC 6 months.  Choosing not to take a promotion and have the chance to live in England wasn't really on the table!

[SmithW6079]

I wanted to bitch slap the Brisbane couple: her for the neverending dog bullshit (shut the fuck up about the dog already!), and him for being such a whiny, useless excuse of a man. However, I did agree with him about not choosing an apartment based on a nonexistent pet.

[Pickles]

The Ohio couple moving to London. She was very off putting to me. Confident to the point of smug superiority. I would have gone with the over budget third property, but gasp, they would have had to give up their cleaning lady to pay the extra $200 a month for the third place. I didn’t like the husband much either. Didn’t want any stairs. He’s early thirties. WTH. Tasting clotted cream—what’s this cream stuff? It’s not sweet like our whipped cream. Okay, go back to Ohio to your reddi whip and your ranch house. 

[biakbiak]

3 hours ago, Pickles said:

would have gone with the over budget third property, but gasp, they would have had to give up their cleaning lady to pay the extra $200 a month for the third place. I

Given its location and how it was styled I bet that place is an Air BNB and not actually available to rent monthly at that price.

I missed the beginning so didn’t hear any mention of needing a cleaning lady but if they work a lot it can be money well spent. 

I didn’t have a problem with them. Even is “critique” of clotted cream wasn’t bad, he just said it could be sweeter which gasp several of my British family and friends would agree with and sprinkle sugar on top.

I would not like my guests to have to go to the bathroom in what amounted to my bedroom closet. There was a door in the kitchen that was never opened and it made me wonder if there was an unmentioned bathroom or at least powder room behind it.

Edited February 14, 2019 by biakbiak

[debbie311]

12 hours ago, SmithW6079 said:

I wanted to bitch slap the Brisbane couple: her for the neverending dog bullshit (shut the fuck up about the dog already!), and him for being such a whiny, useless excuse of a man. However, I did agree with him about not choosing an apartment based on a nonexistent pet.

Yet another couple where one made the "extreme sacrifice" to follow their partner and therefore hold it over their head when choosing a place to live.  She left her good job, friends, family, etc., etc., etc. for him and for that reason she had to have a dog. Wah wah wah.  A dog they didn't have yet but that would dictate where they lived.  Personally I would not want someone to come with me to another country if they were going to continue to throw it in my face and insist on their way because of it.  I see that getting old really fast.

And the dog they got was just a little large for that small apartment they ended up with.  I had to laugh at the last scene where the guy is sitting at the computer with noise canceling headphones on and she is in the background trying to control the large, frisky dog.

[mojito]

Ohio to London

Two of a kind, I think. Not surprised that they want space apart. If they hadn't been together for 10 years, I'd wonder if they could last. But I guess being alpha types works for them. They are definitely very individualistic.

Is Richard a shrimp, or what? He doesn't even look like he could reach the gas pedal. And how about that spread in the park?

[Mittengirl]

Are there really people who bring pillows with them on picnics?

I don’t get the thrill out of eating outdoors.  Heat, humidity, bugs, etc.  Give me comfy chairs, proper lighting and climate control.

Edited February 15, 2019 by Mittengirl

[ML89]

While she may be phased out of main House Hunters, Andromeda Drucker will stay with HH International - it's produced by another company.

Losing the voice of HH??

About Andromeda:

Her story

[LittleIggy]

Cincy to London: I didn’t have any problem with the HHs. The place they picked was nice except for the weird bathrooms. Glad to see cat people for a change. And, yay, Richard!