House Hunters International - General Discussion

[CherryAmes]

What I will never understand is why people let themselves come across as mean and/or stupid on this show.  I realize that they wanna be on TV but do they have any idea before the show airs just what they're going to look like to the viewing audience?  I saw the Australian couple moving to Papua, New Guinea again today, still hated him, and all I could think about was the way the husband comes across as being oblivious to his wife's concerns about their security, especially with a new baby in tow.  Does he watch the episode and cringe now I wonder.

Edited November 9, 2014 by CherryAmes

[DownTheShore]

If he was oblivious then, he's probably still oblivious now.  I remember that one.  He was lucky she was willing to move there with him.

[QuinnM]

 

I don't get the refrigerator not in the kitchen - have now seen this several times.

 

Oh, oh, oh!  I know the answer to this one.  I know someone that reno'd a house in Edinburgh.  In older structures there are lots of limitations on where electric goes.  They had the choice to downgrade the kitchen proper, like the range, or to use the pull that they could get in what used to be a larder that was next to a staircase and therefore had the space to run electric.  My friend explained that kitchens were the hardest since everything needed electric but you wanted to have enough left over to plug in a tea kettle etc.  She said it wasn't that odd all over UK in large older apartments.

[abbyzenn]

QuinnM:  Thanks for the answer.  I think I've also seen this in some of the German episodes.

[BearCat49]

The single mom was a rerun.  I shook my head when she complained that the first one was on the ground floor and she was afraid of her daughter and the pool.  The kid is 5 years old!! 

 

I dozed off so I don't even remember which one she chose.

 

You're correct, NYGirl.  I don't watch reruns but vaguely remember it.  From the first airing, I do recall that she has a blog - if anyone has her info and feels like pulling it.   

Edited November 11, 2014 by BearCat49

[Pickles]

The house hunter tonight moving from KS to Düsseldorf, Germany. I found her LinkedIn and she has lived in Germany for four years.

[DownTheShore]

That episode made no sense to me.  She's got some sort of job where she can work from home anywhere in the world (why did I never have one of those jobs?) and she picks Dusseldorf Germany - a place where she doesn't speak the language and knows only one person?

 

There's probably plenty of English-speakers there, just because of the better language training in the German schools, but still, you'd think she'd start off her "first time away from the Kansas City suburbs" in a country where English was a primary language, just for ease of assimilation into European culture, and then move on to others to broaden her horizons.

 

I found her complaints about being able to see into the neighbors' apartments, way across the street, annoying.  Living close enough to see into neighbors' apartments was the apartment I grew up in.  I could have opened my bedroom window, reached across the alley and shaken hands with my neighbors in their bedroom window.

[mojito]

 

I found her complaints about being able to see into the neighbors' apartments, way across the street, annoying.

You forgot to mention her complaint about city noise. In the city. Where she wanted to be. Where there's hustle and bustle. And noise.

 

The real estate agent probably wanted to slap her upside her head when she entered the first place,told beforehand that it was being renovated, and she confirmed this by repeating his words, and asked,  "What in the world is going on?" He answered, "It's not finished yet." She said, "Well, of course. I can see that". So what was the point of your question, dumbass?

[DownTheShore]

There's an interesting article on the BBC site today entitled "You love going abroad for work. Your spouse hates it":

 

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20141110-the-reluctant-expat-spouse

[laredhead]

Down The Shore, thanks for the link to the BBC article.  It would be nice if some of the HHI participants would reference help they rec'd from the companies they work for in these new countries.  I seem to remember in one of the where are they now episodes, a couple of the spouses talked about problems they had when they first moved to the new place.

[DownTheShore]

Isn't that so annoying?  They want to move to the city, then they are astonished when there's actually street noise!  Wait until they start to hear their neighbors above and below them, and people talking loudly in the hallway or stomping up the stairs.  Such fragile flowers!

 

I've lived near bridges, railroad tracks and highways.  I've learned to sleep through most everything from noises to bright daylight.  If people don't fixate on the "I can't sleep because of..." they will find that they can sleep through most everything, if they are tired.

[TVForever]

Drives me nuts too, Down The Shore. If the scenes from where they lived in the US are to be believed, most of those complainers tend to be suburbanites in big houses on big lots, who like the IDEA of living in a "grand" European city, when they wouldn't live in an American city on a bet. Then they get there and realize that there are some things that all cities have in common- noise, people, trains, car exhaust, neighbors close by, etc. Where do they think all that "vibrancy" they're after comes from? THAT'S what cities are, no matter where in the world you find them.

 

[BearCat49]

Agree, seems like it typically takes 1 or maximum 2 nights for most people (IMHO) to adjust to any given new type of noise WRT sleep.

 

Thanks for posting the BBC link, DownTheShore.  Perhaps I read it incorrectly (?) but some of those people sounded a tad whiney.  Yes, in a perfect world, I'm sure their spouse's HR department would follow up with them.  If they don't, drop your own dime, people!

 

If your spouse hasn't developed sufficient contacts with his/her coworkers (either locals or expats), how about checking in with other expat spouses from the company?  Perhaps someone in country longer could help you out.  Or, join a local expat club.  If they don't have one, start your own!  Try social media -

 

If you have children, use those contacts, e.g. other parents at the international school or even better, your kids' teachers.

 

Yes, I'm sure it can be extremely difficult, especially if they had to forgo promising careers of their own.  Seems like once that decision has been made, however, I would hope that the spouse would make the best of it and use it as a time for personal growth, if they're unable to work (for whatever reason) overseas.

[DownTheShore]

I have to say, I was surprised that the HR departments actually do anything for the families; my experience of "HR" departments being mainly receiving forms from them and returning them.  It did read like they were astonished that they were going to have to fork over some of their own money.

 

----------

 

Imagine the first time those ex-suburbanites hear their neighbors "getting busy" - lol.

[joanofarch4]

DVR'd the "retired couple looking for a vacation home in France" yesterday.  What the heck was THAT?  No one else could drive the three teenage girls to their soccer games or to shop at the mall for a few days, so the wife had to stay home?  How in the world is she going to tear herself away long enough to vacation there?  The poor retired husband can't have a DIY project or two because "that wouldn't be fair to the (nearly grown) girls"?  And "her" daughter (not his, presumably; also obviously an international adoption, and what looked to be an international supermodel, complete with her name shown frequently throughout the show) had to go "be her mother's voice"?  Was her mother afraid to stand up for herself or were they hoping for better ratings with an exotic, beautiful 20-something along, or is it really going to be the DAUGHTER'S house (eventually), or is there some funny business going on there or what?  That was weird, even for HH...

[Mondrianyone]

That was weird, even for HH...

You just asked pretty much all the questions I was planning to ask about that very bizarre episode, joanofarch4.  Apparently Mom couldn't let anyone else supervise the younger daughters' highly advanced school project, building what looked like an Egyptian temple out of cardboard paper-towel rolls, so that she could go buy an actual house.  Because, you know, priorities.

 

It also seemed a little odd to me that Dad was the driving force behind the late-in-life adoptions, and they adopted only girls.  Not that my mind goes there or anything, but . . .

 

I even Googled the eldest daughter, thinking she'd come up as a pageant girl or an aspiring actress, which might explain things at least a little bit, but I don't think she is. 

 

When your story seems guaranteed to raise more questions than it answers, maybe you should rethink going on TV.

[joanofarch4]

And then, after the beauty queen adopted daughter goes to France with the father exclusively to ensure that the mother gets the finished house out in the country, they end up with an unfinished house closer to town.  Did not see that one coming.  WTH?

[biakbiak]

Nothing about the oldest daughter's looks in the France episode made me think she couldn't be biologically related to one or both of them.

Edited November 15, 2014 by biakbiak

[DownTheShore]

I think they mentioned it in the show that all the girls were adopted.

 

I didn't have quite the same reaction to that episode as the rest of you.  I actually thought that it was great that the couple realized that their lives would be fuller if they had kids in it and actually adopted - instead of just copping out and getting a few dogs to lavish with love.

 

I actually liked the daughter, because she didn't have the dreaded vocal fry.  It was just so pleasant to listen to a woman of that age speaking in a natural voice.  I also liked that we obviously saw the finished remodel, instead of them just meeting with a contractor a few weeks later.

 

What I did think was odd was how much of the episode was actually a travelog for that area of France, i.e. the castle, the chocolatier, etc.  And it was odd that the wife couldn't make the trip to France to buy a property.  Why couldn't the daughter have stayed home and supervised her siblings?

[laredhead]

I finally saw the Colorado to France episode last night after reading previous comments about it here.  The oldest daughter said she was 13 when she was adopted, and the father said they began adoption proceedings around 1999 when he turned 40, so that made the oldest daughter about 27 or 28 by my math.  I liked her as well.  She didn't affect that awful vocal fry voice or annoying speech habit of ending a sentence with the voice going up an octave or as a question.   Sounded to me like the wife was used to her husband being involved in large projects and a mention was made at some point in the episode about previous renovations and investment properties, I think.  Maybe this was really just another investment opportunity for the family and the wife wasn't that interested or knew that her husband was probably going to buy the one that would make the most sense financially.  If the husband had been investing in property and renovating for years, maybe he was grooming the daughter to take over his business.  

[mojito]

When I first saw the oldest daughter, I thought, wow, she lucked out in the looks department. Then I saw that they had adopted their children. My take on Mom staying home was that she became a mother late in life and took her role as seriously as new mothers with babies took their roles. She simply didn't want to miss out on anything. Also, for all we know, there might have been once-in-a-lifetime activities or medical conditions that kept Mom home, too.

[BearCat49]

And then, after the beauty queen adopted daughter goes to France with the father exclusively to ensure that the mother gets the finished house out in the country, they end up with an unfinished house closer to town.  Did not see that one coming.  WTH?

 

We weren't surprised;  we call that the episode's "designated red herring" and most, if not all, episodes have them, IMHO. 

Edited November 17, 2014 by BearCat49

[Honey]

I liked that one, but involuntarily cringed every time someone pronounced Edinburgh with a long O at the end. 

It is correctly pronounced as Eddinburrah.

[BearCat49]

I think they mentioned it in the show that all the girls were adopted.

 

(snip)

 

What I did think was odd was how much of the episode was actually a travelog for that area of France, i.e. the castle, the chocolatier, etc.  And it was odd that the wife couldn't make the trip to France to buy a property.  Why couldn't the daughter have stayed home and supervised her siblings?

 

Yes, all the girls were adopted. 

 

Not much info about them or the episode available online, although I only checked for a minute or two.  It appears the father's a retired attorney and the daughter resides in another city.  So, at 27/28, she might not be available to supervise her siblings.

 

I agree with your travelogue guess, DownTheShore.  Travel and tourism boards have been involved in HHI episodes in other countries.  (That's been verified, BTW.)  Youth and sex sells so perhaps tptb set this episode up with the daughter. 

Edited November 17, 2014 by BearCat49

[DownTheShore]

Saw the Parisian one earlier with the couple and their "boys" (two dogs).  He's got the job, she's an amateur photographer who wants to be - wait for it - close to the city center.

 

I'm so glad that the boys are enjoying their new home....  ~insert eyeroll here~~

Edited November 17, 2014 by DownTheShore

[peggy06]

Downtheshore, what really stuck out to me in that episode was the way she talked about Ben. How she introduces him to new experiences, and he expands his horizons, or some such. After that condescending crack, Ben should've said, "Sorry, lady, I'm not funding your hobby any more" and skedaddled out of there. Or at least, insisted on a place closer to where he works. After all, she has all day to ride the Metro, eh?

Edited November 19, 2014 by peggy06

[NYGirl]

Yes that one was a rerun and I was just as angry watching it the second time.  First of all they are mismatched.  He must have a lot of money.  Second, I can't believe he took the apartment near the City Centre so she could go to cafes and take pictures while he has a long commute to ..you know..actually work.

 

They were ridiculous with those dogs.

 

She looked older than him.

[Bastet]

It is correctly pronounced as Eddinburrah.

 

I know, which is why all the long O pronunciations were making me twitch.

[joanofarch4]

Some of us consider our lives "fuller" due to elective childlessness and don't consider pet-ownership a "cop out"...  Just sayin'!

 

Agree that it was a relief not to be subjected to the dreaded vocal fry, for once, from the eldest adoptive daughter (who looked very exotic and nothing like either parent), but that only added to my suspicion that she had somehow been schooled in modeling, acting, or pageantry...

 

At any rate, I continue to SMH at that one!  Perhaps they'll appear on HHR, as their choice certainly needed it, and the daughter is camera-ready...

[Christine]

I watch most shows with captions - for the Colorado to France show, apparently they were looking at the "Dourdon" region for most of the show.  It was only at the end that they were in Dordogne.  Always wonder how much that job pays - is it outsourced?

 

Off topic, but on some shows (thinking Anthony Bourdain), they'll keep in an actually said minor curse word, but the captions always bleep it out.

Edited November 20, 2014 by Christine

[Cgr]

I rarely watch any of the HH anymore unless it is someplace I have been or want to go and isn't just some island/beach home.  Had to watch the Rota Spain one since we lived there for 3 years over 40 years ago.  Our son went to Kindergarten in the school the father was teaching at.  We recognized a few of the streets and liked seeing that.  But after 40 years things have changed a great deal.  Especially the prices.  I think we paid 85$ for a large 2 bedroom apt.  Fond memories.

[mojito]

HHI: NYC to Sidney.

 

A twenty-something guy leaves home for the first time for a job in Sidney and will share a place with three other guys, pretty much strangers to him. They ended up getting place in the central business district where they would share a single bathroom. And they seemed quite happy with their new fraternity. I kept trying to imagine four women picking a place to live. Even if they had four bathrooms, I couldn't imagine them being able to pick a place. But with only one bathroom? Not seeing that happening unless most of them traveled frequently for their jobs.

 

All along, I kept wondering, why not just break up into two twosomes? Hey, but it worked for these guys and I envy them for being able to pull this off successfully. My biggest fear sharing space with people would be how clean they can keep the bathroom and kitchen, and believe me, I'm no germophobe. I can deal with dust, but kitchen and bathroom grunge....no way.

[Diane M]

I love Sydney...beautiful city and harbor, but I also wondered why all four guys had to live together.  I think that would be too much togetherness, especially since they didn't know each very well.  I liked that large and attractive house and Paddington is a good area for shopping and restaurants.  But one bath and not a very large one either would be a deal breaker for me.

[laredhead]

Maybe they wanted as large a place as they could get and dividing the rent 4 ways was more economical than 2 of them sharing a smaller place.  One bathroom would have been a deal breaker for me as well.  

[Peanutbuttercup]

Did anyone else see the Wiltshire England to Johannesburg SA couple a few days ago? Wow, the male half of that couple was one of the whiniest, most entitled bitches I've ever seen on this show (and that's saying a lot). And both of them were parading through the decoy houses literally pointing and laughing at features in people's homes. Just awful, the two of them (but especially him).

The houses and neighborhoods in South Africa were beautiful, but it makes me kind of sad or stressed out to see all the effort that has to be put into home security in that country. Every house seemed to have a video surveillance system up and running. I think living with that necessity would probably drive me over the edge.

[Mondrianyone]

I watch most shows with captions - for the Colorado to France show, apparently they were looking at the "Dourdon" region for most of the show.  It was only at the end that they were in Dordogne.  Always wonder how much that job pays - is it outsourced?

I do, too.  Not because I have hearing problems but to keep from bugging (or waking up) my husband when I watch late at night.  And also so that if I miss something somebody says, I can rewind and read it rather than try listening again.

 

I think the job is mostly outsourced.  Sometimes there's a credit at the end of the show (in the captions, not on the rolling credits) that says something like "Captions courtesy of WGBH" or some company name.  Usually when it's a private company contracted to do them, that's when you see the worst errors.  The ones on the classier channels are usually pretty accurate.  But sometimes it's as if a chimp is typing.  And just the other day I realized why some of them are so terrible.

 

I'm almost positive that they don't use human beings--I think they must use one of those speech-recognition programs.  I bought one a few years ago to try to speed up one aspect of my job, and if you don't spend a lot of time training the program, you get some really hilarious mistakes--kind of like spell check on acid.  I've started keeping a list of some of my favorites.

[bubbls]

Did anyone else see the Wiltshire England to Johannesburg SA couple a few days ago? Wow, the male half of that couple was one of the whiniest, most entitled bitches I've ever seen on this show (and that's saying a lot). 

 

I think this is also the couple who balked at the house over their $2500 budget. Its cost? $2600. 

[laredhead]

In the Wiltshire, England to South Africa episode, did they ever say what occupation the wife had or if the husband was going to work?  I thought I heard that both of them would be working, but her job seemed to be the most important of the two.

[bubbls]

I didn't catch what her job was. I thought the husband was a stay-at-home dad, but don't quote me on that. I usually tune out the intro. 

[Peanutbuttercup]

I don't think they said what either of them did. I also got the impression at first that the husband was a stay-at-home dad, but then the narrator said something about one of the houses being "close to both of their jobs." Also they had a live-in nanny, which makes it more likely, though of course not a sure thing, that both of them are employed outside the home.

[BearCat49]

HHI: NYC to Sidney.

 

A twenty-something guy leaves home for the first time for a job in Sidney and will share a place with three other guys, pretty much strangers to him. They ended up getting place in the central business district where they would share a single bathroom. And they seemed quite happy with their new fraternity. I kept trying to imagine four women picking a place to live. Even if they had four bathrooms, I couldn't imagine them being able to pick a place. But with only one bathroom? Not seeing that happening unless most of them traveled frequently for their jobs.

 

All along, I kept wondering, why not just break up into two twosomes? Hey, but it worked for these guys and I envy them for being able to pull this off successfully. My biggest fear sharing space with people would be how clean they can keep the bathroom and kitchen, and believe me, I'm no germophobe. I can deal with dust, but kitchen and bathroom grunge....no way.

 

That house so looked like a guys' rental home.  Guys barely see any dust or dirt - let alone get excited about it, IMHO.  They should have been making enough money so hopefully at least one of them had a cleaning person come in occasionally and they split the cost.

[BearCat49]

I love Sydney...beautiful city and harbor, but I also wondered why all four guys had to live together.  I think that would be too much togetherness, especially since they didn't know each very well.  I liked that large and attractive house and Paddington is a good area for shopping and restaurants.  But one bath and not a very large one either would be a deal breaker for me.

 

That house had charm and character but looked too much like a guys' rental, IMHO!  Have a feeling that I have a pretty good guess WRT the question of why they all lived there together, as follows:

 

The NYC guy (Craig, IIRC) posted on social media.  Incidentally, different topic, but he mentioned that his beach house desire was merely faux drama and that tptb required him to repeat that desire each and every scene for the sole purpose of creating conflict where none existed.

 

Anyhow, he works at a smaller competitor of my international consulting firm.  I've done 100% travel.  The NYC guy said he was starting a 2 year Sydney stint.  One of the guys mentioned he'd already lived there for 1-1/2 years.  Based on their approximate ages and my guesses of their positions, I'd estimate they probably have at least 1or 2 travelling (within the Sydney area) most of the time.

 

So, someone probably rented that crash pad several years ago.  Whoever cycles in and out of that particular office, assuming they're single, during their 2 year posts uses it, given the convenient location, close to downtown and the office.  They most likely maintain a fairly constant, revolving door of colleagues.  (That is, constant but revolving, lol!)

 

With 4 guys at any given time, it's probably easy to at least find one good friend out of each new group, if not more.  And, whenever necessary, they each have a separate space and at least a little privacy.  Plus, they don't need to worry about a fixed, finite lease, and furnishings, etc.

 

Funny that the professional probably neglected to read the fine print from the non-disclosure agreement before he let the faux beach drama slip out, hahahahaha ... 

 

JMHO and YMMV but have seen this type of arrangement work well for single ex-pats.

[Lola16]

Michigan to Guam.  Pilot and former airline scheduler plus 7 year old daughter.  Wife kept going on about not wanting to 'maintain' a large home.  They looked at 2 and 3 bedroom condos.  The 3rd bedroom was way too much house for her.  Eye roll.  And why does the daughter need to be home schooled?  Easier to make friends in a new place thought school.  Wife was a pill.

[DownTheShore]

Someone back in the thread suggested that home schooling might give them more freedom to travel.

I tend to look at home-schooling with a jaundiced eye, myself. Seems to defeat the purpose of being in a new culture if you are going to keep the kid swaddled.

[sandwoman]

I really enjoyed the couple moving to Panama. They seemed genuine and it was neat seeing them adjust their expectations. Also, they had a funny dynamic, go-with-the-flow Trish and very vocal Greta.  I found this little article about them http://insiderlouisville.com/lifestyle_culture/louisville-couple-featured-hgtv-house-hunters-international/.   I hope they enjoy their adventure!

Edited November 25, 2014 by sandwoman

[snarts]

Loved the couple moving to Panama, especially the writer who eschewed all forms of exercise and liked "her wine".  More real people like this please, HHI.

[biakbiak]

"I found out I really hated teaching childrent," might be one of my favorite lines on this show. 

[mojito]

I liked how Greta referred to her novel as a "murder book".

[IAmJ]

Oh my gosh, the Kentucky to Panama City ladies were a riot! I wasn't even going to watch the episode but I caught the beginning and they pulled me right in. They were probably the only couple on this show that I'd want to hang out with.

[jcbrown]

I normally skip the Central and South American, Australian, and miscellaneous tropical episodes of this show but I am so glad I read here instead of deleting the Panama one. Those two were great, and they managed to come across as real people instead of the cut-outs that HH and HHI tend to turn people into. Thanks for the recommendation--even my husband liked this episode!