House Hunters International - General Discussion

[eel21788]

On 7/2/2022 at 8:16 PM, amarante said:

I don't get it because you could move to a condo with a pool in the US and live a peaceful "resort" life style and be closer to your family. 

My objective is to have someplace lined up to go when the US becomes unlivable (probably going to happen sooner than we'd like to think).

First stop: Canada just across the border from North Dakota because I'm currently in Colorado, so it would be an easy escape route for me.

Next stop: either the Dominican Republic because it would also be easy to get to, or the UK because I can now stay up to 2 years without a special visa just because I graduated from Columbia University.

From there, I would either keep rotating Canada, DR and UK or start fanning out around the rest of the world. Tourist visas in most of the countries I would be interested in going to vary between 30 days and 6 months. As long as I don't stay longer than whatever permit is stamped in my passport, I'm golden. 

Edited July 5, 2022 by eel21788

[Grrarrggh]

On 7/2/2022 at 10:16 PM, amarante said:

I have no idea why people feel they need to move to unwind.

Money, money, money. Living in the US is expensive compared to a lot of Mexico/South America. 

[QQQQ]

3 hours ago, eel21788 said:

My objective is to have someplace lined up to go when the US becomes unlivable (probably going to happen sooner than we'd like to think).

First stop: Canada just across the border from North Dakota because I'm currently in Colorado, so it would be an easy escape route for me.

Next stop: either the Dominican Republic because it would also be easy to get to, or the UK because I can now stay up to 2 years without a special visa just because I graduated from Columbia University.

From there, I would either keep rotating Canada, DR and UK or start fanning out around the rest of the world. Tourist visas in most of the countries I would be interested in going to vary between 30 days and 6 months. As long as I don't stay longer than whatever permit is stamped in my passport, I'm golden. 

What's different about graduates of Columbia University? Or are you referring to the 'high potential individual' list from many different colleges?

Edited July 5, 2022 by QQQQ

[Grrarrggh]

1 hour ago, QQQQ said:

What's different about graduates of Columbia University? Or are you referring to the 'high potential individual' list from many different colleges?

IDK either, but I might guess they studied at ILAS?

[eel21788]

1 hour ago, QQQQ said:

What's different about graduates of Columbia University? Or are you referring to the 'high potential individual' list from many different colleges?

https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltnietzel/2022/05/31/britain-opens-up-its-visas-for-graduates-of-worlds-top-universities/?sh=53ff23ff27fc

[QQQQ]

1 hour ago, eel21788 said:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltnietzel/2022/05/31/britain-opens-up-its-visas-for-graduates-of-worlds-top-universities/?sh=53ff23ff27fc

Yes, that's what I thought. It was the "without a special visa" part of your post that threw me off.

[Grizzly]

Nice, France. The eyelashes, just no. She could be striking without them. That first apartment, is Adrian trying to unload an unsellable property? A Murphy bunkbed, that's unique. Not sure how a teen brother and sister are going to want to share that. Should have known #3 was too perfect. Why don't they just get a studio for her and then rent a bigger place when the family visits?

[LittleIggy]

Nice: Why were they buying a place if she was just putting a toe in the water re: expanding her business to France. BTW, don’t they have accountants in France? 😏

[aghst]

4 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Nice: Why were they buying a place if she was just putting a toe in the water re: expanding her business to France. BTW, don’t they have accountants in France? 😏

I also wonder how an American CPA would have French clients.

First, does she have a work visa?  She has French relatives but does she have citizenship or rights to work?

Second, I don’t think other countries have complicated tax returns like the US.  Maybe if she has business clients?  Does she speak French well enough to communicate with clients as well as understand French tax laws?

She mentions one of the main reasons they may be moving, which is that EU residents can attend universities throughout the EU with very low tuition like a couple hundred Euros.

So that may be why two adults and two older teens — the son is already taller than either of them in one of the photos — are going to cram into a 2 bedroom apartment with 1 bathroom for a few years, to establish residency and learn enough French.

This would be a second home for a few years until both kids go to university.

It’s a beautiful part of France but they could have chosen places with lower cost housing, though she did have relatives in the Nice area.  They presumably moved from LA to Big Bear for lower costs as well as a certain lifestyle.

[snarts]

Nice, France: the story made absolutely no sense unless the whole "expanding my accounting business" was bullshit and they were just buying the apartment as an investment/future retirement property.

[Crashcourse]

12 hours ago, Grizzly said:

Nice, France. The eyelashes, just no.

They were so distracting!  She was attractive without them.

[ECM1231]

3 hours ago, snarts said:

Nice, France: the story made absolutely no sense unless the whole "expanding my accounting business" was bullshit and they were just buying the apartment as an investment/future retirement property.

That's what I thought, too. Plus, their homestead in Big Bear, CA looked gorgeous! Who'd want to leave that to go live in a super cramped, barely 2 bedroom apartment?  

Never been to Nice, and the ocean/sea looked gorgeous, but there are so many other places worldwide with gorgeous sea/ocean views.  What's so special about Nice?

Adrian was delusional pushing that first apartment. She showed architect plans with a way to turn it from a 1 bedroom into 2 bedrooms, but just because you can, doesn't mean you should. You'd lose a lot of space. Plus, it was at the top of their budget, minus renovation costs.

The place they chose was ridiculous, considering they intended to have 14 and 12 year-old siblings of opposite sexes in that tiny bedroom. Teens need some privacy. Under 10, maybe. But ages 12 and 14, nope.

Edited July 6, 2022 by ECM1231

[aghst]

19 minutes ago, ECM1231 said:

Never been to Nice, and the ocean/sea looked gorgeous, but there are so many other places worldwide with gorgeous sea/ocean views.  What's so special about Nice?

It's one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world.  There's a lot of history with museums devoted to Impressionist and modernist painters like Picasso because they'd all spent a lot of time there.

There are also mountain villages nearby.

Besides natural beauty and history, there's glamor for those who want it.  Billionaire yachts anchored off the coast, Monaco nearby, Cannes Film Festival.

Nice is a gateway to this and a lot more.  Italy is a short drive away, then you can visit the island of Corsica or go west towards Provence.

With all the money there, they've cleaned up all these coastal towns and cities.  Nice for instance had a new modern tram put in as well as new large squares built in the last 20 years.

[proserpina65]

On 7/1/2022 at 12:36 AM, LittleIggy said:

Amsterdam bores me (except for Floor). I wish they would have more episodes set in Asia. 

I  love Amsterdam and could never be bored by it.  I have no interest in Asia at all; I skip those episodes.  Same with Mexico, Central and South America.  And I only occasionally look at any of the Caribbean ones.  Africa, well it would depend on where.  North Africa would be interesting to me but that's about it.  We all have parts of the world we like and ones we don't care for.  Can't have everything.

I'll confess to only watching the Australian episodes for the outdoor scenery, though.  Most of the houses and apartments are boring and bland.  Same goes for the very rare New Zealand eps.

[proserpina65]

50 minutes ago, aghst said:

It's one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world.  There's a lot of history with museums devoted to Impressionist and modernist painters like Picasso because they'd all spent a lot of time there.

There are also mountain villages nearby.

Besides natural beauty and history, there's glamor for those who want it.  Billionaire yachts anchored off the coast, Monaco nearby, Cannes Film Festival.

Nice is a gateway to this and a lot more.  Italy is a short drive away, then you can visit the island of Corsica or go west towards Provence.

With all the money there, they've cleaned up all these coastal towns and cities.  Nice for instance had a new modern tram put in as well as new large squares built in the last 20 years.

It's lovely but too expensive.  I'd gladly take a free house there, but would rather be lying on my private beach in Greece. You know, if I had one.

Still, the south of France is nice to look at on HHI, and the various cities/towns at least have a variety of houses.

[Crashcourse]

I thought the accountant in Nice thought too highly of herself.  Sure, it's a well-paying job but nothing special.  The husband looked like he was afraid of her.

[tessaray]

I wonder if the wife has celebrity or business  clients who split time between the US and France. Even one big multinational client would probably make it worthwhile to have a permanent place there.  They obviously all aren't going to live there full-time but it's fine for vacations and work trips. 

[eel21788]

15 hours ago, QQQQ said:

Yes, that's what I thought. It was the "without a special visa" part of your post that threw me off.

I probably should have phrased it "without a special extension of a tourist visa."

[StatisticalOutlier]

17 hours ago, Grizzly said:

Nice, France. The eyelashes, just no.

I found myself struggling to keep MY eyes open when looking at hers being weighed down by those lashes.  One can only hope that she sees the episode and realizes it's not a good look.

17 hours ago, Grizzly said:

A Murphy bunkbed, that's unique. Not sure how a teen brother and sister are going to want to share that.

It would be bad enough just for sleeping, but the dad said something about a place for them to hang out when mom is working in the living room and he's cooking. 

On 7/5/2022 at 9:32 AM, Notabug said:

I think the whole 'storyline', that they were moving to Mexico permanently, was total fiction. 

I know a couple who were on a HHI Mexico episode, and the storyline was that they were moving to Mexico permanently, but in reality they were splitting their time between Denver and Mexico.  Plus they'd bought the house in the episode a couple of years before filming the episode.

And despite knowing this, I still get suckered by the stories they give.

[chessiegal]

24 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

I know a couple who were on a HHI Mexico episode, and the storyline was that they were moving to Mexico permanently, but in reality they were splitting their time between Denver and Mexico.  Plus they'd bought the house in the episode a couple of years before filming the episode.

Curious - did they share anything else about being on the show? Did they contact the production company or did the production company contact them? How much were they paid to be on the show? I believe they used to be paid $1,000.

[WI GIRL56]

When I looked up the lady from Nice, in 2019 she formed a partnership in LA.  She is looking to pick up clients in France that are ex-pats.

I thought opposites attract-he is very affectionate-she is not.  With the kids being older he could go back to work but I guess they want to be free to fly overseas.

That bedroom was hideous for the kids even if they could have something between the beds for privacy.  They are to old for that closeness.  

Edited July 8, 2022 by WI GIRL56

[aghst]

Interesting, ex-pat clients.

Is she expanding her clientele or replacing them with ex-pats?

Maybe if it's the latter, they really are trying to move over there.

Kids once they go off to college won't have to deal with that room.  If they keep their home in the US, they can keep living at the larger home until they leave home.

Hell selling their home in CA, even up in the mountains, would probably net them double their $400k budget or maybe more.

But she did mention cheap tuition if the kids had residency status so maybe they will all have to live in France for a couple of years.

[QQQQ]

I'm not one for catering to kids, but in this case I'd switch the bedrooms until one child moves out. Remove the Murphy beds, put in a queen at the end, and give it to the parents. They are more likely to spend time in the kitchen/living room. 

[ArtFossil]

4 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

I found myself struggling to keep MY eyes open when looking at hers being weighed down by those lashes.  One can only hope that she sees the episode and realizes it's not a good look.

Not just the eyelashes but the lip fillers! (Both are aging her.)

She just gives me the creeps.

And why would anyone in France want an American accountant?

Edited July 7, 2022 by ArtFossil

[chessiegal]

4 minutes ago, ArtFossil said:

And why would anyone in France want an American accountant?

Someone upthread thought she was going after ex-pats.

[ArtFossil]

5 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

Someone upthread thought she was going after ex-pats.

I just don't get it. If ex-pats are filing taxes in the US because they have income there, why not use a US accountant? It's simple to just transmit your information to an accountant anywhere. Is she just looking for a rental/investment/vacation home in Nice because I can't see how relocating there makes any kind of business sense. 

Edited July 7, 2022 by ArtFossil

[cinsays]

21 hours ago, Crashcourse said:

They were so distracting!  She was attractive without them.

i didn't find her attractive with or without them, but maybe that's her personality that turned me off

so teen siblings sharing that little space? really? 

[letusprocrastinate]

14 hours ago, ArtFossil said:

I just don't get it. If ex-pats are filing taxes in the US because they have income there, why not use a US accountant? It's simple to just transmit your information to an accountant anywhere. Is she just looking for a rental/investment/vacation home in Nice because I can't see how relocating there makes any kind of business sense. 

If you're a U.S. citizen living abroad, you're required to file a tax return every year and it has to include income generated in the other country or countries in which you reside.  If your income and asset situation is as such that you'd just be filing a return to show the government you're still alive and kicking, or if you're a citizen who has never resided in the United States and spends 24/7, 365 living elsewhere, you're still supposed to do it.

But "required" doesn't mean that everyone does it (goodness, no), so a number of years back Congress passed FACTA, which means the government, especially the IRS, is paying more attention to Americans living abroad.  In particular, they are looking for those people who may be using that status as a means to keep significant amounts of income, assets, etc away from the U.S. taxman.  They can also use this to keep an eye on dual citizens who may live in the States but use the citizenship of the other country to have bank accounts, etc in that country.

So there is a market for ex-pats needing accounting and tax-related assistance, and if she's on the European side of the pond it's easier for French and other European clients and anyone else in Europe she needs to contact on behalf of her clients to work with her since they're not dealing with the time zone difference with California. 

BTW, I did see that episode and I also felt bad for the teenagers.  I bet they'll be spending as much time as possible away from the flat.

Another quick thing:  Think of all the business-related expenses she can deduct on her own taxes.

Edited July 7, 2022 by letusprocrastinate

[StatisticalOutlier]

17 hours ago, chessiegal said:

Curious - did they share anything else about being on the show? Did they contact the production company or did the production company contact them? How much were they paid to be on the show? I believe they used to be paid $1,000.

Sorry, I don't know.  I didn't think to ask how they ended up on the show, which now seems kind of negligent because they weren't even looking for a house at the time.  However, they're good friends with a guy who has worked on HH so I'm guessing I assumed he was the connection. 

Also, as long as I'm being kind of gossipy, you know how we talk about how people behave on the show, reading all sorts of stuff into everything?  The guy who worked on HH told me that there was an early episode where the interactions between the couple were really troubling, like he didn't beat her or anything but he had a real attitude and she wasn't standing up to him.  He said they actually had trouble putting together the episode in a way that would be palatable to viewers.

[proserpina65]

18 hours ago, WI GIRL56 said:

That bedroom was hideous for the kids even if they divided it with a folding screen.

The apartment they chose wasn't the one where they could've divided the second bedroom with a screen so that both kids could have a little privacy.  The murphy bunk bed room did not have the space for that.  It was tiny, even when the beds were stowed away.

[ML89]

That whole Nice ep just reeked. Of course, she becomes an expert in international tax overnight. Sure thing.

The boy standing on the balcony looking like he was about to explode was the one thing that rang true to me. How in the world are those two kids sleeping in that insane Murphy bed thing? How do you get up in the middle of the night for the bathroom?

[amarante]

I think we are all used to fakety fake stores on HH and the stories on HH International seem to be more fake than the domestic version.

Regarding the Nice woman I am not buying for a nano-second that she is expanding her tax practice by opening up a branch in Nice. I haven't seen my tax accountant in person for years. Everything is done by email and then a telephone conversation to go over. 

Her explanation of lower tuition prices was equally ridiculous - she is in California and there is an excellent state system. No need to set up residency in France to afford tuition. And then do a year abroad as most upper middle class college kids do. 

I would assume the place in Nice is some kind of vacation home but I can't imagine how teenagers sleep in those Murphy bunk beds. They look worse than the beds in a jail cell. I have seen built in bunks in beach vacation rentals but they are generally intended for young small children. 

Perhaps she is using the "excuse" of setting up a branch office as a way to write off all of her travel expenses as a business expense because there is no other rational explanation for why she needed to buy a horrid place completely unsuitable for a family with kids in a vacation spot.

Edited July 7, 2022 by amarante

[aghst]

Like I said, if they were really moving to Nice, they could have sold their CA home and get a nicer, bigger place.  The teens should have their own rooms, which is the case back home in CA.

They would be going away to college in a few years but they'd be able to sell a 3 or 4 bedroom home if they needed to.

Maybe she wanted to see if she could generate the same kind of income in France, though again, there's the question of getting a work visa, which usually isn't instant, unless there was an employer willing to sponsor her.

[deirdra]

2 hours ago, aghst said:

Maybe she wanted to see if she could generate the same kind of income in France, though again, there's the question of getting a work visa, which usually isn't instant, unless there was an employer willing to sponsor her.

And if they are really moving to France, are their kids going to school there? Foreigners cannot just show up and expect to enroll their kids in public or private school. I know Canadian francophones who had to jump through lots of hoops for 5 months to get permission to enroll their kids (and paid extra fees since they were not previously taxpayers in France). They were told that if the kids were speaking American, they likely would not have been allowed at all. And spaces in private schools were few and far between.

Edited July 7, 2022 by deirdra

[Dehumidifier]

6 hours ago, ML89 said:

That whole Nice ep just reeked. Of course, she becomes an expert in international tax overnight. Sure thing.

The boy standing on the balcony looking like he was about to explode was the one thing that rang true to me. How in the world are those two kids sleeping in that insane Murphy bed thing? How do you get up in the middle of the night for the bathroom?

I never went to the bathroom in the middle of the night until, I would say, my late 30s. Do teenagers and pre-teens usually have to do that?

[Notabug]

3 hours ago, Dehumidifier said:

I never went to the bathroom in the middle of the night until, I would say, my late 30s. Do teenagers and pre-teens usually have to do that?

Not that I've heard.  However, it would be practically impossible to sneak in or out of the house in the middle of the night undetected when sharing that 'room' and I know lots of kids who'd be doing that.  Also, being teens and hormonal, I imagine it would be pretty hot and stinky with two of them spending the night crammed into that broom closet of a room.

[aghst]

Berlin to Stockholm, single mom with two teen daughter both wanting their own bedrooms.

As usual, budget too low for what they were asking for.

Mom wanted to be in city center where her job was.  Also kids had to go to school so they didn’t join the house hunt so presumably their school was already Set.

Two of the homes were near city center and only two had 3 bedrooms so the girls wouldn’t have to share.  They quickly eliminated the one with only 2 bedrooms.

Mom wanted the cheaper one, which “technically” was 3 bedrooms.  But older daughter pushed for the one with three bedrooms, bigger and not interconnected like the cheaper choice.

The one they chose was 30 minutes from city center, from her job and their school.  But commute time and the restaurants which the mother talked up are probably not big issues.  She said the $300 over budget would force a lifestyle change.

Like moving them to another city and country wouldn’t?  But a 15 year old teen girl probably wanted privacy from her 11 year old sister.

[Dehumidifier]

I spent the episode wondering what kind of job the woman had that someone in Stockholm couldn't do, She seemed so listless.

[DanaMB]

The mom’s uptalk and the older daughter’s vocal fry drove me nuts. 

[mojito]

Berlin to Stockholm

What an unpleasant episode. She's told that her budget won't get what she wants yet she whines about room sizes. She did that "kitchen is so closed off, if I have friends over I can't be part of the party" crap. I don't see her making that many friends, she seemed so unlikable. 

This episode was one where HHI didn't make much of an effort to hide the fact that it's fake. The woman talked about their Berlin apartment in the present tense, yet stated that her daughters were currently in school in Stockholm. 

I usually ignore people's manner of speaking, but the daughter's vocal fry was distracting although it did pair well with her haughtiness. That apple didn't fall too far from the tree. 

[Dehumidifier]

15 minutes ago, mojito said:

Berlin to Stockholm

What an unpleasant episode. She's told that her budget won't get what she wants yet she whines about room sizes. She did that "kitchen is so closed off, if I have friends over I can't be part of the party" crap. I don't see her making that many friends, she seemed so unlikable. 

This episode was one where HHI didn't make much of an effort to hide the fact that it's fake. The woman talked about their Berlin apartment in the present tense, yet stated that her daughters were currently in school in Stockholm. 

I usually ignore people's manner of speaking, but the daughter's vocal fry was distracting although it did pair well with her haughtiness. That apple didn't fall too far from the tree. 

How do people always think they are going to move to another country and quickly acquire tons of friends to have over, especially when they are in the married with families age demographic? Maybe the kids will but the adults are busy.

[Crashcourse]

That Stockholm woman was a Debbie Downer and it was depressing just watching her.  I hope the daughters don't follow suit.

[aghst]

11 minutes ago, Crashcourse said:

That Stockholm woman was a Debbie Downer and it was depressing just watching her.  I hope the daughters don't follow suit.

She talks about better work-life balance and entertaining open plan kitchen, which are worn-out HHI tropes so those probably aren't real concerns.

She talks quite a bit about their backstory, they had moved to Berlin for her ex-husband's job and then they divorced.

Probably a bigger deal than she lets on.  She's gained a lot of weight since those Berlin pictures.

Maybe she wanted to get away from Berlin because of the bad personal associations.  Even if it meant uprooting her two daughters to a new city and country.

Maybe also a way to keep them from her ex?

The girls are subdued at times as well.

[Crashcourse]

10 minutes ago, aghst said:

She talks about better work-life balance and entertaining open plan kitchen, which are worn-out HHI tropes so those probably aren't real concerns.

She talks quite a bit about their backstory, they had moved to Berlin for her ex-husband's job and then they divorced.

Probably a bigger deal than she lets on.  She's gained a lot of weight since those Berlin pictures.

Maybe she wanted to get away from Berlin because of the bad personal associations.  Even if it meant uprooting her two daughters to a new city and country.

Maybe also a way to keep them from her ex?

The girls are subdued at times as well.

If she had so much going on in her life, then she shouldn't have gone on this show.

[Dehumidifier]

9 minutes ago, aghst said:

She talks about better work-life balance and entertaining open plan kitchen, which are worn-out HHI tropes so those probably aren't real concerns.

She talks quite a bit about their backstory, they had moved to Berlin for her ex-husband's job and then they divorced.

Probably a bigger deal than she lets on.  She's gained a lot of weight since those Berlin pictures.

Maybe she wanted to get away from Berlin because of the bad personal associations.  Even if it meant uprooting her two daughters to a new city and country.

Maybe also a way to keep them from her ex?

The girls are subdued at times as well.

That's what I thought too. She seemed to be very depressed. But then, why go on this show?

[chessiegal]

11 minutes ago, Crashcourse said:

If she had so much going on in her life, then she shouldn't have gone on this show.

Eh, could have been the production company contacted her. Few days of filming and she picks up some extra cash, does something different. 🤷‍♂️

[debbie311]

The Nice woman - did anyone else think she looked like Kathy Griffin?  I did a double-take when I first saw her.

The teenage boy and girl sharing a small bedroom.  They never once acted like there was anything wrong with it, including Adrienne.  Huh?

She kept saying that whatever they bought now would not be permanent, would just be a "stepping stone." Why didn't they just rent an apartment then? Did they have to buy property in order for her to practice there?

And as mentioned already above, we do our taxes remotely now. Fed-ex, email, phone call.

A lot of these shows run together for me, but a common theme is, "we want our children to experience different cultures."  Then why not stay where you are and TRAVEL to different countries with the children, instead of moving someplace where they will just experience the culture of that place. 

Edited July 8, 2022 by debbie311

[ML89]

38 minutes ago, debbie311 said:

Why didn't they just rent an apartment then?

I wonder that about so many of these folks. I also wonder about people buying second houses - having ONE drives me nuts! I can't imagine having to worry about two. Y'know, unless, like the documentary I saw about the designer Valentino (or Robin Masters for my fellow old school Magnum fans), you have your own Higgins to run your properties.

[ECM1231]

On 7/6/2022 at 11:39 AM, aghst said:

It's one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world.  There's a lot of history with museums devoted to Impressionist and modernist painters like Picasso because they'd all spent a lot of time there.

There are also mountain villages nearby.

Besides natural beauty and history, there's glamor for those who want it.  Billionaire yachts anchored off the coast, Monaco nearby, Cannes Film Festival.

Nice is a gateway to this and a lot more.  Italy is a short drive away, then you can visit the island of Corsica or go west towards Provence.

With all the money there, they've cleaned up all these coastal towns and cities.  Nice for instance had a new modern tram put in as well as new large squares built in the last 20 years.

Thanks for the info, @aghst.  My son recently came back from Saint Tropez for a business trip. I don't think he got to visit Nice but he did go to Bordeaux later during his trip.  About a decade ago between jobs, he spent the Summer in France, with Marseilles being the home base.  He visited Barcelona and drove to Italy, seeing the Cinque Terre region. The photos were just amazing.  Sigh. Maybe one day I will get to my ancestral homeland.

[chessiegal]

I know dozens of women through my social club who have 2 homes. While they're not living paycheck to paycheck, I'd say they are comfortable, but not super rich. They just close up one home while they're living at the other. They say it's not a big deal. I asked because we've toyed with the idea over the years.