House Hunters International - General Discussion

[ArtFossil]

On 9/20/2023 at 7:09 PM, aghst said:

Also did anyone catch that he half-jokingly talked about having another kid to fill up that long sofa in that one place and she said she was done having kids, made a point of emphasizing it.

Hope they last for the sake of the two young children but there appears to be some fissures in that marriage.  Maybe they won't develop into big cracks that split them apart but all is not smooth sailing in paradise -- or shall we say the Saigon River?

I don't think the marriage will last two years.

6 hours ago, aghst said:

No he kept asking how far from work and the realtor said it was close to the freeway.

I don't think Vietnam has a subway system.

I remember reading that mopeds are a big problem, in terms of pollution.  They're unregulated and there are so many of them that it's dirty.

They make owning a car there very expensive.

They've tried to encourage people to use buses but most people, especially the young, won't give up those mopeds.

My jaw dropped when I saw the getting into a huge van at the end of the episode. Who would drive a vehicle like that in Ho Chi Minh City?

 

6 hours ago, aghst said:

Well they're moving for his career.  She had to give up her career, possibly forever.

So she probably wanted it to be as nice as possible.  Vietnam is a developing country so she wanted to live in an expat enclave, be as close to home as possible.

 

Ho Chi Minh City has a population of 9.3 million. Per Wikipedia;

Quote

It is known for its well-preserved French colonial architecture, vibrant street life,[8] its varied cultural institutions, which include historic landmarks, walking streets, museums and galleries which attracts over 8 million international visitors each year.[9][10]

Ho Chi Minh City is a major centre for finance, media, technology, education, and transportation. The city generates around a quarter of the country's total GDP, and is home to many multinational companies.[11] It has a Human Development Index of 0.795 (high), ranking second among all municipalities and provinces of Vietnam.[6] Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport, the main airport serving the city, is the busiest airport in the country by passenger traffic, accounting for nearly half of all international arrivals to Vietnam.[12]

 

[aghst]

I meant she wanted to have a lifestyle as close to the US as possible.

So nice amenities and nice, updated home and be around a community where English is commonly spoken.

[Grizzly]

2 hours ago, ArtFossil said:

My jaw dropped when I saw the getting into a huge van at the end of the episode. Who would drive a vehicle like that in Ho Chi Minh City?

 

I think it was a taxi.

[buttersister]

Empty Nesters meet Floor.

Wow, after so many transparently obvious bs stories, this Netherlands episode outdoes them all. 😂 He’s Dutch moving back with his American wife. Her two girls from previous marriage are on their own, so back they go. He has a job, she’ll be home. She wants to be in town (Zwolle) so she has something to do during the day. He’s a country boy who wants to be way out of town. Oh and the boonie house had the 3 bedrooms she “wanted “ in case her daughters came together to visit. LOL! I guess they couldn’t share a guest room (that had two beds!).

He tried to sound sincere about the noisy city vs. cow country, but had nice things to say about #3. Because they were living in #3. In the city. Where she, who has no driver’s license, wanted to live. Big. “Furnished.” Great views. Did I mention, a guest room with two beds?

[snarts]

Swolle, Netherlands: I didn't find their situation odd. She's always been interested in living in Europe and married a European off a dating app. He's lived with her in the States for 9+ years. Her two daughters are now 25 and 22, one lives in Spokane, WA and the other lives in Kansas. Both are grown and already a flight distance away. They're aware that they'll likely want to be back in the States if/when there are grandchildren so they saw this a window in time where they could move. One of them also mentioned that she'd recently left her job.

I loved the option they chose. Being on the top floor got them away from the street noise and gave them some nice views. The apartment felt quite large.

I'd never heard of Swolle previous to this, it looked beautiful. The Dutch love & value their parks.

[laredhead]

Zwolle, Netherlands - the house in the country was set in a beautiful area, but the bedrooms upstairs were a nightmare.  He couldn't even stand up, and they had to duck down to go between them.  I was getting claustrophobia watching it.  When I saw apartment #3, I told my cat they needed to take that one because of the space and the outdoor area.  The cat agreed.  On another note, the husband had lost a lot of his accent in 9 years. 

[Chit Chat]

On 9/20/2023 at 5:35 PM, Mediocre Gatsby said:

who would NOT stop saying "I'll be the only one working." DUDE. You're moving for YOUR job. Shut up. 

His attitude irked me.  She gave up her career as an Optometrist in order to fulfill his dream of living in Vietnam, but yet he didn't seem to give a damn as to her needs when she and the kids will be spending most of their time at home.  However, I was pleasantly shocked that he agreed to the larger and more expensive apartment.  

I thought that both of them were ridiculous about the apartment with the small office that could be converted into a bedroom.  A twin bed would've fit nicely in there.  Do kids not sleep in twin beds anymore?  They could've gotten a daybed without the pull-out bed underneath and used the space for storage for the kids. 

[ArtFossil]

29 minutes ago, Chit Chat said:

His attitude irked me.  She gave up her career as an Optometrist in order to fulfill his dream of living in Vietnam, but yet he didn't seem to give a damn as to her needs when she and the kids will be spending most of their time at home.  However, I was pleasantly shocked that he agreed to the larger and more expensive apartment.  

I thought that both of them were ridiculous about the apartment with the small office that could be converted into a bedroom.  A twin bed would've fit nicely in there.  Do kids not sleep in twin beds anymore?  They could've gotten a daybed without the pull-out bed underneath and used the space for storage for the kids. 

Seriously. Or put a trundle bed in the other room and used this room as a playroom. 

Both parents seemed like they just acquired the children yesterday and had no clue how to manage them. 

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, Chit Chat said:

Do kids not sleep in twin beds anymore? 

I never had a twin bed; I went from my crib to a double.  But when I slept in one elsewhere it wasn't a big deal.

[Thumper]

I saw a show last week-ish featuring a couple looking for a home somewhere in France.  I assume it was a repeat episode and am wondering if anyone else remembers it.

The wife was going to live in France, but the husband was staying in the U.S. for a period of time.  I think they still had a child in high school? I may have missed part of it.

The wife kept saying (paraphrasing)“I will know the home by how I feel in it.  It’s a feeling I get.”  Like she had some special sensitivity that no one else had!  I found it annoying.

They picked a place and in the “3 months after” the husband was visiting.  They said they saw each other about every 6 weeks.

I just could not figure out why the wife couldn’t wait it out and buy when her husband could join her.  It just seemed very odd.

[aghst]

15 hours ago, laredhead said:

Zwolle, Netherlands - the house in the country was set in a beautiful area, but the bedrooms upstairs were a nightmare.  He couldn't even stand up, and they had to duck down to go between them.  I was getting claustrophobia watching it.  When I saw apartment #3, I told my cat they needed to take that one because of the space and the outdoor area.  The cat agreed.  On another note, the husband had lost a lot of his accent in 9 years. 

The Dutch are pretty fluent in English.  Probably didn’t take long for him to lose the accent.

Yeah I can’t believe the country house was ever an option for them but Floor said Zwolle didn’t have a lot of inventory so maybe they had to set up the third house as an option for the episode and the hubby had to pretend to want to live in the country.

Amazing how it’s often sunny in the Netherlands episodes.  Must not cost them to have the crew wait for the best weather because it’s not the sunniest place.

[BAForever]

9 hours ago, ArtFossil said:

Both parents seemed like they just acquired the children yesterday and had no clue how to manage them. 

Yes @ArtFossil- I commented on that upthread. Every time the 4 of them were together, a kid was being fussy. I just thought the cameraperson/editor disliked them- but maybe that's all that they saw.

[Chit Chat]

23 hours ago, laredhead said:

When I saw apartment #3, I told my cat they needed to take that one because of the space and the outdoor area.  The cat agreed. 

Bwah!!  While watching the episode, I was thinking about how much my cats would love the outdoor space with that apartment!  

The house in the country needed too much work.  The realtor said that the improvements would be done in a couple of weeks, but it looked like it would take longer than that to complete.  Plus, the place wasn't furnished so their expenses would start adding up quickly.  

[Je suis Rachel]

This week's blog goes deeper in to Andy's medial issues and why we put it up for rent.

http://www.maisonavaison.com/whenprovenceblog

 

Thank you for everyone's support so far! You've been so kind and we appreciate it!

 

[Pine]

10 hours ago, Je suis Rachel said:

This week's blog goes deeper in to Andy's medial issues and why we put it up for rent.

http://www.maisonavaison.com/whenprovenceblog

 

Thank you for everyone's support so far! You've been so kind and we appreciate it!

 

Which episode are you on?  I would love to see more photos of your chosen French home.

[Grizzly]

Siem Reap, Cambodia. Entitled artist looking for cheaper than NYC living. Wow Julia is pushing all my annoyance buttons. This realtor is excellent, she's very patient and not snarky when Julia makes an unreasonable request. You don't want to pay $350 for the perfect location, they'll have no trouble finding someone who will. We get it, you're tall and most Cambodians aren't. How rude they didn't build apartments to fit you. And when she turns to the realtor and asks what Juu thinks. I'm sure they couldn't broadcast what Juu thinks.

[buttersister]

I want more Cambodia episodes because I cannot get enough Juu. The side eye that went with “because you are tall” was priceless!

The artist whose paintings price out at $2,500–$10,000 can’t go $350 a month for rent? LOL x 100! Of course she did. No way she didn’t already live in #2. Or just got an exhibit in no time. 😂😂😂 

Bye, Julia. Come back soon, Juu. Even if you have insufferable clients.

 

[cinsays]

8 hours ago, buttersister said:

I want more Cambodia episodes because I cannot get enough Juu. The side eye that went with “because you are tall” was priceless!

The artist whose paintings price out at $2,500–$10,000 can’t go $350 a month for rent? LOL x 100! Of course she did. No way she didn’t already live in #2. Or just got an exhibit in no time. 😂😂😂 

Bye, Julia. Come back soon, Juu. Even if you have insufferable clients.

 

Seems Julia just wanted to have her paintings exhibited on TV, so she used  HH for her purposes.  I didn't see anything in her artwork that would make me pay $250, much less $2500, but what do i know about fine art.  

[Orcinus orca]

Did you know she is an acrylic artist?  And did you know she needs lots of natural light?

Apparently other painters have no issues painting in the dark....

Edited September 27, 2023 by Orcinus orca

[chessiegal]

When Julia was complaining about natural light, I told the tv - become a plein air painter. There is plenty of natural light outside.

[Pi237]

Juu seemed stricken at times when Julie was listing negatives. Maybe they’re not used to people openly complaining so much. I don’t know. She seemed to take it personal so I was uncomfortable watching this one. Plus, the uptalk ugh. Every sentence a question lol 

plus, going from astronomical NYC rent to $250 a month & she still acted like that was a lot of money? Weird. 

Edited September 27, 2023 by Pi237

[aghst]

I'm a little more sympathetic to Julia, the painter.

She can't pay NYC rents so she went to Cambodia.  Looks like she really felt at home, like it would be a place which would inspire her.  

So she's still pursuing the dream instead of getting a regular job.

She said she may live there the rest of her life.  Did she scope out the market potential for selling her paintings?  Seems like she had a pretty good idea that it was possible, that there were exhibitions and some number of buyers.

She told the realtor that it takes hundreds of hours for her to do a painting, so charging thousands seem to be based on what she was able to sell in NY.  The question is can she find enough buyers in Cambodia.

Plus how do you know if her style is going to be in fashion for her to keep being able to sell and support herself just from painting.  She has to do some yoga lessons on the side.

It would have been interesting to see if the new surroundings influenced her paintings.

As for her demands, they seem unreasonable given her budget.  I would not want a wet bathroom either.  Did she make up her requirements and budgets?  She said she'd been to Siem Reap many times before making this move so she might have scoped out the market.  Then again, the place she chose was probably the one she was already living in.  So HHI might have shaped her list of asks and the budget.  The other two choices were in less expensive neighborhoods.

[Thumper]

Parents moving to Scotland.    They sold their home in Fargo to send their daughter to college IN SCOTLAND.   Then they decided to move TO SCOTLAND because they had always told their daughter they’d never be far away from her.  🤔🥴.    Oh my.  Loosen the apron strings!  I wonder if the daughter was as thrilled that they were nearby??? 
 

Maybe there is more to this story, but I was. 🙄.

Edited September 27, 2023 by Thumper

[BAForever]

Had to watch Juu and Julia after reading comments. I get that it's all producer-driven set up- but Julia was pretty unlikable in her demands. She's been in Siem Reap for awhile- she must realize that many Cambodians are short compared to Americans. 

[chessiegal]

My husband just asked me if anyone was commenting on Julia in Cambodia. I told him - oh yeah! 🤣

[Mediocre Gatsby]

Artist moving to Cambodia: 

I loathed her. That's it. 

[Orcinus orca]

I would be shocked if Acrylic Artist has an audience for her art in Cambodia. I am not art expert but that culture could not be more different than that in the US.  Not to say it's impossible but I think she's going to have a tough time making a living at that. 

Of course, if she does sell something for $10K, that's a whole lot of months of rent.

Since we know that all of these folks already live in the place they "pick" and she's already teaching yoga, she apparently hasn't got any kind of steady income from her art.

[Bastet]

4 hours ago, Thumper said:

Parents moving to Scotland.    They sold their home in Fargo to send their daughter to college IN SCOTLAND.   Then they decided to move TO SCOTLAND because they had always told their daughter they’d never be far away from her.  🤔🥴.    Oh my.  Loosen the apron strings!  I wonder if the daughter was as thrilled that they were nearby??? 
 

Maybe there is more to this story, but I was. 🙄.

That's a repeat, because I remember extensive conversation at the time; almost everyone was 🙄. 

[Thumper]

3 hours ago, Bastet said:

That's a repeat, because I remember extensive conversation at the time; almost everyone was 🙄. 

Thanks.  I figured it was an old one.  YouTube TV doesn’t identify the original show date, so I can’t go back through this forum to find comments.  ☹️

[Bastet]

58 minutes ago, Thumper said:

YouTube TV doesn’t identify the original show date, so I can’t go back through this forum to find comments.  ☹️

It was April 3rd; discussion starts here.  (I just searched this thread for Fargo + Scotland)

[Chit Chat]

11 hours ago, Pi237 said:

Juu seemed stricken at times when Julie was listing negatives. Maybe they’re not used to people openly complaining so much. I don’t know. She seemed to take it personal so I was uncomfortable watching this one.

 Yeah, she seemed a little hurt.  Maybe she felt like Julia was insulting the culture and their way of life.  If Juu has never been to the U.S., it's probably very difficult for her to imagine all of the little luxuries we have that are sometimes taken for granted, so when people are looking to move abroad, they can be rather harsh in their comments of the homes/apartments they're looking at.  As with most of these shows, the buyer/renter can sometimes get too picky though.

I didn't like the apartment that had the bathroom sink outside of the bathroom.  I hate when I stay at a hotel and that's the way it's set up.  It's really gross to go from using the toilet to touching the door handle before you wash your hands.  I carry a travel size of Lysol for such occasions.  I always Lysol every door handle in the room before I do anything else!!  

13 hours ago, Orcinus orca said:

Did you know she is an acrylic artist? 

Oh, is that what she does for a living?  She wasn't too clear on that!  ha ha!

[Pi237]

Yes, the sink outside the door is so gross. Sometimes, it gets messy in there. That door handle has seen some stuff in its time.🤢

[chessiegal]

What do you do about the sink faucets? You're going to touch them turning on the water to wash your hands. Sanitize the faucets after use?

[Thumper]

1 hour ago, Bastet said:

It was April 3rd; discussion starts here.  (I just searched this thread for Fargo + Scotland)

Thanks again!  Also for the tip on searching for shows.

[aghst]

Once stayed in Amsterdam apt. which had a separate WC with a small, I mean small sink inside.

Idea was to wash your hands right after using the toilet but this tiny sink wasn’t up to the job.  It was approximately 7 inches by 5 inches maybe?  It had a slim profile so that it didn’t jut out too much from the side wall of the WC or else normal sized adults couldn’t squeeze by to reach the toilet or leave.

You couldn’t really lather up your hands and fully rinse off the lather.

In that case a full sized sink outside the WC might be better.

[Chit Chat]

8 hours ago, chessiegal said:

What do you do about the sink faucets? You're going to touch them turning on the water to wash your hands. Sanitize the faucets after use?

I don't use both hands to, um, tidy up after doing my business, so the clean hand can turn on the faucet.  The same could be set about the door handle, but I don't know the habits of those who share the bathroom with me!! ;)  

Edited September 28, 2023 by Chit Chat

[Mediocre Gatsby]

Valencia: This episode drove home to me how frustrating it must be to be a realtor (not gonna do that trademark stuff and capitalization) - even when they've already BOUGHT a place, people are so annoying on their different pages. I felt like who cared what the "I need to travel" guy wanted, since he might be out gallivanting around a lot of the time. I was surprised they hadn't gone for the 3rd pricer apartment (which we know might not have been available) but good for them. 

I did laugh at traveling guy protesting that he wasn't messy, just a human being. I hear you, dude. 

Valencia was beautiful. 

[chessiegal]

5 hours ago, Mediocre Gatsby said:

This episode drove home to me how frustrating it must be to be a realtor (not gonna do that trademark stuff and capitalization)

I don't think it's needed on HHI. I sincerely doubt there are members of the National Association of Realtors selling overseas. Most of the so-called real estate agents are people who specialize in finding properties or just people they bring in to play the part.

[aghst]

Even middle aged gay guys have midlife crisis sports cars?

There are nice places to drive in Spain though, so maybe it's worth the hassle.

Good price if the lifestyle is as good as advertised.  At least the weather should be great except maybe at the height of summer.

 

[Bastet]

12 hours ago, Mediocre Gatsby said:

This episode drove home to me how frustrating it must be to be a realtor (not gonna do that trademark stuff and capitalization)

As @chessiegal gal said, no need, as that would be for a member of the National Association of Realtors®, which is an American trade organization.  Not all real estate agents in the U.S. are Realtors, and someone only practicing in another country certainly isn't.  (And, interestingly [or not], in Spain, anyone can act as a real estate agent -- no license or certification required.)

[Chit Chat]

On 9/29/2023 at 2:55 AM, Mediocre Gatsby said:

I did laugh at traveling guy protesting that he wasn't messy, just a human being.

I liked this couple!  Maybe the "messy" guy is not quite as neat as he thinks, or the other guy needs the bathroom to be super-duper clean, as in spotless!  I'm glad they got their separate bathrooms.  Hopefully they'll find a balance of being in one place but being able to travel too.  

[proserpina65]

On 9/27/2023 at 10:51 PM, chessiegal said:

What do you do about the sink faucets? You're going to touch them turning on the water to wash your hands. Sanitize the faucets after use?

Don't know about the original poster but I never touch the faucets after I've washed my hands.  I use paper towels to turn off the water or as a last resort, my elbows.

[Grizzly]

Utrecht, Netherlands. How perfect that a bicycle engineer is moving to the Netherlands. I like their back story. But they have the same HHI issues. City center, charm, space, outdoor garden all for little money. Yawn.

[buttersister]

Cafes! Space! Ha, I’ve seen this show before. Cute couple nab cute townhouse in town. 

I would like to return to The Netherlands one day. 

[BAForever]

Netherlands couple were cute and didn't bug. Glad he put her needs above his since she was working from home. 

[aghst]

The Utrecht house hunters wanted room for their dogs, bikes and his sneaker collection.

She really puts up with his wants.  As a bike engineer, they probably have more than a couple of bikes at the house?

Seems like Floor didn't warm up to them as much as she did with other house hunters.

[Kenzie]

Utrecht

I liked this couple. They were nice to each other and fairly reasonable in their wants.

Anybody else pick up shoe fetish vibes from him? His eyes glazed a few times when talking about his collection, especially when he was lining up the shoes in the closet and tenderly nudged one shoe a half inch into place. 😃

[Thumper]

Is Floor really a realtor, or is she an aspiring actress?  Her short dress and high boots don’t seem “realtor” to me.    She also gives/ gave off an exasperated vibe to me.

[chessiegal]

11 minutes ago, Thumper said:

Is Floor really a realtor, or is she an aspiring actress?  Her short dress and high boots don’t seem “realtor” to me.    She also gives/ gave off an exasperated vibe to me.

I listened to a multi-hour interview with her with 2 guys who have vlog. I only made it through the first hour, but they asked her how she got the gig on HHI. She said she was going to law school and needed a job to support herself. She saw a real estate company was looking for someone to do admin work, and she took it. After a while they had her showing properties. So yes, she does work in real estate.

[aghst]

Maybe she doesn't dress like that when she's not showing properties on HHI.

For one thing, HHI seems to like to shoot when it's sunny, which isn't that common in the Netherlands or some of the other places.

So more reason for her to dress for warmer weather.

She once jumped in a canal on one of the episodes so she's probably doing things for TV that she wouldn't do for normal clients.