House Hunters International - General Discussion

[Dewey Decimate]

Tristan seemed like a cool guy - snappy comments but also managed to see the positives about each place. I kept laughing at the balcony in the bathroom (which I think is awesome) and his "Hello, Zagreb!"

I can't recall which ep it was (maybe Zagreb, maybe Paris?), but there was a female HH who kept making comments about the "small" bedrooms, and all I could say to the t.v. was "hmmm.... well, the fact that it's called a BEDroom should give you a clue..."

[LennieBriscoe]

TX to London: I'm guessing the influence on the wife was the movie set in Notting Hill. 

Their budget was stupefyingly ridiculous. Let them try $1800/month in D.C., NYC, L.A., and see what they get.

[ML89]

Nicaragua - okay, that was a big ol' mess. How does the woman get to the airport if she's continuing as a flight attendant? Why would you suddenly decide to take over a bar in Nicaragua? Why is an Irish bar selling mojitos? How much longer does anyone give that couple?

I haven't seen the Paris photography studio one yet, but could the woman be a student of the couple running the "learn nude photography in the French countryside" b n b?

[Tony]

Zagreb, Croatia: loved the obligatory segment at the end with the HH chopping vegetables and entertaining her new "social circle" which consisted of Tristan and a random woman whose knowledge of English was probably limited to the "hhmmmm" she managed to muster.

[Pickles]

Last night's episode with the couple retiring to Ireland. Their renovation looked great! I think they chose the right property, but it did look small. They looked young to have retired. He was a retired police officer and she had been a nurse. I think it would be tough to leave the stats andyour children and grandchildren behind. I just wonder if they will eventually tire of Ireland and move back to the US. It did look beautiful where they bought and I suppose they would travel around. I would go stir crazy after awhile in that country setting.

interesting how they had originally retired to Arizona, but could not take the heat. It seems like the heat would have been the number one factor to consider, before uprooting and moving there. 

Leave the states

[Kohola3]

1 hour ago, Pickles said:

I just wonder if they will eventually tire of Ireland and move back to the US.

Possibly but since he was born and raised there I kind of think they will stay a while.

[Pickles]

The Brooklyn to Singapore couple on right now. If the wife has mentioned coffee shops and wanting to be able to grab coffee one time, she has mentioned it forty seven times. 

[LittleIggy]

6 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

Possibly but since he was born and raised there I kind of think they will stay a while.

When was that mentioned? I thought they said they fell in love with that part of Ireland while the husband was in the military. They would vacation there. I didn’t hear that he was Irish.

I liked the house they picked. It just needed some paint.

1 hour ago, Pickles said:

The Brooklyn to Singapore couple on right now. If the wife has mentioned coffee shops and wanting to be able to grab coffee one time, she has mentioned it forty seven times. 

I liked the third place but, horrors, there were no coffee shops RIGHT THERE! It would have meant a brief bus ride or a ten minute stroll to get to coffee shops. ?

[Kohola3]

7 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

When was that mentioned?

Maybe there were two Irish episodes?  The one I'm thinking of, the guy had an Irish accent and said he'd walked past the house they bought every day on his way to school.  I didn't hear the back story so perhaps I'm thinking of a different one.

[Spunkygal]

6 minutes ago, Kohola3 said:

Maybe there were two Irish episodes?  The one I'm thinking of, the guy had an Irish accent and said he'd walked past the house they bought every day on his way to school.  I didn't hear the back story so perhaps I'm thinking of a different one.

I think that was a rerun. I remember seeing it sometime ago. 

[ForReal]

With the Brooklyn to Singapore couple, it was the standard conflict of one person wanting to stay within budget and the other person who would be staying home with a child wanting a comfortable living environment. Obviously compromise is essential and not altogether entertaining, but I do get tired of this conflict and usually I side with the one staying home. If you are going to live in a new country and culture, you need to feel comfortable in your digs. As long as you can afford them.

[doodlebug]

9 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

When was that mentioned? I thought they said they fell in love with that part of Ireland while the husband was in the military. They would vacation there. I didn’t hear that he was Irish.

I liked the house they picked. It just needed some paint.

I liked the third place but, horrors, there were no coffee shops RIGHT THERE! It would have meant a brief bus ride or a ten minute stroll to get to coffee shops. ?

Yeah, I couldn't figure out why the husband was so upset about all the 'renovations' the house needed when it appeared that, in most of the rooms, a coat of paint was all that was required.  Then again, I wasn't horrified by the kitchen he found so unacceptable, either.  It did look like they had done a very nice job of sprucing the place up and decorating in the follow up.

I don't blame Singapore wife for wanting to be close to amenities, especially a swimming pool since it is hot as balls there much of the year.  And, hauling a baby/toddler in a stroller on and off a bus to go shopping is kind of a drag, IMO.  I did wonder a little bit about them taking the apartment, on the 27th floor!, with balcony off the baby's room.   Those railings didn't look very high to me and I would worry that, once the kid was walking, she'd pretty quickly figure out how to open the glass doors.

[LittleIggy]

I don’t blame the mom in Singapore for wanting a pool. I’m glad she got what she wanted, I just got tired of hearing about the coffee shops!

I wonder if the husband put in for moving to Singapore before talking to his wife. He made it sounds as if he raised his hand in a meeting. I hope that’s not what happened! ?

Edited August 15, 2018 by LittleIggy

[QuinnM]

Just catching up with my Tivo -

Couple moving to Italy with the husband in the button down shirt declares the first apartment with the red lacquer kitchen as not having any Italian charm.  Dude you’re wrong.  Italians invented the red lacquer kitchen.  That is the height of Italian fashion.  They have a range manufacturer whose number one stove color is red, Ferrari red.  So when I see a red lacquer kitchen I just assume Italian.

And boy was he a pill.

[Kohola3]

14 minutes ago, QuinnM said:

Dude you’re wrong.  Italians invented the red lacquer kitchen.  That is the height of Italian fashion.  

He probably thinks that Pizza Hut decor is the height of Italian decor so wants his home to look like that.

[Pickles]

9 hours ago, ForReal said:

With the Brooklyn to Singapore couple, it was the standard conflict of one person wanting to stay within budget and the other person who would be staying home with a child wanting a comfortable living environment. Obviously compromise is essential and not altogether entertaining, but I do get tired of this conflict and usually I side with the one staying home. If you are going to live in a new country and culture, you need to feel comfortable in your digs. As long as you can afford them.

I agree. Wasn't the Singapore apartment only $100 over budget? I googled the husband and he has a bigwig banking job (the Singapore  move was a big promotion)so he is most likely making a huge salary. Worrying about the budget, I would imagine, was not a genuine concern for them.

[thosme]

What in the second apartment made it look Asian? I thought the facade looked a little bit but they didn't have the whole house anyway.  Because their budget was so high ( $4,200) the apartment they took at $4,300 was just 2% over their budget.  You would think a banker could have figured that out.  

[SmithW6079]

2 hours ago, thosme said:

What in the second apartment made it look Asian? I thought the facade looked a little bit but they didn't have the whole house anyway.  Because their budget was so high ( $4,200) the apartment they took at $4,300 was just 2% over their budget.  You would think a banker could have figured that out.  

But that wasn't in the script.

In the third apartment, if they were so concerned about being near the kid, why didn't they just stay in the third bedroom?

I agree, the second apartment had nothing that seemed "Asian."

I was annoyed with the wife for harping about going out and taking to people in the ever-important coffee shops,  because I wondered if she even spoke the language, but it turns out Singapore has four official languages, English among them; English is the lingua franca.

The husband just came across as a dick. I bet he's unpleasant to work for. 

[Babalooie]

NC to Germany:  My first impression was, "What a shiny face the wife has."  Explanation is that she's an esthetician.   I pretty much started sneering into the screen at her from the get-go.    Regarding the houses, good choice, but they'll really have to train the baby (did you know that she wants a baby?) to stay away from all that glass.  

On ‎8‎/‎14‎/‎2018 at 4:35 PM, Pickles said:

looked young

IR episode:  Police officers can retire in 20 years.

Edited August 17, 2018 by Babalooie

[LittleIggy]

NC to Germany: The wife got on my last nerve with her “am I not the cutest thing?” shtick. Isn’t an aesthetician someone who does facials? Get over yourself. I did like the place they picked. Odd thing about the kitchen customs in Germany. The agent was cute, but his suit was awful. He looked like a local news sportscaster!

[Kohola3]

8 hours ago, Babalooie said:

(did you know that she wans a baby?)

She was pretty much demanding a baby.  I can't understand what he sees in her.  That big evil laugh after saying "I always get what I want".  Yuck.

[biakbiak]

The Germany couple’s dog must have just passed because they showed a picture of both the dogs together in the city center of Landshut which also probably explains why it appeared he had been crying when talking about him.

I liked the house they chose.

Edited August 16, 2018 by biakbiak

[mojito]

Quote

Isn’t an aesthetician someone who does facials?

I was thinking that she worked at the makeup counter at Macy's.

Brooklyn to Singapore:

I didn't get the complaint of the child's room being so far away. In an apartment.

[ML89]

18 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

NC to Germany: The wife got on my last nerve with her “am I not the cutest thing?” shtick. Isn’t an aesthetician someone who does facials? Get over yourself. I did like the place they picked. Odd thing about the kitchen customs in Germany. The agent was cute, but his suit was awful. He looked like a local news sportscaster!

That "buy the kitchen" was like the Japanese ep where they had to spend $20k for the furniture in the "huh" department. I could not figure out where that came from as a custom, although it does explain why you can buy an entire kitchen at IKEA. I really liked the place they picked too although....did all that glass have some curtains or blinds? I know they had a fence but that bothered me (that and how hot did it get there because that's a lot of glass!)

Yeah, an aesthetician - that's not a transferrable job? Also I laughed at the ending, since I was expecting her to be pregnant: "We're going to travel some and enjoy beer and wine..."

[Kohola3]

12 minutes ago, ML89 said:

...and how hot did it get there because that's a lot of glass!

And how cold in the winter, heated floors or not.

Surely there are German ladies who are in need of a facial now and then.

[biakbiak]

24 minutes ago, Kohola3 said:

Surely there are German ladies who are in need of a facial now and then.

It can be difficult for spouses to get work permits depending on a variety of factors but maybe she does it under the table but didn’t want to highlight it. 

[rlc]

Re: Pining after Paris, what the hell is wrong with this woman? A 1.5 hour commute twice a day to go to school isn’t an issue to her, but she was literally pouting about the EXACT SAME 1.5 hour trip to get from her precious Paris to Versailles on the weekends, or whatever time she would have as a full time student and parent?

Does she not understand that the French aristocracy all chose Versailles over Paris? Moron.

[KLovestoShop]

I couldn't stand the Paris wife.  If she wanted a fun time in Paris, and an MBA, why did she have a baby?  I really felt bad for her husband.  He gave up living in the US to make her happy, and agreed to be a stay at home dad, but she was all about the nightlife in Paris.  Hate to tell her, but doing an MBA and having an infant means you're not going to live the freestyle life of a single woman.  

Since she's going to school, and he's staying home, where is their money coming from?

[Chippings]

Ditto ditto ditto.  Couldn't stand her -- cheerfully shrugging off a 90 minute commute, each way --  She wouldn't see her baby in the daylight for days on end !!  And was she planning on doing any homework?  Her vision of sitting idly in sidewalk cafes was completely unreal.  I was surprised she ultimately did go for the Versailles location.  Maybe it was all (as we say here so often) producer driven, but she seemed entirely sincere about her stupidness.

[Kohola3]

Selfish little twit wanting to live some sort of fantasy as a single woman in gay Paree.  Get real, you moron, you have a baby at home and schooling to complete.  Oh, and your obvious afterthought, a husband.

That agent got on my last nerve as well - she acted like the husband was a total dolt to rain on Miss Carefree's parade.

I'm assuming the thousand shots of the sign had something to do with either her business or the school. Since I am not familiar with either, it was wasted on me.

6 hours ago, KLovestoShop said:

Since she's going to school, and he's staying home, where is their money coming from?

Didn't they say something about selling property or something?

[biakbiak]

I found him equally annoying with his this is way too small, including a perfectly normal sized shower, when those apartments were decent for their sizes and locations to the point that I assume neither was actually for rent at that price. 

That’s not to say she wasn’t also annoying and needs to shut the fuck up about charm and Adrienne was also annoying.

I know they had already decided on the Versailles before they went on this show but there seemed to be some genuine resentment there when she was talking on her one on ones it wouldn’t surprise me if they get divorced sooner rather than later.

Edited August 17, 2018 by biakbiak

[rlc]

The Paris agent has been on before, hasn’t she? At first I thought it was a repeat because I remembered her.

[biakbiak]

12 minutes ago, rlc said:

The Paris agent has been on before, hasn’t she? At first I thought it was a repeat because I remembered her.

She’s been on many, many times. Basically if there is a Paris ep she is the realtor, sometimes even when it’s not in Paris. I typically don’t find her annoying like I did this past episode.

[mojito]

Scottsdale to Paris (almost)

This was one woman's desire to live in Paris who was using the excuse of earning an  MBA to accomplish that. She didn't seem to care about space enough for books and a laptop, didn't even point out a dining room table as adequate enough for that. Academics didn't seem at all on her mind. Adrian Leeds (her name is thrown out so much here that I now know it) was a uncharacteristically annoying in this episode.

As for the 1.5-hour commute....She could easily have had to spend a lot more than 8 hours a day away from home. It's not like she was probably going to take back-to-back classes; she could have one class at 8 and another at 3. So she'd have to "kill" time on campus between classes or repeat that commute. 

Faced with the prospect of being the primary caretaker of the child seemed to scare the husband somewhat. He didn't say anything about putting his career (whatever that was) on hold. 

This episode was a case where the manufactured drama really kind of took away from the apartment viewing experience. 

P.S. I roll my eyes whenever I hear a grown-ass woman remark on how something would make her feel like a princess.

[chessiegal]

We were in Paris last year and went to Versailles No way it's a 1.5 hour commute. It took us about 20 minutes by train. Eurorail says 12 minutes.

[biakbiak]

12 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

We were in Paris last year and went to Versailles No way it's a 1.5 hour commute. It took us about 20 minutes by train. Eurorail says 12 minutes.

They are always fast and lose with times but the school isn’t actually in Versailles and even it’s website says it’s a ten minute walk to the closest train station and 45 minutes by train to Paris so depending on a lot of factors it could get close to an hour and a half.

Edited August 17, 2018 by biakbiak

[doodlebug]

2 hours ago, biakbiak said:

I found him equally annoying with his this is way too small, including a perfectly normal sized shower, when those apartments were decent for their sizes and locations to the point that I assume neither was actually for rent at that price. 

That’s not to say she wasn’t also annoying and needs to shut the fuck up about charm and Adrienne was also annoying.

I know they had already decided on the Versailles before they went on this show but there seemed to be some genuine resentment there when she was talking on her one on ones it wouldn’t surprise me if they get divorced sooner rather than later.

He annoyed me too.  He seemed to be very unhappy, even resentful, of the move and that he was going to be the primary caregiver for their child.  Once they've already crossed the ocean and are living in France, it is time to get on board and suck it up, buddy.

However, she was equally annoying, ignoring his very real concerns about where they were going to place the crib and other baby paraphernalia. 'Well, if there's not enough room, just get rid of it!' Easy for her to say, she was apparently taking a break from parenting in addition to taking a break from her job.  I felt sorry for the baby, having a mother who seemed so disengaged from him and a father who seemed to resent caring for him.

If living IN Paris was such a priority for her, then surely she could've found a graduate program in Paris, a city with many, many universities; rather than picking a fairly distant suburb.  Her very blithe dismissal of an hour and a half commute was ridiculous, too.  Even without kids, that is a heckuvalot of time spent away from home unnecessarily every day.

11 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

They are always fast and lose with times but the school isn’t in Versailles and even it’s website says it’s 45 minutes by train to Paris so depending on a lot of factors it could get close to an hour and a half.

Versailles is a fairly sprawling suburb, the palace is close to the rail lines, etc for obvious reasons.  If the place they chose was not next to the palace, it could easily double the commute time changing buses, traveling through town, etc.

[LittleIggy]

Versailles: The wife’s fake laugh was so grating. I’ve read so many books about the French Revolution and Marie Antoinette that I would love to live in Versailles. The view from their apartment was beautiful.

That baby and the King Charles Spaniel were adorable.

I looked up HEC online and it looks expensive and demanding.

I usually like Adrian, but this episode I was like “Shut up, bitch.”

Edited August 18, 2018 by LittleIggy

[rlc]

Riccardo, Riccardo, Riccardo.

[Pickles]

I would have been furious with that friend announcing--oh hey, my boyfriend Ricardo is going to be living with us in Sweden. Surprise! Was Ricardo paying any of the rent? Didn't sound like it. I was so glad the dark haired girl got the apartment she liked best and that was under budget. The dark haired girl was also super cute. Ricardo was not. 

[peggy06]

8 minutes ago, Pickles said:

I would have been furious with that friend announcing--oh hey, my boyfriend Ricardo is going to be living with us in Sweden. Surprise! Was Ricardo paying any of the rent? Didn't sound like it. I was so glad the dark haired girl got the apartment she liked best and that was under budget. The dark haired girl was also super cute. Ricardo was not. 

OMG I am so mad after watching that episode! I was hoping that, at the end, Caitlyn would just say she was going to find a place of her own. Would have served Hanna right. Let's just hope it didn't really go down that way, that Hanna told Caitlyn about the boyfriend before they made this plan. (As we know, the show being basically fake, it's possible.) 

[doodlebug]

36 minutes ago, Pickles said:

I would have been furious with that friend announcing--oh hey, my boyfriend Ricardo is going to be living with us in Sweden. Surprise! Was Ricardo paying any of the rent? Didn't sound like it. I was so glad the dark haired girl got the apartment she liked best and that was under budget. The dark haired girl was also super cute. Ricardo was not. 

Hanna appeared so selfish, if it was scripted, it makes me wonder why she was ok with playing that part.  In the beginning, she said that she and the amazing Ricardo had never even lived on the same continent, let alone cohabited.  Forcing her room mate into the midst of the relationship was really presumptuous and uncaring of her, IMO.  Then, she constantly worried about whether Ricardo would like the kitchen or whether there was enough room on the window sills for her plants, while making it clear that she expected the biggest bedroom for her and Ricardo and acted like Caitlin was unreasonable for not accepting a bedroom the size of a closet.  She just needed to 'adapt', doncha know?  And, if Caitlin couldn't accept the 'compromise' of getting a weirdly placed open extra space  for all her stuff that wouldn't fit into the bedroom as her hangout, well, she just not being fair.  Interesting that Caitlin couldn't even imagine offering to take the tiny bedroom for her and Mr Wonderful and they could use the open room on the route to the kitchen for themselves so Caitlin could have more privacy.  Very self involved, IMO.

I thought Caitlin was amazingly tolerant and I do hope it worked out like she hoped and that Ricardo was really as nice a guy and a good friend to her as she indicated in the follow up.

[LittleIggy]

I hope Caitlyn meets a hot Swede and moves in with him/her.  Is Ricardo paying 1/3 of the rent as he should be? One bathroom for the three of them?

In Caitlyn’s place, I certainly wouldn’t have ceded the bigger bedroom to them.

Edited August 18, 2018 by LittleIggy

[Rosebud1970]

Sweden episode.

Oh no, now! Did I somehow miss that the sainted Ricardo is paying 1/3 of the rent? Any portion of the rent? Because until/unless he is, Hanna has no business even thinking that Caitlyn will automatically accept moving into a smaller room because she's only one person and Hanna/Ricardo are two people.

 

And, honestly, Ricardo doesn't look like much of a catch. Even Hanna can do better than that, selfish cow that she is.

[Koalagirl]

On 8/17/2018 at 12:50 AM, KLovestoShop said:

I couldn't stand the Paris wife.  If she wanted a fun time in Paris, and an MBA, why did she have a baby?  I really felt bad for her husband.  He gave up living in the US to make her happy, and agreed to be a stay at home dad, but she was all about the nightlife in Paris.  Hate to tell her, but doing an MBA and having an infant means you're not going to live the freestyle life of a single woman.  

Since she's going to school, and he's staying home, where is their money coming from?

She said they sold some investment properties and that was what they were going to live off of.

[ML89]

Swedish ep - I spent the second half telling poor Caitlyn to RUN. Get your own place. Ricardo looked like a creep to me, especially when Caitlyn asked what he was cooking and Hanna answered. That was either a really awful sitcom or a low budget horror film waiting to happen. Hanna was a really crappy friend to not only spring that on her, but say "oh, we'll move up in price" - I was waiting for Caitlyn to ask if Ricardo was kicking in some money. 

[Ohwell]

Sweden episode:  I thought the whole story was bullcrap.  I do not think Ricardo was Hanna's boyfriend.  I also think that Caitlyn was in on the ruse from the getgo.  I think they were just three friends looking for a place in Sweden.  And Caitlyn had on mom jeans.  

[mojito]

Sweden

I thought the two women were very mature and pleasant and considerate. I didn't think that Hanna just sprung the boyfriend on Caitlyn at all. Didn't buy into that part of the story at all.

I wondered, when looking at that place where Caitlyn would have two rooms, why not let the couple have those two rooms? 

As for how they're splitting the rent, I don't think Caitlyn is any kind of a pushover and I don't think Hanna is at all unreasonable. Ricardo is paying his fair share.

Quote

And Caitlyn had on mom jeans.  

Mom jeans are great for the majority of the population. Only a minority of people look good in low-risers. The zipper area is too often puckered and then there are the people spilling over the top. You ever sit in bleachers behind people wearing those things? Low-rise jeans are a good example for why it is said that just because they make it in your size, doesn't mean you should buy them.

[biakbiak]

15 minutes ago, mojito said:

I wondered, when looking at that place where Caitlyn would have two rooms, why not let the couple have those two rooms?

Most likely because the “sleeping” room would barely allow for a twin bed.

[Kathcart]

LOL about all the comments re: Ricardo. I wish I'd known to play the Ricardo Drinking Game. "Ricardo won't like that kitchen" "Ricardo will love that windowsill" "There's not enough counter space for Ricardo" "Ricardo likes The Wizard of Oz" and of course "Ricardo is about to break up our friendship."