House Hunters International - General Discussion

[StatisticalOutlier]

1 hour ago, rlc said:

Re: Madrid 

What the hell was that?

Excellent question.

 

Quote

Where were the other two kids?

She said her two boys were grown--those were old pictures they were showing, and I finally figured out that the one with super long hair was one of the boys.

This episode bugged me no end.  I personally don't care if Amie is Scarlett's mother or her best friend, but one of them needs to tell her to push her glasses up on her face.  I was wishing for interactive TV so I could reach in there and do it myself.  Kid has her head rocked back all the time so she can see through them.  She needs to stop that.

Plus she had an annoying affect, and used the word "eyeballs" twice.  Get off my TV.

I wonder if Amie knows how to say "I mean" in Spanish, because if she doesn't, she's going to be mute.  Here's the count of "I mean"s, and I'm not including any repeats (since on every episode of HHI where they're looking at tiny apartments, pretty much every sentence is repeated at least once, if not multiple times, which says even MORE about the frequency of Amie's "I mean"s):

Intro:  1

Apartment 1:  10

Intro to apartment 2:  3

Apartment 2:  11

Intro to Apartment 3:  3

Apartment 3:  8

Deliberations:  12

That's 48 times she said "I mean" in a show that has, what, 15 minutes of original content?  (And she wasn't even the only one talking!)  She was economical, though, sometimes using it three times in a single sentence. 

And she agrees to go $150 over her $900 budget to get Scarlett's Barbie house tiny studio but it's okay because it includes the water bill (!) and the transportation costs are much less than what she was paying back in Nashville.  But wouldn't the difference in transportation costs (like not having to own a car) have been factored into the budget in the first place? 

And at one point, she said something about needing to stick to the budget because there's only one income.  No, you're working part time.  That's half an income, genius. 

Edited August 31, 2018 by StatisticalOutlier

[Chippings]

The good news is, I never have to see that child again in my life.  

But it's okay, the extra $150 over budget, because the water is included ..  Ahh - there we are!  

While I'm up and ranting here .. the statement "Well you can't expect a child to understand budget" was so much malarkey.  You sit down with a piece of paper, and write your net monthly income and your anticipated expenses -- whatever info you used to come up with your budget to begin with.   And show the kid where it goes.  Mutter mutter.

And, as is often the case, not a word was said about where the child's school was.  Near?  Far?   Was she going to a public school, which would depend on where you rented, or a private school already chosen in a specific place?  Oh never mind -- little Sweetheart feels like a princess, so what else matters.  Argh.  

[SpiritSong]

I've seen exactly two HHI family shows and I am already sick of them. It makes the parents look like idiots. A kid saying I'd prefer this bedroom over that one is fine; having a say on the budget is not.

I definitely want HH to shake up their tired, stale formula, but this wasn't what I had in mind. Instead of having every.single.couple. wanting totally different locations/styles, etc. we now have children deciding what to rent/buy. It just goes from stupid to stupider. 

[TVForever]

8 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

I love how Ofeibea Quist-Arcton says “Dakar”! 

Makes me smile every time! I always imagine Eartha Kitt, dressed as Catwoman, as the villainess in a Bond movie!

[sempervivum]

Madrid- yeesh, lady, the kid is 12, you've got maybe a year, tops, for Mommy to be Scarlett's 'best friend' before she turns into a normal teen who will hate your guts and do anything not to spend time with. Also, good job declaring on national TV that Scarlett is 'the most important thing in your life'; hope the 2 sons aren't watching.

I assumed an ex is supporting this dumb lifestyle choice.

Also, I would have to wear sunglasses in the apartment they chose.

[Vivigirl10]

13 hours ago, rlc said:

Re: Madrid 

What the hell was that?

You just made me crack up!  Exactly!

10 hours ago, Chippings said:

And, as is often the case, not a word was said about where the child's school was. 

I had a terrible feeling for some reason that there was NO schooling for Scarlet?

Bet Mom has quite the backstory.  Just a feeling I get. (*whisper*....multiple boyfriends)  I imagine, very living on a whim without much consideration for her children who have probably just been along for the ride

Awkward, odd, little Scarlet.  I kept having to remind myself that she was only 12.  I would've been pretty enchanted with a balcony at that age too.  Some of the things she said honestly made me laugh, others cringe.  But to be honest, in real life I bet I'd be able to stand being in the same room with her for all of five minutes. 

[LittleIggy]

I found this on a site about teaching in Spain:

“It is common for aspiring English teachers to enter Spain on a tourist visa good for a stay of up to 90 days and then stay beyond this time frame. If this is your plan, keep in mind that you will be staying illegally and all the work you do will be “under the table,” and paid in cash. This means you may not have job security or health insurance, among other things.

Working legally in Spain is no problem for EU citizens. However, in order to work legally non-EU citizens need to obtain work permits. First you need to find an employer who is willing to petition for your work permit, proving that there are no Spaniards or EU citizens who can perform the job suitably. While this is not impossible, it is very difficult to prove for English teachers, since there are qualified candidates from the UK or Ireland who would not require as much paperwork.

The process is also quite lengthy and can take up to a year, during which you would have to fly back to your home country to obtain and sign the documents. You will then have to apply for a visa that will allow you to reside and work in Spain for longer than the 3-month limit for tourists.”

I just don’t see how the mother got an employer to sponsor her for a work visa if she is only teaching part-time. She never once mentioned proximity to work as a requirement for housing. Something’s hinky here.

[ML89]

I swear I've seen the mom in the Madrid one in something else, maybe another HH or something? She seemed so familiar. The whole storyline was sort of crazy - the daughter sleeps on the couch? The agent looked like he was completely lost, poor man. They needed Richard or Adrienne to talk some sense into them, or that new snarky guy in Ireland. 

Daughter did seem to go to school because that outfit she wore at the totally not staged "mom's home wave from the balcony" scene looked like a uniform. But the whole story didn't add up. Where was the school or work or anything? Why not get someplace further out on a metro line that was cheaper? The kid whining about the bachelor pad third place - I laugh at all these people yammering about how they want "X country charm" when everything I see of European decorating/houses looks exactly like the modern places - and is something that is highly sought after in the US decorating magazines I see. 

Also, how in the hell are they affording $1050 on a part time salary?

3 hours ago, sempervivum said:

I assumed an ex is supporting this dumb lifestyle choice.

I believe you're right otherwise I don't see how this works.

[puppytoes]

15 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

Excellent question.

 

She said her two boys were grown--those were old pictures they were showing, and I finally figured out that the one with super long hair was one of the boys.

This episode bugged me no end.  I personally don't care if Amie is Scarlett's mother or her best friend, but one of them needs to tell her to push her glasses up on her face.  I was wishing for interactive TV so I could reach in there and do it myself.  Kid has her head rocked back all the time so she can see through them.  She needs to stop that.

Plus she had an annoying affect, and used the word "eyeballs" twice.  Get off my TV.

I wonder if Amie knows how to say "I mean" in Spanish, because if she doesn't, she's going to be mute.  Here's the count of "I mean"s, and I'm not including any repeats (since on every episode of HHI where they're looking at tiny apartments, pretty much every sentence is repeated at least once, if not multiple times, which says even MORE about the frequency of Amie's "I mean"s):

Intro:  1

Apartment 1:  10

Intro to apartment 2:  3

Apartment 2:  11

Intro to Apartment 3:  3

Apartment 3:  8

Deliberations:  12

That's 48 times she said "I mean" in a show that has, what, 15 minutes of original content?  (And she wasn't even the only one talking!)  She was economical, though, sometimes using it three times in a single sentence. 

And she agrees to go $150 over her $900 budget to get Scarlett's Barbie house tiny studio but it's okay because it includes the water bill (!) and the transportation costs are much less than what she was paying back in Nashville.  But wouldn't the difference in transportation costs (like not having to own a car) have been factored into the budget in the first place? 

And at one point, she said something about needing to stick to the budget because there's only one income.  No, you're working part time.  That's half an income, genius. 

That kid was so annoying and the mother was an idiot.

[juliet73]

I'm only halfway through Madrid and I had to come here to see if I was the only one that thought this episode was strange.  I did a quick Google search and found her blog  http://freespiritedsinglemom.com/blog-posts/. She's already back in the US.  From what I gather, her contract was for one school year, but she quit to move back to America because her son was joining the Army.  I don't understand that logic, but whatever.  Her Facebook page says she is an actress and singer in Nashville.  I want to know how she became an ESL teacher in Madrid?  Considering she was worried about not being able to feed her "best friend" because the apartment was $150 over budget, she and her daughter seemed to have done a lot of traveling, etc.  There were so many holes in this story!!  

21 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

That's 48 times she said "I mean" in a show that has, what, 15 minutes of original content?  (And she wasn't even the only one talking!)  She was economical, though, sometimes using it three times in a single sentence.

I didn't even notice that because I was so distracted by this....

21 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

I personally don't care if Amie is Scarlett's mother or her best friend, but one of them needs to tell her to push her glasses up on her face.  I was wishing for interactive TV so I could reach in there and do it myself.  Kid has her head rocked back all the time so she can see through them.  She needs to stop that.

Get that girl some contacts!!!!

Edited September 1, 2018 by juliet73

[Koalagirl]

I was tempted to mute the show because I could not take Scarlet anymore.  She is going to be an insufferable teenager.  

[LittleIggy]

Her blog makes her sound insufferable. Hey, look at me, I’m so quirky and freespirited! ?

Edited September 1, 2018 by LittleIggy

[LittleIggy]

Seattle to Costa Rica: This time the kids were cute, especially the older one speaking Spanish. BTW, did they say the younger boy was named “Ziggy”? I hope I misheard.

[Lemons]

13 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Seattle to Costa Rica: This time the kids were cute, especially the older one speaking Spanish. BTW, did they say the younger boy was named “Ziggy”? I hope I misheard.

Dorkiest couple!!   The guy was full of stupid trendy expressions.  He sounded like a moron.  No, you aren’t moving overseas, you could drive there, idiot.  And I’m sick of adults describing things like houses “magical”.   

[StatisticalOutlier]

18 hours ago, Koalagirl said:

I was tempted to mute the show because I could not take Scarlet anymore.  She is going to be an insufferable teenager.  

There's a downside to muting.  I use the captions, and I think that's why I notice the "I mean"s so much.  I think it's possible to not really hear them, but it's impossible to not read them. 

[SpiritSong]

I don't think I've ever rolled my eyes as hard as I did at that lady in Ecuador standing 3 blocks from the ocean and claiming she feels "safe from tsunamis" there. How on earth could she have missed the extensive coverage of the Japanese and Indonesian tsunamis? The ocean came inward for miles. If tsunamis are your big concern, get a place in the mountains. Sheesh.

[OFDgal]

23 hours ago, juliet73 said:

I'm only halfway through Madrid and I had to come here to see if I was the only one that thought this episode was strange.  I did a quick Google search and found her blog  http://freespiritedsinglemom.com/blog-posts/. She's already back in the US.  From what I gather, her contract was for one school year, but she quit to move back to America because her son was joining the Army.  I don't understand that logic, but whatever.  Her Facebook page says she is an actress and singer in Nashville.  I want to know how she became an ESL teacher in Madrid?  Considering she was worried about not being able to feed her "best friend" because the apartment was $150 over budget, she and her daughter seemed to have done a lot of traveling, etc.  There were so many holes in this story!!  

I didn't even notice that because I was so distracted by this....

Get that girl some contacts!!!!

I came here too after watching this episode.  Weird story.  I could not stand that child and was saying to the tv, Fix those glasses! Mom was really grinding in the dance scene.  I was, wtf when she said Scarlett was the most important thing in her life.  Hope her sons didn't watch.  Where do they find these people!

[LittleIggy]

In Scarlett’s defense, she may have a nose with a low bridge like me. My glasses always need to be pushed up. Fortunately, I’m nearsighted, so I can see fine up close, looking over them.

[peggy06]

On 8/30/2018 at 11:04 AM, LittleIggy said:

She was going to work for a non-profit (something to do with children and families?) so she wouldn’t be making a lot.

I don’t want to watch “HHI Family,” so please, no more kids parroting lines only adults would say. No more kids period on HHI!

This was SO grating. The daughter constantly repeating about local ambience or somesuch. It was incredibly rehearsed.

The 2nd and 3rd apartments were both very nice, though. LaPaz looks amazing.

[LittleIggy]

St. Martins: The house they picked was gorgeous (the husband was good looking, too!). I know what a concierge is/does, but what is a “concierge business”? Was she going to run a B&B or just rent out the ground floor?

[puppytoes]

St martins episode-  the woman was so annoying and  I wanted to cut that stringy long hair which was so unflattering.

[TVForever]

On September 2, 2018 at 10:16 AM, peggy06 said:

This was SO grating. The daughter constantly repeating about local ambience or somesuch. It was incredibly rehearsed.

The 2nd and 3rd apartments were both very nice, though. LaPaz looks amazing.

And don't forget the 10-year old son, who wanted to be " near the restaurants and all the action." A 10-year old. Giggle worthy stuff.

[Pickles]

2 hours ago, puppytoes said:

St martins episode-  the woman was so annoying and  I wanted to cut that stringy long hair which was so unflattering.

Agree about the hair. Just my opinion, but when you have an older looking face, it is a bit shocking to see long hair cascading down your back. Those two things just don't go together.

[IrishImport]

Just a thought...after watching yet another young House Hunter look around an affordable apartment - anywhere in the world - and say disparagingly “Looks like Grandma’s house.”  ...  In 50 years are young folk going to look at our  stainless steel appliances, granite or quartz countertops, white and grey kitchens, and IKEA furniture and say with a sniff, “Looks like Grandma’s place.” ?? 

[MarthaEllisanne]

1 hour ago, IrishImport said:

Just a thought...after watching yet another young House Hunter look around an affordable apartment - anywhere in the world - and say disparagingly “Looks like Grandma’s house.”  ...  In 50 years are young folk going to look at our  stainless steel appliances, granite or quartz countertops, white and grey kitchens, and IKEA furniture and say with a sniff, “Looks like Grandma’s place.” ?? 

I've thought about that, too.  Ugh, the open concept is soooo 2018!  And an island? I guess we can remove it.  I want walls!  I do not want to see the kids all the time.  

[mojito]

Quote

In 50 years are young folk going to look at our  stainless steel appliances, granite or quartz countertops, white and grey kitchens, and IKEA furniture and say with a sniff, “Looks like Grandma’s place.” ?? 

I expect we'll start hearing this within the next 10 years considering people's lack of sense of time. I started watching HGTV in 2003 or so, and had been hearing about stainless steel appliances, non-laminate counter tops, and great rooms since then (so that's at least 15 years). I expect that, any day now, we'll start hearing the term "turn of the century" to describe all these current must-haves.

[Kohola3]

23 minutes ago, mojito said:

I expect we'll start hearing this within the next 10 years considering people's lack of sense of time.

I always roll my eyes as they express horror when told a house was built in the late 1990's - "SO dated, a TOTAL gut job".  They act like it was built at the same time as the Roman Coliseum.

[DianeDobbler]

The Paris episode with the grad student and parents of baby made everyone look stupid. The husband looked begrudging to be the care giver - I just don't think a woman's bitching about being the main child care one would be as forgiven. That said, weren't they dragging that stroller up flights of stairs into what were basically closets? Why didn't they just show two more suitable decoys on the outskirts or edge of Paris (where mom could arguably still pursue her Paris dream) instead of totally flipping the script with - here's a place where they can actually breathe, in Versaille versus of two completely unsuitable hernia-inducing, claustrophobic spots in La Villes Paris Centre?

I wonder what the difference is between the scripted episode where one of the parties comes off insufferable (even if their demand isn't really "their" demand) and the ones where both seem good-natured, and are almost winking at us when they "argue"? I'm thinking of the pair of commercial actors, senior citizens (he was, she was almost one) who were moving to Lisbon. The place they obviously were going to take was charming as hell - wood everywhere, beautiful soft light, very spacious - only thing I disliked was the stairs. She was all "It's so generic - it could be anywhere!" and you know there was no way she actually thought that. The only reason "generic" fit at all were the rooms were nicely rectangular and square - no slanted roof to knock your ahead against, no toilet behind the breadmaker.

A couple of times in the domestic version of this show a duo is walking across the floor of a freshly reno'd home when the realtor says, "that's not real wood, it's a special kind of linoleum" and each time the would-be buyers recoil. I guess marmoleum isn't a sponsor - that stuff is HOT - it's all over the tiny house world, I myself am putting it in my (galley) kitchen, as are many of my neighbors. It is, I'll have those buyers know, made of "Wood flour" (Sawdust to the rest of us) and linseed oil, sustainable and durable as hell. And granite countertops with stainless steel appliances have been on their way out for awhile now - the candy colored appliances, led by the dauntless Smeg fridge, are now more expensive and more popular, and while quartz might have replaced granite, a lot of sustainable surfaces are right behind quartz. It's still 2004 on HH.

[LittleIggy]

Phnom Penh: I thought for sure that she would pick that penthouse apartment. I thought it was really cool. 

I don’t get how she could give speech therapy to Cambodians if she didn’t speak the language. 

[mojito]

7 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

I don’t get how she could give speech therapy to Cambodians if she didn’t speak the language. 

That had me scratching my head, too.

Also curious was the house hunter and agent commenting that the friend was a little bit of a pain when the editing of the show didn't show her to be opinionated at all. She merely pointed out real faults of the places and reminded the house hunter that landlords might not get around to fixing anything in advance. Except for saying that one place (the one chosen) was 10 minutes from her house, she didn't try to influence the friend. She even seemed to like the penthouse apartment the most for its regional charm. This to me was a case where the editing of the show didn't match the script. And the agent really came off as sleazy with his "I was hoping you wouldn't notice that" kind of comments. 

I thought both the house hunter and friend were nice. I'd stick close to that friend, she's very knowledgeable. 

[TVForever]

I loved that penthouse apartment too. It would have been a great roommate setup with the bedrooms being so separate. But now I know I've become a HHI cynic, because I couldn't stop thinking, " That's not the one she's in. It's too perfect. That's an Airbnb." When I have time later, I'm going to check and see if I guessed correctly.

[sempervivum]

My sister is a recently retired speech therapist. Her work was hospital-based, though, and mostly involved working on swallowing and other non-verbal processes; she saw a lot of stroke and accident victims. However, she says that knowing if a person was pronouncing words correctly and using them appropriately was also important, so yeah, the Phnom Penh lady would need a native speaker to augment her diagnosis and therapy.

Ugh, that first place with the crumbling ceiling, jury-rigged fluorescent lights and pigeon-infested balcony!

[Vivigirl10]

4 hours ago, mojito said:

Also curious was the house hunter and agent commenting that the friend was a little bit of a pain when the editing of the show didn't show her to be opinionated at all. She merely pointed out real faults of the places and reminded the house hunter that landlords might not get around to fixing anything in advance. Except for saying that one place (the one chosen) was 10 minutes from her house, she didn't try to influence the friend. She even seemed to like the penthouse apartment the most for its regional charm. This to me was a case where the editing of the show didn't match the script. And the agent really came off as sleazy with his "I was hoping you wouldn't notice that" kind of comments. 

I thought both the house hunter and friend were nice. I'd stick close to that friend, she's very knowledgeable

Agree on all of this.  I liked the friend a lot.  The realtor seemed like a creep trying to pull a fast one!  It was a fun episode to watch.

[Kohola3]

"I was hoping you didn't notice the potentially fatal live wire hanging from the ceiling in a room with water".  I wanted to punch him!

And a speech therapist who doesn't speak the language - something hinky there, makes no sense at all.  

[biakbiak]

Just now, Kohola3 said:

 

"I was hoping you didn't notice the potentially fatal live wire hanging from the ceiling in a room with water".  I wanted to punch him!

 

To be fair to him that situation is fairly standard in older bathrooms throughout Southeast Asia. 

[doodlebug]

47 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

To be fair to him that situation is fairly standard in older bathrooms throughout Southeast Asia. 

It's not unusual in Central and South America either.

[Kohola3]

Well, color me unadventurous but I'd rather not electrocute myself whilst flushing the toilet.

[Ohwell]

In addition to things like health care, I do wonder about building safety codes in some of these countries.  On the other hand, not my problem because I'm not going anywhere else.

[biakbiak]

16 minutes ago, doodlebug said:

It's not unusual in Central and South America either.

And Africa, some former Soviet republics, Greek isles, etc. but since the ep was in Cambodia and she and her friend were both familiar to Cambodia I think the exchange was scripted.

13 minutes ago, Kohola3 said:

Well, color me unadventurous but I'd rather not electrocute myself whilst flushing the toilet.

Used them a lot never had an issue.

[doodlebug]

Just now, biakbiak said:

And Africa, some former Soviet republics, Greek isles, etc. but since the ep was in Cambodia and she and her friend were both familiar to Cambodia I think the exchange was scripted.

Used them a lot never had an issue.

Yep, me too, don't touch the wire while standing in a puddle and you're fine.  For that matter, the wire is all the way up on the ceiling, no need to touch it at all.  Also, there are electricians in these countries and it is possible to hire one to fix the live wire for you for a nominal fee if it is really bothering you.

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, Kohola3 said:

Well, color me unadventurous but I'd rather not electrocute myself whilst flushing the toilet.

The wire is in air space just below the ceiling, not in the toilet, or any other body of water.  You're not going to shock, let alone electrocute, yourself while flushing, or doing anything else in there, unless you suddenly feel compelled to reach up grab a live wire.

[Pickles]

Australian episode tonight. Moving in with a man you have dated for one month. Nothing could go wrong there! Crazy how he said they had never had an argument. Well, I guess not if you have only been together for four weeks. Omg. I felt like he just wanted to ditch living with his cousin, so he came up with the idea to move in with the actress. Who knows.

[LittleIggy]

1 hour ago, Pickles said:

Australian episode tonight. Moving in with a man you have dated for one month. Nothing could go wrong there! Crazy how he said they had never had an argument. Well, I guess not if you have only been together for four weeks. Omg. I felt like he just wanted to ditch living with his cousin, so he came up with the idea to move in with the actress. Who knows.

I googled her online (she was in The Book of Mormon). Not sure, but I don’t think they are still a couple.

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, LittleIggy said:

I googled her online (she was in The Book of Mormon). Not sure, but I don’t think they are still a couple.

Maybe.  It's hard to know. He last appeared on her Instagram in April but it's not like she posts a ton. She's still in Australia,  though, and I would think she'd come back to the states if it were over since Book of Mormon closed.

I went through part of her Instagram because I found I really liked her.  Her Instagram showed them moving in together at the end of July of last year.  I tried to find proof that their dating for one month story was fake but July 4th of that month is the earliest I saw him....unless he appears much earlier and I didnt go back far enough.

While moving in together after such a short period is a leap, sometimes it's worth the gamble just because....  If it doesn't work out, it doesn't.  

Edited September 6, 2018 by Irlandesa

[mojito]

New York to Melbourne

All throughout the episode, I wondered what the woman paid for that bright, modern, washing machine/dryer, air conditioned apartment in New York City (she said she was from New York and lived in the city). As for her mother coming to visit without a/c...coming from NY, her mother would find that the weather is spring-like for several months and she wouldn't need a/c. 

A likable pair, I hope things work out. They took a pretty big leap.

[doodlebug]

11 hours ago, mojito said:

New York to Melbourne

All throughout the episode, I wondered what the woman paid for that bright, modern, washing machine/dryer, air conditioned apartment in New York City (she said she was from New York and lived in the city). As for her mother coming to visit without a/c...coming from NY, her mother would find that the weather is spring-like for several months and she wouldn't need a/c. 

A likable pair, I hope things work out. They took a pretty big leap.

I wondered the same thing.  She kept complaining about how small the rooms were and how everything wasn't brand-new and shiny. There's no way she could've afforded any of those places had they been in NYC.  It made me wonder where she lived in the city.  

[LittleIggy]

AU to Rome: All that and she just moves in with the (creepy) boyfriend? What a waste of an episode. I liked the funky apartment the best. 

[doodlebug]

6 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

AU to Rome: All that and she just moves in with the (creepy) boyfriend? What a waste of an episode. I liked the funky apartment the best. 

I loved the cool apartment and would've loved to have stayed there. I don't understand why people think that a rental apartment needs to be 'their style'.  You're not going to be living there forever, you can add or subtract from the décor; if the place has the right amount of space in the right location, shut up and live there.  When the boyfriend said for the 479th time that the apartment under consideration was too far from his, I thought to myself, 'He's going to end up moving in with her, problem solved'.  It ended up the other way around, but I felt prescient.

[sempervivum]

AU to Rome: this reminded me of a Paris episode a few years ago, where some American woman decided to set up a business there cooking for tourists (it never made any sense to me).  If I'm a foodie visiting Rome, I'm going to sign up with an actual Roman 'food tour' guide, not some random Aussie who hasn't even lived there for more than a few months. I suppose her boyfriend might have an inside track on eating places, but it didn't sound like he was joining her in this venture.

[biakbiak]

A lot of tour guides in Rome are not from Rome. 

I wonder if there was a problem taking stuff out of his apartment because I don’t know why they didn’t use it as one of the option and then have them move in together. It’s not like they are ever truthful on this show.

The kitchen closest to the city center would have been a deal breaker for me. My favorite visits to Rome are when we have gotten an apartment so we can cook and take advantage of the markets.