House Hunters International - General Discussion

[biakbiak]

22 hours ago, ML89 said:

Puerto Vallarta - I just want to know what they do for a living that allows them to live in Austin and buy a $600k second home in Mexico. Did mom leave that guy the money?

They both are HR Consultants Dan is a director and a large firm and Clem has his own company.

Edited June 6, 2019 by biakbiak

[Ohwell]

2 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

They actually bought the most expensive place, the one with the big yard for the dogs!

I bet the husband will get bored after awhile. Relatively young to be retired.

I agree.  The husband said he wanted to live remotely, but I think he'll get bored and especially tired of housing a bunch of dogs all the time.

[WI GIRL56]

51 minutes ago, Ohwell said:

I bet the husband will get bored after awhile. Relatively young to be retired.

I agree and I think being around her 24/7 could be hard.  He seemed so nice and was willing to do anything for her.

I hate when people worry about entertaining.  I don't entertain now but when we were 1st married everyone got together at people's apartments.  No one worried about everyone sitting down.  Of course this was 43 yrs ago but still.  If someone invites me over I am happy to see them and not worried about sitting at a table.  Of course all those dogs would drive my nuts.

[Ohwell]

Just finished watching an episode in Dubai.  Husband was a doctor; stay at home wife with three daughters.  The wife insisted that they have four bedrooms so that each daughter gets a room.   The wife got her way in the end.  She was strange looking, like out of the 1920s with the hair and makeup.  Plus, it looked like she had white foundation on her face.  I guess the place they chose was ok but I didn't pay attention because I'd never think of living in Dubai.

[Pickles]

The husband in the Dubai episode is in serious trouble at the VA hospital he worked at in California. He resigned his position there last year. He is being investigated for human research violations. Sounds like he was performing unethical procedures on patients. 

[LittleIggy]

1 hour ago, Pickles said:

The husband in the Dubai episode is in serious trouble at the VA hospital he worked at in California. He resigned his position there last year. He is being investigated for human research violations. Sounds like he was performing unethical procedures on patients. 

Wow, really? What is his name (last name was Ho, right)? High-tailed it out of the country, huh?

Edit: Found this link https://inewsource.org/2018/11/19/va-san-diego-research-samuel-ho/

As to who would have to share if necessary, it’s a no brainer that the two younger daughters would. The eldest looked to be a high schooler, so she would need her space.

Edited June 7, 2019 by LittleIggy
To add a link

[scrb]

On 5/9/2019 at 9:51 PM, LittleIggy said:

Playa del Carmen: The friend never mentioned a husband or SO, did she?

I don’t understand the relationship.  She was pretty demanding.

Guy has wife and kid but buys property there and every time he goes down there he spends time with her?

Why would the wife tolerate this chatty friend?  Open marriage, for him?

[biakbiak]

10 minutes ago, scrb said:

I don’t understand the relationship.  She was pretty demanding.

Guy has wife and kid but buys property there and every time he goes down there he spends time with her?

Why would the wife tolerate this chatty friend?  Open marriage, for him?

Unless there was another episode with a guy from Chicago buying a place in Playa Del Carmen who had a local friend he wasn’t married and didn’t have a kid. The woman and child who visited at him at the end was his sister and her child.

[Ohwell]

11 hours ago, Pickles said:

The husband in the Dubai episode is in serious trouble at the VA hospital he worked at in California. He resigned his position there last year. He is being investigated for human research violations. Sounds like he was performing unethical procedures on patients. 

Wow.  The nerve of that guy going on HHI, considering he's being investigated for human research violations.  No wonder they hightailed it to Dubai.  Makes me wonder if HGTV does any vetting of its participants.  

[WI GIRL56]

Dubai.  She was driving me crazy with the girls not sharing a room.  The younger two looked to be close in age.  

That is weird about the doc being investigated.  He seemed like a good guy.  Talking about his mom having 6 kids and they shared rooms.  And her answer was ask your mom if it was stressful?  I shared a bed with my younger sister until I was a junior in high school.  Didn't think anything of it.  Hubby grew up in a 3 bedroom house.  It was just him and his brother and they shared 1 bedroom and had twin beds.  I think back in the 60s parents thought kids sharing room fostered their relationship.  Plus we used our room for sleeping and getting ready for school.  And maybe when we were older if the extension cord reached to talk on the phone. 

Kids now spend all their free time in their rooms on their personal phones watching tv.

[scrb]

8 hours ago, biakbiak said:

Unless there was another episode with a guy from Chicago buying a place in Playa Del Carmen who had a local friend he wasn’t married and didn’t have a kid. The woman and child who visited at him at the end was his sister and her child.

I thought he said wife.

But yeah when they were riding those offload ATVs she was behind hm and said something about sexy bod.

So yeah she's working him.

[biakbiak]

6 minutes ago, scrb said:

thought he said wife.

Definitely sister.

[ECM1231]

18 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Wow, really? What is his name (last name was Ho, right)? High-tailed it out of the country, huh?

Edit: Found this link https://inewsource.org/2018/11/19/va-san-diego-research-samuel-ho/

As to who would have to share if necessary, it’s a no brainer that the two younger daughters would. The eldest looked to be a high schooler, so she would need her space.

Yikes!  With such negative publicity why would he even consider appearing on this show? He has to know that Google tells all and folks are curious.  There are 2 sides to every story but still!

I thought the wife was a bit odd-looking and they made a strange pair. At first I thought the girls were her children from a previous relationship but the chyron listed their last names as "Ho." FWIW, the wife had kept her maiden name. Not that it matters, but I was wondering if the daughters were adopted, especially the eldest, who did not resemble either parent or her younger siblings. The 2 youngest did not look even a bit like the dad at all.

As far as the 3 bedrooms and division, it makes more sense that with age comes privilege. The eldest should get her own room and the 2 younger ones share. The mom was being ridiculous, imho.

Edited June 7, 2019 by ECM1231

[eel21788]

On ‎6‎/‎6‎/‎2019 at 1:52 PM, WI GIRL56 said:

I hate when people worry about entertaining. 

That bugs me, too. People talking about buying a house in a foreign country who put entertaining as a priority for their choice just sounds dumb to me. Who are you planning to entertain when you don't know anyone else who lives there? Years ago I saw an episode with a family looking for a vacation property in Mexico. They chose a 7500sq ft condo that slept 16 because they were sure they were going to do a lot of entertaining.

[eel21788]

On ‎5‎/‎31‎/‎2019 at 9:18 PM, Booklady1017 said:

Edited June 8, 2019 by eel21788
quoted wrong post

[eel21788]

On ‎5‎/‎28‎/‎2019 at 10:51 PM, LittleIggy said:

 I was wondering why she had to go to Oz for dental school. 

American medical schools won't accept anyone over the age of 40. I would assume the same is true from dental schools.

[biakbiak]

3 minutes ago, eel21788 said:

American medical schools won't accept anyone over the age of 40. I would assume the same is true from dental schools.

That’s not true on either front. It can be more difficult to get into certain programs but people still get into medical school over the age of 40 in the US.

[doodlebug]

16 minutes ago, eel21788 said:

American medical schools won't accept anyone over the age of 40. I would assume the same is true from dental schools.

Not true at all.  I attended medical school in the early '80's and at least 2 of my classmates were over 40, one had a first career as an attorney and was nearly 50 by the time he graduated. One of my high school teachers in the mid '70's had a wife who was attending medical school, also 40 years old at the time. I would expect that many people over 40 wouldn't want to take on the amount of educational debt that medical or dental training requires since their work life after graduation would be relatively short.

I do think medical  and dental schools take into account the strenuous nature of the work required as well as the cost of the education which might make them more reluctant to take on older students, but it most definitely happens.

[Kohola3]

42 minutes ago, eel21788 said:

People talking about buying a house in a foreign country who put entertaining as a priority for their choice just sounds dumb to me.

It has been discussed before but these people seem to think they are so special that friends and family will spend thousands of dollars on travel just to spend a few days with them.  

And, as you said, how many friends are they likely to make that would require a mansion to entertain, what, two or three times a year?  I bet the only time they have a "crowd" in their homes is the fake gathering they always have at the end of the program.  I bet a bunch of those are just members of the production staff.

[biakbiak]

16 minutes ago, Kohola3 said:

And, as you said, how many friends are they likely to make that would require a mansion to entertain, what, two or three times a year?  I bet the only time they have a "crowd" in their homes is the fake gathering they always have at the end of the program.  I bet a bunch of those are just members of the production staff.

In my experience particularly when working for a company there are tons of gatherings and groups designed to encourage meeting people (some designed specifically for spouses) and group activities so often people do end up entertaining more. There are also groups not affiliated with companies that cater to expats and helping them make friends and do activities that lead to increase entertaining. I know several people, my parents included, who entertain a lot more when they are living abroad than at home for a variety of reasons.

[Booklady1017]

On 6/6/2019 at 12:47 AM, LittleIggy said:

St. Croix: I found the wife grating. She griped about the real estate guy picking over budget houses then wanted the most expensive place. And the “This is a third bedroom?” Uh, yeah, a bed fit in there just fine. How much more does a guest need?

You are exactly right about her. She was annoying.

On 6/6/2019 at 8:44 AM, Ohwell said:

St. Croix lady annoyed me because she kept yammering on and on about dogs.  We get it.  You love dogs.  She also kept talking about entertaining, and I can imagine the dogs would be sitting at the table with the guests.  I forget which house they chose, I think it was the most remote one.  If so, that was the best choice because the neighbors won't have to deal with them because they looked like they could be kind of overbearing.  

Yeah the neighbors wouldn’t have to deal with them, that’s great.

[Booklady1017]

On 6/6/2019 at 3:52 PM, WI GIRL56 said:

I agree and I think being around her 24/7 could be hard.  He seemed so nice and was willing to do anything for her.

I hate when people worry about entertaining.  I don't entertain now but when we were 1st married everyone got together at people's apartments.  No one worried about everyone sitting down.  Of course this was 43 yrs ago but still.  If someone invites me over I am happy to see them and not worried about sitting at a table.  Of course all those dogs would drive my nuts.

All the dogs would drive me nuts too.

On 6/6/2019 at 11:10 PM, Pickles said:

The husband in the Dubai episode is in serious trouble at the VA hospital he worked at in California. He resigned his position there last year. He is being investigated for human research violations. Sounds like he was performing unethical procedures on patients. 

What wow!? 

[Booklady1017]

22 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Wow, really? What is his name (last name was Ho, right)? High-tailed it out of the country, huh?

Edit: Found this link https://inewsource.org/2018/11/19/va-san-diego-research-samuel-ho/

As to who would have to share if necessary, it’s a no brainer that the two younger daughters would. The eldest looked to be a high schooler, so she would need her space.

Thank you for sharing. I agree too it would be the youngest two that would share.

[doodlebug]

On ‎6‎/‎7‎/‎2019 at 11:27 PM, Booklady1017 said:

Thank you for sharing. I agree too it would be the youngest two that would share.

Oh, but she 'promised' the kids they could each have their own room!  Considering the apparent circumstances of the move, why would any parent promise their kids something that they don't know if they can deliver?  I presume the reason for the move to Dubai was because of the scandal surrounding his unethical research practices at the VA- and the subsequent harassment of the whistle blowers who reported it- which would probably make it virtually impossible to find a similar academic position in the US.  If he wants to continue his medical career, and presumably, needs the high income that he can generate as a physician, they didn't have many options.  

I guess I was raised in a different era, but I cannot imagine my parents ever asking my permission to move, let alone promising separate bedrooms, swimming pools and whatever else those kids got promised to move to Dubai.  The fact is, Daddy lost his job and the circumstances meant that he was never EVER going to find another job in San Diego and probably not anywhere else in the US, so moving to another country was essentially the only option.  The kids needed to be told to suck it up, that they had to move so that Dad could work to support them and, if that meant sharing bedrooms, they needed to get with the program.  Really poor parenting on exhibit in this episode, though I did find the little girls talking about mom's panic in telling them to pack their stuff kind of funny, especially in light of what we now know about their situation.  She must've gone round the bend when the fit hit the shan publicly.

If the story is true: that he coerced VETERANS with liver disease into having risky liver biopsies that would not benefit them medically purely to obtain data for his research; he needs to be criminally prosecuted, IMO.  I cannot even believe that his original proposal included pregnant women in the study; I'm just relieved that somebody at the VA refused to let that happen.

Edited June 9, 2019 by doodlebug

[Booklady1017]

53 minutes ago, doodlebug said:

Oh, but she 'promised' the kids they could each have their own room!  Considering the apparent circumstances of the move, why would any parent promise their kids something that they don't know if they can deliver?  I presume the reason for the move to Dubai was because of the scandal surrounding his unethical research practices at the VA- and the subsequent harassment of the whistle blowers who reported it- which would probably make it virtually impossible to find a similar academic position in the US.  If he wants to continue his medical career, and presumably, needs the high income that he can generate as a physician, they didn't have many options.  

I guess I was raised in a different era, but I cannot imagine my parents ever asking my permission to move, let alone promising separate bedrooms, swimming pools and whatever else those kids got promised to move to Dubai.  The fact is, Daddy lost his job and the circumstances meant that he was never EVER going to find another job in San Diego and probably not anywhere else in the US, so moving to another country was essentially the only option.  The kids needed to be told to suck it up, that they had to move so that Dad could work to support them and, if that meant sharing bedrooms, they needed to get with the program.  Really poor parenting on exhibit in this episode, though I did find the little girls talking about mom's panic in telling them to pack their stuff kind of funny, especially in light of what we now know about their situation.  She must've gone round the bend when the fit hit the shan publicly.

If the story is true: that he coerced VETERANS with liver disease into having risky liver biopsies that would not benefit them medically purely to obtain data for his research; he needs to be criminally prosecuted, IMO.  I cannot even believe that his original proposal included pregnant women in the study; I'm just relieved that somebody at the VA refused to let that happen.

I saw the room the girls would share and it was huge, it certainly wasn't a hardship to have the girls do that and I agree the mother shouldn't have bent over backwards to do what the kids wanted in this case.

[biakbiak]

2 hours ago, doodlebug said:

fact is, Daddy lost his job and the circumstances meant that he was never EVER going to find another job in San Diego

He might have suspected he was going to but according to the article he resigned for the new job before they came forward. 

[doodlebug]

1 hour ago, biakbiak said:

He might have suspected he was going to but according to the article he resigned for the new job before they came forward. 

I work in healthcare for a large corporate entity.  I'd be willing to bet that TPTB already knew about the accusations and that he was allowed to resign and slink away quietly before the story became public.  And, while he was allowed to leave, I suspect he knew that the word was out about the concerns about his research and that he wouldn't be able to find another position stateside (there is a very active grapevine for this kind of gossip in the academic research field of medicine).   Based on the concerns his wife expressed about moving to Dubai, I don't believe for a minute that the move was designed to broaden their children's horizons, but because leaving the US was their best option for salvaging his career.

Edited June 9, 2019 by doodlebug

[biakbiak]

Just now, doodlebug said:

I'd be willing to bet that TPTB already knew about the accusations and that he was allowed to resign and slink away quietly before the story became public. 

Given that they fired the whistleblowers and the absolute dysfunction of the VA I wouldn’t be too sure.

[Ohwell]

For the life of me I don't understand why the Dubai doctor and the wife would go on HHI so that people can google them and find out about a story that is not favorable to him.  

[biakbiak]

13 minutes ago, Ohwell said:

For the life of me I don't understand why the Dubai doctor and the wife would go on HHI so that people can google them and find out about a story that is not favorable to him.  

It’s possible that they filmed this before it became a story in November. It became a story because the VA’s internal investigation did not agree with the whistleblowers conclusions so they went to their Congressman who submitted an inquiry to look into it. There seems to only be one small news outlet even covering the story.

Edited June 10, 2019 by biakbiak

[Kenzie]

13 hours ago, doodlebug said:

I guess I was raised in a different era, but I cannot imagine my parents ever asking my permission to move, let alone promising separate bedrooms, swimming pools and whatever else those kids got promised to move to Dubai. 

It would never have occurred to my parents to ask any of their six children their opinion on housing.

When my parents downsized to a three bedroom my mother gave my brother Mark a tour of the house while it was under construction. She said, "this is the master, this will be my office and this will be your brother Craig's room." "What about a room for me?" he asked. Oh, you're twenty and you're moving out!"

[Kohola3]

All Over the World to Zurich - dude needs to grow up and stop craving the wild night life.  They just moved to a new city and his primary focus is proximity to bars and living like he's in college.   Who do you think is going to baby sit the kid in a place where you know no one? 

The concrete place looked lethal to a kid learning to walk and that bachelor pad was horrible.  They did chose the best option even with the wonky bedrooms.

On the other hand he said what many of us have said - why worry about space for visitors a couple of times a year.

[doodlebug]

2 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

All Over the World to Zurich - dude needs to grow up and stop craving the wild night life.  They just moved to a new city and his primary focus is proximity to bars and living like he's in college.   Who do you think is going to baby sit the kid in a place where you know no one? 

The concrete place looked lethal to a kid learning to walk and that bachelor pad was horrible.  They did chose the best option even with the wonky bedrooms.

On the other hand he said what many of us have said - why worry about space for visitors a couple of times a year.

I, too, found the husband off-putting with all his talk about needing to be close to bars and restaurants in order to go out and party at night.  From their backstory, it seems that they met in the usual ways, courted, married and then had a child; no evidence that he was coerced or wasn't on board with the plan.  Once you've got a child, priorities have to shift and he seemed oblivious to that.  Or, more likely, expected his wife to do all the child care and household work to free him up to socialize at night without her. 

I agree they chose the most reasonable place for them.  Considering his lack of apparent interest in spending his off-time with their child; maybe she needs their parents to come and stay to give her a break here and there, so an extra bedroom in their case may be more of a necessity for them.

Their kiddo was adorable.

I am always amazed at how incredibly expensive housing is in Switzerland.  Also always amazed at how gorgeous the countryside looks.

Edited June 11, 2019 by doodlebug

[Kohola3]

20 minutes ago, doodlebug said:

I, too, found the husband off-putting with all his talk about needing to be close to bars and restaurants in order to go out and party at night. 

And on a completely irrelevant note, was he wearing colored contacts? I've never seen eyes quite that blue!

[Pickles]

The Zurich episode. I thought it was a bit of a red flag when the husband said something along the lines of how he didn't want to be raising a kid when he was 70, so his gf (now wife) seemed like a good candidate to be a mom, etc. It was odd to me the way he phrased it. It was like--yeah, I should have a kid. I'll marry this girl I am dating and she would be a good mom and can raise the kid. I am hoping it was just his storyline that he wanted to be by all of the nightlife and that wasn't the case for real.

[laredhead]

Posting this here because I lost the House Hunter's forum and can't find it in a search of all shows on this site.  Anyone else have that problem?

[Mittengirl]

I had to laugh when Zurich guy wanted to live among the young and hip.  Dude, you are middle aged and dull, get over it.

I realize this is a gross generalization, but...  It seems like in the vast majority of cases when one parent seems to ignore what a child/children might need - decent sized bedroom, outdoor space, proximity to school & (potential) friends - it is the father  who is ignoring those things in favor of his “needs”.

[Homily]

1 minute ago, Mittengirl said:

I realize this is a gross generalization, but...  It seems like in the vast majority of cases when one parent seems to ignore what a child/children might need - decent sized bedroom, outdoor space, proximity to school & (potential) friends - it is the father  who is ignoring those things in favor of his “needs”.

What I notice is the father is almost always the one who minimizes, or outright ignores, valid safety concerns.  And I don't mean stairs in a house 😄.  I've seen episodes where they are moving to countries where there are significant safety issues especially for a woman alone and good old Dad sees no issues with problematic locales because when all's said and done HE is going to be at the office all day!  To be fair they rarely get their way but that they'd even float these ideas for the world and his aunt to see is pretty damn bold!

[Kohola3]

8 minutes ago, laredhead said:

Posting this here because I lost the House Hunter's forum and can't find it in a search of all shows on this site.  Anyone else have that problem?

Yes, my link disappeared as well.

1 minute ago, Homily said:

I've seen episodes where they are moving to countries where there are significant safety issues especially for a woman alone and good old Dad sees no issues with problematic locales because when all's said and done HE is going to be at the office all day! 

I know what you mean.  Some of the countries known for their history of unrest and they are in the jungle with no neighbors.  I always wonder how many of them end up disappearing without a trace.

[chessiegal]

House Hunters has disappeared for me too.

[jcbrown]

The guy in Zurich was pretty annoying. Wearing his shawl-collared grandpa cardigan and talking about how hard it would be to have to be an adult. You have a kid, dude, grow up. I loved seeing Zurich, though. I used to fly into there a fair amount when I was working sometimes in Basel. Crazy expensive and crazy beautiful.

Please forgive the OT, but what happened to the House Hunters forum? I can't find it anymore.

Edited June 11, 2019 by jcbrown
I see I'm not the only one who lost House Hunters.

[Homily]

https://forums.primetimer.com/forum/385-house-hunters-v/

Looks like the HH and Pet Peeves may be closed.  They're in 'the vault".

[DonnaMae]

7 minutes ago, Homily said:

https://forums.primetimer.com/forum/385-house-hunters-v/

Looks like the HH and Pet Peeves may be closed.  They're in 'the vault".

What's happened?  HH Buying in the USA is a very popular forum, now it's hidden away?  Did somebody complain?

[Homily]

2 minutes ago, DonnaMae said:

What's happened?  HH Buying in the USA is a very popular forum, now it's hidden away?  Did somebody complain?

I'd like to know the rationale too.  It's not like HH in the US or Pet Peeves were dead!  People post in both pretty often I think. Certainly IMO there are other forums that are much quieter and they haven't been closed.  So far!

Edited June 11, 2019 by Homily

[Bastet]

I posted in the Questions section; my guess is they vaulted the HH forum to replace it with a single thread topic (like this one and Renovations), but haven't yet created that replacement topic and one will pop up soon. 

And, as I type this, I just got a response: that is indeed the case; the topic will be created within the next 24 hours.

[Bastet]

5 hours ago, doodlebug said:

I am always amazed at how incredibly expensive housing is in Switzerland.

Everything is expensive in Switzerland.  It's a beautiful country, but to visit (or live), you have to be prepared for the expense or you'll be unpleasantly surprised - and busting your budget - quickly, as it's one of the most expensive in the world.

[chessiegal]

I visited Switzerland for the 1st time last year. Beautiful! We discovered when we got to the train station in Bern you need Swiss Franc coins to get into the bathroom. Good thing the hotel was only 2 blocks away.

I don't have children, but have 2 lovely stepdaughters who are married and have kids. I don't understand HH who have the need for space to be away from their kids. If they don't want to be around them, why did they have children in the first place? Then on the other end of the spectrum, we have families buying vacation homes so they could have more family time and be closer to their children and building memories. I guess these shows need some theme or story.

[tessaray]

1 hour ago, Homily said:

I'd like to know the rationale too.  It's not like HH in the US or Pet Peeves were dead!  People post in both pretty often I think. Certainly IMO there are other forums that are much quieter and they haven't been closed.  So far!

I believe there is a certain level of traffic required to keep a show in a full forum. HH is popular but not really high traffic compared to other shows.

Now that we are past the initial forum upgrade, you'll see other shows being evaluated for forum status.  It will be a continual process.

[MartyQui]

Is it wrong to google people who show up on IHH?  This guy’s a VP at Hyatt...that’s a job with a lot of responsibilities, so I’m guessing that all the “I have to be near the nightlife” stuff was producer manipulation.  Again, I don’t understand why people with real jobs and reputations do this show.  He came off like an a**.

[OperaLover1229]

5 hours ago, laredhead said:

Posting this here because I lost the House Hunter's forum and can't find it in a search of all shows on this site.  Anyone else have that problem?

Yes, so did I.