House Hunters International - General Discussion

[biakbiak]

33 minutes ago, LittleIggy said:

Spain: I loved the place they picked. When the daughter was complaining about only two bedrooms, I said to the TV, “There are plenty of rooms to put sofa beds in!” Glad she heard me! 😏

Given that at the end the son brought his girlfriend and her family and they stated this was going to be a family gathering place they were clearly thinking about when their kids were partnered off and grandchildren. 

[Andyourlittledog2]

We say hot water heater. But then we sometimes say icebox so there you go. 

[MsTree]

8 hours ago, NJMom said:

I have never heard it called just a water heater. Here in NJ I have only heard it called a hot water heater.

I can vouch for this. It's a Jersey thing.😁

[doodlebug]

3 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

I say “high ceilings.”

Chile: Still think the kids were brats.

Spain: I loved the place they picked. When the daughter was complaining about only two bedrooms, I said to the TV, “There are plenty of rooms to put sofa beds in!” Glad she heard me! 😏 

I liked the Spanish househunters and agree about the kids in Chile.  It may be producer manipulation but I prefer my househunters be legal adults.

I was a little sad we didn't get Richard leading the househunt in Spain, but the new snarky Brit realtor was kind of a silver fox, IMO.  I liked him.

[Andyourlittledog2]

OMG the Spanish realtor! 

Standing in a crumbling dump and notices an ancient iron bed frame:  "And it comes furnished!" LOL

[Jodithgrace]

South African couple moving to Australia: First of all, the twins were adorable, and better yet, had no opinions. LOL 

Secondly, my Granddaughter is half South African (long story) and her surname begins with Janse Van ________ just like the couple's. I had always thought that Janse was one of her many middle names, but it seems to be part of the surname. 

Anyway, between the Afrikaans and the Australian accents, it was a fun episode to watch. I think they chose the best option, even though the townhouse was great.   

[LittleIggy]

7 hours ago, Andyourlittledog2 said:

OMG the Spanish realtor! 

Standing in a crumbling dump and notices an ancient iron bed frame:  "And it comes furnished!" LOL

He reminded me of Alistair Cook. Hope they have him on again.

PV, Mexico: I like that real estate guy, Taniel. He has been on before. I loved the first place. The decor was so funky, and the balcony and view were to die for. Refreshing to hear someone say he wanted a dark bedroom. 

[QQQQ]

California to Cadiz, Spain: Something about the husband's (Myles) voice reminded me of Madison from Million $ Listing.

[Schnickelfritz]

On 9/5/2019 at 12:30 AM, Grrarrggh said:

Would someone please tell me what, EXACTLY they said/did that was soooo horrible? Aside from being on the programme (not their fault, that's all on the producers) and joking about a queen size bed what made them so bratty? 

To revisit the "spawns of hell" briefly  and to answer your question with my own observation - at the end of the segment, the girl came bouncing up to the mother and proudly announced that since she didn't want her pizza just then, she had fed it to the dogs. The look on the mother's face as she quickly  looked at the camera was priceless.

[Grrarrggh]

2 hours ago, Schnickelfritz said:

To revisit the "spawns of hell" briefly  and to answer your question with my own observation - at the end of the segment, the girl came bouncing up to the mother and proudly announced that since she didn't want her pizza just then, she had fed it to the dogs. The look on the mother's face as she quickly  looked at the camera was priceless.

Not exactly high brat behaviour, more like typical eight year-old behaviour. And for all we know, she was joking. But if that's all it takes to be the spawn of hell in someone's eyes, wow. I feel bad for the children they know. 

[LittleIggy]

7 hours ago, Grrarrggh said:

Not exactly high brat behaviour, more like typical eight year-old behaviour. And for all we know, she was joking. But if that's all it takes to be the spawn of hell in someone's eyes, wow. I feel bad for the children they know. 

I don’t know why you think everything she said was said as a joke. 🙄

[buttersister]

I like kids in real life, but don’t want any of them—or any other child—house hunting on my TV. Don’t be cute or bratty or out of school when episodes are filmed. Kids can stick with Barbie’s Dream House, I want either cool couples or freaks I can snark on parading through two fake outs and the home they already own. Bonus if the realtor rolls their eyes or is named Adrian or Richard.

[Grrarrggh]

4 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

I don’t know why you think everything she said was said as a joke. 🙄

I don't know why you think everything she said was from the mouth of a future psychopath. BTW, I only said it could be a joke because healthy families I know allow their children to do that. 

[QQQQ]

I think some of the viewer tension with the kids is a direct result of the fakeness of these types of shows. We now know that the renters/buyers aren't really selecting from the three options presented, it often feels like they are reading lines and playing into stereotypes. So when the children do things that annoy, it is difficult to know if their actions are genuine are if they, too, are mugging for the cameras.

[amarante]

3 hours ago, QQQQ said:

I think some of the viewer tension with the kids is a direct result of the fakeness of these types of shows. We now know that the renters/buyers aren't really selecting from the three options presented, it often feels like they are reading lines and playing into stereotypes. So when the children do things that annoy, it is difficult to know if their actions are genuine are if they, too, are mugging for the cameras.

I come down on the side of mugging for the camera and being preternaturally wound up because of the whole "excitement" of the experience.

I would love to be a fly on the wall to observe the behavior of all those impeccably behaved children because the kids I know have all kinds of moments when their behavior could be perceived as whiny, selfish, bratty, fighting with their siblings, being rude and just being in general normal kids. That behavior is generally mixed in with stellar behavior. 

And as posted, take a normal kid and drop him into a situation where the family is being filmed and then footage is edited so that any moments are highlighted and you then have what you see on the edited footage - a pretty normal kid in an abnormal situation who is being edited for snark and plot line.

Edited September 10, 2019 by amarante

[Kohola3]

20 hours ago, Schnickelfritz said:

the girl came bouncing up to the mother and proudly announced that since she didn't want her pizza just then, she had fed it to the dogs.

That would never be tolerated in any of the families with whom I associate.  If you didn't want the food it would be wrapped up for later. 

Great example for the "throw away" mentality - if you don't like your dress, stuff it in the back of the closet or the trash. If you don't like your phone, get a new one.  If you don't like your food, feed it to the dog.  No way my kids would have gotten away with that let alone announcing it like they think it's hilarious.

[doodlebug]

55 minutes ago, amarante said:

I come down on the side of mugging for the camera and being preternaturally wound up because of the whole "excitement" of the experience.

I would love to be a fly on the wall to observe the behavior of all those impeccably behaved children because the kids I know have all kinds of moments when their behavior could be perceived as whiny, selfish, bratty, fighting with their siblings, being rude and just being in general normal kids. That behavior is generally mixed in with stellar behavior. 

And as posted, take a normal kid and drop him into a situation where the family is being filmed and then footage is edited so that any moments are highlighted and you then have what you see on the edited footage - a pretty normal kid in an abnormal situation who is being edited for snark and plot line.

That's the whole reason why kids should not be on these shows and, quite frankly, I am just as likely to wonder what kind of parenting they are getting when Mom and Dad allow them to appear and behave like stereotypical brats.  Maybe they are brats in real life, maybe they're not; but I don't find it endearing or enchanting to see a child 'joke' about feeding her lunch to the dog.  That is because, 1.  It is NOT funny and any kid who thinks it is needs to taught that and 2. It isn't cute or entertaining to see a child speak to adults, even her parents, in a somewhat disrespectful manner. 

I'm not demonizing the kid, I don't think she is a future psychopath; but, based on her appearance on this show, she's not the kind of kid I would like to spend time with.  I know dozens of kids whose company I enjoy and who are delightful conversationalists.  I don't hate kids;  I hate seeing kids on TV behaving like brats, whether scripted or not.

Edited September 10, 2019 by doodlebug

[Homily]

48 minutes ago, Kohola3 said:

That would never be tolerated in any of the families with whom I associate.  If you didn't want the food it would be wrapped up for later. 

Well no of course no family would allow a child to do this (usually) but if the child's already done it - and you're on camera - that's not much you can do about it.  A stern talking to about (a) wasting food and (b) potentially harming the pet with inappropriate food can come later.

[LittleIggy]

2 minutes ago, Homily said:

Well no of course no family would allow a child to do this (usually) but if the child's already done it - and you're on camera - that's not much you can do about it.  A stern talking to about (a) wasting food and (b) potentially harming the pet with inappropriate food can come later.

Yeah, my concern was the dog getting sick from what was on the pizza.

[Homily]

25 minutes ago, LittleIggy said:

Yeah, my concern was the dog getting sick from what was on the pizza.

My daughter's dog seems to thrive on pizza scraps, chocolate chip cookies and stolen popsicles (yes she has pre-schoolers at home 😊).. I wouldn't recommend this as a steady diet (or even an occasional one) for most dogs though!

[seacliffsal]

My issue with having young children on these shows is that I just don't want to watch children on reality t.v.  I barely like watching them on scripted t.v.  I know there is an allure to being on t.v., but I just think children are too young to really understand the "price" that is paid to be on t.v. or to be famous.  Of course parents have the right to decide whether or not their children should be on t.v., but once parents put their children in the "public" as it were, they are inviting others to form opinions on them and make comments about the children through social media (such as I am doing right now...).  I seem to remember that they were going to do a House Hunters Family version (and they may actually be doing so) which I had no desire to watch.  I also didn't like it when years ago Trading Spaces started their family edition.  Look, I'm a teacher and I actually love my students (in a totally appropriate teacher/student way), but that doesn't mean I want to watch children on t.v. trying to be witty or sarcastic.  In this particular episode (see, I brought it back to episode talk), I just cringed when the brother and sister were going on and on about who would get each room.  I also didn't like it when the parents said the children would get a say in which home they took, the son stated that he liked a different home than the one they chose and the mom manipulated him into changing his mind.  Either they have a say or they don't.  

Okay, I've rambled on enough about this.  But, I did connect it directly to an episode so hopefully I'm not too off task per forum rules...

[Homily]

31 minutes ago, seacliffsal said:

I also didn't like it when the parents said the children would get a say in which home they took, the son stated that he liked a different home than the one they chose and the mom manipulated him into changing his mind.  Either they have a say or they don't.  

Normally I'd agree with you here but since we all know the house they chose is one they've probably been living in for months this part of the show was total fakery.

[TVForever]

14 hours ago, buttersister said:

I like kids in real life, but don’t want any of them—or any other child—house hunting on my TV. Don’t be cute or bratty or out of school when episodes are filmed. Kids can stick with Barbie’s Dream House, I want either cool couples or freaks I can snark on parading through two fake outs and the home they already own. Bonus if the realtor rolls their eyes or is named Adrian or Richard.

Or Taniel🙂

[amarante]

It is pretty much standard operating procedure for dogs to be fed at the table by kids who are passing off their food and soft hearted adults. I know that in this day and age of enlightened pet parenting, it is not "politically correct" but it is done. Most people would not think of feeding some pizza to a dog as wasting valuable resources - if people thought that way they wouldn't have dogs and wouldn't support a multibillion dollar pet industry.

My dog used to recognize the Chinese food take out containers and get very excited at the prospect of some great eats :-).

Edited September 10, 2019 by amarante

[Homily]

My grandparents wouldn't have fed pizza or Chinese takeaway to their dogs but they also would never have bought dog food for them either.  Their dogs got table scraps.  I mentioned this once to a dog loving friend who buys big expensive bags of specialty dog food for her pet and she was horrified.  

[ECM1231]

Watching Milwaukee to Madrid couple right now. $900 budget. His wife's whiny voice is bugging me. I hate when the spouse who is NOT working gets his or her own way. Realtor made a snarky comment about millennials which made me lol.

[Pickles]

The Spain episode. The husband was fine. The wife was supremely annoying. She looked like an unfortunate 12 year old, yet seemed quite smug. Of course, they got the place she wanted which was an hour from their jobs. But, she didn’t care because she likes to knit on the hour long commute. Guess it doesn’t matter what the husband likes. 

1 minute ago, ECM1231 said:

Watching Milwaukee to Madrid couple right now. $900 budget. His wife's whiny voice is bugging me. I hate when the spouse who is NOT working gets his or her own way. Realtor made a snarky comment about millennials which made me lol.

I think they were both working at the school. 

[chessiegal]

Yes, both of the Madrid couple were working - at the same school.

[ECM1231]

2 minutes ago, Pickles said:

The Spain episode. The husband was fine. The wife was supremely annoying. She looked like an unfortunate 12 year old, yet seemed quite smug. Of course, they got the place she wanted which was an hour from their jobs. But, she didn’t care because she likes to knit on the hour long commute. Guess it doesn’t matter what the husband likes. 

I think they were both working at the school. 

Yes, smug. Not to be catty but he was way better looking than she. I was impressed with his Spanish proficiency. He was a Spanish education major, which is normally secondary ed. I thought she wanted to improve her Spanish, so what would she be teaching? If it was an international school, why would he be teaching Spanish?

[chessiegal]

2 minutes ago, ECM1231 said:

Yes, smug. Not to be catty but he was way better looking than she. I was impressed with his Spanish proficiency. He was a Spanish education major, which is normally secondary ed. I thought she wanted to improve her Spanish, so what would she be teaching? If it was an international school, why would he be teaching Spanish?

They gave an explanation of her teaching role at the school, but I'm too tired to remember it, but she was working at the school in a teaching capacity.

[buttersister]

How to whine your way into getting your way? 101?

Edited September 11, 2019 by buttersister

[ECM1231]

5 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

They gave an explanation of her teaching role at the school, but I'm too tired to remember it, but she was working at the school in a teaching capacity.

Thanks, chessiegal. Mr. ECM was talking to me during most of this episode and I missed a lot. I spent 2 weeks exploring Madrid after I received my Master's degree. My friend was living there and teaching English. While she worked I explored. Loved it, especially tapas bar hopping at night. My wallet was stolen in a Mickey D 's. 😲 I can understand wanting to be in the heart of the city life but an hour commute kind of sucks.

[biakbiak]

29 minutes ago, ECM1231 said:

it was an international school, why would he be teaching Spanish?

International schools have “foreign” language classes and taking one is often be a requirement for graduation.

”” Because what foreign means is relative.

[LittleIggy]

12 hours ago, chessiegal said:

They gave an explanation of her teaching role at the school, but I'm too tired to remember it, but she was working at the school in a teaching capacity.

It was something about being teaching assistants, using their native language. Yeah, he seemed like a nice guy, but she was whiny and annoying. The flat they picked was tiny, over budget, and an hour from work. Just so she could go out drinking every night. When she said about the first flat having no charm, I was like “F*ck you, neither do you!”

Edited September 11, 2019 by LittleIggy

[biakbiak]

She stated that they were both teaching assistants at a Spanish public school to assist in their  “native” tongue so it seemed that they were teaching assistants for English language classes for Spanish kids. It’s probably a short term position and might not even be full-time. 

If he is a legit certified sommelier and can take this time to do this assistant job than I bet money is not really a concern (the process is time consuming and expensive). If he is in Madrid he probably could pick up a job at a restaurant or wine bar which would help him to further career because people don’t get certified on a whim.

edited: Spoiler alert they only intended to be there for a year and are already back in Wisconsin. Since it was such a short term move and not anything career related, he is apparently now doing professional photography choosing the in town apartment makes sense to me. They went for the experience of living in Madrid.

Edited September 11, 2019 by biakbiak

[Homily]

7 hours ago, biakbiak said:

Since it was such a short term move and not anything career related, he is apparently now doing professional photography choosing the in town apartment makes sense to me. They went for the experience of living in Madrid.

And the original decision was probably totally mutual.  I guess I can understand why HHI makes their guests give a usually fake, or at least heavily edited, backstory to explain why they are in their country of choice, but I will never understand why these househunters let themselves be shown in such a poor light.  Sometimes the people involved come across as clueless or selfish but other times they come across as so unpleasant you wonder how they manage to have  a single friend in this world.  Why, if this isn't who they really are do they let the powers that be get away with this?   I do not get it.

[chessiegal]

35 minutes ago, Homily said:

Why, if this isn't who they really are do they let the powers that be get away with this?   I do not get it.

I suspect once you sign the papers to be on the show, you relinquish any control over how you are portrayed. Did they show them in Milwaukee? My memory says they get a free trip home and back, plus a $1,000 payment for filming.

[MaKaM]

Someone who is on another forum I am a part of had her sister and brother-in-law on the show (she was also on the show for the "party" after). The brother-in-law had an unfortunate haircut and most of the negative online feedback was about that because they managed to come off as not entitled, not whiny, not horrible. The haircut really was terrible so it was deserved criticism. So it *is* possible to be filmed as nice, friendly people but I think you actually have to be nice and friendly. The editors can't edit what they didn't film (since this doesn't have the budget to computer manipulate you) so all the side-eyeing, eye-rolling, sighing, whining, complaining, and whatnot all has to be there in the first place. It is easy to see how people can get stressed and unhappy in the longer, renovation-centered episodes and shows but for half an hour show looking at real estate, geez, you should be able to fake being nice unless you really, truly aren't (or for some reason want everyone to think you are awful).

ETA: and hey, maybe the producers make you enter the same room 15 times and come up with something new to say each time and by the 15th time you are so bored and done with it all, you give them the snark they are looking for--I don't know how the filming actually works.

Edited September 11, 2019 by MaKaM

[tessaray]

Time to give the subject of kids a rest.

[LittleIggy]

I feel sorry for all the Spaniards who aren’t living the authentic Spanish experience because they don’t live downtown. Pobrecitos.

[seacliffsal]

I am always speechless when the house hunters announce that they want the authentic "fill in the blank" experience.  How do they think people live?  In hovels without any modern conveniences?  I love the modern apartments that we often see on this show and would want one if I moved overseas (when I applied for a position in London I had so much fun checking out housing online...alas, I did not get the job...).  Related to the Madrid episode, if the apartment is in a building in which Spaniards live, then it is authentically Spanish.  I get it when house hunters are looking for an expat community-it may be more to expats' tastes, but when moving to another country I would just assume that most of the places I looked at were "authentic."  Some people may have a budget that allows them to live like other elites (and would live that way even in the U.S. [well above how the rest of us live]), but in the $900/month range, they are looking at authentic Spanish apartments.  Maybe people want to recreate historical fiction or something, but this is a common theme on this series.

[jacksgirl]

Milwaukee woman was so annoying. You can get the experience from living in a different country by going to museums. going to shops going to local restaurants, making friends with locals etc. She was so annoying. All she talked about was charm. I would go for the less expensive and shorter commute and then I would have more time and money to experience the country

[Mittengirl]

I wonder what people coming to the U.S. would look for if they want an authentic American home?  And I hate when the HHIers ask for “authentic Spanish”.  No country (except maybe Vatican City) has the same “look” country-wide.

[LittleIggy]

Nick the Brit in Spain is now one of my HHI faves along with Richard, Adrian, Baby Elvis (Kevin), and Taniel.

[amarante]

I just viewed the Madrid episode and the woman was absolutely correct in terms of wanting to live in a vibrant area where it was easy to have a social life. I don’t find it strange that one would want to live in an urban neighborhood where one is surrounded with a vibrant street life.

There is a huge difference between the type of experience one will have and the realtor acknowledged that the way to experience Madrid was to live where it is easy to meet up with people. I don’t see it as different than wanting to live in any urban area in any city. My experience living in the Village is sure as hell different than if I lived in Ozone Park. I could just walk out my door and be assured of having an interesting experience. After all, there is a reason people go TO these places when they have free time. The term is geographically undesirable because there is no street life and it is way more difficult to have to shlep somewhere than walk out the door. As a rule people who live in those areas don’t visit residential suburban areas for fun  

And many US hunters want charm as part of their requirements. I wanted a place with charm and it was very specific when I looked for a place to rent in Los Angeles. 

[Homily]

7 hours ago, amarante said:

I just viewed the Madrid episode and the woman was absolutely correct in terms of wanting to live in a vibrant area where it was easy to have a social life. I don’t find it strange that one would want to live in an urban neighborhood where one is surrounded with a vibrant street life.

Absolutely.  When we first lived in England it was with children - and we chose an area with good schools and easy proximity to shops and to the train for commuting into London.  A social life wasn't an issue.  When we went back without kids (they were in university in Canada) we chose a place that was much closer to the centre of things - we weren't in our 20s anymore but we did want a social life - we didn't need to be near clubs and a  busy night life wasn't in the cards but there was a happy medium that we were able to find.

Edited September 12, 2019 by Homily

[Ohwell]

Sicily couple:  I hate being a curmudgeon but those two were too lovey dovey with each other, and I got tired of them gushing over their soon to be born daughter.   I didn't even watch long enough to see which place they picked.

[Pickles]

1 hour ago, Ohwell said:

Sicily couple:  I hate being a curmudgeon but those two were too lovey dovey with each other, and I got tired of them gushing over their soon to be born daughter.   I didn't even watch long enough to see which place they picked.

I agree. It felt like half the episode was each of them singing each other's praises. Gag.

[biakbiak]

I didn’t mind the couple because they seemed genuine and crazy excited about their relationship and their baby which is completely normal. 

[proserpina65]

On ‎08‎/‎28‎/‎2019 at 2:33 AM, 7isBlue said:

That was like a dorm room. I would have chosen that gorgeous apartment with the roommate for the same rent!

I’m pretty surprised Vienna lady decided to leave her dogs behind. I’m not half as “obsessed” with my dog, but he’s so attached to me that I know I couldn’t leave him. 

I spent six months in England and left my cat with my parents, but I knew it was a finite amount of time and the quarantine for the cat would've taken up a lot of it.  (Quarantine laws have changed a lot since then.)