House Hunters International - General Discussion

[Schnickelfritz]

And how the heck is this retreat thing going to work (one time only?).  She's living in Merida and the retreat she is so involved with is in Troncones- about 2,000 miles away. No on site planning required? If she doesn't have money for the higher rent, how does she have money for a plane ride? And a taxi ride? Trocones is 40 minutes from an airport. I know,  I know - producer shinanigans

 

[StatisticalOutlier]

15 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Merida: I loved the place she picked.

All of the houses had a similar layout, which pleased me because I liked it.  The courtyards with teeny pools were cool.  The main thing I like about swimming pools is looking at them, not being in them, so any of those would suit me just fine and I'd feel lucky to have one.

Like others, I disliked her friend.  Which made me laugh when he was pronouncing Merida with a soft D (like "th"), and the realtor who actually lives there pronounced it with more of a hard D, like the HH did.  I don't know which one is actually right, but since I didn't like him, I'm assuming he was being mocked.  I still think about Mr. Van Driessen on Beavis & Butt-Head over-pronouncing the names of countries in Latin America, like rolling the Rs for much longer than necessary.

[doodlebug]

2 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

All of the houses had a similar layout, which pleased me because I liked it.  The courtyards with teeny pools were cool.  The main thing I like about swimming pools is looking at them, not being in them, so any of those would suit me just fine and I'd feel lucky to have one.

Like others, I disliked her friend.  Which made me laugh when he was pronouncing Merida with a soft D (like "th"), and the realtor who actually lives there pronounced it with more of a hard D, like the HH did.  I don't know which one is actually right, but since I didn't like him, I'm assuming he was being mocked.  I still think about Mr. Van Driessen on Beavis & Butt-Head over-pronouncing the names of countries in Latin America, like rolling the Rs for much longer than necessary.

In general, the 'th' sound is Castillian, meaning the kind of Spanish spoken in Spain.  People in Latin America do not usually use the 'th' sound, it is considered kinda pretentious.  And, yes, tourists who use it are sometimes mocked.

I don't understand how she was going to set up a wellness retreat in a town 1200 miles from where she was living.  It's like living in Kansas City and working in New York City, distancewise.  Doesn't she need a location and other services to open a retreat and to run it?  I think she must have a source of income other than the retreat; a trust fund or an inheritance.  No way she is running a full time wellness retreat remotely.

I did love the place she chose, very pretty.

[javajeanelaine]

If you google her, you find out (at least according to Linked In) she's back in NYC.  The retreat is shown on her Linked In profile.

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 9/18/2020 at 5:31 PM, doodlebug said:

In general, the 'th' sound is Castillian, meaning the kind of Spanish spoken in Spain.  People in Latin America do not usually use the 'th' sound, it is considered kinda pretentious.  And, yes, tourists who use it are sometimes mocked.

I thought the Castilian "th" is for "s." 

A "d" in the middle of a word in Spanish is softer than a "d" in English.  Like the Spanish word for "I can," which is "puedo"--it doesn't sound like how "play-doh" is pronounced, with a hard "d."  The "d" in "puedo" is closer to a "th" than a hard "d" sound.  And that's what I heard him overdoing when he said Merida.

Edited September 20, 2020 by StatisticalOutlier
Got carried away with the quotation marks. And still haven't bothered to find an accent for the E in Merida.

[doodlebug]

2 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

I thought the Castilian "th" is for "s." 

A "d" in the middle of a word in Spanish is softer than a "d" in English.  Like the Spanish word for "I can," which is "puedo"--it doesn't sound like how "play-doh" is pronounced, with a hard "d."  The "d" in "puedo" is closer to a "th" than a hard "d" sound."  And that's what I heard him overdoing when he said Merida.

You obviously know a lot more about the language than I do.  I have spent time in several Latin American countries doing volunteer work, though, and the people do tend look side eyed at what they consider to be pretentious Spanish from non-Spanish speakers.

[StatisticalOutlier]

1 hour ago, doodlebug said:

You obviously know a lot more about the language than I do.  I have spent time in several Latin American countries doing volunteer work, though, and the people do tend look side eyed at what they consider to be pretentious Spanish from non-Spanish speakers.

As I said, I'm not sure what's right.  There might be a little quirk in that part of Mexico that overrides common Spanish pronunciation and makes his overdone "th" more correct than a harder "d."  One thing I do know, though, is that an American could be forgiven for pronouncing the "d" the way it would be in English (same as with not being able to roll Rs like a native speaker), and I'd much rather err on that side than look/sound pretentious. 

[Grizzly]

Germany. Oh snap, that realtor is a hoot. And she says it all with a smile.

Once a picture of the outfit has been taken, why not just return it? And what was with the wife pairing bright pink and bright yellow? The blind cat is lucky.

[chessiegal]

10 hours ago, Grizzly said:

And what was with the wife pairing bright pink and bright yellow? The blind cat is lucky.

Maybe she was taking her cue from HGTV, who has started using promo chyrons with yellow lettering with a pink background.

I liked the real estate agent too. When the husband said his wife wasn't spoiled, she was "particular" my husband said she was "peculiar". 😄 She's married to a JAG. She needed to stop complaining. He has a good job with wonderful benefits. When he said when we got married, we said all we needed was each other, and her response was - oh, how times have changed. I found her to be extremely unlikeable.

[Schnickelfritz]

I really need Kuspina the agent to be on every show!! The shade that woman was throwing was fantastic.

Pretty....  Picky.... Pink.... Princess

Apparently, there will be a baby in January for our military family. (Her instagram is thesparkleenthusiast and so is her website) They should have no problem finding the little sprout if he dresses in Mom's preferred colors. Congrats to them! She is nothing if not enthusiastic.

https://www.instagram.com/thesparkleenthusiast/?hl=en

[ArtFossil]

11 hours ago, Schnickelfritz said:

I really need Kuspina the agent to be on every show!! The shade that woman was throwing was fantastic.

Pretty....  Picky.... Pink.... Princess

Apparently, there will be a baby in January for our military family. (Her instagram is thesparkleenthusiast and so is her website) They should have no problem finding the little sprout if he dresses in Mom's preferred colors. Congrats to them! She is nothing if not enthusiastic.

https://www.instagram.com/thesparkleenthusiast/?hl=en

Oh Christ in a handbag, the woman is vapid. Another self-absorbed blogger with nothing original to contribute. "We can drive to so many picure spots!" "I can fill this room with my clothes!" "I'm going to try every Mexican restaurant here!""We have three bedrooms, says the realtor; "a little small," she says.

Their poor child.

[LittleIggy]

Edinburgh: If that woman had said “charm” one more time, I was ready to reach into the TV and throttle her. And, hey, realtor, plenty of people raise children without having family close by. My parents did.  I didn’t know landlords would rent to people without jobs. Did her parents co-sign the lease? On the plus side, the husband was hot.

[Ambrosefolly]

10 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Edinburgh: If that woman had said “charm” one more time, I was ready to reach into the TV and throttle her. And, hey, realtor, plenty of people raise children without having family close by. My parents did.  I didn’t know landlords would rent to people without jobs. Did her parents co-sign the lease? On the plus side, the husband was hot.

Yeah, and it is a bitch and half unless you hire outside help (or even).  My grandparents from India would travel to America to help my mom watch me and my sister, and when my aunts and uncles came over, they helped watch us and once those aunts and uncles started having kids of there own, we (my mom, sister and me) helped watch those kids while the parents were working, and so and so on. Now, the older cousins act more like big brothers/sisters to the younger ones. A couple of those cousins also had grandparents living in the house with them. I think my sister would completely lose her shit if her in-laws weren't around to take over the cooking duties and get up with her kid who loves waking up before 5am. It is super helpful now that she is in her second trimester. Even the European-Americans that I go to church often handle baby-sitting duties for the grand babies. I don't really blame people for factoring having family close by, not only from an emotional standpoint, but a practical one. 

[LittleIggy]

We moved a lot due to my dad’s job so there was no option of having family close by. My parents did just fine.

[biakbiak]

33 minutes ago, LittleIggy said:

My parents did just fine.

Great for them but that’s not everyone’s story. And clearly these people wanted to be around their family and have that support system which is what the realtor was responding to. Also, this couple has been halfway around the world for several years based on the kids ages so wanting a change of pace and to be near more family was what they felt was best for their family. 

[Ms. TV]

On 9/24/2020 at 9:21 AM, chessiegal said:

.....married to a JAG. She needed to stop complaining. He has a good job with wonderful benefits. When he said when we got married, we said all we needed was each other, and her response was - oh, how times have changed. I found her to be extremely unlikeable.

I couldn’t agree more.  I thought her husband was a doll and she should take her head out of her butt and realize what a good guy he is to put up with her crap. She’s not even fashionable in the slightest. She wore that one hideous pink polyester dress almost the whole episode and it was extremely unflattering and the shoes were ridiculous. To spend all that money on bad clothes (and with her not working, where does she go to to be seen in all those outfits anyway?) and to have to get a four bedroom house to put up with her vanity is just insanity to me. I think the blind cat would be a better dresser than she ever could be, so why she has a blog is beyond me. I would never ever go on it except maybe to get a good laugh. Perhaps I shouldn’t be so mean, but she was really hard to watch - so self-centered and for what reason I couldn’t tell you. Even though  she said it twice about her husband, SHE is the actual buzz kill. I feel very sorry for such a sweet man, he does not do deserve to be treated like that at all. 

[ML89]

18 minutes ago, Ms. TV said:

She wore that one hideous pink polyester dress almost the whole episode and it was extremely unflattering and the shoes were ridiculous.

Not to defend her fashion sense or lack thereof, but if you watch closely, they're usually wearing the same clothes every time so they can more easily swap in scenes from several days (if you watch Great British Baking Show, they wear the same clothes so the editors can use footage from all days). Again, not to defend magenta and yellow together!

I also thought that her saying on Instagram that she was now pregnant explained the dresses but I'm not sure of the timeframe either...

 

[Ms. TV]

9 minutes ago, ML89 said:

Not to defend her fashion sense or lack thereof, but if you watch closely, they're usually wearing the same clothes every time so they can more easily swap in scenes from several days (if you watch Great British Baking Show, they wear the same clothes so the editors can use footage from all days). Again, not to defend magenta and yellow together!

I also thought that her saying on Instagram that she was now pregnant explained the dresses but I'm not sure of the timeframe either...

 

Hi ML89!  I should have edited myself better, I had a feeling that my line would’ve been misunderstood. What I meant was because there was only an opportunity for her to wear one outfit, out of the gazillions that she keeps inferring about, I’m surprised that’s the outfit that she picked because I found it to be very unflattering and ugly - pregnant or not. I have noticed on plenty of reality type shows that the outfits (especially in shows with judge panels) aren’t true of the actual filming which “secretly” drives me nuts, though I know the reasoning behind it. I’m too cynical for my own good!

[amarante]

4 hours ago, Ms. TV said:

Hi ML89!  I should have edited myself better, I had a feeling that my line would’ve been misunderstood. What I meant was because there was only an opportunity for her to wear one outfit, out of the gazillions that she keeps inferring about, I’m surprised that’s the outfit that she picked because I found it to be very unflattering and ugly - pregnant or not. I have noticed on plenty of reality type shows that the outfits (especially in shows with judge panels) aren’t true of the actual filming which “secretly” drives me nuts, though I know the reasoning behind it. I’m too cynical for my own good!

Out of curiosity I checked her instagram page and that appears to be her taste level as all of the clothing she is wearing is garish and not particularly stylish. I mean there is good garish like Betsy Johnson if that's her thing but her taste level looked like H&M in loud colors. 

And even prior to pregnancy she didn't dress in a particularly flattering manner. I don't think she was fat but she seemed to choose stuff that didn't work well with her body shape

[ECM1231]

On 9/24/2020 at 9:33 AM, Schnickelfritz said:

I really need Kuspina the agent to be on every show!! The shade that woman was throwing was fantastic.

Pretty....  Picky.... Pink.... Princess

I loved her! What a hoot! Was the military couple extremely tall or was Kuspina Lilliputian? They towered over her. 

Those booties on the cobblestone street were an accident waiting to happen.

[MartyQui]

If the Edinburgh husband had said one more time that they didn’t have jobs, I was going to lose my mind...yes, I GET IT, you don’t have jobs.

[LittleIggy]

10 hours ago, biakbiak said:

Great for them but that’s not everyone’s story. And clearly these people wanted to be around their family and have that support system which is what the realtor was responding to. Also, this couple has been halfway around the world for several years based on the kids ages so wanting a change of pace and to be near more family was what they felt was best for their family. 

I wasn’t criticizing the wife for wanting to move back near her family. The realtor just annoyed me with what she said. My opinion.

[ML89]

On 9/25/2020 at 5:19 PM, Ms. TV said:

 

On 9/25/2020 at 5:04 PM, ML89 said:

Not to defend her fashion sense or lack thereof, but if you watch closely, they're usually wearing the same clothes every time so they can more easily swap in scenes from several days (if you watch Great British Baking Show, they wear the same clothes so the editors can use footage from all days). Again, not to defend magenta and yellow together!

I also thought that her saying on Instagram that she was now pregnant explained the dresses but I'm not sure of the timeframe either...

 

Hi ML89!  I should have edited myself better, I had a feeling that my line would’ve been misunderstood. What I meant was because there was only an opportunity for her to wear one outfit, out of the gazillions that she keeps inferring about, I’m surprised that’s the outfit that she picked because I found it to be very unflattering and ugly - pregnant or not.

 

Oh absolutely true. That color combo was something else!

[blueray]

I watched the Australian episode where the couple moved from England. They were quite annoying but somehow I couldn't stop watching as it was bizarre too. Of course they pick the shack in the woods. I would have picked the second house as it was really cute and in town (which is what I'd want).

[laredhead]

I always love the HHI episodes in Australia, but last night's episode was ruined by the guy saying over and over and over that he wanted a place where he could get away from the woman, and he needed space.  They chose the smallest one, and I guess as long as the weather is nice, she can stay outside for her yoga and whatever else she does.  I am assuming that she has a job on a farm elsewhere, so he will have some time to himself during the day.  I hope she's not surprised when he announces one day that their relationship is over. Those two would have been "hippies" if they had been born in the 50's.   

[Grizzly]

I had to wonder how he worked when they were living in that van?

[MartyQui]

I’m going to guess that their trust funds covered their expenses while they were playing poor in the van.  He’s actually a talented photographer, I followed him on Insta.

[Pine]

1 hour ago, MartyQui said:

I’m going to guess that their trust funds covered their expenses while they were playing poor in the van.  He’s actually a talented photographer, I followed him on Insta.

BINGO!  At least on her part, but, I tend to think he is in the same Upper British Class.  Neither have any real worries.  

[biakbiak]

5 hours ago, Grizzly said:

I had to wonder how he worked when they were living in that van?

Who knows what the real story is but she aid she bought the van in Australia and told the real estate agent that they had only been there for a few weeks.

Looks like they filmed in June. Oh to live in a place that contained community spread.

I feel like he goes around telling people that everyone tells him he looks like Ryan Gosling.

Edited October 2, 2020 by biakbiak

[Grizzly]

Richard!!!! The accent, his slight snark, and he bakes!

[CrazyInAlabama]

I love Richard!     He's always so sensible, and gives such good advice to the house hunters that are willing to listen to him.     He was so right, the women don't need to spend $13,000 on a bed.     I really liked the two women on tonight's show.   

I love how the snobby house hunters get a snarky show from him.    

[kirklandia]

3 hours ago, Grizzly said:

Richard!!!! The accent, his slight snark, and he bakes!

And he's a baller!

[Ozyank]

I was watching the Australian episode called Money's Worth in Perth. The husband was Australian and the wife was American. I have lived in Australia for twenty years as an American, so I know both accents very well. The wife had a completely Australian accent. There's no way she ever spoke with an American accent. I don't understand how they said that they were coming back to Australia for him, and she was going to adjust to this new life. Where is she from? 😂 

[snarts]

Wisconsin couple buying a second home in Puerto Rico.  They were fine, applaud them for being foster parents, but someone really should've told the guy that Puerto Rico is not a foreign country.  Cringeworthy moment there at the end.

[Seelouis]

2 minutes ago, snarts said:

Wisconsin couple buying a second home in Puerto Rico.  They were fine, applaud them for being foster parents, but someone really should've told the guy that Puerto Rico is not a foreign country.  Cringeworthy moment there at the end.

Yes! I straight out screamed at my TV “Puerto Rico is not a foreign country!!!”

[chessiegal]

Well, yell at HGTV. It appeared on House Hunters International, not House Hunters.

[Grizzly]

Couldn't believe that woman in Thailand. Was so worried about the safety of her 2 year old daughter but agrees to a house that puts the daughter sleeping in her own separate building! With a bathroom. Nothing could go wrong there. And did you see that brief scene where they were standing in front of a fence and what looked like a black cat was climbing over?

[chessiegal]

Based on what we saw of the woman in Thailand, I'm betting the farm that they are co-sleeping with the daughter and didn't want to say so on tv.

[Grizzly]

6 hours ago, chessiegal said:

Based on what we saw of the woman in Thailand, I'm betting the farm that they are co-sleeping with the daughter and didn't want to say so on tv.

Interesting theory, I hadn't thought of that. Makes expanding their family rather difficult 😏

[chessiegal]

18 minutes ago, Grizzly said:

Interesting theory, I hadn't thought of that. Makes expanding their family rather difficult 😏

Parents figure it out. I have a stepdaughter that they co-slept with the first one because they absolutely could not get the kid to sleep otherwise. They now have 4 kids and co-slept with all of them in the beginning..

[SunnyBeBe]

I am speechless.  I’m not sure how old this episode is, but I cannot believe that HGTV aired the comment made by this English real estate agent. He was showing flats for rent in London to a same sex married couple from the USA. One of the wives had decided to stay at home, while the other wife had a job lined up and would be working. The realtor took it that the stay at home wife would not make the decisions AND told her that staying at home, she would feel like A KEPT WOMAN.   Would anyone say that about a woman married to a man? I found it so bizarre.  Why did they air that insult?  

[Grrarrggh]

1 hour ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I am speechless.  I’m not sure how old this episode is, but I cannot believe that HGTV aired the comment made by this English real estate agent. He was showing flats for rent in London to a same sex married couple from the USA. One of the wives had decided to stay at home, while the other wife had a job lined up and would be working. The realtor took it that the stay at home wife would not make the decisions AND told her that staying at home, she would feel like A KEPT WOMAN.   Would anyone say that about a woman married to a man? I found it so bizarre.  Why did they air that insult?  

Cuz it was a joke..... And yes, men who don't work but rely on their married spouse to often are jokingly called kept men or houseboys etc. I get where you coming from but in this case it was meant, and I'm guessing taken, in jest. 

[SunnyBeBe]

I think a joke is when people laugh. Lol I don’t think they thought it was very funny. It didn’t seem humorous to me either.  Even so, it was poor taste for the show to air it, imo. I don’t recall ever hearing anything like it before on that show. 

[LittleIggy]

43 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I think a joke is when people laugh. Lol I don’t think they thought it was very funny. It didn’t seem humorous to me either.  Even so, it was poor taste for the show to air it, imo. I don’t recall ever hearing anything like it before on that show. 

I haven’t watched the episode. It wasn’t Richard was it?

Paris: There was something off about that couple. When he kissed her at the end, she made a face as she did when he referred to them as “two lovers.”

Thailand: The little girl was adorbs. I liked the place they picked, but I can’t imagine having a two year old sleeping in another building by herself. The husband was nice, but the wife annoyed me with her non-stop ugly American nitpicking.

[Chippings]

Oh please help me..  I didn't intend to doze off right at the end of Paris, but I did.  Did the couple take the teeny place right in Paris, the larger one outside, or the roomier rental in Paris?  Bummer, so cranky when I woke up and it was over.  Thank you !

[WI GIRL56]

4 hours ago, Chippings said:

Oh please help me..  I didn't intend to doze off right at the end of Paris, but I did.  Did the couple take the teeny place right in Paris, the larger one outside, or the roomier rental in Paris?  Bummer, so cranky when I woke up and it was over.  Thank you !

They took the 2nd one outside of Paris.

[buttersister]

As soon as I saw that big apartment outside of Paris (by 15 minutes on the RER), I thought, Dude, your protesting to remain inside the ring road is almost adorable. Did he own that camera shop or is her business pretty robust? Or both! Their budget seemed more than decent. Loved the trip to that store--gorgeous stuff.

Although, as Adrian has told us for years, buying space in the City Center est tres cher! Wondering if the Pigalle place was one of her company's or a friend's place😶

[StatisticalOutlier]

17 hours ago, WI GIRL56 said:

They took the 2nd one outside of Paris.

And when they showed it after the purchase, one of the rooms was chock full of her work.  So there's no way in the world they could have fit into the tiny one.

ETA: And I rolled my eyes when she mentioned some trait of hers and said, "You knew that when you married me."  Uh, they got married after knowing each other for like a month.  So probably not.

Edited October 10, 2020 by StatisticalOutlier

[Grrarrggh]

On 10/9/2020 at 12:55 AM, LittleIggy said:

I haven’t watched the episode. It wasn’t Richard was it?

Yeppers. And the woman herself was half jokingly complaining about being supported by her wife. 

[ArtFossil]

Thailand: I "pre-hated" the woman as soon as she came onto the screen. The more she talked, the more I despised her. Too bad no one told her she's not "at home" anymore! Decided to care for my blood pressure by not continuing to watch. Real life is stressful enough. 😅