House Hunters International - General Discussion

[Rootbeer]

On 6/4/2021 at 2:03 PM, buttersister said:

Richard was working hard to make this fun or interesting. So of course, he was entertaining. But it’s hard to believe there wasn’t a rentable place available in the area that wasn’t a 4-flight walk up!😂

Paddington, the area where they wanted to live, aside from being central, is in a very pricey area.  The amount of rent they were willing to pay was incompatible with the area where they wanted to live.  No way anyone is going to find a first floor, 2 bedroom apartment in Paddington at a discount.  One bedroom places go for around $2000 a month on average.   And, as they said from the start, they wanted to buy.  As Richard said, that wouldn't be enough to buy a cat condo in Paddington. To find an apartment  to purchase would've been very difficult even if their budget was multiplied by 10.

Edited June 5, 2021 by Rootbeer

[LittleIggy]

London: I kept hoping to see Paddington Bear walk by. 😏

[seacliffsal]

I really enjoyed the London episode.  I appreciate learning about boat life from you all as I wondered about boat slip/mooring rental, utilities, and toilet waste.  It may be similar to those who choose to purchase and live in a RV.

I also liked that the criticisms/concerns they voiced were "real" in that they identified issues with cribs, strollers, etc., instead of "charm", bidets, and other nonsense (IMO) that we often hear.

The couple seemed nice and I wish them many happy adventures on their boat.  Overall an enjoyable episode for me.

[aghst]

I didn't mind seeing house hunters with rather modest budget for an expensive place like central London.

But I'd rather have seen more apartments.

[Rootbeer]

On 6/4/2021 at 1:26 PM, Cetacean said:

There has to be some sort of back story to the London choices.  We already know that they had purchased the houseboat so HHI had to find another one that was cheaper but unsuitable along with a land-based option that would clearly not work.  Climbing multiple stories with a stoller would be a nightmare.

So the purchase of the houseboat prior to filming must have been driven by funny money or the boat being gifted to them.  Otherwise they gave no real solid reason for the mandate that they be in the heart of London.  Richard pointed out that owning in that area could cost a million dollars so there was some sleight of hand going on.

I agree.  Amongst other things, the husband was British, he must know what real estate in prime areas of London sells for and that there was no way they were buying a traditional house or apartment in Paddington for $80,000.  For that matter, anyone who has access to a computer would know that they'd need about 10 times that amount to purchase a decent place in that part of town.  

Even with renting, an apartment in a building that had an elevator or was on a lower floor and less of a schlep would cost a lot more than the one they were shown.

[momo]

We'd better enjoy all the Amsterdam we can!  

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/05/world/europe/amsterdam-crumbling-infrastructure-canals.html

[buttersister]

Yikes. Glad I don't own a boat on a canal.

[Grrarrggh]

2 hours ago, momo said:

We'd better enjoy all the Amsterdam we can!  

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/05/world/europe/amsterdam-crumbling-infrastructure-canals.html

Same with Venice. Invest in scuba gear I suppose. 

[tessaray]

I've been intrigued by houseboats since the Paris scenes of the series Highlander. It's a creative alternative to the high prices of central London anyway. 

If Richard wanted to do a Houseboats of London special, I'd watch.

[NYGirl]

7 minutes ago, tessaray said:

 

If Richard wanted to do a Houseboats of London special, I'd watch.

If Richard wanted to read a phone book to us I'd watch;

[LittleIggy]

5 hours ago, NYGirl said:

If Richard wanted to read a phone book to us I'd watch;

With Kevin standing beside him smiling! 

[biakbiak]

Finally caught up on HHI and the wife from the army couple who moved to the Netherlands she looked like first season Vicki Gunvalson from the Real Housewives of OC, it was uncanny.

As for the houseboat couple, I noted above I grew up on a houseboat but it was all house, two down from the one in Sleepless in Seattle, still issues with babies and water and we managed not to drown, it wouldn’t surprise me since she was still barely showing if that was an investment property to do an Air BnB that they fixed up long before she got pregnant and planned to move out of when she actually gave birth or shortly after.  It was in such pristine condition when they showed it. It had clearly been gutted and recently remodeled.

Edited June 8, 2021 by biakbiak

[chocolatine]

Just when I thought I'd seen it all, I turned on this show and saw a woman who moved to Kaiserslautern demand a "Bavarian" house. 🤦‍♀️

15 hours ago, biakbiak said:

As for the houseboat couple, I noted above I grew up on a houseboat but it was all house, two down from the one in Sleepless in Seattle

Was it a real houseboat or just a floating home? A houseboat can be used as a boat, a floating home can't. Most places on Lake Union are floating homes.

[biakbiak]

5 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

Was it a real houseboat or just a floating home? A houseboat can be used as a boat, a floating home can't. Most places on Lake Union are floating homes.

Floating homes weren’t a term any of used when I grew up there, even now they tend to be used interchangeably.

Edited June 9, 2021 by biakbiak

[chocolatine]

4 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

Floating homes weren’t a term any of used when I grew up there, even now they are used interchangeably in casual conversation. 

I was just wondering because the floating homes that I've visited felt a lot like regular houses, albeit on a smaller scale. Whereas real houseboats feel much more cramped and have lower ceilings. I could see myself living in the former, but not the latter.

Edited June 9, 2021 by chocolatine

[deirdra]

Floating homes don't have engines, so they need to be towed to their destination (slowly because they are not shaped to cut through the water and wind). They are basically houses on rafts.

In Europe there are a lot of canals so canal & river cruises are popular vacations. Though I'd prefer to rent a smaller one for a vacation and live in a house that isn't cramped.

Edited June 9, 2021 by deirdra

[pep4]

Liked the Azores episode simply because it was something different geographically.

Do not want a toilet with a view, though.

[Dehumidifier]

Azores -- hunter said she developed chronic lung problems from breathing in dust on business trips to 3rd world countries but then she moved to an island with large areas covered with volcanic dust. Puzzling.

[aghst]

1 hour ago, Dehumidifier said:

Azores -- hunter said she developed chronic lung problems from breathing in dust on business trips to 3rd world countries but then she moved to an island with large areas covered with volcanic dust. Puzzling.

She's also dependent on reliable connections to the outside world so she moved to a small island and then to a remote part of that island.

How reliable is electricity and Internet on the island?

Maybe it was mainly about affordability compare to Italy which had been her base?

If she wanted to find fresh air, there must be small towns or villages with little traffic.

They must have some connections to the Azores because this is the second episode to feature what seems like a fairly remote place.

[Cetacean]

And a "lifelong fear of volcanoes" buyer moves to a volcanic island.  Does she think living a few miles away from the crater will save her in a cataclysmic eruption?  When Mt. St. Helens went, the devasation covered 230 square miles. 

I did chuckle when the realtor said she'd have 5 seconds to react when that thing blows.

[chessiegal]

47 minutes ago, aghst said:

Maybe it was mainly about affordability compare to Italy which had been her base?

She said it was difficult living in Italy and being gay, that the Portuguese were more accepting and she could openly be who she was.

[buttersister]

3 hours ago, aghst said:

How reliable is electricity and Internet on the island?

She made a point at the end of saying her internet worked fine for her. K. I have a dead spot in the middle of my living room in the middle of downtown Chicago, so I’m impressed.

Volcanos have been dormant there since the late 1950s; she seemed like she’d pay attention if there were warnings of disruption greater than five minutes (unlike a few folks who stayed on Mt. St. Helens, sadly). 

I can think of rooms other than the bathroom I wish had that view, but she didn’t seem to be roughing it, was close enough to town and seemed pretty happy at the end.

[Cetacean]

1 hour ago, buttersister said:

Volcanos have been dormant there since the late 1950s; she seemed like she’d pay attention if there were warnings of disruption greater than five minutes (unlike a few folks who stayed on Mt. St. Helens, sadly). 

There are over 14,000 people living on that island. I wonder how you would even be able to get off the island even with sufficient warning.  Dormant doesn't mean extinct.

It just seemed like a really odd choice of a place to live.  

[Pine]

Floating home, I wonder how cold it will be in the winter?  When I lived in England, it could get pretty cold, and of course damp.

Azores lady, I figured the house with all the cats was her house.  :)  Hope she doesn't have any cat hair allergies.  :)  

[copshop]

Quote

I think there's a LOT left out of this episode, which is too bad because I think it's something that most people don't know anything about and would find interesting since they're already watching a show about how people in other countries live.

Which is why this show inspires such love-hate. Richard love got me through. It was obviously "daddy's money."

Loved seeing the Azores, good for her! I'm surprised a small Portuguese island would be any more progressive than an Italian city like Bologna, but I'm glad it worked out for her.

[Grrarrggh]

8 hours ago, Dehumidifier said:

Azores -- hunter said she developed chronic lung problems from breathing in dust on business trips to 3rd world countries but then she moved to an island with large areas covered with volcanic dust. Puzzling.

Since the volcano last erupted more than 60 years ago there is no dust still around. 

[Dehumidifier]

5 minutes ago, Grrarrggh said:

Since the volcano last erupted more than 60 years ago there is no dust still around. 

They showed what looked like fields of dust to me. I've deleted it now; can't check.

[Dehumidifier]

1 hour ago, Pine said:

Floating home, I wonder how cold it will be in the winter?  When I lived in England, it could get pretty cold, and of course damp.

Azores lady, I figured the house with all the cats was her house.  :)  Hope she doesn't have any cat hair allergies.  :)  

I lived in a strangely damp house for many years and it is not pleasant.

[Grrarrggh]

4 minutes ago, Dehumidifier said:

They showed what looked like fields of dust to me. I've deleted it now; can't check.

Once it's been on the ground that long it's like a version of sand or soil. Not aerosol. 

[jacksgirl]

Azores "Authentic Self". I liked the hunter,  she was brave, adventurous and loved her mom, so that was sweet, but the whole authentic self confused me. Sure looked like she really lived her life on her own terms.  Hope she is happy and made friends. The Azores looked beautiful, nice change of pace for the show.

[deirdra]

3 hours ago, Grrarrggh said:

Since the volcano last erupted more than 60 years ago there is no dust still around. 

Rocks constantly weather into soil.  When dry, the finer particles blow around as dust or collect as mud when wet ... and blow around again when they dry out.

[amarante]

I also wondered what the real story was with Azores lady.

I wondered why her sexuality mattered because what kind of gay lifestyle would she have in a place where the largest town is 6000 people. All power to people who want to remain single whatever there sexual persuasion is but I don't think I would move to such an isolated small place and then mention that sexuality was a factor in moving from Italy.

As others have posted, it is difficult to believe it wouldn't be easier to find gay friends and potential partners in Bologna. If marriage was a factor (and she mentioned that Portugal allowed gay marriage) why not just move to Portugal where one is much more likely to have a large enough group of gay people so that one might find really compatible friends and potential partners

[Grrarrggh]

32 minutes ago, amarante said:

I also wondered what the real story was with Azores lady.

I wondered why her sexuality mattered because what kind of gay lifestyle would she have in a place where the largest town is 6000 people. All power to people who want to remain single whatever there sexual persuasion is but I don't think I would move to such an isolated small place and then mention that sexuality was a factor in moving from Italy.

As others have posted, it is difficult to believe it wouldn't be easier to find gay friends and potential partners in Bologna. If marriage was a factor (and she mentioned that Portugal allowed gay marriage) why not just move to Portugal where one is much more likely to have a large enough group of gay people so that one might find really compatible friends and potential partners

I don't think it was a numbers game, more that she wouldn't be persecuted in Portugal just for loving who she does, whereas she is in Italy. 

[Grizzly]

Christchurch, NZ. She decided to live in New Zealand after watching Lord of the Rings. I don't remember brand new, totally modern and spacious dwellings in that movie. That was a huge bedroom in the modern place but where would they put guests? And that was the only bathroom off the bedroom. Social life won over remote lake.

[aghst]

So the Christchurch couple chose the place with the weird bathroom set up, the water closet without the sink and the bath and shower downstairs?

The lake property was nicer but too far away from the center.

Actually the most beautiful part of the region is Lyttleton Harbour and Banks Peninsula area, which could look like something out of the LOTR movies.

I like NZ but have never seen the LOTR movies.

Edited June 10, 2021 by aghst

[Crashcourse]

13 hours ago, Grrarrggh said:

I don't think it was a numbers game, more that she wouldn't be persecuted in Portugal just for loving who she does, whereas she is in Italy. 

Which is why @amarante wondered why she didn't move to Portugal.

[LittleIggy]

20 hours ago, Pine said:

Floating home, I wonder how cold it will be in the winter?  When I lived in England, it could get pretty cold, and of course damp.

Azores lady, I figured the house with all the cats was her house.  :)  Hope she doesn't have any cat hair allergies.  :)  

The kitties were my favorite amenity of that house!

2 hours ago, aghst said:

So the Christchurch couple chose the place with the weird bathroom set up, the water closet without the sink and the bath and shower downstairs?

The lake property was nicer but too far away from the center.

Actually the most beautiful part of the region is Lyttleton Harbour and Banks Peninsula area, which could look like something out of the LOTR movies.

I like NZ but have never seen the LOTR movies.

You need to!!!

[snarts]

15 hours ago, amarante said:

I also wondered what the real story was with Azores lady.

I wondered why her sexuality mattered because what kind of gay lifestyle would she have in a place where the largest town is 6000 people. All power to people who want to remain single whatever there sexual persuasion is but I don't think I would move to such an isolated small place and then mention that sexuality was a factor in moving from Italy.

As others have posted, it is difficult to believe it wouldn't be easier to find gay friends and potential partners in Bologna. If marriage was a factor (and she mentioned that Portugal allowed gay marriage) why not just move to Portugal where one is much more likely to have a large enough group of gay people so that one might find really compatible friends and potential partners

Am I misremembering or did the some time later shots show her a with a blonde woman?  I thought that was likely her partner. Maybe she didn't join her in the Azores until after they'd filmed (or she did deliberately chose not to be part of the show)?  Didn't feel that she was moving there to date, more to settle down in a more accepting place.

In any case, the Azores are amazingly beautiful and I love seeing HHI episodes filmed there.

Re: Christchurch.  #1 did not look any smaller than #2 and it had a nice back courtyard area & normal bathrooms.  I thought the kitchen was also much nicer than in the one they chose.  Her reaction to it seemed a bit out of proportion.  #1 was the one I would've picked if being close to town was that important to me.

Edited June 10, 2021 by snarts

[amarante]

I am sure there is a back story to the Azores woman. I just didn't quite understand why she didn't move to Portugal  - there is something between Italy and an isolated island with a very limited number of people to socialize with. Again I don't think partnership in life is critical to happiness but it just seemed odd to mention lack of gay marriage in Italy any marriage is irrelevant. Obviously people want to exist in a friendly atmosphere but I don't think the actual population of Italy would be more homophobic than the inhabitants of an isolated island.

If there was a hidden companion at the end, I missed it because I TIVO HH and fast forward through all of the fillers - especially at the end when essentially they all love whatever place they have chosen. 

[Grrarrggh]

4 hours ago, Crashcourse said:

Which is why @amarante wondered why she didn't move to Portugal.

Because, as I said, I don't think it was a numbers game. The Azores IS Portugal  www.gaytravel.com/gay-guides/azores

Edited June 10, 2021 by Grrarrggh

[deirdra]

 

Apparently there are gay cruises and tours of The Azores, so she may have found people in this Autonomous Region of Portugal more accepting than those in mainland Portugal.  It is a beautiful place,too.

 

Edited June 10, 2021 by deirdra

[Grrarrggh]

How could anyone move to NZ and say the view of that pond was the perfect view?! 

[Grizzly]

Cork, Ireland. I have to really concentrate to understand the realtor. There was no doubt the wife was getting what she wanted.

[pep4]

Ireland - For gawd's sake, put a Cork in it!

I'm always surprised how many couples don't realize that when the HGTV producers hand them a script, tell them to have opposite wants, to disagree about everything, and make every flaw sound like the end of the world, that they'll come off looking terrible.

[buttersister]

Imagine my surprise when the husband “finally” admitted he actually wanted his wife to be happy with their move and not stuck in the middle of nowhere.🤣🤣🤣🤨
 

Edited June 11, 2021 by buttersister

[Cetacean]

The repetition of their demands is getting on my last never.  If I took a swig every time that guy say "my cows" last night I would never have stayed awake until the end.  

They want totally different things.  We get it.  But do they have to remind us of their demands as they pull up at every place and after each commercial? 

I love an Irish accent. 

[Crashcourse]

I was so excited to see this episode because I visited Cork several years ago.  It's a beautiful city, and one thing I'll always remember is that the McDonald's there had the best burger I'd ever eaten.  I think the beef was much better.  Also a short bus ride to Blarney Castle but once I saw how they kissed the stone I said "nah," lol. 

Back to the episode, the guy got on my nerves with his repetitive wants.  I looked him up and he's a SVP for SolarWinds.  I thought the wife looked worn out and nervous, after living with kids in so many places, including Singapore and now Cork. 

I did love the realtor's Irish accent even if I couldn't understand him sometimes. 

[seacliffsal]

I was very interested in the fact that both the husband and wife mentioned how she had hired help in Singapore.  It explained to me why she looked so nervous/anxious throughout the episode as she was probably imagining not being able to have as much help in Ireland (higher labor costs?).  Anyway, she didn't seem excited in the least which is too bad because they have a really nice home in a lovely country with amazing residents.  

[Dehumidifier]

I liked the pull down upper hanging rod in one of the Irish closets shown. 

[Grrarrggh]

I wanted to slap the Cork dad. He talks about work/life balance but he wants a home office?!