House Hunters International - General Discussion

[Dehumidifier]

On 10/23/2021 at 1:01 AM, LittleIggy said:

But then both of them sprawled on a bed with their shoes on. 

I didn't notice that, but if they hung their feet over the edge, tacky, but no real harm done.

Edited October 27, 2021 by Dehumidifier

[LittleIggy]

3 hours ago, Dehumidifier said:

I didn't notice that, but if they hung their feet over the edge, tacky, but no real harm done.

No, the shoes were on bedspread.

[Grrarrggh]

I liked the Spain couple, but I wonder if they'll only stay in the seaside flat for a few months? 

[aghst]

3 hours ago, Grrarrggh said:

I liked the Spain couple, but I wonder if they'll only stay in the seaside flat for a few months? 

They called it a sabbatical.  The guy was taking Spanish language classes, not sure what she was doing, maybe some kind of telemedicine?

maybe an extended vacation.

[CrazyInAlabama]

Cabo San Lucas couple, she's much younger than he is, but he's the one who wants to be in town so he can party constantly.    She's the one who wants a quieter lifestyle.   I do like the Cabo properties they're looking at.   They're looking to spend over $400k, so they are seeing nice, luxurious properties.  The ocean views from the second and third condo are spectacular.   They always get a great discount on the one they bought.  They bought #2 with a great view. 

[Grrarrggh]

3 hours ago, aghst said:

They called it a sabbatical.  The guy was taking Spanish language classes, not sure what she was doing, maybe some kind of telemedicine?

maybe an extended vacation.

I know, but Nick said most rentals were short term ones. So I wonder if they'll stay there for a bit until they know the area better and move somewhere else later to get a different POV. 

[aghst]

15 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

Cabo San Lucas couple, she's much younger than he is, but he's the one who wants to be in town so he can party constantly.    She's the one who wants a quieter lifestyle.   I do like the Cabo properties they're looking at.   They're looking to spend over $400k, so they are seeing nice, luxurious properties.  The ocean views from the second and third condo are spectacular.   They always get a great discount on the one they bought.  They bought #2 with a great view. 

She doesn't seem that much younger.  Maybe coloring her hair?

But she's the one who wanted him to stop partying and going out as much, live a more quiet life.

Yeah they were nice properties.  Previous CSL episodes didn't seem to have as nice properties.  I guess the second one tied to the resort is nice but you probably pay more for food and drinks at that resort pool or restaurants than in downtown.

I wonder if people are drawn there for the views but don't do anything too active, like kayaking around those rock formations.  The guy looked like he enjoyed the views but would prefer to hang out at bars.  Or at least that was the script.

 

 

[aghst]

Bangkok, Thailand - She wanted to spend $500, he wanted to spend up to $1300.

He was software engineer so there was no reason to have such a low budget.

I thought the other two places looked nicer than the one they picked but I guess it was better for their kids, with playgrounds nearby and places to ride their bikes.

She must have styled those kids, with the floppy hair and the hipster glasses for the boy.

[Grrarrggh]

1 hour ago, aghst said:

She must have styled those kids, with the floppy hair and the hipster glasses for the boy.

"Floppy hair"? It wasn't styled, it was just natural. And his glasses sort of matched Dad's, so maybe HE styled them. 

They seemed like a great couple, good senses of humour and a nice balance. I did want to see what $500 would have gotten them though. 

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 10/23/2021 at 12:14 AM, LittleIggy said:

She didn’t get the memo about electricity and water not going together, did she?

I asked the resident electrical engineer, and he said laptops are low voltage, so it wouldn't kill you if it fell in the bathtub with you.  It might kill a tadpole.  It will definitely kill the laptop.

I thought about it, and then said, Aha!  But what if the laptop is plugged into the wall when it falls in the bathtub?  Nope.  It's still low voltage, from the brick in the power cord. 

Did they show her doing this?  (I didn't see the episode because Australia has started to bore me.)  I'm a big fan of recreational bathtubbing, but the allure to me is being submerged up to my neck.  How can you be submerged and type on something on the side of the tub?  I'm picturing her sitting sideways in the tub, with water up to her waist, and wonder what's the point.

[buttersister]

4 hours ago, aghst said:

 

Bangkok, Thailand - She wanted to spend $500, he wanted to spend up to $1300.

He was software engineer so there was no reason to have such a low budget.

 

 

I took it as her wanting to spend her stipend and use his salary for other things. Or saving up for something/someplace else. But I'm guessing $500 wouldn't buy much in Bangkok, so they didn't bother finding a place, if it were possible to find a place for 4 people who didn't grow up there.

[aghst]

Yeah you wouldn't want to get water on the keyboards.

Maybe watch a movie or something but doing a lot of input is probably not a good idea.

And it would be work, when you're suppose to be relaxing, though I haven't had a bath since in forever so maybe I don't know if people are trying to be "productive" while soaking in the tub.

Maybe a touch screen would work better, though you still wouldn't want the iPad to drop in the water.

[Cetacean]

3 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

Did they show her doing this? 

They did.  As I recall she was working on an iPad with bubbles tastefully positioned up to her neck.  Honestly, it just looked stupid. And totally staged.

[MartyQui]

Cabo…how old was this guy??  I’m from Foxboro, and we haven’t called it Foxboro Stadium in 20 years.  It’s Gillette…or the Razor.  She wasn’t all that young, her forehead was Botox central.  There was something off putting about them as a pair. 

[Grizzly]

Marlborough District, New Zealand. That stinks about them having to live apart. But Kevin is obsessed about having to clean those other 2 bedrooms. Just shut the door and don't worry about it unless guests are coming. The small cottage is practical for what they need right now. They can always get a bigger place when Simon lives there permanently.

[laredhead]

I wonder how the COVID restrictions are affecting Simon's planned weekend trips?  Isn't New Zealand under another strict lockdown?  I can't keep up with the changes.

New Zealand is such a beautiful place.

Edited October 29, 2021 by laredhead
Correcting spelling

[Grrarrggh]

17 hours ago, Grizzly said:

Marlborough District, New Zealand. That stinks about them having to live apart. But Kevin is obsessed about having to clean those other 2 bedrooms. Just shut the door and don't worry about it unless guests are coming. 

I wonder if he was using "cleaning" as a sort of excuse/code for how the bad feelings he gets being alone in a bigger house? I know I feel more alone in bigger spaces than smaller ones.

[Grizzly]

5 hours ago, Grrarrggh said:

I wonder if he was using "cleaning" as a sort of excuse/code for how the bad feelings he gets being alone in a bigger house? I know I feel more alone in bigger spaces than smaller ones.

Ok. I would hate being alone in the house at night if we didn't have the dog.

[LittleIggy]

14 hours ago, laredhead said:

I wonder how the COVID restrictions are affecting Simon's planned weekend trips?  Isn't New Zealand under another strict lockdown?  I can't keep up with the changes.

New Zealand is such a beautiful place.

I kept saying “Where’s Mordor?” 😆 

Bangkok: The husband’s gummy mouth totally distracted me. He showed at least an inch of gum when he opened his mouth. The little boy’s glasses appeared to be Ray-Bans. Hope they bought a warranty on them. 😬 

PV: Always nice to see Taniel. He seems like a mensch. I wonder how many insects and spiders Tameika gets in that flat. Hope she has lizards to eat the creepy crawlies.

Edited October 30, 2021 by LittleIggy

[cinsays]

On 10/28/2021 at 11:03 PM, Grizzly said:

Marlborough District, New Zealand. That stinks about them having to live apart. But Kevin is obsessed about having to clean those other 2 bedrooms. Just shut the door and don't worry about it unless guests are coming. The small cottage is practical for what they need right now. They can always get a bigger place when Simon lives there permanently.

If the other guy is going to live with his parents, why do they need to have space available at all times for them to visit?  Kevin and he can enjoy their weekends alone or let them stay at the nearby hotel as suggested.

[StatisticalOutlier]

10 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Bangkok: The husband’s gummy mouth totally distracted me. He showed at least an inch of gum when he opened his mouth.

Yeah, that was unfortunate.  On the one hand, what's he supposed to do about it?  But on the other, it's really distracting.

I'm always amused by the episodes in southeast Asia, where they tend to have at least one shot of a jumble of electrical lines.  Kind of like seeing all the graffiti tags on buildings in Europe, shots of which don't seem as purposeful but may be more along the lines of unavoidable.  But at least the electrical lines have a purpose.  Tags makes me rageful.

[aghst]

I haven't been to Blenheim but Picton is the town that the ferry arrives at so a lot of people go through Picton area.

The vineyards and the mountains in the distance look nice but the Picton area is right on the water and near the archipelago, just world-class scenery there.

I guess they really want to work in the wineries because I don't know why they'd try to live around Blenheim instead of Picton.  Blenheim is larger so maybe the rental market is more competitive.

Otherwise, it's a 25-30 minute drive from the ferry port to Blenheim area.  So the guy taking the ferry every weekend would have to either drive or be picked up there or take the bus.

A lot of the interstitials featured them trying out wine so maybe that's how they spend their time, doing a lot of wine tasting, as opposed to hiking or water sports.

As for the homes, I guess the main advantage of the small home is to save money.  But the difference was a couple of hundred dollars?  A couple of nights in a motel for their guests will eat up all that savings.

If family visit though, there are many other scenic places on the South Island than just the Picton/Blenheim area.  I would imagine they might stay with or near them a couple of times but would want to go elsewhere.

Or the family really loves wine.

[Rootbeer]

Personal HHI story:  In my neighborhood on Halloween, everyone comes out of their home and sits on the driveways to hand out candy.  A lot of people have firepits and have special grown-up treats, too.  I got new neighbors a few months ago, met them right when they moved in but haven't had the chance to chat much,

So, we're all in our yards going back and forth to chat.  The new guy next door comes over and we are talking about this 'n that.  He tells me he's a producer, his specialty is documentaries on scientific subjects, has a couple on Netflix.  Then the exciting part; he also does some reality TV production.  Guess what show?

Anyway, he's done a lot of Costa Rica and Mexico.  One of the realtors, Tanzell (?) works with him a lot.  But, he also does European HH!   His favorite shows are in France because he loves Adrienne.  He just raved about her, how much fun she was to work with, she is just as she seems on TV and, yes, those are her real clothes that she wears every day.  He actually said that if it wasn't the middle of the night in France, he'd have gotten her on the phone to talk and promised to tell her he met a fan.  He said the recent French episodes haven't featured her because she has some sort of business interest in Nice that kept her from working on the show.

He also knows Kevin, though not as well.  I referred to him as Baby Elvis and he laughed and said he could see that.  Unfortunately, he hasn't met Richard, they've never sent him to England.  I told him to get on it because I need info.

[LittleIggy]

He knows Kevin! Ask him where our sweetie is? Is he okay? We miss Kevin! BTW, I started the “Baby Elvis” thing. 😏
Taniel is the guy in Mexico. Nice that Adrian is not a phony!

[debbie311]

On 10/28/2021 at 8:03 PM, Grizzly said:

Marlborough District, New Zealand. That stinks about them having to live apart. But Kevin is obsessed about having to clean those other 2 bedrooms. Just shut the door and don't worry about it unless guests are coming. The small cottage is practical for what they need right now. They can always get a bigger place when Simon lives there permanently.

 

On 10/30/2021 at 7:02 AM, cinsays said:

If the other guy is going to live with his parents, why do they need to have space available at all times for them to visit?  Kevin and he can enjoy their weekends alone or let them stay at the nearby hotel as suggested.

My thoughts exactly.  I wonder if these guys are still together.  The tension was pretty thick when Kevin mentioned a few times that the family could stay at a nearby motel. And at the end, saying that being apart was helping their relationship?  Yikes. They hadn't been together that long, should still be in the "honeymoon phase." Different strokes, I guess.

[proserpina65]

On 10/30/2021 at 10:02 AM, cinsays said:

If the other guy is going to live with his parents, why do they need to have space available at all times for them to visit?  Kevin and he can enjoy their weekends alone or let them stay at the nearby hotel as suggested.

Very true, although I totally would've gone with the first place, which I loved.  No need to clean the extra bedrooms when not in use, just close the door.  (This probably says more about my housekeeping than I'd like.)

On 10/30/2021 at 12:53 PM, aghst said:

As for the homes, I guess the main advantage of the small home is to save money.  But the difference was a couple of hundred dollars?  A couple of nights in a motel for their guests will eat up all that savings.

Wouldn't the guests being paying for their own motel rooms?  I know I wouldn't be paying for my guests' rooms.  I mean, I appreciate it when I can stay with friends/relatives, but accept that it isn't always possible and I might have to rent a hotel room sometimes.

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, proserpina65 said:

Wouldn't the guests being paying for their own motel rooms?  I know I wouldn't be paying for my guests' rooms. 

For me, it depends on who does the inviting.  If I ask someone to visit, I'm hosting, but I don't want them staying with me, so I say, "I don't have a dedicated guest room, but there are several great hotels nearby, so I can easily get you a nice place to stay."  (People tend to say they'll take care of it and just ask me to recommend a place, which is the same thing I do when I'm in the other position, but the offer is genuinely made.)

But if it's an "I'm going to be in L.A. for work/vacation/whatever, so maybe I can extend and we can spend a few days together" or "I was thinking of coming to visit" situation, I don't feel the same obligation.  

When someone moves to another country, they probably get more of the latter scenarios, especially with their friends.  So I don't think there's any social obligation, just whatever they are comfortable with and can afford.  If they can't/don't want to put guests up in their home, but can and want to put them up in a hotel, it's a nice gesture.  But they don't have to offer either one; making some time to show visiting friends around town and having them over/taking them out for a meal is plenty.

Hopefully people don't get too hung up on this stuff and just have a nice visit.

Regardless, even if one intends to pay for visitors' lodging, spending less on rent/mortgage each month and having the occasional additional expense of putting visitors up in a hotel makes a lot more sense than spending more each month for unnecessary space that only houses guests several times a year.

[aghst]

In some places, hotel rooms are significant cost, easily $200 a night and up.

So for Paris, London, Sydney and other capital cities, it definitely makes sense that the house hunters will want an extra room for visitors.

Have no doubt that some house hunters have every intention to host their friends and relatives from back home, because those are also desirable places for people to visit, even if they weren't going to see their friends or family.

I would think for close family like parents or siblings, the hosts would be more willing to pay for hotel rooms if they can't host them.  Or at least try to help defray costs of visits, since it's pricey airline tickets and then restaurant meals and other trip expenses.

But in this NZ episode, it's more of a weekend visit situation.  Even though it's the parents of one of the house hunters, you figure the parents would be willing to pay for their own accommodations, since they're likely to have more money than the young couple.

 

[buttersister]

Quote

So for Paris, London, Sydney and other capital cities, it definitely makes sense that the house hunters will want an extra room for visitors.

Except in those cases where, because of the prices in those cities, said hunters can't get the location they "wanted" because they opted for a guest room.

[MartyQui]

I didn’t understand why the parents would be visiting, when their son was living with them?

[Grizzly]

Brisbane, Australia. The constant nervous laughter is annoying. At least they are a good natured, believable couple. The views are outstanding! Not really a wrong choice. 

[chessiegal]

15 hours ago, aghst said:

In some places, hotel rooms are significant cost, easily $200 a night and up.

Shoot. We have family that live in Uptown New Orleans and have no room for us to stay. We always stay in a hotel, and there are times we're paying over $200/night at the Hampton Inn on St. Charles/Uptown.

[aghst]

Yeah those prices weren't too bad in Brisbane.

Maxine cited walking times to his work.  He wasn't taking public transport?

Maybe live closer to the office rather than Bris-vegas or whatever they called it?

She may have preferred to be near parks or places where she has something to do, unless she is hanging out a lot at restaurants and cafes by herself during the day.

 

 

[Grrarrggh]

I liked the Brisbane couple and the agent. But I was annoyed that he said he was introverted because he was a scientist. The two things have nothing to do with one another.

[chessiegal]

20 minutes ago, Grrarrggh said:

I liked the Brisbane couple and the agent. But I was annoyed that he said he was introverted because he was a scientist. The two things have nothing to do with one another.

While I agree the two things aren't necessarily related, as an introvert and a scientist, I sure had a lot of co-workers who were the same as I was.

[Grrarrggh]

9 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

While I agree the two things aren't necessarily related, as an introvert and a scientist, I sure had a lot of co-workers who were the same as I was.

But isn't that bad science? Correlation does not imply causation or something lol. 

[chessiegal]

3 minutes ago, Grrarrggh said:

But isn't that bad science? Correlation does not imply causation or something lol. 

There is some collaboration, yes, but all those hours when all you need to do is concentrate on doing your experiments - heaven.

[tessaray]

As an introvert who loved science, I was appalled at suggestions to consider medical school or nursing.* All those sick people... :-)  I'm guessing it depends on the type of science and the level of personal interest in the subject.

* my high school in the dark ages, where there were only about 10 careers students were directed to.

[proserpina65]

On 11/2/2021 at 11:00 PM, Grizzly said:

Brisbane, Australia. The constant nervous laughter is annoying. At least they are a good natured, believable couple. The views are outstanding! Not really a wrong choice. 

For me, they were all horrific, but then I refuse to live or work above about the 3rd or 4th floor of a building.  That 76th floor place was like something out of my nightmares.

I would've thought the first place was the best choice for them because the extra space seemed worth $250 more a month, but whatever works for them.  I did find them a little annoying, but not much on the grand scale of HHI househunters.

[QQQQ]

Perhaps I'm at an age where anyone under 35 looks like a teenager, but I actually mistook the husband in the Puerto Aventuras episode for the woman's son. It's not even that she looked old...  He was just really, really young-looking!

[Grrarrggh]

There was a lot of info left out of the Puerto Aventuras episode. I wonder what the real story is?

[ArtFossil]

On 10/30/2021 at 11:31 AM, StatisticalOutlier said:

Yeah, that was unfortunate.  On the one hand, what's he supposed to do about it?  But on the other, it's really distracting.

Surgery is available.

[ArtFossil]

2 hours ago, Grrarrggh said:

There was a lot of info left out of the Puerto Aventuras episode. I wonder what the real story is?

They creep me out. But admittedly that happens a lot to me with HHI.

[Ritalin Smoothie]

3 hours ago, ArtFossil said:

They creep me out. But admittedly that happens a lot to me with HHI.

Clean-cut American couple with multiple kids who are homeschooled in a foreign country?  Wouldn't be surprised if they're missionaries.  I did roll my eyes when the husband said his wife was in the "essential oil business."  It does sound better than "she's an MLM hun."

These couple of episodes confirmed my dislike of episodes on Australia and Mexican resort town condos.  The properties from these shows are just not interesting.

[Koalagirl]

If I had chronic kidney disease for which there was no cure I think I would want to live closer to a big city hospital. 

[Grrarrggh]

Once again a HUGE chunk of story was left out. I couldn't understand exactly what kind of business the Costa Rica hunters were starting. They said yoga (seems half of the people on this programme are either teaching ESL or yoga) but there was no place to do it. Is she going to people's houses? If so, how many Costa Rican's in that specific area does she think will want yoga lessons? Are they betting the town will become a huge tourist/expat hotspot and are getting in on the ground floor? What a wasted opportunity for some publicity, not even having a website to show. 

[Crashcourse]

22 minutes ago, Grrarrggh said:

What a wasted opportunity for some publicity, not even having a website to show. 

Hah hah, well they did show them "working" on the website at the end. 🙄

Seriously though, I think these two just wanted to spend some down time in Costa Rica, and I would be surprised if they lasted a year there.

[LittleIggy]

I wonder how many yoga/holistic medicine/organic wellness people there are per square mile in Costa Rica? 😏

[MartyQui]

They do have a website, poorly designed and full of misspellings.  They are offering a “yoga retreat” in March, 2022 for $1570, with no description of what your room actually looks like.

[LittleIggy]

On 11/5/2021 at 8:16 PM, MartyQui said:

They do have a website, poorly designed and full of misspellings.  They are offering a “yoga retreat” in March, 2022 for $1570, with no description of what your room actually looks like.

Could you share the link?