House Hunters International - General Discussion

[abbyzenn]

Melissa in Amsterdam.  This one was so weird I immediately googled her and found website for her business The Red Key (not mentioned in the show).  The website refers to "we" but no one else was mentioned and clicking on the button "about us" didn't give me anything.  Besides matchmaking it also does corporate relocation and matches for friends (or as stated on website global platonic friendship services).

Didn't get how she kept saying she'd be perfect for match making - exactly what are the qualities for match making.  She kept mentioning about going into the heart of the city every day to meet clients but needed a big place with a second bathroom because of interviewing clients in her house.  The whole thing so strange but after looking at the website it appears she was leaving out what she's really doing.

Did like all 3 of her choices.

[StatisticalOutlier]

6 hours ago, aghst said:

Or maybe the bicyclists resent these things intruding into their domain.

I don't even like e-bikes and electric scooters intruding into my pedaling domain, so you can imagine how I feel about cars. 

6 hours ago, aghst said:

But she might need to rent office space. She could meet people at cafes but would need some privacy to talk to clients about personal info.

Right.  Everybody knows the only acceptable way to talk to clients about personal info in cafes is over a speakerphone.

[buttersister]

5 hours ago, abbyzenn said:

global platonic friendship services

Oy. To quote from Melissa’s bizarro world website, “Please note The Red Key is not a psychologist, psychiatrist, or therapist. Any information, advice, opinions or any other communication by the The Red Key does not constitute psychological, or therapeutic advice, treatment or support. The Red Key disclaims any responsibility and liability in this respect.” You betcha. Also, site needs a proofreader.

Wonder if Roz works with her now.😀 Show, you are so funny sometimes.

[Chicken Fingers]

That Maine-to-Amsterdam episode really was bizarro world. She chose the blandest, could-be-anywhere-in-the-world apartment and furnished it to look like a corporate rental unit, in a part of Amsterdam that's popular with the large community of North American expats and corporate transfers, so maybe it's exactly where she needs it to be. 

I saw that website, too, because I couldn't make sense of this polished woman randomly setting up in another country as a matchmaker. 

 

[aghst]

Maybe she caters to the expat community and she has money, just using the business to find prospects for herself.

Does the website say it serves Amsterdam exclusively or does she offer services online?

Still don't understand how she can get a residency visa -- which can take a long time -- as well as being able to start a business in The Netherlands.

Would she need a work visa, that's even a bigger obstacle than a standard residency visa which mainly lets you stay beyond 90 days for Americans but you can't work or join the health care system.

[seacliffsal]

Is it the Netherlands that is encouraging people to move there to start up internet businesses?  If so, it would explain the visa situation.  As for Melissa?  I just found her weird-knew nothing about matchmaking outside of using online dating apps but just knew she would be great at it.  Sure.  She also seemed to want to use the matchmaking business to find a match for herself.  Just a strange episode IMO.  

[Crashcourse]

My eyes started to hurt from rolling my eyes at Melissa. 🙄

[cinsays]

1 hour ago, seacliffsal said:

Is it the Netherlands that is encouraging people to move there to start up internet businesses?  If so, it would explain the visa situation.  As for Melissa?  I just found her weird-knew nothing about matchmaking outside of using online dating apps but just knew she would be great at it.  Sure.  She also seemed to want to use the matchmaking business to find a match for herself.  Just a strange episode IMO.  

i wish her well, but i did not find her to be the kind of person i would want helping me find a match

so that apartment was unfurnished? were they all? 

[eel21788]

5 hours ago, buttersister said:

Oy. To quote from Melissa’s bizarro world website, “Please note The Red Key is not a psychologist, psychiatrist, or therapist. Any information, advice, opinions or any other communication by the The Red Key does not constitute psychological, or therapeutic advice, treatment or support. The Red Key disclaims any responsibility and liability in this respect.” 

Even worse:

* If for any reason, I feel I cannot represent you in a successful way, The Red Key reserves the right not to take you on as a client and your deposit is non-refundable.   

Edited March 29, 2023 by eel21788

[eel21788]

1 hour ago, cinsays said:

so that apartment was unfurnished? were they all? 

The first one came furnished.

[chocolatine]

6 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

She also seemed to want to use the matchmaking business to find a match for herself.

I caught that too, and it sounded very unprofessional (not that anything about her "business" sounded professional, but still). Is she going to charge men money to match them with ... herself?

[cinsays]

13 hours ago, eel21788 said:

Even worse:

* If for any reason, I feel I cannot represent you in a successful way, The Red Key reserves the right not to take you on as a client and your deposit is non-refundable.   

wait, she doesn't take you as a client, her choice, and you don't get your deposit back???  wow... i hope she fails

[aghst]

I would imagine other sole practitioners would not refund money.

For instance, if a lawyer doesn't win your case, is he going to refund his fees?

 

Presumably she will spend hours and maybe not find a suitable match.

If you use the online dating sites, don't you pay a monthly subscription, without any guarantees of finding someone special or even finding a good date or two?

[Crashcourse]

2 minutes ago, aghst said:

I would imagine other sole practitioners would not refund money.

For instance, if a lawyer doesn't win your case, is he going to refund his fees?

But a lawyer took you on as a client.  She's saying if she doesn't take you on as a client, you won't get your money back.  At least that's how I understood it. 

[buttersister]

Valencia! For the love of all that is holy, stop casting people with voices that can cut glass! Captions on/sound off.

They took the highest priced, best location with a DRYER. Shocker.

Realtor had a  good attitude. Maybe he was wearing tiny earplugs.

 

[abbyzenn]

Agree about her voice.

And nothing says I'm in Valencia as waking up in a white box.  Seriously the first two seemed to be places that could be anywhere.  Also he thought a ten minute walk to the city center was too far??  I'm not clear how working American hours in Spain give them more family time.

[buttersister]

Right. Because working late afternoons and early evenings fits so well with their young son’s schedule. Either give us less story or make it make sense.
 

Ha, maybe nannies want to be in the center city?

[Chicken Fingers]

Valencia--wasn't a fan of those generic white box apartments or the dryer obsession. In that climate, clothes air-dry insanely fast most of the year. I liked their little kid. He seemed fun.

[aghst]

11 hours ago, abbyzenn said:

Agree about her voice.

And nothing says I'm in Valencia as waking up in a white box.  Seriously the first two seemed to be places that could be anywhere.  Also he thought a ten minute walk to the city center was too far??  I'm not clear how working American hours in Spain give them more family time.

At 10 PM in Valencia, it would be 4 PM in Charlotte or Charleston, whichever place they came from.  Only 1 PM on the West Coast.

So depending on how they can set up those hours with their clients or employers, they may have to work from 3 or 4 PM in Valencia to 10, 11 PM or later.

They'd have all morning and the first part of the afternoon, until about siesta time though.

They had money, even though the husband complained that they wouldn't be able to pay $500 more.  Presumably they have some good amount of money from selling their home and all their belongings back in the US.

So they wanted a nice place with good amenities, including a dryer, probably something recently renovated.  So maybe bland white is the fashion there.  I can see in a hot place that lighter colors would be common, like the Pueblos Blancos or White Villages in Andalusia.

Price seems ok for a good sized, updated apartment in the center of town compared to some of the other episodes in Europe where a family wanted 3 or more bedrooms.

 

[Grizzly]

TX to London. Missing Richard but Toby seems charming. 5 children, shudder. Giving Jake a lot of credit for driving. Love that he named the van Silver Fox! That garden at #2 was fabulous. Ashley can just sleep out there since the outside of that house was very charming. Having enough space for everyone should be that mom's priority. She really thinks it would be ok to stick 5 kids into 2 bedrooms? No. Good.

[buttersister]

£5 says Texas mom was asked to heavy up the charm request—she wasn’t going to stuff three kids in that bedroom. And pass on that great backyard?Nice try, Show. Hampsted wins again.

Also, nice episode, adventurous folk (in an Anglo-Saxon fashion), no vocal fry and Toby’s sense of humor fit the family. (Miss you, though, Richard.) 

[aghst]

16 hours ago, Grizzly said:

TX to London. Missing Richard but Toby seems charming. 5 children, shudder. Giving Jake a lot of credit for driving. Love that he named the van Silver Fox! That garden at #2 was fabulous. Ashley can just sleep out there since the outside of that house was very charming. Having enough space for everyone should be that mom's priority. She really thinks it would be ok to stick 5 kids into 2 bedrooms? No. Good.

 

14 hours ago, buttersister said:

£5 says Texas mom was asked to heavy up the charm request—she wasn’t going to stuff three kids in that bedroom. And pass on that great backyard?Nice try, Show. Hampsted wins again.

Also, nice episode, adventurous folk (in an Anglo-Saxon fashion), no vocal fry and Toby’s sense of humor fit the family. (Miss you, though, Richard.) 

Yeah they made the best choice for the family.

Oldest daughter is going to need more privacy in a couple of years.

Why did they buy that van?  Only he could drive it and it's a pain to find parking for it.

They don't want to corral their kids into buses or the Underground?

Only thing I would say is that Hampsted looked residential so they may have to go for some distance to get to the restaurants and other diversions?

Hell now the husband can walk to work when the weather is okay, again reducing the need for van.

They could always live further out from central London.  They'd have more space and save money.  That budget may reflect a housing allowance from his employers which certainly makes it viable for him to be much closer to work.

But they seemed to have found a good solution which lets them have a nice lifestyle despite the large family.

Not sure if this is a permanent move.  Did they sell their home and belongings back in TX?  Because when 2 or 3 of those kids hit 14 years of age or so, maybe in 7-8 years, that home won't be big enough.

I looked up the restaurant they were at, called Mother Mash, which is between Oxford and Picadilly Circus, near St. James Park.  Definitely will check it out the next time I go to London, though I'm trying to avoid cured meats and heavy, salty foods.

[seacliffsal]

I enjoyed seeing what a larger budget would get people in London.  I liked the family-the wife didn't go overboard with the "charm" request IMO.  I liked the first house but it didn't have enough bedrooms and I figured they would want some outdoor space even thought they didn't really mention it.  As for the car, his company may have provided an allowance for that as well as a housing allowance.  Even though they weren't able to get anything as large as they could have in Texas it didn't seem like they had attitude about it and that they were willing to go with the differences.

[zoohouse3]

The Texas to London family where from not so small Prosper, TX.  A suburb about 45 minutes from Dallas.  I live very near there and Prosper is a nice town with huge homes.

According to our tax records, they still own the home in Prosper.  They are LDS.  Are LDS common in London?

[BAForever]

1 hour ago, zoohouse3 said:

According to our tax records, they still own the home in Prosper.  They are LDS.  Are LDS common in London?

I wondered if they were LDS. Big family, healthy lifestyles, no talk of being near bars- although I guess with 5 kids, not much bar-hopping will be going on. They picked the right house, the kids are used to a big house, and especially the older daughter will want/need some privacy. Guessing they may be there a year or two, but predict they'll head back to Texas at some point.

[abbyzenn]

North Dakota to Edinburgh.  Another head scratcher - sold everything to move to Edinburgh to be close to daughter as she starts college at St. Andrews.  They are lawyers and I sorta missed the bit they said about work, something about taking occasional phone calls.   I kept getting distracted by his out of which his short sleeved shirt which was at least 2 sizes too small, his pants were high water flood pants, and a woolen scarf wrapped around his neck.

The flat they chose was absolutely gorgeous although some of the furniture was a bit too formal for my taste.  He was another one who kept talking how he wanted a place that screamed he was in Scotland - walk outside buddy and you'll see Scotland all around you!!!!  

He complained about the price of the flat - it was the most expensive one at $4000 a month, not sure if that included utilities.  Since the university is an hour away how often is the daughter going to come visit them?  Wouldn't it have been cheaper and more sensible just come over every few months and stay several weeks?

[aghst]

3 minutes ago, abbyzenn said:

North Dakota to Edinburgh.  Another head scratcher - sold everything to move to Edinburgh to be close to daughter as she starts college at St. Andrews.  They are lawyers and I sorta missed the bit they said about work, something about taking occasional phone calls.   I kept getting distracted by his out of which his short sleeved shirt which was at least 2 sizes too small, his pants were high water flood pants, and a woolen scarf wrapped around his neck.

The flat they chose was absolutely gorgeous although some of the furniture was a bit too formal for my taste.  He was another one who kept talking how he wanted a place that screamed he was in Scotland - walk outside buddy and you'll see Scotland all around you!!!!  

He complained about the price of the flat - it was the most expensive one at $4000 a month, not sure if that included utilities.  Since the university is an hour away how often is the daughter going to come visit them?  Wouldn't it have been cheaper and more sensible just come over every few months and stay several weeks?

Talk about helicopter parents!

And the daughter let them move there.  Her going to college in Scotland wasn’t a hint that she wanted to be away from home?

The place they chose was the most function with space, 2 bathrooms for their daughter and guests.  I forget which one but there was one with a lot of stairs that husband was going to struggle with.  OTOH, he could use the exercise.

The first property which they eliminated had a tiny, single bathroom which he couldn’t easily fit into.  Sure it was too narrow and small for them but part of it was that he’s too large.

The final 2 choices, the price difference was $200 and he complained $4000 was too much for them, $500 more than their budget.  It is a lot of money but is it really for a large flat in central Edinburgh?  Or for two lawyers who claimed to have a successful business?  They’d also sold a six bedroom home in Fargo too.

The modern vs. charm was the usual HHI BS.  Yeah the third house had a modern, renovated kitchen and living area while the other rooms were more traditional.

What horror!  If the kitchen wasn’t renovated they be whining about no stainless steel appliances, though they don’t look like they cook.

Back story was kind of interesting, they decided to room together while in law school.  He didn’t make a move, just wore cologne to bed.  That didn’t make her run away?  Well now he’s middle aged with tats, Mohawk and earrings.  What kind of law practice does he have?

[seacliffsal]

Really liked the larger budget so we could see nicer options.  But, wow, was the husband a lot to take.  I think he thinks he is more entertaining that he is.  However, they are waaaay too invested in their daughter-they sold their home to pay for her college?  Why not tell her to attend an in-state school so that the tuition would be reasonable?  And, they had a 6 bedroom home in Fargo for just the 3 of them.  There seems to be something just 'off' with them or their story.  With that, I really did like the flat they chose-and it had a great location.

[proserpina65]

On 3/28/2023 at 11:03 PM, Grizzly said:

Maine to Amsterdam.  Melissa seems very pleasant. But how is she going to be a match maker when she doesn't know anyone in Amsterdam? That cute little car that can drive in the bicycle lane. So easy to park but you're dead if you're in an accident. Interesting home choices. She did not get/want any of the Amsterdam charm that we usually see. I would have picked that one too.

I would've picked either of the other two, because I hated the one she chose.  I hate modern design.  But I did like how she decided to treat the ferry ride like an adventure and not like a problem.

On 3/28/2023 at 8:02 PM, seacliffsal said:

It seemed like the male did not really want to move from Melbourne,

Yeah, he seemed really lukewarm on the move.

[ML89]

On 3/25/2023 at 12:24 PM, aghst said:

They certainly were enthusiastic.

She says she wanted to live in Thailand since visiting when she was younger but the plan seems to be to launch their podcast, hope that it hits.

Lower prices on housing and cost of living probably helps a lot.

But online advertising has declined a lot already and may decline more if recession hits.

This episode may have been recorded a year ago or more.

Remains to be seen if their enthusiasm will lead to success with podcast.  What could they offer potential listeners, besides their bubbly personas? Certainly not insights from a lot of lived experiences.

Good that they stayed on budget.  He's going to have to find a gym or something, while she gave up being near cafes and other things to do.

Love to know how these two are doing now that podcasting is not exactly the printing money thing it was (see also the French crypto guy). These two had to have some sort of trust fund or other job, right? Because no way they're making even enough to afford that apartment in Thailand on podcasting money.

[proserpina65]

On 3/30/2023 at 11:12 AM, aghst said:

I would imagine other sole practitioners would not refund money.

For instance, if a lawyer doesn't win your case, is he going to refund his fees?

 

Presumably she will spend hours and maybe not find a suitable match.

If you use the online dating sites, don't you pay a monthly subscription, without any guarantees of finding someone special or even finding a good date or two?

She's saying that if she feels she can't represent someone and doesn't take them on as a client at all, she gets to keep their money anyway.  Which sounds a bit shifty to me, and not comparable to a lawyer who DOES take you on as a client but doesn't win your case.

On 3/31/2023 at 10:31 PM, Grizzly said:

TX to London. Missing Richard but Toby seems charming. 5 children, shudder. Giving Jake a lot of credit for driving. Love that he named the van Silver Fox! That garden at #2 was fabulous. Ashley can just sleep out there since the outside of that house was very charming. Having enough space for everyone should be that mom's priority. She really thinks it would be ok to stick 5 kids into 2 bedrooms? No. Good.

I saw Toby long before they started using Richard.  I like him a lot.

I did not like the family and found them annoying as hell.  No way would I have picked the place they did.  I'd never have had that stupid van, and there's no reason they couldn't stick the kids into fewer bedrooms.  Lots of people grow up that way.  But then, I would never have had that many kids to begin with.  I did wonder if they were from some conservative religious group.  Seems I was correct.

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 3/31/2023 at 10:31 PM, Grizzly said:

Love that he named the van Silver Fox!

I FFed through a little bit of the episode.  Did he say he'd named it the Silver Fox?  He referred to it three times during the episode as the Silver Box.

[Pine]

Edinburgh was a head scratcher.  Hope that the daughter knows that St Andrews is all out of Princes.  :)   I only say that as a friend's daughter went to St Andrews for that reason.  She stayed the entire 4 years.   Perhaps the Father is not well, and wants to spend more time with their daughter, he didn't look too well.  Odd odd couple for sure.

[Grizzly]

38 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

I FFed through a little bit of the episode.  Did he say he'd named it the Silver Fox?  He referred to it three times during the episode as the Silver Box.

Did I mishear? Box makes more sense. I must have been thinking about Nick in Spain. 

[ArtFossil]

Edinburgh: I would feel sorry for the daughter except that she seemed to be fine with her parent units following her to Scotland. Of course this could be a charade for TV. 

But the parents! Both looked unwell and I would never hire that blustering blithering man as my lawyer. 
 

I did get a good laugh though when the wife said “I’ve NEVER lived in the center center! [Daughter] has NEVER lived in the city center!” (The population of Fargo is 127,000.)

Edited April 4, 2023 by ArtFossil

[StatisticalOutlier]

12 hours ago, abbyzenn said:

He was another one who kept talking how he wanted a place that screamed he was in Scotland - walk outside buddy and you'll see Scotland all around you!!!!  

And when he was saying he didn't like the first apartment, the agent pointed out all the Scottish features, even saying it's "as Scottish as you can get."  So if he'd gotten that one he wouldn't even have had to go outside.

12 hours ago, aghst said:

OTOH, he could use the exercise.

I was laughing when he said was having trouble getting through bathroom door, but only because I was thinking, "It's a good thing you didn't try to turn sideways and get through that door."

I do feel kind of bad because I think there's something wrong with him other that his shape.  It looked like he had a limp, and he seemed just a little "off" in general.  And I'm not talking about only his outfit.  Although...pedal pushers and a scarf?  So his calves are too hot all the time and his neck is too cold?

40 minutes ago, ArtFossil said:

Edinburgh: I would feel sorry for the daughter except that she seemed to be fine with her parent units following her to Scotland. Of course this could be a charade for TV. 

They said they'd warned told her they were going to move to wherever she went to college.  And I don't think she was calling their bluff because she went somewhere her dad claims he has deep roots. 

I was trying to think of some place she could have chosen for college that would make them not want to follow her, but that means thinking of some place worse than Fargo, and I'm struggling.  (Aah, I'm kidding--I've never been to Fargo.  It might be a nice place.)

40 minutes ago, ArtFossil said:

But the parents! Both looked unwell and I would never hire that blustering blithering man as my lawyer.

He talked so slowly I'd be regretting agreeing to pay him by the hour.

I noticed that most (all?) of the fireplaces were non-working.  Anybody know why fireplaces become non-working?  Can they not be fixed?  Or is it just too expensive to fix for a rental?  Or never a deal-breaker for a rental so why even bother?

[cinsays]

12 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

And when he was saying he didn't like the first apartment, the agent pointed out all the Scottish features, even saying it's "as Scottish as you can get."  So if he'd gotten that one he wouldn't even have had to go outside.

I was laughing when he said was having trouble getting through bathroom door, but only because I was thinking, "It's a good thing you didn't try to turn sideways and get through that door."

I do feel kind of bad because I think there's something wrong with him other that his shape.  It looked like he had a limp, and he seemed just a little "off" in general.  And I'm not talking about only his outfit.  Although...pedal pushers and a scarf?  So his calves are too hot all the time and his neck is too cold?

They said they'd warned told her they were going to move to wherever she went to college.  And I don't think she was calling their bluff because she went somewhere her dad claims he has deep roots. 

I was trying to think of some place she could have chosen for college that would make them not want to follow her, but that means thinking of some place worse than Fargo, and I'm struggling.  (Aah, I'm kidding--I've never been to Fargo.  It might be a nice place.)

He talked so slowly I'd be regretting agreeing to pay him by the hour.

I noticed that most (all?) of the fireplaces were non-working.  Anybody know why fireplaces become non-working?  Can they not be fixed?  Or is it just too expensive to fix for a rental?  Or never a deal-breaker for a rental so why even bother?

and he talked about being able to call into his law firm to check on things, so he's the owner and  gets paid for the others in the firm working but he's done actually taking any cases?

i wouldn't want a long distance lawyer, but at least you wouldn't have to look at his stupid outfits and his big belly.

and maybe they were following the daughter because he has some malady  that will kill him and he wanted his daughter and wife to be near each other when that happens?

[snarts]

Edinburgh, Scotland: Likely I'm a bit sentimental having recently lost my father but I thought they were cute. I'd take his wackiness over a sullen dour Dad any day. Likely they chose Scotland together as the daughter seemed equally happy to have them close. If they can manage their law firm from afar, why not relocate and have an adventure now that their daughter's out of high school? 

Like is short and the world's a big place, I love seeing anyone who can buck the expected monotony of working for 40 years only to then retire and sit on their couch. It's the reason I watch this show. 

[aghst]

If he was ill, the last thing would be to move to another country, where your health care coverage would be uncertain.

They're probably in their early to mid 50s at the oldest.

He can still make lifestyle changes to improve his health.

[chessiegal]

At least the Edinburgh episode was different. The producers must have done a happy dance when they found that couple.

[proserpina65]

15 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

I was laughing when he said was having trouble getting through bathroom door, but only because I was thinking, "It's a good thing you didn't try to turn sideways and get through that door."

I do feel kind of bad because I think there's something wrong with him other that his shape.  It looked like he had a limp, and he seemed just a little "off" in general.  And I'm not talking about only his outfit.  Although...pedal pushers and a scarf?  So his calves are too hot all the time and his neck is too cold?

To be somewhat fair to him, the problem wasn't entirely his weight.  He had really broad shoulders which didn't fit easily through that door.  But he was so freaking annoying with his "it doesn't look Scottish" that I'm only willing to cut him a tiny break.  What the fuck did he expect?  A castle covered in tartan?

I wondered a bit about the daughter - I'd have squashed like a bug any idea that my parents would move halfway around the world with me had I been her.

I liked the first place but that bathroom was really tiny, even for normal-sized people.  The second place was fantastic and absolutely the one I would've chosen.  The house was nice, but the back was a bit too modern for my tastes.  I'd have been able to live with it, though. 😏

15 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

I noticed that most (all?) of the fireplaces were non-working.  Anybody know why fireplaces become non-working?  Can they not be fixed?  Or is it just too expensive to fix for a rental?  Or never a deal-breaker for a rental so why even bother?

I imagine the chimneys/flues were probably closed off when the buildings were converted from single family homes to flats.  Fireplaces require a lot of maintenance for safety reasons and it probably isn't worth the cost for rentals.

[aghst]

Yeah I wondered about the fireplaces.

 

Maybe there's a local ordinance not to burn wood within the city for air quality.

 

 

[proserpina65]

32 minutes ago, aghst said:

Yeah I wondered about the fireplaces.

 

Maybe there's a local ordinance not to burn wood within the city for air quality.

 

 

I tried googling and there are clean air ordinances which apply to Edinburgh but it was a bit confusing about whether or not fireplaces could burn wood.  (Gas fireplaces are okay, ordinance-wise.)  So the answer is maybe?

I think it's probably more a safety/cost issue with buildings converted to individual flats.

[aghst]

I read somewhere that in the 19th century or even earlier, London air quality was very poor because of unregulated burning of wood for heat.

This was even before they were burning coal and before they burned whale oil.

Now we know Europe is trying to convert from gas heating to electric heating so renewable power is used rather than natural gas.

Some US cities are banning natural gas hookups for new construction.

Several decades ago, people burning wood in the fireplace was very common and you'd see classified ads here (suburban CA) for cords of firewood for sale.

Then climate change diminished the need somewhat.  I remember when going to high school, you'd see frost on the roofs here in CA though it rarely snowed.

You don't see that now, though we've just had the coldest winter in awhile, with snow dropping below 1000 feet above sea level, so some of the hills and mountain peaks here.

I don't know if it was decrease in demand (because winter didn't get as cold as it used to) or changes in regulations which led to less fireplace use in this area.

Probably both.

[Grizzly]

Chiang Rai, Thailand. Love Banjo! The first house was picturesque. He really wants it all for his $300. The cheap place could work. He's the one who wanted to live in Thailand, why complain living quarters aren't western? The hostel with its homey, institutional feel. English teachers can't be chosers. Could he at least take the hostel sign down?

[seacliffsal]

For someone who is supposedly all about his dog, Ryan chose a 3 story home for his 10 year old dog... Those stairs are going to be too much for Banjo before too long.  I found it interesting that Ryan prioritized a big truck over his living quarters-the expense of that (including gas, etc.) will be quite high.  Well, at least Ryan loves Banjo and Banjo loves Ryan.

The rents were amazing!

[amarante]

Many modern building codes prohibit wood burning fireplaces because of air pollution just as they are now banning gas stoves in new construction.

However I think the issue of all of the non-functioning fireplaces in Edinburgh would be safety as older fireplaces - especially in homes built as single families - probably are not up to Code. Also people can do all kinds of foolish things with a fireplace. 

I can't imagine having a family in which my parents upended their life in order to move close to me in college. When did college stop being a place where kids started to learn independence? Of course when I was in college in medieval times, we called our parents once a week to have perfunctory conversations. I would never have dreamed or wanted to be in touch with them multiple times a day - or even once a day to report on my life. 

I guess the HH editors agreed as the episode was titled Helicopter Parents.

[aghst]

8 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

For someone who is supposedly all about his dog, Ryan chose a 3 story home for his 10 year old dog... Those stairs are going to be too much for Banjo before too long.  I found it interesting that Ryan prioritized a big truck over his living quarters-the expense of that (including gas, etc.) will be quite high.  Well, at least Ryan loves Banjo and Banjo loves Ryan.

The rents were amazing!

No kidding.

But he wasn't teaching English to the locals, he was teaching online?

I guess he just went for the lowest cost of living he could find.

Street food is suppose to be very cheap but good in Thailand, not sure about Chiang Rai but definitely Bangkok.

I've never been but researched a visit.  Chiang Mai isn't at the top of most people's lists so maybe it's just not as popular to Westerners, which might explain the low prices.

Edited April 5, 2023 by aghst

[HappyHanna]

On 4/2/2023 at 9:26 PM, BAForever said:

They picked the right house, the kids are used to a big house, and especially the older daughter will want/need some privacy. Guessing they may be there a year or two, but predict they'll head back to Texas at some point.

How he described it in the show it sounded like a rotation opportunity in his company.  My sister did something similar in hers,  and it's usually limited to a year or two. Cheaper (and easier in terms of visa rules) to hire a local for long term. 

[HappyHanna]

On 4/4/2023 at 10:49 AM, snarts said:

Edinburgh, Scotland: Likely I'm a bit sentimental having recently lost my father but I thought they were cute. I'd take his wackiness over a sullen dour Dad any day. Likely they chose Scotland together as the daughter seemed equally happy to have them close. If they can manage their law firm from afar, why not relocate and have an adventure now that their daughter's out of high schoo

I'm with you.  I found them cute and appreciated the closeness of their family.  My only question (like with so many of these) is their visa situation. The UK doesn't make it easy to move there,  so they are likely limited to tourism,  which lets them stay 6 months out of 12. They are both still listed on their lawfirm's website, so who knows.