House Hunters International - General Discussion

[DownTheShore]

They said that she wants to be a polyglot, but did they say what she plans to use all those languages for? Is she just a professional student?

[biakbiak]

She said she wanted to become a translator.

[sofaslug]

Missed the very beginning of tonight's episode of the family moving to Belgium but the mom was a royal pain in the ass. Dad could find the pluses in the homes looked at but it was obvious that she would only be happy with the huge, over-budget one. I'm surprised he agreed to it. I liked the modern house best (#3) but I live in an apartment in the center of town. Kind of used to having neighbors close by. :-)

[Grneyedldy]

Just how long have the New Zealand couple been living there? The husband's accent was almost as strong as the realtor's.

[Granny58]

Flemish Brabant search, woman = "ugly American."   Good grief woman, loosen up.  Your children will not implode with a tiny bit of change, in fact it will be good for them.  Your choice of the castle on the acreage was ridiculous.  And the statement at the end, "it's just important that we are together as a family" is utter bull crap.  It was important FOR YOU to have the most American type home you can find (meaning size).  Your precious little darlings are too wild for parquet floors?  I pity anybody then who has to deal with them.  Ugh, so annoying.  Poor husband, whipped.

[sofaslug]

Flemish Brabant search, woman = "ugly American." Good grief woman, loosen up. Your children will not implode with a tiny bit of change, in fact it will be good for them. Your choice of the castle on the acreage was ridiculous. And the statement at the end, "it's just important that we are together as a family" is utter bull crap. It was important FOR YOU to have the most American type home you can find (meaning size). Your precious little darlings are too wild for parquet floors? I pity anybody then who has to deal with them. Ugh, so annoying. Poor husband, whipped.

If I were her husband I would have told her that she'd have to get a "mommy hours" job to make up for the $500 over budget each month so she could have her castle. And the privacy complaint if neighboring homes are too close drive me nuts! They really didn't appear to be on top of each other in the modern house. And would they have been less together as a family if she had gone with either home that was below their budget?

[DownTheShore]

Oh, that woman from the Flemish Brabant episode drove me nuts. She played her husband like a violin.

What the heck is she going to be doing in the backyard that she needs so much privacy? And does she really think her neighbors are going to spend their time staring out their windows at her?

As soon as she made that comment about the parquet floors, that choice was doomed.

And didn't they say at the beginning that she gave up her job to move to Europe with him? So what kind of extra special quality time did they used to have, with her working, and him travelling all the time? I would think that family quality time would automatically improve if one parent is home all the time, and the other is actually coming home every night.

I'm also really tired of parents who think that their kid's bedroom has to be ballroom size and that their Precious One is going to be developmentally stunted if it isn't large enough to house all their toys and electronics and friends and whatever. Then they turn around and say that they hope the move to a foreign country brings them closer together as a family. Ah, excuse me, no it won't because you're providing them with the same fortress of solitude that they had in the US.

[TwirlyGirly]

Oh, that woman from the Flemish Brabant episode drove me nuts. She played her husband like a violin.

What the heck is she going to be doing in the backyard that she needs so much privacy? And does she really think her neighbors are going to spend their time staring out their windows at her?

 

Thank you for this!

 

If I have to hear any more about "privacy" on HHI, I'll scream. Do people really think their lives are so interesting the neighbors will be spending their free time spying on them? Honestly?

 

Or does HHI just attract people who 1) walk around naked all the time, and/or 2) are having sex in front of an open window 24/7?

 

I have enough excitement/drama/challenges in my own life as it is - I really couldn't care less about what my neighbors are up to and I certainly have zero interest in whatever excitement/drama/challenges they're involved in.

 

If you're the type of person who believes your neighbors are so fascinated with your day to day life they have nothing better to do than sit in their windows and WATCH you, then YOU have way too much free time. Methinks you need a hobby.

[DownTheShore]

Or perhaps they are projecting what THEY do to their neighbors!

Granted my perspective on life comes from the direction of being raised in a home with more people than rooms, no central heating, and having to make a coal fire whenever we wanted to heat up a water tank for hot water, but the sense of entitlement that most of my fellow countrymen exhibit when they look at many of the European properties astounds me.

I say:

Not enough bedrooms? Then let the kids share the bedroom.

No dishwasher? Well, one of you is going to be home all day, or else there is a child old enough to be assigned that chore.

Your neighbors can see into your bedroom window? Put up curtains or windowblinds on that window.

No room outside for your children to play? How much do they play outside in the US, or are they usually indoors playing on a tablet anyway?

Railings in a house? Buy some mesh or fabric and tack it into place to keep the kids from thinking about squeezing through.

No dryer? Hang up a clothes line. News flash: clothes WILL dry in the air.

Not enough room to entertain in the manner you're accustomed to? Limit the number of guests you invite.

Too many stairs to climb? Time to get your exercise the old-fashioned way.

[Emmi331]

People's obsession with their kids shows up all over these shows.  Which is ridiculous, since kids are adaptable and do pretty well in all kinds of "deprivation".  Like the ones on a HH whose parents were buying a pricey home in New Mexico, and Mom was disappointed because each child (I think there were 3 or 4 children) wouldn't have his own bathroom.

[Granny58]

the economics student going to Toulouse - finally!  Somebody who doesn't need a grand ballroom and granite countertops.  Very refreshing.  I liked her.

[buttersister]

Not enough room to entertain in the manner you're accustomed to? Limit the number of guests you invite.

Heh, because the Queen of Belgium had so many friends, being a stranger in a strange land. Same deal, as you point out, for the rest of the ex pats so concerned about throwing grand parties for who TF?

[CherryAmes]

Speaking of expats making friends, it is so odd how quickly these total strangers make such large circles of friends.  I've seen episodes where at the end they have quite the crowd in the backyard or whatever raising a toast to their new place.  We've lived abroad and I think we're pretty friendly people but it took us awhile to make the kind of friends that you invite back to your place.  Not that HHI is under any obligation to paint a realistic picture of course but I wonder how many people watching these shows think they're going to move overseas and immediately have lots of pals to hang out with. 

Edited August 2, 2015 by CherryAmes

[NYGirl]

So last night's rerun in Chile.  I remember dozing off upon first watching so it was new to me.  I wanted to stick my hand into the TV and pull the wife's hair.  First of all her voice...her voice...make it stop.  Nails on a chalkboard!!

 

Secondly, she wanted the Chilean style (whatever that is) house which was too far from the highway for the poor husband to get to work.  He says..but it's too far from the highway..she says..but look at the mountain view.  Are you kidding me?  Sure let the husband drive hours to and from work so you can look at a mountain.

 

Anyway I'm glad he got the house closest to the highway because obviously being near a highway is very important in that town in order to commute.

[Granny58]

Speaking of expats making friends, it is so odd how quickly these total strangers make such large circles of friends.  I've seen episodes where at the end they have quite the crowd in the backyard or whatever raising a toast to their new place.  We've lived abroad and I think we're pretty friendly people but it took us awhile to make the kind of friends that you invite back to your place.  Not that HHI is under any obligation to paint a realistic picture of course but I wonder how many people watching these shows think they're going to move overseas and immediately have lots of pals to hang out with. 

Maybe it's the show staff posing as friends.  

[OSM Mom]

The thing that gets me about the ex pats is how many of them apparently have family and friends with money to burn to come and see them all the time. I can't afford to drive 500 miles to see my grandkids, much less fly to some far off place. Must be nice to have money.

Edited August 2, 2015 by OSM Mom

[laredhead]

On one of the recent HHI's, the husband/boyfriend actually said if anyone came to see them they could stay at a hotel.  I almost fell out of my chair when I heard that.    

[Peanutbuttercup]

Speaking of expats making friends, it is so odd how quickly these total strangers make such large circles of friends.  I've seen episodes where at the end they have quite the crowd in the backyard or whatever raising a toast to their new place.

 

@CherryAmes I know someone who was a HHI - in Morocco - and she said that all the people that showed up for the party in the closing scenes were people she'd never met before in her life, the producers just rounded up some local expats that they knew and brought them over. She'd also never met "her" real estate agent before taping and had been in her apartment for months before the show was taped, or that she even knew she was going to be taping it.

[chessiegal]

I think the people working on the shows are minimal - producer, camera person, and sound person. That doesn't leave extras for a party, so I figured they just rounded up people. Our daughter lives across the street from a house used as the decoy house in NOLA. She noticed 3 people outside the house with the 3 show people I just mentioned. Interesting thing about this house is it was for sale, The person who owned it was getting ready to sell after flipping it from Katrina damage.

[JasmineFlower]

I think I have a new favorite in the running for worst House Hunter ever. I could write a curse riddled post on this chick moving from Louisville to Mexico with her husband and four kids. Now, I'm not going to write as much as I could, but my mom is a medical social worker and works with patients who have had traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and I have volunteered with them for years because of this. Moving to Mexico seemed like a bad plan as soon as I heard their intro, but after looking them up and seeing her blog and reading about his problems more (they are seriously extensive) that have resulted since the TBI including needing continuing medical care and medication, I think it is insane they've moved down. Mexico, known far and wide for their superior health care. Note the sarcasm.

 

But the reason I can't stand the wife. Well, it's from reading the blog in part to learn more and then seeing her on screen talk about this is great for the family over and over again, and they are living on a fixed income. Why is she not working at all? She's able bodied. Disability is meant to support one, not an entire family. There's a reason you had to move to Mexico to stretch the money you had.

 

So, the houses, then the hate kicked up a notch because of the houses. The husband likes the 3rd one with the space, the bathrooms, and the yard with the playground for the kids out front. Seems reasonable. Also likes the second one, but the wife insists it's too small and she likes the first one, it has the most potential. Okay. The husband's problem? It is unfinished and would require him, not her for some reason, to do renovations on the space. WTF?1?! Are you serious? And she keeps insisting this is the place so they get this place and she swears she'll help him with the work, but that's doubtful.

 

She claimed specifically that they were moving to Mexico for a slower pace of life and to reduce the husband's stress and simplify life. Let me be perfectly clear about this - her plan to have him renovate the house is the complete opposite of simple and stress free for a man with a TBI. Those who have had TBIs struggle most with details, the kind absolutely needed when doing any renovations. As terrible as the London bitch and the stank attitude NY to  Dutch chick with permanent stink face was, this woman pissed me off more than the others, with pretending like this was all about the family and helping him when her actions suggest otherwise. Not happy with her in the least. The episode made me positively livid.

[Rosebud1970]

JasmineFlower, I'm so with you. I absolutely loathed that woman. Why would you spend one thin dime renovating a rental property? It needed so much work. The kitchen was horrid, one of the bathrooms wasn't even there. Never mind that all that effort would be going into fixing up a rental, not something they had any ownership stake in.

The last place they saw was perfect in every way, other than being overbudget. This is Mexico. Has no one ever heard of negotiating?

I'm suspicious of her homeschooling. It sounds like an excuse not to work outside the home. 'Oh, I must homeschool the kids. Mustn't have them exposed to outside influences.' I thought the purpose of moving to Mexico was to immerse them all in another culture. Homeschooling won't do that.

[CherryAmes]

In her defense it's not likely that they even saw the other two properties before they made their decision.  Based on what I've read on these boards odds are they rented the place they are in weeks if not months before the show was even filmed.  They may have internally been kicking themselves from here to next Tuesday that they missed out on either of those other choices. 

[NYGirl]

I started watching last night and to tell you the truth I turned it off as they were going to see the first property.  I found it so depressing! 

 

But I was confused too.  I couldn't understand why she does not get a job.  And Mexico? of all places?  I can't wrap my head around her reasoning.  I really felt sorry for the husband and kids.

[CherryAmes]

Could either of them even work in Mexico?  Not sure how it works for Americans but as a Canadian going to the US it's not that easy to just get a job,  I can't imagine relocating somewhere where if I need to work, like if she finally realized money is going to be a big issue,  I probably can't!

[DownTheShore]

If he's getting Social Security disability, then she and the children are also getting benefits on his record, and with the number of kids the family maximum is being paid on that record. But he'll lose his Medicare coverage by moving out of the US, so unless Mexico has some wonderful health insurance that he can get covered under, he's going to be paying out-of-pocket for care.

I did not like that wife. I was initially giving her the benefit of the doubt because dealing with a severely disabled husband and raising children would have been no picnic. As would having to exist on a fixed income for the foreseeable future. But her "it's small" comments about everything, and her unwillingness to go over the budget to get a place that made her husband happy and required no repair work on his part and would give her children a park to play in where they could meet local children, that just seemed to me like she was afraid that she was going to lose control of her family. Of course, she could have prevented that last pregnancy to reduce strain on family finances. But a young child and home-schooling guarantees that she can't be the one to bring in an income.

I was just wondering what kind of buildings were backing onto their backyard. Those two-story clay block walls looked kind of raggedy. I'd be afraid they'd collapse into their backyard.

How are those children going to learn the language or the culture of their new country - not to mention make friends - if they only play in their walled backyard, are home schooled by their mother and both parents are with them all the time? She should be home schooling them while they are being intensively tutored in Spanish, and then sent to the local school.

[JasmineFlower]

In her defense it's not likely that they even saw the other two properties before they made their decision.  Based on what I've read on these boards odds are they rented the place they are in weeks if not months before the show was even filmed.  They may have internally been kicking themselves from here to next Tuesday that they missed out on either of those other choices. 

 

Right, but taking that into account, there's no way if your intention is for a simpler life and to reduce stress for your husband because he's struggling with after effects of a traumatic brain injury that you choose a place that is in dire need of actual renovations. Not a place where you don't like the decor or seems dated, but one that has sections that are bare with cement, no flooring, drywall, just a shell. So, even if they didn't see these 2 other properties, this was not the one to choose of whatever you saw if your intentions are what she insisted they were. He could take on a small project, like putting together a bookcase, shelf, or something, but outfit a full bathroom and fix up deteriorating areas? Not even close, not with the problems he clearly still has. This isn't all people who have had TBIs. It's people who are struggling as much as he clearly is. He didn't get SSDI because he was doing great.

 

And that she was asking for an updated 4 bedroom, 3 bath, with a big backyard and under $500/month just helps to show this was not just about simplifying. That's luxurious for a family who is on a seriously fixed budget. Kids in families with limited income share rooms all the time, it's not the end of the world as she seemed to think. I absolutely felt bad for the husband and kids.

 

And yeah, count me in on those super confused with how homeschooling with your American-born non-Mexican parents is going to get you immersed into Mexican culture and native Spanish language. Made no sense. So little of this one did.

[Mondrianyone]

I didn't like move-to-Mexico husband any better than I liked his wife, maybe less.  The green counters in house #1 were tacky?  What do you expect for under $500 a month?  It was a very large, reasonably well-equipped kitchen, and he found it aesthetically beneath him?  The expression "Beggars can't be choosers" comes to me so often when I watch this show, and this one was no exception.

[elainebenis]

For once I'm gonna be the voice of dissent LOL. I thought this episode was fine. Caveat: I didn't read their blog and I'm no expert on TBI.

 

However, my husband and I winter every year in Mexico....

 

In our area (Puerto Vallarta) there is great, affordable medical care available. I know a gringo RN there who runs a popular service pairing expats and tourists with doctors and hospitals. For super-serious medical issues, there are world-class hospitals/teaching universities nearby (4 hours by car, BC/BS accepted) in Guadalajara and of course in Mexico City. Guadalajara (specifically the Lake Chapala area) has a HUGE expat population of American/Canadian retirees and they get their health care needs taken care of quite nicely and cheaply....it's one of the draws, along with the temperate mountain weather. Morelia is nearby, between Guad and Mexico City.

 

While it's true that Medicare is a no-go in MX, the reality is that doctor’s visits and prescriptions are often less than co-pays back home. Ex: I recently took an American friend suffering an earache to a local clinic. She was treated promptly and professionally by a young, English-speaking doctor. No paperwork. The visit cost the equivalent of $20 USD and that included prescription antibiotics.  Additionally, Mexico has 1)  IMSS (sort of like Medicare for all workers) and 2) Seguro Popular (a modestly-priced nation-wide healthcare program that is designed as a safety net to cover citizens who are not enrolled or otherwise covered by the IMSS). If the House Hunters get the right visa (permanent resident, I believe) they can avail themselves of these programs.

 

As for foreign nationals working in Mexico, you have to jump through hoops to get the proper visa and be legal, but it's quite doable. Ex: I'm friends with a Canadian & American couple who run a popular pizza joint in downtown PV, another American friend owns a seasonal restaurant in a small beach village. Our non-touristy, dirt street little town (pop. 3,000) has four restaurants owned and operated by non-Mexicans.There's also a metric shit-ton of gringos in PV working as real estate agents/timeshare sales/property managers. Then, of course, you can work under the table - I regularly see gringos at farmers markets selling homemade clothing, soaps, baked goods, etc. Mexico attracts lots of entrepreneurs from north of the border.

 

Renting a place and then putting some work into it in exchange for rent reduction is not uncommon in Mexico. I've lived in similar houses and IMHO, the bathroom infrastructure (ie plumbing and electrical) appeared to be in place and the finish work needed is fairly simple. Every Mexican male over the age of 12 knows how to lay tile and do concrete work so you can hire someone pretty inexpensively to tile the bathroom/shower. Drop in a sink and toilet. Boom! done. And even if they choose not to fix that second bathroom, they'll survive. I grew up a family of five in a three bedroom, one bath home. It can be done.

 

As far as the couple, she didn't bug me. In fact, I was sort of impressed that she was the budget-minded one. More often than not, the wife is the one who blows the budget over some shiny thing (granite!). And she seemed more than willing to help with any reno. I do wonder what the husband will do with himself all day, every day. Most non-working gringos get involved volunteering in their community, so maybe he'll eventually go that route.

 

I thought it was refreshing to see the HH go for something more typically Mexican rather than the usual McVilla on the beach or condo in a gated gringo community.

Edited August 4, 2015 by elainebenis

[scrb]

I guess if you have a some money, it goes further in Mexico, not to mention the better weather than many northern states.

[sugarbaker design]

I guess if you have a some money, it goes further in Mexico, not to mention the better weather than many northern states.

 

Sounds like a win/win.

[WendyCR72]

This is not a political forum. It isn't the place to rag on illegals and how awful other countries may or may not be.

 

So, in the interest of harmony and staying on topic - house hunting and the folks who participate - let's stop with casting aspersions. Thank you and carry on!

Edited August 5, 2015 by WendyR72
Aspersions are so not the same as aspirations!

[JennyMominFL]

Mexico actually has an excellent healthcare system

[DownTheShore]

Who was ragging on illegals or disparaging Mexico? I learned that it turns out that Mexico does have an an attractive health care system available to ex-pats, which makes the family's move there more understandable.

[JasmineFlower]

They may be talking about me and the other poster, but this was part of the episode, they talked about his health as the impetus to moving.

 

Mexico does not have excellent healthcare when compared to the US. But does have good healthcare system for a developing country in certain locations. For major issues, it is not a close comparison.  It is more affordable on it's face, but also costs money, cash for the most part, when you need it, something this family does not have. Doctors Without Borders does great work there, and they don't go to places who have excellent healthcare.

 

Having an earache and going to a clinic and getting an antibiotic is not remotely equivalent to the medical challenges he faces on a daily basis. It's not even 5% of the challenges he faces. An earache goes away in 3 days and you can forget it ever happened. And the house renovations described as simple would definitely not be for someone with his problems. So while it may be common practice, expecting him to do the work is crazy when the stated intention is to simply things for him. Many of you may not know what a TBI is, but put it this way - he's likely spent almost a year's time and possibly more as an inpatient in a hospital, from intensive care to rehab, and then even longer as an outpatient getting physical, occupational, and speech therapy and still won't ever be the way he was before the TBI. It's nothing minor.

 

Impressed by her being budget minded is an oversimplification to me. She was indeed budget minded. I could also spin that negatively in several different ways.

 

I hope he doesn't struggle like I expect him to, but I'm not expecting that to be the case. But for however long they are in Mexico, hopefully it will work out as well as possible for the family.

Edited August 5, 2015 by JasmineFlower

[elainebenis]

A couple of responses to my previous post were deleted.

 

Speaking of which, asserting that your "border town" is representative of Morelia is like asserting that your "border town" representative of Tahoe.

 

I'll stop there.

 

I wish this family well - my experiences living and traveling in Mexico are overwhelmingly positive and I hope for the same for them.

 

Carry on.

[JennyMominFL]

Doctors Without Borders works in Mexico because, although Mexico has an excellent medical system, not everyone has access to that system. dwOB helps fill in that gap. For the majority who do have access, including expats the system is excellent, and cheaper. We also have an excellent healthcare system but problems with access

Last reply on this from me

[jcbrown]

 

I have enough excitement/drama/challenges in my own life as it is - I really couldn't care less about what my neighbors are up to and I certainly have zero interest in whatever excitement/drama/challenges they're involved in.

Somewhat OT but also relevant to the privacy discussion. My ex and I had an apartment (decades ago) across a courtyard from one of his (somewhat peripheral) colleagues. We had a dinner party one night and had a number of his close colleagues over. The peripheral colleague spent a good part of the evening walking around his apartment living room--whose sliding door faced ours where the dinner party was--absolutely naked. Entertainment? Check.

[biakbiak]

WTF, no seriously WTF was the realtor taking about the "views" in the houses for the couple moving to Australia. Seriously I didn't see any difference from the on budget homes "views" than do the other two. Basically they were all suburban neighborhoods where you could see some hills in the distance if you look beyond the neighbors fences and roof lines.

[Ohwell]

I don't know, maybe you had to be there to see the views he was talking about, but I really liked the Australian realtor.

[JasmineFlower]

Well, the 3rd place had a space that barely passes as a backyard. I'd say that was the first issue with that one not having the same views, but also, the other 2 seemed to have greatly superior views in the neighborhood and in the backyards compared to the 3rd place that were much more accessible to enjoy. The husband was gazing at the views from the houses in both the first and second houses and there wasn't one to enjoy in the 3rd. I definitely think it's possible that we didn't get the full effect of the differences, but it didn't seem the 3rd place had an outdoor space to take advantage of any view that may be in the neighborhood, and even then, it seemed less than the other 2 homes enjoyed.

 

I also enjoyed the Wollongong realtor. He made me laugh a few times. I liked that he told them upfront that they were living in a dream world trying to get all they wanted for their set price. But, I wouldn't have minded subtitles a few times with him...

[DownTheShore]

I liked that realtor, too. I would have said the hell with the budget and taken the first house. She's a teacher, she should be able to get a job sooner or later, even if it's just private tutoring in order to earn extra cash.

I don't know about the rest of you, but if I was tired of living in a major US metro area, relocating to Australia is not the first thing that pops into my mind.

Though it was nice seeing an Australian area other than the major cities or one of those beach towns.

Edited August 8, 2015 by DownTheShore

[Babalooie]

Cross posting.  Has anyone else noticed that when the new "Checklist" feature is shown, the house with the fewest checks is frequently the one selected?  Why bother with the checklist?  It seems to happen on both the USA and International episodes.

Edited August 10, 2015 by Babalooie

[VanSensei]

I liked that realtor, too. I would have said the hell with the budget and taken the first house. She's a teacher, she should be able to get a job sooner or later, even if it's just private tutoring in order to earn extra cash.

I don't know about the rest of you, but if I was tired of living in a major US metro area, relocating to Australia is not the first thing that pops into my mind.

Though it was nice seeing an Australian area other than the major cities or one of those beach towns.

I agree, especially because Australia is going through the same thing as a lot of the world (especially England) in that living there comfortably is getting very difficult. It is EXPENSIVE to live there these days.

[LazyToaster]

It bugs me that the theme is almost always - it is a slower pace here, we needed to slow down, we needed time for our family, etc. etc. 

 

If I need to slow my pace of life, it doesn't necessarily mean I need to move somewhere and even if I wanted to move to a small town or something to achieve that smaller community feel - it doesn't require moving to another country.  I just don't get it.  It's like TPTB just can't come up with anything else. 

 

Wherever you live, shouldn't you just decide to spend more family time? 

[KLovestoShop]

I'm not sure what to think of the Guatamala couple. The husband was only about the view, and everything else be damned. The wife was bitchy about most things, but I had to agree with all her bitchiness. You force your kids and wife into small boats just to give the hubby his privacy---what was with that? I guess I just didn't like this couple much at all.

[Never more]

I have been to Lake Atitlan and it it hardly the paradise the husband described. It is pretty enough...from a distance. Much of the lake was littered with floating trash. We stayed at a hotel where we were locked in until morning. The dogs of the village howled through out the night. While most of the people are friendly, it is not the most family-friendly location.

[truther]

Watched five minutes of the Guatemala ep before the wife's incessant nastiness finally became unbearable.  "Well, I love the view but I HATE the house."  "Why do we go inside and have a look?"  "Okay, let's do that."  I don't enjoy watching people whose default attitude is negativity. 

[Aimless]

I have read that they trump up a lot of the stories on HH International, and I am positive this has to be true in the Guatemala episode. I can't imagine that any family, particularly one with school-aged kids, would pick up and move their whole life to rural Central America for the compelling reason that "the husband visited 25 years ago and thought the lake was really pretty." I was surprised to see they were buying, rather than renting (really, you don't want to give it a trial run and see how this goes before committing to a 30-year mortgage?) but that just adds credence to my theory that their real story was less dramatic, like they were buying a vacation home/investment property.

[chessiegal]

Can you get a mortgage in Guatemala? I thought some of these countries were cash only. But yeah, the back story, who knows. May not have any semblence to reality.

[izabella]

The back stories are silly. I guess the real stories don't fit the pattern HGTV likes to give us, but I, for one, think I'd probably enjoy those more. 

Edited August 13, 2015 by izabella