House Hunters International - General Discussion

[Chit Chat]

19 hours ago, aghst said:

That big dog in the “spacious” under 600 square feet apartment has to be tough.

He said it's a wolf dog.  Big dogs need room to roam.  A small place is rather unfair to the animal.  Hopefully it's working out okay.  

[snarts]

11 hours ago, Chit Chat said:

He said it's a wolf dog.  Big dogs need room to roam.  A small place is rather unfair to the animal.  Hopefully it's working out okay.  

Not true. Some of the largest dog breeds are the laziest couch potatoes while smaller dog breeds are super high energy. It's all about ensuring your dog gets the right exercise and stimulation, which has very little to do with the size of your home. 

I liked them and enjoy seeing different areas of Paris. 

[seacliffsal]

I felt like this episode in Paris was super fake (yes, yes, I know it's just a show).  The male lived in Paris until a year ago-he absolutely knew prices and yet acted so 'surprised' that they couldn't get an endless list of wants for less than $2,000.  Also, I thought he mentioned that he worked in real estate although I do not fully pay attention during the episodes.  

Additionally, a wolf hybrid dog is not a domesticated pet.  Years ago wolf hybrids were really popular here in the U.S.  While they may be wonderful pets for some people, a wolf is still a wild animal.

Very interesting that landlands cannot refuse to rent to people with dogs, but as noted above, they may find 'other' reasons not to rent to someone.

[chessiegal]

The French love their dogs. The first time we were in France, we were having dinner in Normandy. A man came in and asked if they could bring their dog inside. The employee said - of course. We got used to dogs everywhere. 

[Chit Chat]

1 hour ago, snarts said:

Some of the largest dog breeds are the laziest couch potatoes while smaller dog breeds are super high energy.

Some big dogs may be couch potatoes, but in my experience, all of our big dogs loved having a big yard to run around in.  YMMV.  Hopefully the wolf dog will get taken to the park and have a chance to run around fairly often.  Like with humans, it's not good for them to lay around and get little to no exercise.  

43 minutes ago, seacliffsal said:

Additionally, a wolf hybrid dog is not a domesticated pet.

I saw an article a couple of months ago where a wolf hybrid picked up a family's baby while in the house and presumably thought it was a toy.  It didn't end well for the child.  :(  I would be surprised if a landlord allowed a tenant to have one on their premises.  

[Crashcourse]

Yeah, apparently, the French do love their dogs.  A friend of mine visited Paris, and he said the most annoying thing was trying to avoid stepping in dog poop, because it was everywhere.

[QQQQ]

I wonder how much they will spend per month to pay someone to let Jeffrey out at least once during the day when the wife isn't working from home. That could get expensive.

[proserpina65]

On 1/19/2024 at 2:14 AM, aghst said:

That’s a long metro ride from the center, where house #3 was, out to house #2.

But the guy said there were things like cafes out there.

Certainly quieter than the center where when they open the windows, they hear the din of the crowd below and that noise goes well into the night.

That big dog in the “spacious” under 600 square feet apartment has to be tough.

Personal space may be missed sometimes.

That was the only one with anywhere near enough space for that huge dog, so I knew it was the one they chose.  I liked the first place the best, followed by the apartment in the Marais, but I don't have a giant dog or someone else living with me.  Nor do I have a weird aversion to the bathroom being next to the kitchen.

On 1/19/2024 at 4:36 PM, Notabug said:

The apartment they chose was nice, but going up and down 3 flights of stairs multiple times a day to walk the dog will get old quickly.

Just think of the exercise, though, and how many more eclairs one can eat as a result.  😁

On 1/20/2024 at 10:10 AM, chessiegal said:

The French love their dogs. The first time we were in France, we were having dinner in Normandy. A man came in and asked if they could bring their dog inside. The employee said - of course. We got used to dogs everywhere. 

One of the reasons I don't live in France.  Along with my job being here and not being able to afford to move there, of course.  And the fact that living near a boulangerie and a patisserie would result in me weighing a thousand pounds.

 

[Bluesky]

On 1/18/2024 at 10:45 PM, Grizzly said:

Mexico City to Paris. Adrian made an interesting comment- that you don't choose the apartment, the landlord chooses you. No one has ever expressed it like that. Francois should grow back the beard. The bathroom is next to the kitchen. At 360 ft, everything is next to the kitchen. At the second place when Luisa was saying it looked so empty, I thought just bring Jeff in and it will be full. They look happy with their choice.

That’s almost everywhere.   Not just Paris, Adrian!

[chessiegal]

11 minutes ago, Bluesky said:

That’s almost everywhere.   Not just Paris, Adrian!

At least in the US, we have Fair Housing Laws. Not perfect, but something.

[aghst]

Cape Town to Phuket Island, Thailand.

Middle aged couple with a 13-year old daughter (hers).  They say Cape Town life is stressful so they move.  The wife's parents have retired to Phuket.

They plan to work remotely from Thailand.  Requirements are 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms -- they don't like to share.  Also a pool and an oven.  Budget is $1200

House 1 is 3 bedroom, 3 bath but is $1500.  Meets every requirement but is far from the kid's school.

House 2 also meets requirement but is on 3 levels with a roof top shared pool.  It's $1300.  Husband says too many stairs but love the views from the roof top deck with the shared pool.

House 3 is 3 bedroom, 3 bath, large pool but lacks an oven.  Mother and daughter want the oven for recipes to make together.  It's $1400.

They eliminate #1, probably more than they want to spend and choose 2 because of the oven and the views.

This is a couple who's been married for 11 years after meeting online.  They can't keep their hands off each other.  Realtor comments in TH that his clients usually never engage in so much PDA.

They joke about both being able to fit in the showers of the homes together and husband says the shared pool of house 2 may not work out because he likes to skinny dip with his wife.🙄

Supposedly the kid is going to go to school so the location of the homes relative to the school was also a criteria.  But they've kept their jobs back in South Africa so while they may enjoy the island lifestyle, maybe again, it's not a long-term stay.

Edited January 25 by aghst

[buttersister]

36 minutes ago, aghst said:

But they've kept their jobs back in South Africa so while they may enjoy the island lifestyle, maybe again, it's not a long-term stay.

Yep, a lot of talk about needing to chill more, spend family time, plus her now-aging parents are nearbyish. I think Mr. Skinnydip has a calendar with a return date circled.

 I liked the realtor, I suspect he was afraid to turn his back on Mrs. Skinnydip.

[Grizzly]

I couldn't make up my mind if I like the South African couple or not. Happy to see he gets along so well with the daughter. She seemed younger than 13, at least in comparison to an American teen.

[Crashcourse]

The couple seemed nice enough, but I didn't like them jumping on the bed in the place they didn't rent.

[aghst]

Didn't think about it too much but HHI must be distributed all over the world.

Maybe dubbed or subtitled or even just sold in anglophone countries?

That might explain so many English-speaking house hunters from all these countries.  Not that it's rare for people to speak English across the world but you'd think most of the house hunters draw from people who've watched the shows.

For instance, this episode should indicate that South Africans can watch this show?

Of course all the prices are denominated in USD but that's also a common currency benchmark, even if people don't transact in dollars, they have some sense of what their currency is worth relative to dollars.

 

 

[chessiegal]

4 minutes ago, aghst said:

For instance, this episode should indicate that South Africans can watch this show?

Why? As far as I know the HH and HHI shows are for American and Canadian audiences.

[aghst]

Just guessing that people who sign up to appear on the show are more likely to do so if they're fans or at least have watched the show.

[kirklandia]

1 hour ago, Crashcourse said:

 

The couple seemed nice enough, but I didn't like them jumping on the bed in the place they didn't rent.

 

I don't remember which of the places it was, but I was appalled when she pushed him quite vigorously onto the bed.  So rude!

Their friskiness was a little grating.

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, aghst said:

Didn't think about it too much but HHI must be distributed all over the world.

IMDb says Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada (two versions, one English and one French), Ecuador, Finland, Germany, Hungary, India, South Africa, and the UK.

[aghst]

35 minutes ago, Bastet said:

IMDb says Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada (two versions, one English and one French), Ecuador, Finland, Germany, Hungary, India, South Africa, and the UK.

So they translate it into French for Canada but not for France?

Because they have all kinds of American shows, though they like it dubbed, not subtitled.

There have been a number of house hunters originally from France, not to mention of course a lot of episodes based in France as well.

Far East is kind of weak.  Some Thailand, some Japan, some South Korea, some Singapore but it's just a few here and there.

Obviously nothing like all the Australian or even NZ episodes.

I recall India episodes once or twice, mostly for house hunters from Australia or other Pacific region.

 

[chessiegal]

I've read the production company monitors social media and can reach out to folks who have moved and see if they want to be on the show. Someone doesn't need to know about HHI to be on it. Could be HHI production company contacted them.

[Grizzly]

Cali to London. A little disappointed to not have Richard but Toby was enjoyable (cozy). That was a strange set up at the split level. But their bed and bath were on the same level so they shouldn't run into neighbors while undressed.

[buttersister]

Toby’s joke about his white linen suit sealed the deal, see you again!

#3 was the Masterpiece Theatre place of her dreams but so not their style. I guess the Murphy bed wasn’t a deal killer, but no box spring and a thin mattress? Heh, they’re young enough for that, I guess.

[snarts]

London, UK: why did it have a murphy bed?  The apartment wasn't a studio. Although odd, it had a full living room/lounge upstairs with the kitchen. I'd replace it with an actual bed. 

It was nice to see them choose the location that worked best for their lifestyle rather than complain about the lack of a second bedroom for all their visitors. 

[Jodithgrace]

The Murphy beds were odd and seemed discordant with the decor, all unstained wood, but if the couple don’t mind them, why should I? The whole layout of that flat was peculiar, but quirky is fun if you’re young and in love. They can tell stories about their first apartment in London for years to come. 

I liked Toby the realtor. He was refreshing and funny. 

[Crashcourse]

I liked Toby the realtor too. 

[aghst]

Apparently the California to London couple weren't married but they bought a house together and now moved to London?

They didn't say if they sold the house back in CA, which would give them a huge rental income or if they sold it, a big bank account.

I would guess that this is a temporary posting, something to add to their resume or they see it as an extended adventure, with the ability to go back to their previous jobs.

They were willing to splurge for more space after all.  They must be planning to entertain a lot, with friends and family from back home.

[Chit Chat]

On 1/24/2024 at 8:59 PM, aghst said:

Middle aged couple with a 13-year old daughter (hers).  They say Cape Town life is stressful so they move.  The wife's parents have retired to Phuket.

All I could think of was the tsunami that hit that region in 2004.  I'm not sure if it's the same beach that they were showing, but if so, the images from that day were all I could think of.  :(   

[laredhead]

California to London couple with Toby the realtor - I'm still scratching my head over how that living arrangement works with 2 other tenants.  Maybe someone can explain it to me.  As I understand it, to get to the only bathroom of your space, you have to go out into a common hallway to access it.  You also have to go out into a common hall to go between the bedroom area, and the kitchen/living area?  I need a floorplan

[Chit Chat]

1 hour ago, laredhead said:

I need a floorplan

You and me both!!  That was one chopped up living arrangement.  Surely there had to have been a better way to make that building into "normal" apartments! That staircase is a "one-way street" kind of thing, so if you do end up on the staircase at the same time as your neighbor, that would be so awkward.  They did say though that 3 months in and they barely saw their neighbors, so that helps. I wouldn't like it though.  

[Chit Chat]

On 1/25/2024 at 2:30 PM, Grizzly said:

I couldn't make up my mind if I like the South African couple or not. Happy to see he gets along so well with the daughter.

I forgot to mention that one of the places they looked at didn't have an oven.  Is that a normal thing in that area?  The house looked nice otherwise.  

[Notabug]

18 hours ago, Chit Chat said:

I forgot to mention that one of the places they looked at didn't have an oven.  Is that a normal thing in that area?  The house looked nice otherwise.  

There  have been quite a few episodes shot in that part of the world and it does seem like ovens are not usually found in most kitchens.

[chessiegal]

Do they not have countertop ovens in Europe? Of course, they do. I have a Jenn Air range with a huge oven. I rarely use it. Uses too much propane for 2 baked potatoes. I have a large Breville Smart countertop oven that gets used almost every day. When I see complaints of no oven, I'm yelling at the TV, buy a countertop oven!

[Pi237]

Lisbon, Portugal. All of their options were nice, beautiful areas.  I always wonder though, when one half of a couple says “I do all the cooking, so she/he do the laundry” does that mean they do all the cleaning up from their cooking, too? Because if the other is stuck with all the laundry, the kids, the pets all day, and all the dinner clean up-that’s kind of a bum deal (especially if the chef is a sloppy cook)

Anyway, $3000 a month!? Yikes. 

[Chit Chat]

1 hour ago, Pi237 said:

I always wonder though, when one half of a couple says “I do all the cooking, so she/he do the laundry” does that mean they do all the cleaning up from their cooking, too?

I got the impression from her comment ("we'll see") about the man cave, that maybe he thinks he doesn't have to help with the kids in the evening and he can retreat to the man cave.  She seemed a little bit resentful that she gave up her career and will now be at home with the kids.  That annoyed me because they both came off sounding like they'd rather not have to deal with the kids.  I'm probably wrong in looking at it that way, but that's how they sounded to me.

On 1/29/2024 at 12:05 PM, chessiegal said:

When I see complaints of no oven, I'm yelling at the TV, buy a countertop oven!

The daughter likes to bake, so she needed a bigger oven for cookie and cake pans.  Not everything fits in a countertop oven!  

[chessiegal]

5 minutes ago, Chit Chat said:

The daughter likes to bake, so she needed a bigger oven for cookie and cake pans.  Not everything fits in a countertop oven!  

There are countertop ovens that are big enough for cakes and cookies.

[aghst]

Dang I can barely recall the episodes from the last couple of weeks.

Oh yeah, Lisbon, he's taking a pay cut and she's given up her job but they can afford $3k a month to have separate bedrooms for their young sons, who both are under 5?

Maybe they're hoping to strike it rich with the startup, if it has a big IPO.  Otherwise, I can't imagine they're giving up so much income just to have the experience of living abroad.

Other HHI people who go abroad have jobs which would help build their resumes.  In this case, she's giving up her career and he's taking lower pay.  So there has to be some positive tradeoff.

In any event they got a nice enough place.

I can barely recall the Paris episode which also aired while Primetimer was down.

[Crashcourse]

I didn't understand her needing separate bedrooms for the young sons.  In fact, they'd probably have more fun sleeping in the same room.

[CalicoKitty]

Just a stab in the dark, but maybe one son has sleeping problems that would interrupt the other son.

[aghst]

5 hours ago, Crashcourse said:

I didn't understand her needing separate bedrooms for the young sons.  In fact, they'd probably have more fun sleeping in the same room.

 

3 hours ago, CalicoKitty said:

Just a stab in the dark, but maybe one son has sleeping problems that would interrupt the other son.

Maybe they planned to stay long term, so the boys would grow into their rooms for a few years?

Or maybe they scoped out the market, decided how big a place they wanted and what they were willing to pay.

Lisbon's rental market has been exploding in recent years because Americans and some UK people discovered how affordable Portugal was compared to other European markets and how great the weather and food was.

But it's a problem for locals, who get priced out of the market with the rapid price increases.

So this family may be grabbing a bigger house than they need but can afford so much more than local renters that they're contributing to the unaffordability problems.

Though they are somewhat outside of Lisbon.  One of the homes was said to be not too far from Caiscais, which is a coastal town west of Lisbon, not even a suburb.

Edited February 6 by aghst

[BAForever]

I, too had forgotten the Lisbon episode and had wanted to remember to comment. Wife was a sourpuss. Really portrayed as a very unpleasant person. Choices were fine, and I knew she could put in a washer-dryer.

[aghst]

57 minutes ago, BAForever said:

I, too had forgotten the Lisbon episode and had wanted to remember to comment. Wife was a sourpuss. Really portrayed as a very unpleasant person. Choices were fine, and I knew she could put in a washer-dryer.

Maybe because she had to give up her career.

She mentioned more than once that she'd always worked.

So understandably, if she was going to be a SAHW, she was going to want the conveniences.  I forget if she wanted the modern design and he wanted character or vice versa.

[Chit Chat]

46 minutes ago, aghst said:

Maybe because she had to give up her career.

IIRC, she was on board with the move.  On one hand, I understand her concerns about putting her career on hold, but on the other hand, she seemed annoyed that she would be taking care of the children all day.  

I was annoyed by the husband's lack of empathy for her needing a washer & dryer.  It looks like it wasn't too big of a deal to get them installed though, so at least she got a nice house, and she can do laundry at home.  

[aghst]

6 minutes ago, Chit Chat said:

IIRC, she was on board with the move.  On one hand, I understand her concerns about putting her career on hold, but on the other hand, she seemed annoyed that she would be taking care of the children all day.  

I was annoyed by the husband's lack of empathy for her needing a washer & dryer.  It looks like it wasn't too big of a deal to get them installed though, so at least she got a nice house, and she can do laundry at home.  

The only way I could see her agreeing to give up her career and move would be that this start up job for the husband could lead to a big windfall, a lucrative IPO or something.

Of course the cover story is that they want to have the experience of living abroad.  But even if she wanted that, she might not have wanted to give up her career for this dream.

But you can't always tell with HHI, whether this is a real move -- they have every intention of staying at least for a couple of years, not some extended vacation -- or they got people who want to be on TV to pretend that they're moving abroad.

[chessiegal]

10 hours ago, CalicoKitty said:

Just a stab in the dark, but maybe one son has sleeping problems that would interrupt the other son.

We have 2 grandsons who share a bedroom. One time when we were visiting, the younger grandson came to complain that he couldn't go to sleep because his brother wouldn't stop talking. 😅 Dad took care of it and they continue to share a bedroom.

[TVForever]

8 hours ago, aghst said:

 

Though they are somewhat outside of Lisbon.  One of the homes was said to be not too far from Caiscais, which is a coastal town west of Lisbon, not even a suburb.

I think the realtor said they were in Oeiras, roughly halfway between Lisbon and Cascais.

[CalicoKitty]

2 hours ago, chessiegal said:

We have 2 grandsons who share a bedroom. One time when we were visiting, the younger grandson came to complain that he couldn't go to sleep because his brother wouldn't stop talking. 😅 Dad took care of it and they continue to share a bedroom.

I know someone who has two sons.  One of them has a neurological condition where he bounces his head on his pillow in order to go to sleep.  Apparently it is a type of self-comforting.  Anyway, it was loud enough to disturb the other kid's sleep.  They could not share a room.  My point to my original comment  is that it is possible that there is a reason why they boys can't share a room.  Or, it could just be something that the mother wants.  Some house hunters demand that each kid has his own room because they never had their own room growing up.  Each kid with a separate room is not the most out-there demand we have seen. (Think a room just for Barbie dolls)

[chessiegal]

I'm aware there are reasons for kids to have separate rooms. We were just amused that one of our grandsons was such a chatty Cathy he was keeping his brother awake. 😄

[aghst]

Ontario to Tamarindo, Costa Rica.

This is a real move, they sold their home, cars and bought a business, seems like a beach shack serving American foods.

They'd never visited previously, just bought the business first, before supposedly even renting a place to live.

High school sweethearts, now with a couple of kids.  They cite weather.  For instance, would rather put up with tropical storms than snow.  They're both tanned and fit so they must have spent a lot of time in sunny places.

Want 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, with pool, near the beach or town, for $1200.

I forget all the details of the choices but one was 40 minutes away from their little  lunch place so that is what they eliminate.

The real nice place is $1500 with a jacuzzi, which the husband pretends to like.

But they choose the one close by and closest to their budget.

Even if they never visited, they must have been assured the place would grow with expats and tourists so the business would be sustainable.  Forget what they did previously, they seemed to have a similar business before but he has training as carpenter too.

It's kind of a real-life Mosquito Coast situation?  They're not escaping the rat race per se but the parents are towing their kids to a place far away from where they were born and grew up, though the kids are very young.

But they might want the kids to grow and have more options.  Like where would they be educated, home-schooled and no chance of university if they happen to show academic aptitude?

They might for instance want to become an engineer or maybe a hockey player.  Not likely to happen in Costa Rica, in some small coastal tourist spot.  Maybe they grow to love the oceans and jungles and the wild life there and aspire to become marine biologists or something in that vein.

Maybe despite having sold everything, they plan to go back to Canada in a few years when the kids are ready to go to school.

[buttersister]

I felt like that couple had decided that they needed to make the move. The kids came, too, but it wasn’t done for them this time (I’ve seen that claim made before when I could believe it.)

Ha, they were starting up a new food/restaurant business and weren’t going to live nearby and in budget? LOL, right.