House Hunters International - General Discussion

[aghst]

I thought the first home in Kaiserslautern looked more interesting inside with the beams.

The second one wasn't bad, with the spacious rooms under the slanting ceilings though.

The big house under construction, it was new but the design was so basic, uninspiring.

The 3 older kids all talked about wanting to see different countries.  I guess they mostly visited different German cities by train.

 

[chessiegal]

Europe has good train systems. It's easy to visit other countries by train. We mostly got around by train when visiting Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland, and Italy.

[Chit Chat]

6 hours ago, aghst said:

I thought the first home in Kaiserslautern looked more interesting inside with the beams.

I liked the wood floors.  Those were really pretty.   They seemed like a happy family.  It was nice that she said he could choose the house, but he chose the one she liked best (and he seemed find with it).  It was nice to see them talk it through rationally & calmly!!  

I would've been concerned with the 3rd house because of the cost and hearing the other dogs barking so loudly.   

That would be fun to be able to take a train to so many places.  I would love that!  

[Grizzly]

When the mother asked one of the kids if they wanted the chocolate one, I said Yes, please.

My best friend's daughter lives in Kaiserslautern with her army fiancé. She is enjoying it. She goes all over Europe by train. I saw pictures of her weekend in Paris. What a life.

[aghst]

Trains in Europe are great but when you're traveling over 200 miles, it can be a very long trip with changes.

You weigh that against an hour or two on a low cost carrier flight.

For instance, Kaiserlautern to Berlin is a 7.5 hour drive in Google Maps, a distance of 662 kilometers, which is just over 400 miles.

The trains are around 7 hours with one or two changes.

A flight would be an hour but you'd have to be at the airport at least an hour before departure and once you arrive it may take time to reclaim bags, then transition to a train to get to the center of town.

Actually, Paris is closer.  So there are direct trains which take 2.5 hours or longer routes with changes which could be up to 4 hours.

Venice is over 900 kilometers away so drives are over 10 hours and trains range from 10 to 16 hours.  Now in that case, maybe they could get a sleeper car and find a schedule overnight.

They're also marketing some upscale train, like the newer Orient Express and some other routes on renovated cars with specific decor, evoking a past.

 

[Kimboweena]

On 9/19/2024 at 1:34 PM, proserpina65 said:

It does surprise me that UF canned him for it.  Good for them, I guess.

Why does that surprise you?

[seacliffsal]

I liked the couple/family moving to Germany.  Although they had wants/likes, they didn't really make a big deal about it.  I was surprised that they chose the second house as it had the smallest yard.  When people have a lot of kids and a large dog that really increases the number of factors/priorities one has to consider.  I just enjoyed the fact that they enjoyed each other.  I get very tired of some of the diva/demanding antics we see on this show so this was refreshing.  Oh, and the town itself seemed really nice.  But the pastries...those alone are reason enough to live there!!!

[aghst]

I'd heard of Rammstein base.

I guess it must be huge.  The agent said that there was an area near the base which was pretty much Americanized.

 

[Notabug]

3 minutes ago, aghst said:

I'd heard of Rammstein base.

I guess it must be huge.  The agent said that there was an area near the base which was pretty much Americanized.

 

American military presence is huge in that part of Germany, it is the basis of much of the economy.  Rammstein employs over 16,000 military and civilians.  The general area has multiple other US military facilities and more than 50,000 employees.  It is a city unto itself.

[proserpina65]

13 hours ago, Kimboweena said:

Why does that surprise you?

Because universities have a habit of sweeping allegations like this under the rug.  Like UA did for years.

[proserpina65]

16 hours ago, aghst said:

Trains in Europe are great but when you're traveling over 200 miles, it can be a very long trip with changes.

I did straight-through overnight trains when I was in Europe.  Amsterdam to Vienna, Vienna to Venice, Pisa to Granada, Toledo to Toulouse, Toulouse to Paris.  Mostly very nice and convenient.

[aghst]

I guess you can save a hotel room cost for one night with the overnight train trips.

But it depends on how much those sleeper trains are, how much luggage you can stow in those sleeper cars, because if you're traveling to Europe for a couple of weeks, some people will have a lot of luggage.

THe train trips I checked were listed as €99 from Kaiserslautern to Paris and Berlin.  That's not even a sleeper cabin I would guess.

[Notabug]

21 minutes ago, aghst said:

I guess you can save a hotel room cost for one night with the overnight train trips.

But it depends on how much those sleeper trains are, how much luggage you can stow in those sleeper cars, because if you're traveling to Europe for a couple of weeks, some people will have a lot of luggage.

THe train trips I checked were listed as €99 from Kaiserslautern to Paris and Berlin.  That's not even a sleeper cabin I would guess.

Its also possible to buy a Eurail Pass which would cover virtually all train travel within Europe for a specified number of days.  Anyone wanting to visit 3 or more cities would probably save money over the cost of airfare to multiple destinations.

I've taken trains in Britain and Scotland as well as the Eurostar round trip between London and Paris.  The trains are clean and modern and give you a great opportunity to see the countryside.  They're almost always right on time and they often take less time traveling between cities than it would take using a car.  Travel within London and the surrounding area is particularly quicker and easier by train compared to car.

[aghst]

Yeah I've taken the Eurostar and other train trips as long as 4-5 hours.

Haven't done the overnight.

Trains are great for city center to city center, up to a certain distance or duration.

After that, you're on a train just to ride a train.  It becomes more efficient to fly when the train trip is over 4-5 hours.

Also, post-covid, I'd prefer to limit time in a confined public space.  Obviously you can't help the 10+ hour flights but supposedly modern airliners circulate air through the cabins constantly during flight.

[chessiegal]

We're sailors, so we view travel as more than getting from point A to Point B. It's all about the journey. We took a fast train (over 100 mph) from Paris to Avignon, our homebase for visiting Provence. Out longest trip was from Hamburg to Munich, about 5 hours. Our travel agent (and as Rick Steves points out) had us in business class, not much more than coach. The trains were comfortable and most had free Wi-Fi. So relaxing with beautiful scenery along the way.

[CalicoKitty]

2 hours ago, Notabug said:

Its also possible to buy a Eurail Pass which would cover virtually all train travel within Europe for a specified number of days.  Anyone wanting to visit 3 or more cities would probably save money over the cost of airfare to multiple destinations.

I've taken trains in Britain and Scotland as well as the Eurostar round trip between London and Paris.  The trains are clean and modern and give you a great opportunity to see the countryside.  They're almost always right on time and they often take less time traveling between cities than it would take using a car.  Travel within London and the surrounding area is particularly quicker and easier by train compared to car.

I've been on some of the great trains in Europe, but I have discovered that sightseeing and train travel do not work for me.  I can not stay awake on a train.  The movement and the static noise are just too calming for me, and I sleep the entire trip.  Believe me, I've tried to stay awake, but I just can't.  But I sleep very well on overnight train trips, and on ships.  Basically I sleep well anywhere, but travel by train is my downfall.

[Pi237]

Always makes me laugh when they ooh and aah over ceiling beams.

“There’s the [insert Any country’s name here] charm I’ve been looking for!” 

[Grizzly]

36 minutes ago, Pi237 said:

Always makes me laugh when they ooh and aah over ceiling beams.

“There’s the [insert Any country’s name here] charm I’ve been looking for!” 

What was I thinking, I removed the wood beams in our family room. Guess I can't advertise the house as having American charm.

[proserpina65]

On 9/26/2024 at 1:24 PM, chessiegal said:

Our travel agent (and as Rick Steves points out) had us in business class, not much more than coach.

I have yet to find an airline where business class isn't significantly more expensive than even premium coach, for transatlantic flights anyway.

On 9/26/2024 at 6:29 PM, Pi237 said:

Always makes me laugh when they ooh and aah over ceiling beams.

“There’s the [insert Any country’s name here] charm I’ve been looking for!” 

Yep, even if they were added last week.

[chessiegal]

23 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

I have yet to find an airline where business class isn't significantly more expensive than even premium coach, for transatlantic flights anyway.

I was talking about trains, nor air.

[proserpina65]

3 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

I was talking about trains, nor air.

Ah, that makes so much more sense.  I thought I was missing out on some great deal, lol.  D'oh.

Edited September 30 by proserpina65

[proserpina65]

Just saw a re-run from a previous season with two newlywed accountants moving to Frankfurt.  The woman was hideously annoying with her unreasonable demands and how she kept talking about the one apartment being so dated when it really wasn't.

[surfgirl]

Just saw last night the re run of that obnoxious blond woman in Amsterdam who is so thirsty for a man. Uch. She is so annoying, and feels like a plant. That AMS real estate agent is also.annoying af to me.

 

[HappyHanna]

On 9/14/2023 at 9:46 PM, Mediocre Gatsby said:

The Scottsdale to Costa Rica couple were just odd. Like the way she proved how practical she was by refusing to step one step closer to the "too large island" to hand her husband pretend eggs. Like other posters I was *shocked* that they chose the house with the kids in a separate building. 

I hope that the girls have a good time. 

I'm super behind on episodes, but I found this all very strange as well.  They didn't sell their AZ home,  their home schooled children are just going to start going to school (do they speak spanish?) I would have put money on them buying a rental there.  Looks like real estate agent mom started her own school (no comment on her qualifications or the very whoo hoo type of schooling) in the "3 cabinas and various covered areas have been converted into classrooms" https://www.stepsinlifecr.co  so they live where?

[Seelouis]

Watched what might have been a rerun last night? Tuscon to Munich? The wife had that uptalk? That makes every sentence a question? Made me want to puncture my eardrums? 

[Dirge]

I saw the episode where the woman and her daughter moved from Jamaica to Mexico. I was, as usual, rolling my eyes hard at how little the HH wanted to spend. But she has a bunch of social media accounts and her twitter said something I'd never heard before: that the prices on her episode "weren't quite accurate." I'll put the rest in spoiler tags: 

Spoiler

She wasn't paying $1000 for the one she chose. She didn't have that much money to spend. If she had, she could've gotten into the high-rise, which she's looked into because it does have two-bedroom units. 

Interesting, I thought.  

Edited October 7 by Dirge

[aghst]

A 2-bedroom in Merida doesn't cost that much?

It wasn't in her preferred area but still relatively close to the action.

In any event, is there so much interest in videos about life in Merida that she can make a living as a "content creator?"

Seems like the ones who do really well as content creators are much younger.

 

 

[Pine]

Jamaica to Merida, odd lady, you know she wanted to be a content creator her whole life!  hahaha   So she said.   

[seacliffsal]

The mom in the Merida episode really bothered me as she didn't seem that invested in her daughter or her daughter's concerns.  I think moving really impacted the daughter and she even spoke about how hard it was for her to make friends, although she did find some potential friends in Merida.  Then at the end, the mom said how great their place was as her daughter could go upstairs and she could hang out with her friends downstairs.  Speaking as a retired high school teacher, my read on the daughter was that she was really lonely and had difficulty finding friendship circles.

[Pine]

Praying for their safety in the Hurricane right now.

[snarts]

Whitehorse, Canada to Aberdeen, Scotland: cute family, two girls (11 & 7) and a dog. Moving to attend university, she's getting a law degree while he's enrolled in a masters program.

Great time for the kids to live abroad. I did make me wonder how obtaining a professional degree, like law, from another country works since so much of what is taught would be applicable to that country. Maybe they intend to stay in Scotland long-term?

Anyhoo, small $1000 budget since they were living off savings from the proceeds of their home. Option 1: 3 bedroom house, $1300/mo. 26 miles outside city so would require a car. Option 2: 2 bed apt next door to university with a full garden, $1000/mo. Option 3: 2.5 bedroom apt in city, with a concrete patio, $1100/mo.

They chose #2 and really, it looked to be the nicest option and best fit for them.

[Grizzly]

They were a nice family. So proud to be Wallaces in Scotland. The realtor was good.

[Crashcourse]

It was so refreshing to see a pleasant family and nice realtor.

[chessiegal]

IMDb tells me the "real estate agent" Vincent T. Spangenberg in the Aberdeen episode is an actor.

[Crashcourse]

Ok, but he seems like a nice guy acting as a realtor.

He's probably not the only one on HH/HHI acting as a "realtor."

[chessiegal]

Years ago I remember someone on HHI saying they used a friend of his as a real estate agent.

[Grizzly]

Lake Villarrica, Chile. Curly, dark hair and blue eyes, my kryptonite. I'd buy whatever Adam is selling.

Ok, back to the episode. Has the show ever featured Chile before? I like seeing a new place. The cabin in the woods was cool but too rustic and isolated. Second one was kind of small and fishbowly. But you could take out the 2 single beds and the kids' room would be spacious. I can't figure if this move is permanent. How can they afford to not work ever? House in town should be the winner. Adam didn't even mention how close it was to the girls' school.

[buttersister]

Ha, Adam is now the husband’s (once and future) ski buddy.  He just joined my Put That Realtor on Repeat list.

Annoyimg that the faux narrative was the dad acting like a manchild, focused on his own needs. But even back in 2027 (the copyright date), he wasn’t going to “win”  over the needs of wife and daughters. Who go to school near their new house you can bet. More Chile! 

[chessiegal]

10 hours ago, buttersister said:

But even back in 2027 (the copyright date),

They're filming in the future? 🙂

[ECM1231]

12 hours ago, Grizzly said:

Lake Villarrica, Chile. Curly, dark hair and blue eyes, my kryptonite. I'd buy whatever Adam is selling.

Ok, back to the episode. Has the show ever featured Chile before? I like seeing a new place. The cabin in the woods was cool but too rustic and isolated. Second one was kind of small and fishbowly. But you could take out the 2 single beds and the kids' room would be spacious. I can't figure if this move is permanent. How can they afford to not work ever? House in town should be the winner. Adam didn't even mention how close it was to the girls' school.

 

Was this a new episode? My DVR didn't record this one.

[aghst]

20 hours ago, chessiegal said:

IMDb tells me the "real estate agent" Vincent T. Spangenberg in the Aberdeen episode is an actor.

Yeah he didn't sound Scottish at all.

Adventure for that Canadian family.  They must intend to stay there if she plans to practice law.

Note that they could have gone elsewhere in Canada for her law school but apparently they were interested in their Scottish ancestry?

One bathroom for a family of 4 with two teen daughters though.  And the older one isn't going to want to share a bedroom for too long.

But it's a rental so maybe they can trade up later to a bigger place.

[aghst]

NYC to Boardeaux:  A married couple both working online.  Want better work-life balance, have traveled to many places and while they love Paris, they found that Bordeaux is an affordable mini-Paris.

They want 2 bedrooms because they want two home offices with separation, large kitchen with full sized fridge and most of all be in the hyper centre.

House 1, right in the center with all amenities on a large square but the second bedroom is like a glass box with a big window to the living room.  Also, awkwardly placed toilet in the only bathroom.  At $370k it was $5 below their $375k budget.

House 2, also in the hyper centre, a 2 bedroom, 2 bath, fully renovated, gives them the separation they want but the second bedroom, on an upper level has the low ceilings from being under the roof.  There is also a bathroom up there but the husband has to crouch inside of the bathroom and many parts of the bedroom.  It's $10k over budget at $385k.

House 3 is outside of center, across the river, in a nondescript modern building.  But it's spacious with no space compromises and has a large balcony with a nice view.  No bordelaise charm and it's a long ways away from centre, not as many restaurants or shops nearby.  However, way under budget at $300k.

They eliminate House 3, location isn't where they ultimately want to be.

Wife likes House 1, says they can do some modifications like move the toilet and put up drapes in the second bedroom for more privacy.  But husband said he will adapt to the height challenged spaces in House 2 and the is the one they choose.

3 moths later, of course everything is going great, though they still work on NY time.

Oh it was an Adrien episode.  She didn't have too much snark.  Not too many contradiction of their wants.

[laredhead]

22 hours ago, ECM1231 said:

Was this a new episode? My DVR didn't record this one.

Same here.  My DVR isn't recording many of the HH or HHI shows right now.

[kirklandia]

23 hours ago, ECM1231 said:

Was this a new episode? My DVR didn't record this one.

Episode was from 2018.

[proserpina65]

On 10/9/2024 at 9:28 AM, snarts said:

Great time for the kids to live abroad. I did make me wonder how obtaining a professional degree, like law, from another country works since so much of what is taught would be applicable to that country. Maybe they intend to stay in Scotland long-term?

Don't know how it would work in Canada, but in the US you have to pass the bar exam for the specific state in which you wish to practice.  More than one state (for example, both Maryland and Delaware) requires passing the bar in both states.  As far as law degrees being accepted in different countries, it really depends on the country and the type of law one wishes to practice.

I found the husband getting so attached to the place 26 miles outside of Aberdeen annoying.  There's no way his wife was going to drive that distance multiple times a day/week to go to classes.

On 10/10/2024 at 11:21 AM, aghst said:

One bathroom for a family of 4 with two teen daughters though.  And the older one isn't going to want to share a bedroom for too long.

Eh, people live like that all over the world, including many non-spoiled families in the US and Canada.

[aghst]

New Mexico to Pordenone, Italy, which is in the NE of country, NE of Venice.

Two Filipina lesbian married couple, both in the military, are moving because one of them got assigned to a USAF base there.  But the other one is more excited as she'd studied Italian.

They are taking their dog, their furniture and a car, because one of them is a car enthusiast who expects to buy a second car.

They want 3 or 4 bedrooms, a yard for the dog and a 2-car garage.

The Italophile wants a home with European charm.  The other one, the one who loves cars, want a short commute to the base where her job is while the Italophile wants to be near the train station in order to travel.

Budget is $1300 a month.   The one without a job expresses confidence in finding a job so would spend more.

House 1 is well-located, 4-bedroom with a big yard for $1400.  It doesn't have a real 2-car garage.

The lack of any charm is a turnoff.

House 2 is near the base, looks like row homes, with fairly recent construction, real 2-car garage, though it's long and narrow so the cars have to be parked in a line.  At budget $1300.

House 3 is further away but is a 17th century "castle" with 5 bedrooms and 2 baths split into two different buildings, with nice archways and balcony.  Most expensive at like $1530 or so.

They eliminate House 1 right off and the one convinces the other that with her uncertain employment situation, they should go for House 2 and that is what they choose.

3 months later the other one found a job and they say they're happy.  Have HHI ever shown people with buyer's remorse?

 

 

[chessiegal]

10 minutes ago, aghst said:

Have HHI ever shown people with buyer's remorse?

I remember a "where are they now" that at least one couple were now uncoupled. ☺️

[Notabug]

26 minutes ago, aghst said:

 

3 months later the other one found a job and they say they're happy.  Have HHI ever shown people with buyer's remorse?

 

 

Considering how scripted the house hunting part of the show is, I wouldn't be surprised if the hunters weren't coached as to what to say in the follow up scenes and TPTB want positive reactions.

[seacliffsal]

The thing about the 'castle' house (and, no, it didn't look like a castle) was that it was actually two homes one of which they could have rented out so they would have ended up making money on the $1500 rent.

[BAForever]

Never sure if what I'm watching on HHI is new or not. New Zealand to Cambodia. Nice Kiwi couple with 2 young boys- they definately picked the best house and seemed very likable, but I screamed at the TV when older son was sticking his head thru guard rails on boat trip. Neither parent had eyes directly on child. Makes me stabby.