House Hunters International - General Discussion

[CherryAmes]

Just saw one where an Australian couple relocated to Papua, New Guinea.  I have to say usually I find the woman in these episodes to be the more annoying and demanding but in this case I wanted to give the husband such a slap.  He have her a hard time about choosing a place when she was going to be the stay at home parent with a young baby.  But he wanted a stand alone house and he didn't want to be on a compound and oh my god this place had pink walls - oh the horror.  What an entitled jerk.  Yes in the end she got the one that made the most sense for her but what a battle she had to fight!

[Taylorh2]

Not really CherryAmes because remember they other 2 houses that weren't picked are just show.

[BearCat49]

I doubt the Hawaii woman who moved to Costa Rica was hurting, financially.  Given the security concerns in many of these countries, I wouldn't be surprised if tptb selected that particular plot for that reason, pursuant to her request.  One article describes her as a "defense contractor" in Pearl Harbor.  Another states she was working, probably for a contractor in counter intelligence in Hawaii.  She has a background in international relations.

 

She also comes up online as an import-export operator.  At minimum, she's probably doing that in CR.  She's apparently writing a book about the death of her boyfriend.  She wrote a testimonial for the realtor and stated everything for her househunt had to be done via email b/c she was on vacation in Australia (expensive).  Also states she needed a "property manager".   Hmmm -

 

Yes, I was thinking during the episode that she probably received some life insurance proceeds, too.

[DownTheShore]

I was watching the one with the American/English couple in Leeds England, and you could just tell that the guy was dying inside when he gave in to the higher priced rental that his American wife wanted.  She was from Florida and he kept warning her that she'd never experienced "an English winter" before.  Forgive me if I'm mistaken but aren't English winters really not that bad, when compared to places in the US like Maine, Minnesota, or Montana?  Isn't it just basically colder and wetter?  From what I've looked up, it doesn't look as though the average temperature in Leeds ever drops below 3C, which puts it around 37F.  I assume the place they rented has heat, and she already knew how to wear a scarf.

 

----

 

Did you folks ever see that one, again set in England where it was an American wife with a British husband, she was originally from Savannah and she wanted a typical English country cottage?  I think she either had a baby or was about to have one.  They looked at one place that had a second bedroom that was so small that any child raised in it would probably become agoraphobic when he/she went outdoors.  But the thing that really irked me about the woman was how she was affecting a pseudo-English accent after living there all of five minutes.  She  sounded like Madonna did after her British adventure.  Now, a Georgia accent is not an easy thing to lose; I've worked in the northeastern US with people who were raised in Georgia and they never lost their drawl.  I know someone who moved to England close to 40 years ago and she doesn't even sound as English as that HHI woman did.

Edited July 6, 2014 by DownTheShore

[BearCat49]

IIRC, both my personal reaction and the reaction to the Georgia woman on twop was that her "English accent" was totally put-on and fake.  She'd been living there for a period of years, more than 5, possibly (?), again IIRC.  Yes, she already had a baby and after all the whining about an English cottage, they naturally selected a basic, boxy row house, IIRC.  That's an oldie -

 

Can't remember the Leeds couple off the top of my head but I believe anyone from FL would have a tough time adjusting to the English weather.

Edited July 7, 2014 by BearCat49

[GeorgePBurdell]

Good lord, the makeup on the real estate agent from the episode aired last night (7/6 - young couple from TN? who ended up building a house in a new neighborhood)! Did I miss that she was also a stage actor coming straight from a performance?

[NYGirl]

That woman from last nights HHI had to be a plant.  They were moving to the Bahamas and their budget was 1 million.  She kept making faces for the camera and just thought she was so cute!!  It made her look ridiculous.  I laughed a lot.

 

As far as the Leeds couple I was shocked the husband went along with the more expensive property.  He had his butt cheeks clenched throughout the whole episode!!

Edited July 7, 2014 by NYGirl

[peggy06]

This isn't specific to HHI, but it came up during an HHI episode. Back from commercial and following the Andorra couple as they entered the master bedroom of Property #3. From the upper right, something big and black falls from the ceiling! For a moment, I thought it was some giant bug or something. But no - it was a graphic of the Property Brothers, a promo for one of their shows. Talk about distracting! I know in my rational mind that the HHI producers would never show some honking big spider dropping from the ceiling, but in the moment, it was freaky-looking.

 

I guess they got what they wanted, though, because I certainly noticed the promo.

[ChelseaNH]

She was from Florida and he kept warning her that she'd never experienced "an English winter" before.

 

Floridians break out the parkas if the temperature dips below 70....

[OSM Mom]

Floridians break out the parkas if the temperature dips below 70....

Sounds like Texans.

[NYGirl]

This isn't specific to HHI, but it came up during an HHI episode. Back from commercial and following the Andorra couple as they entered the master bedroom of Property #3. From the upper right, something big and black falls from the ceiling! For a moment, I thought it was some giant bug or something. But no - it was a graphic of the Property Brothers, a promo for one of their shows. Talk about distracting! I know in my rational mind that the HHI producers would never show some honking big spider dropping from the ceiling, but in the moment, it was freaky-looking.

 

I guess they got what they wanted, though, because I certainly noticed the promo.

OMG it's driving my crazy.  I see it on all of the shows.  It's bad enough these stations now take the bottom of the screen for their graphics but when they move its disconcerting.

[BearCat49]

Good lord, the makeup on the real estate agent from the episode aired last night (7/6 - young couple from TN? who ended up building a house in a new neighborhood)! Did I miss that she was also a stage actor coming straight from a performance?

The makeup that jumped out at me was the friend of the Hawaii widow who moved to Costa Rica.  She had painted a wide, black rim all around her eyes, even underneath the bottom lid.  Guess she definitely wanted everyone to notice her during her 15 minutes.

[DownTheShore]

That reminded me of the commercial with the kids who stared at their mom because she had on "spooky eyes" makeup!

 

Those pop-up graphics are even worse on kids' channels.  There's always leaves blowing across the bottom of the screen or flowers popping up, things sliding in from the left or right - very annoying.

 

----

 

Anyone else think that it was very odd that a Miami music producer was changing jobs so completely to starting up a technology firm in Andorra, and his wife was giving up her singing career for him, just to do voice overs?  The first thing that popped into my mind was "no extradition treaty", so out of curiosity I looked it up and, nope, the US doesn't have an extradition treaty with Andorra - lol.  There is, of course, no hint of any illegality regarding either of them; just too many mystery novels on my part. :)

 

She actually has a Wiki page - she is apparently quite well known: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alondra

 

It's a pretty country and it was interesting to see the show set there.  Way too many hills to climb, though.

[Dewey Decimate]

The Greenland RE agent was adorable. Loved her freckles and the whale blow sound. And wow - if only the Entitled American Buyer were forced to live in a place like that! The woman's glee at simply having a bathroom in which the shower was not directly atop the toilet bowl made me wonder how some of the "bath time is my alone time" people would fare.

[Diane M]

Anyone see the two females from Perth who moved to Paris to host dinner parties in their apartment?  I couldn't understand how they could make a living when they planned to have the parties only every couple of weeks.  Did I miss something?

[Misslindsey]

I thought the Perth lady was hoping to start a food blog and give food tours along with the dinner parties. I kept wondering where her friend lived in Paris and why not do dinner parties at her place.

[Writing Wrongs]

I looked up her blogger name and she has a Twitter account:

https://twitter.com/agoodforking

[UsernameFatigue]

Watched an epi last night with a couple that were moving from Atlanta to England. I wish I had saved it to rewatch as I can't believe how dumb the wife was. Before they left she was looking at houses online and mentioned to a friend that she would be happy if the house had an indoor toliet (to paraphrase). Then she told the realtor when she and hubby were listing their must-haves, that she didn't want to have to start a fire every time she wanted to make dinner. Apparently she was under the impression that Brits cook over open fires. Her hubby seemed quite normal - I don't know how or why he ended up with such an ignoramus.

[Quof]

Yes, the Atlanta to Blackburn episode was much discussed when it first aired. Apparently, husband is a big exec with a geotechnical company, leaving nasally, flat affect wife to sit in her American style home in a gated community, without ever having to experience anything that isn't "like we have in Atlanta".   She did voice one of the more bizarre, even for HH, objections to a property.  It was on a hill, which apparently just screamed out DANGER!!! 

Edited July 11, 2014 by Quof

[sugarbaker design]

I thought the Perth lady was hoping to start a food blog and give food tours along with the dinner parties.

 

 

That's what she said she wanted to do.  I just can't imagine going to Paris and paying for a dinner party by an Australian.  I notice she just didn't cook the dinner, she actually joined in on the party.  The WC was tiny, but it had those cute painted on roses.

 

I love seeing Paris through Adrian Leeds' eyes, I recently read a novel by Cara Black, set in Paris, she listed Adrian in her acknowledgements, perhaps Mme Leeds helped her with the local real estate scene?

Edited July 11, 2014 by sugarbaker design

[swissair100]

I couldn't understand how they could make a living when they planned to have the parties only every couple of weeks.

 

 

        The renter, Emerald Bond comes from a prominent Australian business family, which includes her grandmother Eileen Bond, who is well known in high society circles.  I'm going to assume that she has financial support from her family.  But yes, why would anyone want to pay for dinner parties in Paris given by two Aussie girls, with no "apparent" culinary training in either French or Italian  ?.... And food tours from 2 fairly new residents of Paris ? ... hmmm.

 

        Her lawyer friend Wallis' voice, just annoyed the heck out of me - probably a nice person, but her voice reminded me of my 12 year old niece. 

 

[Ohwell]

I figured Emerald Bond came from money, but yes, I couldn't figure out why people would pay for a "dinner party" in a cramped apartment.  I'm guessing she just wanted to live in Paris for a while, and those people at the dinner were her friends (nonpaying).  And the foodie blogging and tours are just something to keep her occupied.   Because, you know, it must be tough lounging in your Paris apartment with nothing to do.  *sigh*

 

The friend's voice was annoying as hell.

[LazyToaster]

I couldn't believe that Emerald in Paris didn't pick the third apartment, it seemed like the best choice to me. I liked the episode though, mostly because of Adrian Leeds.

[laredhead]

I figured the family had money when they showed a picture of her mother's house in Australia.  Yes, she is being subsidized on yeat another "gap year" in her life.  She said that she was in Paris for her gap year and wanted to go back.  I love Adrian and her comments about real estate in Paris.

Edited July 14, 2014 by laredhead

[Rhondinella]

she would be happy if the house had an indoor toliet

Then she told the realtor when she and hubby were listing their must-haves, that she didn't want to have to start a fire every time she wanted to make dinner.

 

 

Methinks someone's only knowledge of England comes from watching Downton Abbey.

[Bellalisa]

I'm going back a ways to the couple who could "work anywhere in the world because we have an online business" and moved to Florence, where apparently, they were only there very briefly due to Visa issues. I was WONDERING!! You can't move to Italy with no Visa!! You only get a 3 month stay without a Permesso di Soggiorno, which they would never give these 2- working for themselves.. You have to have a job with a company who proves they cannot hire a local Italian citizen. HHI conveniently leaves out all the Visa issues and so they make it seem like it is so easy just to pick up and move to another country. It isn't!

[Patrizio]

She may have money, but no common sense. Toilet in the kitchen? No, dear. Must have been one hellava Paris location.

[scrb]

Only thing I can think of is that they either have Italian ancestry or they can document assets so that they don't have to work or at least get a job in Italy.

 

My understanding is that visas are possible in that case.

[Bellalisa]

It is very difficult to get a work Visa in Italy and as US citizens they needed to get that before they arrived. The Italian govt gives out only 100,000 each year- first come first served. It's almost easier to win the lottery. They said they worked for themselves. having relatives there isnt going to get you a Visa either. Apparently they did leave Italy due to "visa issues" so sounds like they didn't research it before they left. You can't just plop yourselved down in Italy without a great deal of government paperwork and planning and waiting done beforehand and when you arrive and thereafter. Dingbats. 

[peggy06]

Chengdu episode: The scripts are so obvious. They had to trump up the commuting time excuse, because otherwise, it would be totally obvious that House #3 was their house. Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful house, and I would probably choose it as well. I could wish they hadn't harped so much on the Americanness of it as such a positive. Always seems to me like such a slap to the agent showing them around, and the host country in general. Had to laugh moments: Amy Adams lookalike wife "has to" have a gym in the house they are renting in China. And husband has to have the obligatory study. Again, dead giveaway moments.

[Amethyst]

Yeah, if I was moving overseas, the last thing I would want is an Americanized house.  I can understand the wife wanting a nice kitchen, considering she was in the house all day, but the first house IMO would have been the best choice.  It had everything they wanted.  It seemed like the realtor could have gotten the price down to an agreeable rate.

 

She may have money, but no common sense. Toilet in the kitchen? No, dear. Must have been one hellava Paris location.

 

IA.  I can live with a lot, but that would be a dealbreaker for me.  Especially if my business revolves around food.  I wouldn't want people having digestive issues in the same room as where I'm cooking.  At least the room has a window.  

Edited July 15, 2014 by Amethyst

[NYGirl]

Oh my goodness that couple in Chengdu were so ridiculous.  When I heard him whine about having a study rather than the kid's bedroom I almost shut it off...and then she kept saying she had to have a gym and I was like say what....

 

The house they chose was nice but so American..it's only a rental..enjoy the culture of the country you are living in.  These people are so entitled.

[DownTheShore]

I was wondering, as I often do with these Americans-in-Asia episodes, when they talk about their budget for housing, are they talking about a stipend from their company or money out of their own pockets?  Seems to me that if your company is giving your a 5K or 6K housing stipend, then coughing up an extra thousand or so shouldn't be a deal-breaker.  And if you have a job that pays you enough that you can afford $60-72,000/yr in rent, then why are you quibbling over an extra thousand?

 

The Chengdu couple annoyed me.  It was another one of those "we want to live close to spouse's work location and in the center of the city so we can take full advantage of it", but God forbid any of their children should have to double up in bedroom or one of the adults can't have their home office, in those center city locations.  And I was thinking to myself, "Who moves from country to country bringing treadmills with them?"   I knew just from looking at her that she was going to go for the American style home in the ex-pat suburb, no matter what she was saying to the camera.

 

As for the ladies from Perth, I too was wondering why the dinner parties weren't being held in the friend's home.  And I agree that the friend's voice was beyond annoying; but I felt sorry for her too.  Imagine having to go through life like that, with a toy doll's voice.  Emerald seemed like she came from money right from the start; she looked like she would be able to pass for a Parisian after she lives there for a couple of months.  The whole premise of her quitting a good job in Perth and starting up a home dinner party business in Paris - an extremely expensive city - was ridiculous, though.  No regular person could afford to do that, unless they were hosting parties every night.  And I mean really, you're in Paris with all that great food and those great restaurants and cafes, and you're going to book a dinner party in someone's cramped apartment - someone who's from Australia not France, and isn't a trained chef to begin with?   And you're going to be eating with the strangers who cooked your meal, as if they were some sort of experts on Paris and France?

 

I looked up Eileen Bond.  Definitely Emerald's grandmother, definitely money, and a lot of scandal in that family: http://www.divorcesolicitors.com.au/legal-news/1992/4/11/why-alan-bond-split-with-eileen/

Edited July 15, 2014 by DownTheShore

[buttersister]

Mrs Bond's daughters - Susanne, 31, and Jody, 24

 

So Jody, the Harvard business student = Emerald the Parisian food blogger? Well at least Adrian secured a Marais rental and got to show two others to more Americans than read her newsletter. 

[Quof]

Canadian moving to Rocky Point, Australia to serve as an event co-ordinator for the solar eclipse. The Hell? That had to have been the most fake story line ever - the Australian rancher who just happened to volunteer to help her, she kept slipping and saying "we will like living here", and she occasionally slipped into an Australian accent. Yet I can't find a single thing about her online.

[Ohwell]

I remember that solar eclipse event one, and yeah, that was fake as hell.

[DownTheShore]

Oh yeah, I remember that one.  She was moving to Australia to be a coordinator for a one-time event, and just happened to find true love with that guy.

 

I mean, how much coordination did it need?  Go outside, make sure no trees block your view and look up at the sky.

 

That's why those Australian ones really bother me.  The basis for the trans-location to Australia is unbelievable right from the start, with people moving there to leave their old jobs in their home countries and start new jobs such as:  coordinating eclipse-watching, being a masseuse, teaching para-sailing, selling Mom's Caribbean swimwear collection while being able to surf, starting a travel resort in the jungle when one is afraid of bugs, starting a charter cruise business from scratch, etc.

[Bellalisa]

The POlish guy moving to Bucharest was a piece of work. None of the houses looked European to me or very different from what they had. Notice the ton of gym equipment- did they pay to have that shipped? Jeez. You knew they picked that one because gym equipment was in the empty, characterless, house.  I wonder what they could have got right in the downtown are with charm of the city. Showing us 3 of the same type of bland brand new house kind of sucked.  Maybe there were no 3 bedrooms "city center"?

[BearCat49]

The Oz episodes do seem more fake than all the others, now.  The last year or two, HHI caught on and has had more current applications.  They haven't needed to fake storylines as much to locate participants.  Most of the participants, with the exception of the Oz group, either moved recently or are currently in the process of moving.

[Ohwell]

The POlish guy moving to Bucharest was a piece of work.

They said the wife was moving there because of work, but did he even have a job?  If so, I must have missed that bit of info.  I thought he was rather annoying. 

[DownTheShore]

I actually felt sorry for the Polish guy.  He finally hit life's jackpot with an expensive house with land in the American suburbs, and his wife decides to take a job move to Romania.  Talk about not passing "Go" and not collecting the $200!  He makes it out of Eastern Europe and she brings the family right back there.  And what was with their obsession with tennis?

 

I liked that family from Seattle who were relocating to Barcelona; they were just so American but in a nice way.  I was glad the wife finally realized that she could take public transportation into that all-important city center so she and the kids wouldn't miss one single cultural moment.  It looked like the older daughter is just at that age where a change of location will probably benefit her.

[ChelseaNH]

I liked the Seattle to Barcelona family.  It's always nice to watch an episode and not worry about the couple's marriage...

[BearCat49]

I'm sure the wife's employer paid to have all that stuff shipped, Bellalisa.  I found the homes boring, too.  IIRC, they demanded 4 bedrooms, including 1 for Grandma plus an extra so that could have made it tough.

 

The tennis plotline seemed a little forced - agree, DowntheShore.  Perhaps they used that one because courts were going into the last complex.  We never saw Grandma in Bucharest so had to assume the whole gardening routine was fake. 

 

I found the guy a little annoying, too.  He did appear to be a SAHD.  I also felt sorry for him.  Enjoying the good life and huge suburban home in a relatively inexpensive place to live - OH.

 

Personally, I would have preferred to see more of the city sights of Bucharest than the forced routine at the kid's Int'l School.

[Lawgiver]

Thanks for the information on the Paris episode. I watched it last night and was wondering about how in the world she could afford to live in Paris giving "dinner parties" to paying customers. Even if she saved up from her corporate legal job, it would not be enough at her age to last long there. I figured she was from money.

 

I actually loved the third apartment with all the purple. I know it's predetermined which apartment she really had, but that purple one was great.

[Rhondinella]

I mean, how much coordination did it need?  Go outside, make sure no trees block your view and look up at the sky.

 

 

Late to the party here but . . . Hee!

[Neurochick]

I think most of these episodes are fake, but it doesn't bother me, because I'm not there to hear the lame stories, I just want to see the homes. Most of the time I don't even listen to the stories of why they have to move.  I guess it's because I don't give a shit.

[walnutqueen]

For me, it's all about the scenery and the homes.  I watch for real estate porn in foreign places, so I don't mind a little local culture thrown in.  Buyers and real estate agents are, for the most part, superfluous, as are their contrived stories.   ;-)

[BearCat49]

Same here, I'm interested in the various locales - not the faux backstories.

 

Speaking of that, did anyone see the Punta de Mita episode?  Or was it Punta Mita?  The island or resort getaway HHI's aren't my favorite to begin with but those condos and that area looked sad, to me.  Great that perhaps it's not so tourist-ed out but gosh - I'm not sure it was worth spending any $$$ on, whatsoever. 

 

Or, is that supposed to be the next hot diving place or town to be discovered?  Mexico has so many problems right now, anyway.  If their backstory had any truth to it and the guy had been downsized, you'd drop a dime on that town???  Blech -

 

I hope her new husband isn't planning on beach bum or surfer dude as his next career.

[laredhead]

I saw the Punta de Mita (?) episode and couldn't believe that the couple would pull up stakes and move to a foreign country using retirement savings to begin a new life when the husband had lost his job.  There had to be more to their story than was told in the episode.    

[DownTheShore]

For me, it's all about the scenery and the homes.  I watch for real estate porn in foreign places, so I don't mind a little local culture thrown in.  Buyers and real estate agents are, for the most part, superfluous, as are their contrived stories.   ;-)

 

Isn't that the truth!  It is real estate porn - lol.  I like to see what housing styles are like in other countries, what importance is placed on the various rooms and facilities, what the views are and what the towns are like.  The real estate agents I watch to see when they reach the point of exasperation with the unrealistic desires of the buyers and how they manage to rein in the comments we all know they'd love to make.  The buyers themselves are the least important in my eyes, other than trying to guess whether the couples will be together five years from now, or whether the now-angelic children who are enjoying a new country will be viewed so rosily once they hit their teen years and are more integrated into the foreign country than their parents are.