House Hunters International - General Discussion

[pep4]

Speaking of producer driven, I'm not sure there was a genuine sentence in that Boston to Sheffield episode, everything sounded like bad acting or ticking off all the 100 catchwords they were given.  His obnoxious remarks towards the realtor were not enjoyable tv, ended up muting half of it.

 

Edit:  Wow, what a contrast!  MD to Costa Rica episode was HH at its best.  Interesting family, gorgeous houses, and incredible scenery.  

"What blood type?"  

"I'm be positive..." 

Edited May 5, 2017 by pep4

[BoozeBaron]

Question - As an expat who watches this show religiously (DVR) - I agree with many about yanks protesting over room and fridge size and costs in London/Paris/Norway etc - That's just Europe! Though I do demand a dryer lol - I can't do the air dry thing in 90% humidity! - Also I just delete any 'island' episodes, as they've ridden that pony into the ground -

All that aside, I love the show - Love watching the 'stupid factor' in effect (hey, different strokes for different folks) - so can't fault them really and some places (like the dives in Italy for 1 Euro - that got me involved with that there) - But wish they'd do more Eastern European areas that are up and coming now (L'viv, Ukraine etc) -

But my reason for writing is this - I've lived in 22 US States, lost track after 40 cities, and 7 countries now... (NZ/AUS/UK/IRE/FRA/CAN/CZK) - Half the reason I watch the show is to see whose kinda made their way to being able to afford a 2nd home, or make for a life abroad, for as we all know, you can buy so much more house in the USA than in London or Paris ... But here's my Q .. All these people that buy (that's another thing, 'renting' isn't really "House Hunting" - Anyone can throw a dart at a map and find a flat for £2000 ... "Buying" is what the show is all about IMO) - But back on point: How are these younger couples (am watching some 30 yr olds shopping now in Sheffield, UK - where he's "CEO" of some ice skating mfg - I lived in London, Bristol and Chorley 3 times now - so I def know what the costs are and still have my HSBC UK account to keep my GB finances 'active' whilst away - but how are these "kids" fresh off the boat into England getting a £200K mortgage right off the top without residency?? Same applies for people buying in Oz, NZ, Spain, Paris, Nice, Norway etc etc etc - I know UK/EU banking laws are a bit more relaxed (I can qualify solo in the USA for $688K here on 1 income, but in London, that GB income gets me £2.1M!)  granted the pay there is also 3x more too (that was before Brexit and GBP tanked) - but I know UK banking laws, and it took me 3 years before I could get a (decent) credit card from AMEX, let alone a home mortgage - and '30 year' notes? Forget it - 20 years is the default... And as someone who's close to rolling over the speed limit age in life - I'm lucky to get a 15 yr note there now - the ageist prats! LOL - But anyway - If there are any finance wizkids out there that know how 'regular people' are able to buy right off the boat (these 2 aren't even married?) So he's gotta buy the house solo as they don't qualify as 'partners' in the UK yet - plus she's not even working either (lawyer) - so I just don't see how they're doing this unless they've banked $220K or whatever their budget was... Wouldn't buy a parking stall in London proper - But it is a lovely part of the country they're in and am glad they shot an episode up there... Anyway - This is only my first post here - and it seems this site is just one big 'chat session' as I don't see any sub-topics or headers? Mods feel free to move this if I've screwed up!

TIA -

Cheers -

BB

Edited May 5, 2017 by BoozeBaron

[chessiegal]

@BoozeBaron - to answer your question, many have found from some googling that the back stories on HHI are more fiction than fact. You can't take what they tell you on the show at face value.

[Ohwell]

Yeah, they make shit up.

Edited May 5, 2017 by Ohwell

[debraran]

Some of us have googled, and there are things they don't tell you. One show, one guy is married to an International lawyer, so they have more leeway with homes, many "buying" is renting..they don't mention costs in " this is 300,000 pounds"  or whatever, it's always "rent". Most aren't there long enough to buy or fit the Visa requirements but some have bought and rent them as air B&B on occasion.

I think most of us look at shows like a travel map, I try to catch places of interest, see how apartments differ from here, etc.

I always laugh when someone, I think the last was Norway?, who has a family, they are moving and no nothing of the area, nothing. yes that is sane, lol, but hey we get to see some of the countries charm.

Edited May 5, 2017 by debraran

[mojito]

Boston to Sheffied.

I liked this couple. I thought the exchanges with Oz were playful, as though the husband and Oz had been taking pokes at each other all along. I like when they saw the large bed and declared that there was room enough for the dog, Oz uttered, "Lucky dog". The only real negative was their reaction to the kitchen but I can't fault them much because it was too small, considering the size of the rest of the house. 

It was funny in the beginning when the husband was at work and asked the guy on the line what he was working on. It seemed they were both amused by the absurdity of the question and the worker's almost seemed tongue-tied trying to come up with an answer. Let's see, they make ice skating blades and he has a blade in his hand....

I don't get how this guy has skills so specialized that he was made a CEO in a foreign country. There's a lot they're not telling us, like maybe his family owns the company or something. Because in a steel town like Sheffield, I'm guessing there are a few people who could make ice skating blades. 

[cyberfruit]

Arlington, VA to Mexico City

I think this was the first time where I loved every apartment shown. Catalina, the wife, absolutely hated the apartment for pretty fixable reasons, but I thought the apartment was great! The outside was pretty shabby, but the size of the windows alluded to a bright & spacious apartment, and it didn't disappoint. I was drooling over the size of the living room. 

The second apartment was sickening. Like, okay, I didn't know that Mexico City needed to be on my list of Cities to Move to, but for $2,200 I may need to brush up on my Spanish.

The third apartment was not as great at the other two, but was still very nice + it had closed off second bedroom. The couple honestly had three amazing choices. 

[StatisticalOutlier]

That red-headed gringo Kevin in Mexico City was a hoot.  He actually walked out in public in that outfit, and the hip thrust in his macarena was a pretty bold move. 

[AuntiePam]

The Mexico City couple was funny.  She really wanted a dishwasher, but it looks like they're eating out most of the time.  And it's just the two of them -- a dishwasher for two people, when one of them doesn't have an outside job -- not really necessary.  It seemed like the only culture they were absorbing was food-related. 

The apartment they chose was nice but the exterior looked like something out of East Germany, before the Wall came down.  A coat of paint or a good sandblasting would help.  On the other hand, we don't constantly see the outside of where we live, so it's no big deal.  The interior was a nice surprise.

NPR had a report last week about the water shortage in Mexico City.  The reporter said that less than 2 million of Mexico City's 23 million inhabitants have reliable access to clean water.  The city was gradually built over several lakes, and the area is subsiding, which is causing big problems with water and sewer lines. 

[biakbiak]

I found the wife in the Mexico City episode extremely annoying.

[mojito]

Mexico City.

She played her adversarial role well in the beginning. Strong opinions, pushing to go $500 over budget, wanting a door man and dishwasher, etc. She was the Ugly American. Smackworthy behavior. But then in the end, she goes with the more traditional-looking home, and states she loves its colors (despite earlier remarking that there were too many colors), and she admits that she loves the apartment. Wouldn't surprise me to learn that this was her favorite place all along.

He was soaking up Mexico, and will probably speak the language fluently in no time.

I don't get some people's insistence on a dishwasher. On my appliance list, it would be behind washing machine/dryer, microwave, toaster oven, hell, maybe even hot air popper. 

[cyberfruit]

7 hours ago, mojito said:

I don't get some people's insistence on a dishwasher. On my appliance list, it would be behind washing machine/dryer, microwave, toaster oven, hell, maybe even hot air popper. 

I don't get it either, but my mother and grandmother never used the dishwasher, so I never did. And I still don't. 

I'm also one of those rare people who actually kind of enjoys washing my own dishes, mainly because I can control how clean they are + the dishes are available to me to use almost immediately. I get so annoyed when dishes and utensils are missing because they're all wasting away in the dishwasher until someone turns it on (can you tell that I have roommates). 

Edited May 6, 2017 by cyberfruit

[Ohwell]

I have a dishwasher that I use about twice a year, just to make sure it's still running. : )

[CherryAmes]

I wouldn't want to give up my dishwasher but if pressed I'd give up the dishwasher before I'd let someone take away my microwave.

[Bastet]

13 hours ago, mojito said:

I don't get some people's insistence on a dishwasher. On my appliance list, it would be behind washing machine/dryer, microwave, toaster oven, hell, maybe even hot air popper. 

Hmm, this is food for thought, as someone who doesn't have a dishwasher (house was built in 1938) and HATES not having one, as I always had previously, but not enough to rush the process of waiting until I'm ready to renovate the entire kitchen to add one (it has been 12 years now, and will probably be another 2-3, as I had many other things to do).  I'd definitely put it well behind washer/dryer, but also miles before a hot air popper (I don't have one of those; if we're talking popcorn, I just cook oil and kernels in a pot).  Microwave?  Very convenient, but in a head-to-head contest the dishwasher would come out ahead; dishes need to be washed daily, while the microwave I only use for reheating leftovers.  Which brings me to the toaster oven, where I'd do such reheating without a microwave, and where I do a fair bit of cooking since I'm only making enough for me.  Same deal as the microwave -- I love the toaster oven, and look forward to the day I have both, but if forced to choose one or the other I'd go for the dishwasher and just use the small portion of my double oven (I have one of those old side-by-sides that has a regular-sized oven and a small one) in place of the toaster oven; more electricity used, but better than having to wash dishes every goddamned night before going to bed.

This was fun.

With that said, though, if I was house hunting in a country where dishwashers were rare, I wouldn't prioritize one.  Same with garbage disposals; yes, I like mine, but a lot of my food waste gets composted, so it's not a big deal, and if I lived in one of the numerous countries in which they don't regularly exist, I'd easily adapt.  Just as I've adapted here to not having a dishwasher because that's what circumstances make most logical for now.  (But, have I mentioned how much I HATE doing dishes every night?)

[mojito]

@Bastet, it'd be fun if we could run a poll on this. Dishwasher vs. washing machine/dryer, microwave, toaster oven, and write-ins.

When you're cooking for only one or two people, you generate just as many pots and pans as someone cooking for six people. I wash those by hand. What I find is that once I've washed pots, the few plates, glasses, and flatware left are as easy to wash by hand as they are to load and then unload from the dishwasher. (Some people think it's a major chore to unload the dishwasher, or at least, their kids do.)

My sister was lamenting to my cousin that the size of her kitchen precluded her from having a dishwasher.  My cousin,  who cooks up almost anything in her microwave oven and toaster oven, advised her to replace the stove with the dishwasher. I chimed in that that would still leave space (atop the dishwasher) for the margarita machine. 

[laredhead]

I just watched an episode from November about a woman who moved from a 400 sf studio in New York to Amsterdam.  She is single and one of her priorities was a dishwasher.  Her apartment in Amsterdam isn't large, but the kitchen has a dishwasher.  For small apartments and singles, a narrow dishwasher or a dish washer drawer would be a good substitute.  I'm single and I love having a dishwasher.  I cook a couple of times a week, and use the rinse and hold cycle a lot to hold the dishes until there is a full load to wash, usually every other day.      

[Irlandesa]

On 5/6/2017 at 8:43 AM, mojito said:

I don't get some people's insistence on a dishwasher. On my appliance list, it would be behind washing machine/dryer, microwave, toaster oven, hell, maybe even hot air popper. 

When I was in college, I found I'd rather do the dishes than use the dishwasher since there were three of us whereas my friend who grew up without a dishwasher wanted us to just use the darn thing.

When I was in France, I didn't have a dishwasher. I didn't have a microwave.  And the stove was really old fashioned in that the only way I could start it was by using a long matchstick and inserting it into the pilot.  I rarely used it.

A dishwasher would be more important to me than a microwave.  Or a toaster oven. What not having a lot of American appliances taught me was ways to heat things up creatively on the stove top.  I often ended up with more flavor in my dishes that way. Seriously--pizza in a frying pan?  Yum.

[AnnaRose]

10 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

A dishwasher would be more important to me than a microwave.  Or a toaster oven. What not having a lot of American appliances taught me was ways to heat things up creatively on the stove top.  I often ended up with more flavor in my dishes that way. Seriously--pizza in a frying pan?  Yum.

I agree.  I never ever use a microwave for food.  And if I had to choose, it would definitely be a washer/dryer above all other appliances. 

When I lived alone, I would load the dishes, bowls and silverware in the dishwasher and run it at the end of the week, just hand washing other things like pots and pans etc.  Now though, even with a larger household, I mostly just wash by hand.  I actually find it kind of relaxing.

[BlossomCulp]

When we lived in the UK the thing we missed most with regard to appliances was the washer/dryer.  We had a combination one, a washer that also functioned as a dryer.  It was awful!  It was small, so not all that useful for a family with teenagers - jeans and towels, towels and more towels.  And you couldn't be running a wash while the last wash was in the dryer so wash day really was wash DAY!

[Bastet]

Without a dishwasher, I have to wash dishes daily (or let them sit in the sink, but I can't imagine how awful a night's sleep I'd get if I had dirty dishes about; that makes me twitchy).  When I stay at my parents' house to cat-sit, being able to just shove everything in the washer and go to bed, and being able to put a morning mug, lunchtime plate, etc. in the washer right after using it so that there are never dirty dishes in the sink is something close to bliss.

[BlossomCulp]

A few years ago we were overseas and in an apartment for about 3 months, it was just my husband and I, and as I wasn't working it was just me alone most of the day.  I could not believe how many dishes we still managed to go through!  I felt like I was always at the sink.  There is no way I could have just let all those dishes, cutlery, pots, pans etc accumulate.  Just, no.  Anyway talk about dishpan hands!!

[SmithW6079]

Washer & dryer top the list of appliances for me, then toaster oven & microwave. I have a dishwasher where I live, but in nine years I've never used it.

One of the things I like (in addition to views of each city) is the animated graphic they use to illustrate the city.

[mojito]

Quote

One of the things I like (in addition to views of each city) is the animated graphic they use to illustrate the city.

Funny you should mention that. I've been meaning to comment on the animations. Only thing, I think they're creepy (motion out of whack with character progress). Especially the bicycle rider.

Quote

It was awful!  It was small, so not all that useful for a family with teenagers - jeans and towels, towels and more towels.

Did it clean and wash well? I've wondered about those things.

[chocolatine]

My only absolute non-negotiable is a washer. While a dryer, dishwasher, and microwave are all very convenient, I can (and have) dry laundry on a drying rack, wash dishes by hand, and warm up food on the stove. But I absolutely hate lugging my laundry to laundromats or even a shared laundry room in the building (and there's never a free washer when I need to do laundry), so a washer in the apartment is a must for me.

As for tonight's Reykjavik episode, I loved the apartment they picked - I'm a sucker for water views - but how hideous was that remodel? The miniature antlers next to a cheesy picture of a horse in the living room, and the blue plaid wallpaper in the bedroom?!  I had a feeling the tall guy was full of himself when he kept talking about his "designer's eye", but I didn't expect it to be that bad.

[TVForever]

I got a kick out of the Reykjavik couple. I didn't catch the very beginning of the episode- did they mention why they chose Reykjavik for a vacation home? Any familial or professional connections, etc? I've wanted to visit for years, so I enjoy these episodes.

Anyway, I liked all 3 choices, although that first house with the 5 foot tall attic bedroom was clearly not a practical choice for either of them, especially someone whose 6'5".

My favorite was the red single family home, although the apartment they chose was nice too. I liked Bryan's remodel okay, but that horse picture was a NO.

[BlossomCulp]

10 hours ago, mojito said:

Did it clean and wash well? I've wondered about those things.

As I remember it did clean the clothes well but the drying took forever.  I suspect most people used the dryer sparingly and basically just hung up their clothes to dry.  The biggest problem with it was the minimalist load size and how it doubled the time I had to spend doing laundry.  I did like having it in a corner of the kitchen though which was something I found odd when we first moved to England but actually grew to like.

[debraran]

Ive heard a lot of bad reviews on the washer/dryer all in one combos that they show a lot in tiny homes. The biggest complaint is the drying time which uses a lot of electricity since it takes so long (some say hours) and some have said the washer didn't spin dry very well. I'd rather just have a washer or small stacking model myself. I used one in a small condo and for me, hubby and one baby, it was fine.

Edited May 9, 2017 by debraran

[mojito]

Quote

As for tonight's Reykjavik episode, I loved the apartment they picked - I'm a sucker for water views - but how hideous was that remodel? The miniature antlers next to a cheesy picture of a horse in the living room, and the blue plaid wallpaper in the bedroom?!  I had a feeling the tall guy was full of himself when he kept talking about his "designer's eye", but I didn't expect it to be that bad.

I can't decide which was worst: tall guy and his remodel or that lamb's head.

Quote

I didn't catch the very beginning of the episode- did they mention why they chose Reykjavik for a vacation home? Any familial or professional connections, etc?

No, they just stated that they liked the place. 

That's a different place to set up as a vacation home. It's not the kind of place you are apt to visit any time of the year, but what do I know?

[DkNNy79]

On ‎5‎/‎9‎/‎2017 at 2:14 AM, chocolatine said:

My only absolute non-negotiable is a washer. While a dryer, dishwasher, and microwave are all very convenient, I can (and have) dry laundry on a drying rack, wash dishes by hand, and warm up food on the stove. But I absolutely hate lugging my laundry to laundromats or even a shared laundry room in the building (and there's never a free washer when I need to do laundry), so a washer in the apartment is a must for me.

As for tonight's Reykjavik episode, I loved the apartment they picked - I'm a sucker for water views - but how hideous was that remodel? The miniature antlers next to a cheesy picture of a horse in the living room, and the blue plaid wallpaper in the bedroom?!  I had a feeling the tall guy was full of himself when he kept talking about his "designer's eye", but I didn't expect it to be that bad.

I thought they would go with the single red house since it was closer to town.  Yeah, I was not a fan of his designing style.  A little too over the top.  I do love that they put a bench window seat in the bonus room, just not sure if an adult would be able to comfortably sleep on it though. 

[SmithW6079]

On 5/9/2017 at 10:06 PM, mojito said:

I can't decide which was worst: tall guy and his remodel or that lamb's head.

The tall guy I called Beardy McDoucheface. Maybe he was being dramatic for the camera, but he came across as an asshole. 

And Beardy McDoucheface was not the designer he thought he was. Except for the guest room, the rest of the apartment was ugly. 

I still want to visit Iceland. 

Edited May 11, 2017 by SmithW6079

[debraran]

I liked this episode in Iceland, I'll have to catch the newer one. http://www.hgtv.com/videos/house-hunters-international-iceland-house-hunting-0171403

[mojito]

Thailand.

Gotta love the spirit of this couple. Sell off everything, move to Thailand, explore Asia. I'm with her. Give me a swimming pool and facilities to exercise and a little space for my hobby (in her case, sewing), and I'm good to go. He was hung up initially on getting a four-burner stove. So I'm wondering:

Would you request a 4-burner stove? I'd be fine with just 2.

[DkNNy79]

9 minutes ago, mojito said:

Thailand.

Gotta love the spirit of this couple. Sell off everything, move to Thailand, explore Asia. I'm with her. Give me a swimming pool and facilities to exercise and a little space for my hobby (in her case, sewing), and I'm good to go. He was hung up initially on getting a four-burner stove. So I'm wondering:

Would you request a 4-burner stove? I'd be fine with just 2.

It would depend on how much cooking you do.  I can see a single person who eats out a lot only needing a 2 burner stove.  For couples or families who cook regularly I think a 4 burner stove would be necessary.  My husband is a chef and I don't think a 2 burner stove would fly for him.

However, I will say that eating out in most parts of Asia is significantly cheaper than here in the US, so if you are earning US dollars, then it wouldn't be such a big expense so only having a 2 burner stove wouldn't be such a big deal.

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, mojito said:

Would you request a 4-burner stove? I'd be fine with just 2.

It's somewhat common for me to use three burners at a time, but it's usually two, and I can't say for sure I've ever used all four at once.  I'd definitely be able to manage with two.

[SmithW6079]

4 hours ago, mojito said:

Would you request a 4-burner stove? I'd be fine with just 2.

The only time I've ever used two burners on my stove is when I'm making pasta on one and heating up the sauce on the other. I'm not a cook, can you tell?

[chocolatine]

Two burners is plenty for me, especially if I'm living in a country that's famous for its cheap and delicious street food, like Thailand.

I've never been to Guam, but judging by this episode, it looks like one big bedroom community. Where were the scenes of the HH experiencing local culture?

[rainclouds]

18 hours ago, mojito said:

Thailand.

Gotta love the spirit of this couple. Sell off everything, move to Thailand, explore Asia. I'm with her. Give me a swimming pool and facilities to exercise and a little space for my hobby (in her case, sewing), and I'm good to go. He was hung up initially on getting a four-burner stove. So I'm wondering:

Would you request a 4-burner stove? I'd be fine with just 2.

That guy was such a tightwad, his wife didn't look like she made her own decisions.

[biakbiak]

1 hour ago, rainclouds said:

That guy was such a tightwad, his wife didn't look like she made her own decisions.

I don't think so, tightwad don't usually sell all the possessions and move halfway around the world. I think he was just being budget conscious because their plan was to travel and this was not even going to be a place where they were living full time because they were going to spend 6 months a year travelling.

[mojito]

Quote

Guam is not international! It's a US territory for God's sake.

HHI considers non-states (or DC) as international. I guess they figure if they have to cross the Pacific or Atlantic, it's far away enough. 

Gotta love this lady's justification for a 2-bedroom. She said she'd want to have a place for her family to stay when they visit or turn the second bedroom into a closet. That was kind of flaky. But I give her credit for leaving home as a single woman and moving so far away. That takes a lot of guts, considering her culture. Took her snazzy Lexus with her. 

I liked how she didn't turn her nose up to the view from the balcony of one apartment, the tiles in the kitchen, the old white electric stove. Hope she really likes it there. 

[SmithW6079]

On 5/12/2017 at 11:03 PM, VanSensei said:

Guam is not international! It's a US territory for God's sake.

I have no issue with Guam being considered "international." It's not part of the contiguous United States, and unlike Alaska and Hawaii, is not a state. Most Americans probably don't even know about it.

I liked Meeta for most of the episode (and I loved the flowing dresses she and her sister were wearing), but I soured at the end. I was surprised she took the smallest apartment (I thought for sure it was the middle one), but it made the most sense (which is unusual for an HHer). What put me off is that she was supposedly a pharmacist, but suddenly it turns out that she's a model? For what, the "Pharmacists of Guam" annual calendar? It made me think her whole story was a lie. I must confess -- I did give a quick search of jobs in Guam because it's a US territory and it looked like a cool place, but holy smokes, flights are expensive!

The couple moving to Thailand -- I found him irritating, especially the drama about the western-facing apartment. Apparently, the broiling sun will heat the apartment to 500 degrees, forcing him to turn on the air conditioner for a whole hour. I'm glad they took the first one, because it had a washing machine. (As I get older, that grows increasingly important to me [see above].) I thought it was pretty cool that they had already been traveling and had plans for more. I probably wasn't paying attention, but did they say why they chose Thailand as their home base? Did they have an interest in Asian cultures?

Edited May 14, 2017 by SmithW6079

[chocolatine]

On 5/13/2017 at 8:24 PM, SmithW6079 said:

The couple moving to Thailand -- I found him irritating, especially the drama about the western-facing apartment. Apparently, the broiling sun will heat the apartment to 500 degrees, forcing him to turn on the air conditioner for a whole hour. I'm glad they took the first one, because it had a washing machine. (As I get older, that grows increasingly important to me [see above].) I thought it was pretty cool that they had already been traveling and had plans for more. I probably wasn't paying attention, but did they say why they chose Thailand as their home base? Did they have an interest in Asian cultures?

They said they were planning to do a lot of traveling in Southeast Asia, and Thailand was going to be their home base.

Tonight's Costa Rica episode: I though the property she picked was really cool, but how many people are going to go that far outside of town just to have a drink at a pub? Or is the pub supposed to be just for the B&B guests? I've stayed in hostels that had on-site pubs, and it was a great way to meet the other travelers, but those hostels usually accommodated a lot more people than her property possibly can.

[chocolatine]

American tour guide lady in Rome: "This is the Pantheon, it's been around since ancient Roman times." No shit, Sherlock! If I'm going to hire a tour guide, I'd want them to provide quite a bit more detail than that. No wonder she wasn't making enough of a living there.

The Amalfi Coast sure is gorgeous. I loved her snarky friend, and liked the apartment she ended up picking. I still don't see her as a successful tour guide though. I'm sure tourists don't want to hire someone who'd just moved to the area herself, plus she has such a flat affect and low energy, I'd get bored listening to her. Now her fedora-ed friend, I'd hire him in a hot second.

[mojito]

Quote

American tour guide lady in Rome: "This is the Pantheon, it's been around since ancient Roman times." No shit, Sherlock! 

I thought the same thing. What helpful information that only a local could know.

I kept thinking of her snarky friend as Truman Capote. The hat and sunglasses, perhaps?

I suspect that this woman has a past full of bumps and bruises.

[debraran]

New Zealand from Texas.....no one really moves without a job, at least I thought looking at so many visas, that the country usually likes that. If you are a "needed skill" it helps a lot. I saw a short video of a man from AZ that moved there, Christ Church and was a structural engineer. If you have money though, it's always easier.

None of the places blew me away in style, but if you like modern, they were nice. They took the 3 bedroom townhouse which was very nice with a deck. At the end, they both had jobs, and I think rent was 1700.

No place is utopia, but I've known a few people warned about racism in Australia and New Zealand when going to study abroad. Asian couple's children were spit on in Christ Church area and I've read some articles about growing racial groups Fourth Reich skin heads, etc. Again, no place is perfect, but I wouldn't be comfortable living there, I love diversity. My daughter would love to see the LOTR movie set but not enough to make such a long trip. If you're a fan, it's pretty cool though.

[Ohwell]

New Zealand couple:  I figured that they already had jobs lined up before they moved there but just went along with the HHI narrative.   

I've also heard stories about racism in Australia and NZ, and while it's true that no place is perfect, I wouldn't travel halfway around the world to be treated like crap. 

[scrb]

I've only visited NZ and Australia.

There are plenty of Asians there.  They get a lot of tourism from China and other Asian countries as well as immigration.  That's not to say they've accepted them wholeheartedly.  You can sense some resentment because Chinese money is buying up a lot of properties in these countries.  OTOH, Australia made a lot of money exporting coal and other raw materials to China.

Australians travel to Asian countries for work and leisure as well.

Yes they've had bad history with how they've treated their indigenous minorities.  And they actively were racist in the recent past.  Not as bad as South Africa but not that long ago.  Then again, if you watch Showtime's Guerrilla, you see that the UK wasn't a pleasant place for non whites in the '70s.

Melbourne is considered one of the best places to live in the world.  It's a very integrated city, with a lot of minority-owned businesses.  I believe Auckland and Sydney are similar.  

In 2017, a country that is overtly racist, like South Africa was, isn't going to fare well in the global economy.  Now you have down-low racism, if you go to most American cities, you have segregated neighborhoods by race in effect.  I don't know if there are obvious ghettoes in Australia or NZ like there is in the US.  That's not to say there aren't.  Maybe job opportunities for indigenous peoples in Australia and NZ aren't quite the same but in the US, you have reservations where there's high level of drug and alcohol abuse in reservations and so on.

So I don't know if Americans can say that racism is more of a problem in Australia and NZ.

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Yes they've had bad history with how they've treated their indigenous minorities.  

If you asked a friend of mine, he'd say it was the same in the US. A Virgin Islander, he was allowed access to places in the south in the late fifties that his friends were not (US military), because he was not considered an "American Negro" (although, of course, he was). Just from anecdotal "evidence", it seems that American blacks have a different experience in South Africa (I believe Oprah built a home in Cape Town) and Australia than the indigenous population. I have a friend who had the time of his life in Australia in the seventies and was treated well there.

Just about every movie I have watched or attempted to watch about modern day Australia (sometimes they're too depressing for me to complete), depicts the indigenous people living less than lower middle-class lives and experiencing overt racism.  I don't know how bad the problem is. I suspect it's much like the deep South was in the early 70s, as people were beginning to accept a less segregated society--some more quickly than others.

Back to this Texas to Christchurch couple. That whole arriving without jobs business sounded fishy to me. Who throws caution to the wind by transporting their pets, and shipping their belongings (including a lot of kitchen ware apparently) into a foreign country? I think much of the reason for the wife wanting more space is she needed a place to put all their stuff. People just coming to a country cold usually sell off everything. I would think many would leave their pets behind, too, for the time being.

I like stories of people who pick up and move to new places. I always hope the adventure works out for them. 

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I was interested in the comment by the Texas to NZ couple about the use of shipping containers for housing and shops because of the earthquake danger.  I did a little digging and found some picture of some very attractive "buildings" constructed from shipping containers.  I would have liked to have seen an older house just to see what style was popular in NZ 50 or 60 years ago, but I enjoyed seeing the modern ones they looked at.    

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Yeah I saw those shipping containers.  They have stores or little food takeaway shops built into them in the downtown area of Christchurch.

There's a lot of construction going on to fix buildings which suffered earthquake damage a few years ago.  Their cathedral is a construction zone.

I think other HHI episodes have featured homes in the CC area and people were looking for new construction or home which were certified to be earthquake proof.  

I think CC is the biggest city in that part of NZ but unless you have to work there, there are more scenic places nearby.