House Hunters International - General Discussion

[IrishImport]

SF to Amsterdam: Lately I just enjoy catching the little digs the editors work in there (even they must be tired of the same stuff over and over.)  In the second Amsterdam place with the big yard, that gal was standing there whining that it "had no character, didn't feel like you were in Amsterdam." And the editor cuts to a long look at the gorgeous round stained glass window glowing with colorful tulips.  Um.... yes. No Amsterdam character at all. 

[doodlebug]

1 hour ago, Pine said:

San Francisco to Amsterdam. 

Ugh.  Love their dogs.  Gagy owners.  Poodles are intelligent, and easy to keep and train.  They were just trying people to me, kind of ugly American.. . . . Vocal fry, trying to be ultra hipster.  

The minute they complained about the covered sconce cords on the stone walls, I knew.  I just didn't like them.  Sorry.

They were an annoying pair.  The droning on and on about the dogs and how they couldn't use stairs because their feet were too furry?  I personally would find it difficult to live in a house with four flights of steep, narrow stairs and don't blame anyone who might reject it on that basis; but I've got 2 big dogs (mutts, not standard poodles) and they do just fine on steps, far better than me.  If the dogs slip on hardwood steps, you just put down stair treads, its pretty simple.  They were completely unrealistic in their expectations, as so many of the people on this show are.  If you want to live in a home with 'European charm', then you're going to live in a place with small rooms that was built at a time when dogs weren't considered pampered members of the household and nobody designed to accommodate them.

[useryikes]

Just saw an episode about Canadians from Toronto (son named Jayden) moving to Anguilla for the husband's medical training.  I wonder how the snow in Toronto looks now.

[laredhead]

Speaking of stairs, I just watched the episode about the 2 women who moved to a small Italian town and bought the house with 3 sets of steep, narrow stairs, and a ladder to access the roof top terrace.  These women are no spring chickens, and the first time one (or both) of them has a back problem, or some other physical problem that makes stair climbing difficult or impossible, they are going to regret that choice.  I live in a one story house that has a small step up into the house and then one more between the kitchen and den.  Three years ago, I developed a severe back problem almost overnight, and it was very painful trying to negotiate those two small steps for several weeks.  I'm fine now, but I would never entertain the idea of buying another house with any stairs.

That said, the view from their building was gorgeous.  

[Neurochick]

4 minutes ago, laredhead said:

Speaking of stairs, I just watched the episode about the 2 women who moved to a small Italian town and bought the house with 3 sets of steep, narrow stairs, and a ladder to access the roof top terrace.  These women are no spring chickens, and the first time one (or both) of them has a back problem, or some other physical problem that makes stair climbing difficult or impossible, they are going to regret that choice.  I live in a one story house that has a small step up into the house and then one more between the kitchen and den.  Three years ago, I developed a severe back problem almost overnight, and it was very painful trying to negotiate those two small steps for several weeks.  I'm fine now, but I would never entertain the idea of buying another house with any stairs.

That said, the view from their building was gorgeous.  

That's an interesting point.  But do most people think of things like that when purchasing homes?  I mean no one knows for certain what could happen to them in the future.  I once knew a man who told me he'd never purchase a house with stairs (he told me this when we were in our 20's), but he'd been ill most of his life, so that's why he felt that way.

[mojito]

Quote

That's an interesting point.  But do most people think of things like that when purchasing homes?  I mean no one knows for certain what could happen to them in the future.  I once knew a man who told me he'd never purchase a house with stairs (he told me this when we were in our 20's), but he'd been ill most of his life, so that's why he felt that way.

Red, I thought the same thing you did about the stairs and those two women.

Hey, @Neurochick. I am not most people, I don't think. So you're not getting any kind of argument from me. When I purchased my home at 31, I took into account the knees that I had been working hard up until then (jogging, sports) and still do work all these years later (jogging is out),  and went for a 1-story home. So many people purchase their home as the first of many, but some of us make our purchases assuming that this will be our last home, even if it doesn't turn out that way in the long run. 

I'm going to come at this SF to Amsterdam couple from a different point of view. If I were a dog, I would love to have those two as parents. I would admire the ridicule they put up with from other humans all on account of me. I'd be flattered that they worried about my furry feet (although I'd wonder why they don't buzz my paws with a razor as other dog owners do with their dogs), and would appreciate being spared the wear and tear of short, steep, numerous steps (even if though I'm capable of handling them, they do impede my momentum). I'd also be grateful that they like to take me everywhere; S. Lewis was right, travel is so broadening.

[Mrs. Hanson]

4 hours ago, Ohwell said:

SF to Amsterdam:  I've got nothing against dogs but I got so tired of them talking about the fucking dogs.  And that guy's purple print shirt with the stand-up collar just annoyed the hell out of me.  I kept wondering where did he get that stupid shirt from?  I hated him and the wife.  Just save the dogs. 

Ultra hipster, indeed.

Ugh - those two were a piece of work.  You have dogs, no kids, your dogs are your fur-kids, yes we get it.  Now shut it.  I, too. could not stand the purple shirt!  I love dogs, by the way, volunteered at a shelter for a few years so I am all about the pets but please......dogs will eat their own vomit so stop with the over the top dog chatter.

Edited September 12, 2017 by Mrs. Hanson

[scrb]

5 hours ago, Neurochick said:

That's an interesting point.  But do most people think of things like that when purchasing homes?  I mean no one knows for certain what could happen to them in the future.  I once knew a man who told me he'd never purchase a house with stairs (he told me this when we were in our 20's), but he'd been ill most of his life, so that's why he felt that way.

Stairs don't bother me.  At least not yet.

But I've seen where people could face permanent loss of mobility all of a sudden.

The thing about stairs in Europe is that they're usually built of hard stone or concrete.

I could fly up and down a couple of flights of stairs but in the US, most of them are wooden planks, covered with hardwood or carpeted.

Going up and down hard stair steps is more stress on your legs, back, etc.  Instead of the wood or carpet and padding absorbing some of the weight of your body going up and down those steps, it's your skeleton, muscles and tendons absorbing it on those hard, sold steps.

Otherwise, I think going up and down steps is good exercise.  My Fitbit tracks stairs climbed.  I don't go up and down stairs just to boost those numbers but it does track them.  Not that I really look at those stats that much ...

Edited September 12, 2017 by scrb

[doodlebug]

8 hours ago, laredhead said:

Speaking of stairs, I just watched the episode about the 2 women who moved to a small Italian town and bought the house with 3 sets of steep, narrow stairs, and a ladder to access the roof top terrace.  These women are no spring chickens, and the first time one (or both) of them has a back problem, or some other physical problem that makes stair climbing difficult or impossible, they are going to regret that choice.  I live in a one story house that has a small step up into the house and then one more between the kitchen and den.  Three years ago, I developed a severe back problem almost overnight, and it was very painful trying to negotiate those two small steps for several weeks.  I'm fine now, but I would never entertain the idea of buying another house with any stairs.

That said, the view from their building was gorgeous.  

I thought the very same thing.  I'm roughly in their age group and have had both a hip and a knee replacement.  Even a single stair is tough in the case of severe arthritis.  I'm doing stairs much better postop, but I know that someday my other knee might give out.  I live in a 2 story colonial with a basement and, should I ever move, it's a ranch all the way for me.

Also, in older buildings, especially in Europe, staircases are often built in ways that make them harder to navigate; often they are steeper, sometimes the stairs aren't uniformly spaced and many times, the stairs are made of stone and not wood so they have no 'give'.  There's no way that at least one and probably both of those women don't have some sort of arthritic changes in their joints and going up and down those stairs every day is going to bring out their worst.

Edited September 13, 2017 by doodlebug

[KLovestoShop]

Just watched the couple in Australia and I think the husband was a real schmuck.  He had no respect for his new wife, with his only concern being HIS music.  He only cared about perfect acoustics for his recording studio, and not about the fact that this studio could cause his wife many sleepless nights.  And if the short performances we saw, this guy needs a shot of reality and realize he's a VERY long shot for a real music career.  

[JasmineFlower]

Yeah, there was an exceptional asshole on HHI tonight, catapulted himself easily into the top 10 worst HHIers, possibly top 5. This was in Bendigo, Australia. They were living in Upstate New York but moved to Bendigo where the wife is originally from and she says, they've moved back to be near her family and so her asshole husband can pursue his music career. He says, repeatedly mind you, that he's here for his music. That's it, never once says he's also here to be closer to her family. Even has the nerve at one point to say he made the move against his better judgement, even though he keeps saying this move is strictly about pursuing his music. Seriously, next level asshole here.

And this poor thing, I hope she's starting to realize who she married.  A man whose only concern during the house hunt was his music room space, to the point of claiming the master bedroom as having the best acoustics and therefore would be used for music and the small tight second bedroom would become their master (and it was like climb on the bed while standing in the doorway tight). She seemed young and likely is since her siblings are as young as 4, and hopefully her eyes are getting opened to his complete and utter selfishness and I'd have to imagine her family being nearby and seeing it for themselves, they start to encourage her to bounce. Cause she needs to ditch this asshole quick.

And at the end, he had the gall to pretend like he sacrificed something in the house hunt. He got literally every single thing he wanted - location, acoustics, carpet instead of hardwood floors, music room and she didn't get her style or the setup she wanted, has a tiny bedroom and is not close to her family. He gave up nothing and barely bothered paying lip service during the episode about wanting her to be happy with the place that they choose as well.

I was on Twitter while this was on and this generated way more tweets that usual because he was that bad. Twitter is in complete agreement that this man is a total dick and that she needs to divorce him as fast as humanly possible.

Edited September 13, 2017 by JasmineFlower

[chocolatine]

2 hours ago, KLovestoShop said:

Just watched the couple in Australia and I think the husband was a real schmuck.  He had no respect for his new wife, with his only concern being HIS music.  He only cared about perfect acoustics for his recording studio, and not about the fact that this studio could cause his wife many sleepless nights.  And if the short performances we saw, this guy needs a shot of reality and realize he's a VERY long shot for a real music career.  

I just came here to post the same thing. Such a selfish d-bag. I'm glad the wife has her lovely family nearby - she's going to need their support when she decides to divorce that loser. Hopefully soon.

[MarthaEllisanne]

7 hours ago, JasmineFlower said:

And this poor thing, I hope she's starting to realize who she married.

I hope so, too. I also hope Amber holds off on having children with this narcissist.  I wonder why there are so many wannabe musicians on these shows?  I guess the "musicians" think the shows are an opportunity to audition, perhaps because they did not make it onto "America's Got Talent."   Unfortunately, the HH & HHI producers let them play a bit, at which point I fast-forward or switch channels. 

[Jordan61]

8 hours ago, chocolatine said:

I just came here to post the same thing. Such a selfish d-bag. I'm glad the wife has her lovely family nearby - she's going to need their support when she decides to divorce that loser. Hopefully soon.

My thoughts exactly, I kept thinking all through the show, maybe during those late nights that he's keeping her awake she'll go to her mom's house and then start spending more time there and then wise up and leave him. That guy is a Grade-A asshole and he isn't going to change. Did they say where their income is coming from? Because I can just see her busting her ass to support them while he sits and putters around with his guitar and drums and plays the occasional coffee house gig.

[candall]

9 hours ago, JasmineFlower said:

... And at the end, he had the gall to pretend like he sacrificed something in the house hunt. He got literally every single thing he wanted - location, acoustics, carpet instead of hardwood floors, music room and she didn't get her style or the setup she wanted, has a tiny bedroom and is not close to her family. He gave up nothing and barely bothered paying lip service during the episode about wanting her to be happy with the place that they choose as well.  ...

Forget lip service.  He looked straight into the camera and basically said, "I care more about getting the things I want than I care about her."  Her little stabs at "I'm not going to compromise" moxie were sad and transparent.

I felt terrible for her at the end.  She had loved the molding on the wall and charming touches of the second house and now she's sitting in a sterile white box, with his crap all over the place and musicians trooping past her while she tries to doze in the cramped little guest room (because "you only sleep eight hours a day.")   Asshole.

Thank goodness they moved where she has a support system--she's going to need backup when the fog clears from her head.

(The HHI people must not have been able to stand him either--his "music" clips were a joke.)

[Lawgiver]

I started watching the Bendigo episode and *gave up* within the first two minutes because he was so annoying to watch. Glad I didn't miss anything.

As for the Italian house, how in the world did those two make it up and down the ladder? It seems like that would be the most difficult thing in the house!

[candall]

5 minutes ago, Lawgiver said:

I started watching the Bendigo episode and *gave up* within the first two minutes because he was so annoying to watch. Glad I didn't miss anything.

Oh no, I recommend the episode.   The term "hate-watch" was invented for this guy! 

Dive in--even his haircut is pretentious.

: D

[CaughtOnTape]

I love it when these idiots choose a house based on what their dog would like.

I've owned dogs in every single house/apartment/condo I've owned.  They adapt.  As long as you're ok, they're fine.  Put a dog on a small balcony?  They'll manage.  No backyard space?  They'll figure out how to get exercise themselves.  I own a German Shepard/Shorthair who is 65 lbs.  I'm in a condo with no backyard.  He's fine.  He gets walked 20-25 miles a week.  He's fine.  He doesn't have issues with stairs.  The dog will probably be dead before you're out of that joint and then you're stuck with a place you bought because of the dog.

Morons.

[Mittengirl]

I thought that the girl in Bendigo something to the effect that their were eight kids in her family, ranging in age from 4 to 23 years old.   I would guess she is the oldest, which means she is very young to have moved to the U.S., met and got married to him.   Did they say how she met the asshole or what either was doing to earn a living, either in the States or Australia?  He looked older than her by at least a few years, but I don't recall them saying.

[Thumper]

I watched Bendigo episode too and I guess I wasn't watching that carefully, because although he was testing each house for acoustics, she kept saying how much she had missed her family and how glad she was to be back.  Is the music industry that much better/easier in Australia than in the U.S.?   Why move there?  It appeared to me they were moving because she wanted to be closer to family.  She is closer!  ;-)

I thought his hair was weird too, but I am old and figured it gave him that "musician/artist" look -- similar to the wife in the Texas-to-Spain episode who had half her head shaved and then tattooed.

[biakbiak]

Did they mention where her other family lived besides her Gran which is the only house they referenced and it didn't seem like they were that far from it with the house they chose. That said he was still a complete ass.

[chocolatine]

56 minutes ago, Thumper said:

I watched Bendigo episode too and I guess I wasn't watching that carefully, because although he was testing each house for acoustics, she kept saying how much she had missed her family and how glad she was to be back.  Is the music industry that much better/easier in Australia than in the U.S.?   Why move there?  It appeared to me they were moving because she wanted to be closer to family.  She is closer!  ;-)

He said his bandmate lives in Bendigo, and there was a scene of them performing together in a small venue. Seems like a coincidence that both his wife and bandmate would be from there, but perhaps the two of them knew each other and he met one through the other.

33 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

Did they mention where her other family lived besides her Gran which is the only house they referenced and it didn't seem like they were that far from it with the house they chose. That said he was still a complete ass.

Maybe her parents and siblings live in another town now, or in a more rural area? They're probably not too far away since they staged the "welcome home" reception for her.

[mojito]

Quote

Thank goodness they moved where she has a support system--she's going to need backup when the fog clears from her head.

My thoughts exactly. I'm glad she's on her home turf.

That said, I was annoyed by her wanting to live close to Gran. Geez, you're on/in the same continent/country, in the same state, in the same town. Really, now you're going to quibble about 20 minutes? 

I silently cursed most at him, though. I'm not into music or that world, so I'll just get that out of the way. My penny's worth:

I would think that living in upstate New York and moving to Bendigo, Victoria, Australia to be with a music partner who reproduces 90s music with you is merely a lateral move from Nowhere in Particular to Nowhere Else in Particular, for a total of 10K miles. The talk of "clients" made me chuckle, and I liked that gig with a better showing than expected that yielded an applause of perhaps 8 sets of hands. Oh, and all that attention to acoustics. He reminded me of anyone new to a sport/hobby who over-buys equipment and over-hypes "necessities". What a jackass. Ugly beard and stupid hair, to boot.

Must be my mood. I usually think people here over-hate these house hunters, but in this case, I'm right there with others.

[JasmineFlower]

3 hours ago, chocolatine said:

He said his bandmate lives in Bendigo, and there was a scene of them performing together in a small venue. Seems like a coincidence that both his wife and bandmate would be from there, but perhaps the two of them knew each other and he met one through the other.

This is exactly correct, it was only a coincidence. He was perfectly clear, to an obnoxious point, that he was there strictly for his music. Had the bandmate been from Perth (i.e., other side of the country), Brisbane, or heck, Germany, that's where he would've wanted to be. Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot of room to give him the benefit of the doubt, she was happy to be near her family and any time she said something about it, like being near her Gran's or her family, he literally brushed it off, no that'd be nice, that would be great for adjusting, or that'd be great for you to reconnect. None of it. He didn't give two shits about her being near her family because as he said repeatedly, that's not why he made the move. It's quite clear that was the positive spin she was putting on the move because she seemed to be realizing that she's made a mistake with her choice of husband. Those were some of the most forced smiles and fake happiness I've seen in a while on here, trying to make it seem like boring white walls and a tight bedroom was exactly what she wanted all along.

 

As for money, I think it's a safe bet that the native is going to be the one doing the majority of the working and supporting, even though it wasn't said. That is until his "music" from performing and producing starts raking it in because it was quite clear he was going to be doing music 100% of the time. Hope that empty Open Mike Night at the end comes with a tip jar, he's gonna need it.

[awaken]

Ugh. What a self absorbed blowhard that bendigo guy was. So glad I'm not the only one who thought so! 

[biakbiak]

25 minutes ago, JasmineFlower said:

This is exactly correct, it was only a coincidence. He was perfectly clear, to an obnoxious point, that he was there strictly for his music. Had the bandmate been from Perth (i.e., other side of the country), Brisbane, or heck, Germany, that's where he would've wanted to be.

While it was presented that he was moving there for his band mate. I find it very unlikely that he randomly met someone from the same smallish city that his wife was from when he was living across the world and in a small upstate town. I imagine he either met the band mate through the wife or vice versa.

[Omeletsmom]

Oh, my GOD, that Heidelberg guy was such a douche!  What is it with HHI lately?  Between Mr. Bendgo last night and this guy tonight, I was ready to throw something at my television.  What is WRONG with these women that they settle for assholes like that?

[AnnieBeez]

1 hour ago, awaken said:

Ugh. What a self absorbed blowhard that bendigo guy was. So glad I'm not the only one who thought so! 

I turned it off as soon as I heard "that's not why we moved here" in relation to her family. 

[Jordan61]

21 minutes ago, PuhLeeze said:

I turned it off as soon as I heard "that's not why we moved here" in relation to her family. 

No, they moved because he is totes gonna be the biggest Austrialian musical act since Men at Work! What a tool.

[JasmineFlower]

2 hours ago, Omeletsmom said:

Oh, my GOD, that Heidelberg guy was such a douche!  What is it with HHI lately?  Between Mr. Bendgo last night and this guy tonight, I was ready to throw something at my television.  What is WRONG with these women that they settle for assholes like that?

I had the Heidelberg one on and bailed when the realtor said something about laundry and he said "that's your domain" and then bragged about never having done laundry. And then corrected himself and said once he did it in college. He was already on super thin ice after that opening where he was trying to make himself feel better because she's the breadwinner and he now works for her, but after the laundry, I knew I just couldn't. And I would've liked to see Heidelberg, but just so not in the mood, I've had my fill of asshats on HHIs for the week.

Edited September 14, 2017 by JasmineFlower

[biakbiak]

Helene's blog.

[debraran]

3 hours ago, biakbiak said:

Helene's blog.

I thought this part was funny:

https://heleneinbetween.com/2017/09/house-hunters-international-drinking-game.html

She has some interesting posts. I don't think I could ever act too differently on the show. I like the girl who did a youtube on her HHI experience in England. She said she had to pretend to want a dishwasher or something like that  but it always felt awkward saying it since she didn't care.  That's not too bad, but being a boor or just stupid, not worth the small change and 15 minutes. ; )

I haven't caught this one yet, but should be on my cable "on demand" soon.

[doodlebug]

9 hours ago, biakbiak said:

While it was presented that he was moving there for his band mate. I find it very unlikely that he randomly met someone from the same smallish city that his wife was from when he was living across the world and in a small upstate town. I imagine he either met the band mate through the wife or vice versa.

True, there probably was a connection, which is a lucky thing for the wife, since he made it very clear that the move was all about him and his music and his wife's family was not in the equation.  As stated above, had his bandmate not been from Bendigo, he would've been insisting they all uproot and move someplace where they knew no one else.

[mojito]

Heidelberg guy only did laundry once in his life, and then never again. I have to admit, it is difficult lugging that gigantic basket of dirty clothes to the river and dealing with the long wait if someone is using your favorite stone, slapping every piece of clothing on the rocks for a good scrubbing, and ugh, what the cold water does to your hands. Then there's the long trek back with now wet and heavy clothes and the dreaded task of hanging the clothes with those pesky clothes pins. Who can blame him?

I would love to see the  Dallas palace with the "sprawling lawn" that these two had. It would probably be around the second one I've seen in 30+ years, and I'm including the suburbs.

Kudos that they only asked for a 1-bedroom apartment. 

[chocolatine]

8 hours ago, JasmineFlower said:

I had the Heidelberg one on and bailed when the realtor said something about laundry and he said "that's your domain" and then bragged about never having done laundry. And then corrected himself and said once he did it in college. He was already on super thin ice after that opening where he was trying to make himself feel better because she's the breadwinner and he now works for her, but after the laundry, I knew I just couldn't. And I would've liked to see Heidelberg, but just so not in the mood, I've had my fill of asshats on HHIs for the week.

I felt the same way about the husband, but I stuck it out because I lived in Heidelberg in the early 2000s and was curious to see what the real estate market there looks like now. Heidelberg is quite expensive, and as much as I wanted to have my own apartment in one of the older buildings, I ended up living in purpose-built student housing in a neighborhood quite far from the city center, because that was all I could afford. I still loved living there though.

While I really disliked the husband, in this case it wasn't as bad as the Bendigo episode because the wife's wishes were actually factored into the decision.

The realtor, Kryspina, has been on the show before, in an episode set in Kaiserslautern. While both Heidelberg and Kaiserslautern are in southwest Germany, they're not so close to each other that a realtor would know both markets very well. Seems like there aren't many realtors in the area who want to appear on HHI, so the show just "moves" her to different cities whenever they need her.

Edited September 14, 2017 by chocolatine

[Thumper]

Can someone explain how a person makes money writing a blog?

Wonder who did husband's laundry before wife?  Girlfriends or mom?  ::roll eyes::

Is it easy to travel Europe with two dogs?

[chocolatine]

31 minutes ago, Thumper said:

Can someone explain how a person makes money writing a blog?

Advertising revenue and potential sponsorship. Most "free" online content needs advertising to support itself. Publishers who run ads usually get paid on a CPM (cost per thousand impressions) basis, so the more people read the blog, the more money the publisher makes from the ads. Hotels and restaurants could also be paying her to write about them, as could the manufacturers of whatever "lifestyle" products she blogs about. She did say it took her six years to get to the point where they both could make a living from the blog, so that doesn't seem too unreasonable.

Edited September 14, 2017 by chocolatine

[Thumper]

Thank you, chocolatine!

[doodlebug]

4 hours ago, Thumper said:

Can someone explain how a person makes money writing a blog?

Wonder who did husband's laundry before wife?  Girlfriends or mom?  ::roll eyes::

Is it easy to travel Europe with two dogs?

If I had never done laundry in my life, I sure wouldn't be bragging about it on TV.

I don't know about everywhere in Europe, but France is pretty pet friendly and people take their dogs with them all kinds of places, including to restaurants, even inside.  I think it is probably easier to travel with a pet in Europe than it is here, but, even in the US, there are plenty of options if you want to bring your pooch with you.

[chessiegal]

24 minutes ago, doodlebug said:

If I had never done laundry in my life, I sure wouldn't be bragging about it on TV.

I don't know about everywhere in Europe, but France is pretty pet friendly and people take their dogs with them all kinds of places, including to restaurants, even inside.  I think it is probably easier to travel with a pet in Europe than it is here, but, even in the US, there are plenty of options if you want to bring your pooch with you.

OMG! The French and their dogs! I've only been to France twice, last year and this. I was forewarned and still couldn't believe it. And they don't pick up after them either.

[Ohwell]

40 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

OMG! The French and their dogs! I've only been to France twice, last year and this. I was forewarned and still couldn't believe it. And they don't pick up after them either.

I had a friend who visited Paris about 20 years ago, and the main thing he remembered was the dogs everywhere, even in restaurants.  He has a dog, but even he got sick of stepping in dog poop over there. 

[Neurochick]

23 hours ago, awaken said:

Ugh. What a self absorbed blowhard that bendigo guy was. So glad I'm not the only one who thought so! 

Look at Amber, the wife's face, she looked so sad and lost.  Hopefully she'll ditch this "musician" ASAP.

[abbyzenn]

Thanks to the person who linked Helene's blog.  I actually looked at it - not that I would ever subscribe - but I did read a few things.  I wonder how much money she actually makes off of it?  Interesting that on the blog she did say they had saved $45,000 for the move (I think mostly from the actual jobs they had had)

I didn't really find her husband that bad.  I thought the apartment they took was okay but that second floor was really strange.  It looked like the bed was on stilts.  I think I would have moved the bed into the other part of that floor and made the bedroom my office.

The Amsterdam dog lovers annoyed me.   I did like the place they rented.  He must be with a major company to have a $5000 a month budget for rent.  Thought it interesting since the wife said her job didn't pan out - she was hoping to telework I think.  Usually we hear how the unemployed spouse miraculously gets a wonderful job.

[izabella]

I liked the couple  moving from Michigan to Pamplona.  The wife was a Spanish teacher, and the husband immediately enrolled in Spanish classes once they moved, as well as practicing with her.  I can't say I really liked any of the apartments all that much, and I think they made the right choice based mostly on location.  I sure wish they had shown them doing laundry in the washer and hanging it out to dry out the window, though! 

[Lawgiver]

I wonder if they just dropped off their laundry with a laundry service.I lived in France one summer and it was delightful picking up ironed underwear! 

[chocolatine]

48 minutes ago, izabella said:

I sure wish they had shown them doing laundry in the washer and hanging it out to dry out the window, though! 

 

45 minutes ago, Lawgiver said:

I wonder if they just dropped off their laundry with a laundry service.I lived in France one summer and it was delightful picking up ironed underwear! 

They probably have a folding drying rack in the apartment. Most people in Europe have one (or several, depending on family size), since few apartment have dryers.

[Ohwell]

Michigan to Pamplona:  I didn't understand why the husband hadn't learned Spanish since his wife taught it for 20 years.  You would think that in all that time he would have been pretty fluent if he'd been interested in learning it.  I wasn't impressed with any of the apartments.  

[biakbiak]

2 hours ago, Ohwell said:

Michigan to Pamplona:  I didn't understand why the husband hadn't learned Spanish since his wife taught it for 20 years.  You would think that in all that time he would have been pretty fluent if he'd been interested in learning it.  I wasn't impressed with any of the apartments.  

My father in law is a French professor, neither his wife or his two sons are fluent. He didn't want to come home and continue to work so I don't think it's that strange but given this show he probably does speak ot.

[debraran]

1 hour ago, biakbiak said:

My father in law is a French professor, neither his wife or his two sons are fluent. He didn't want to come home and continue to work so I don't think it's that strange but given this show he probably does speak ot.

I've seen that too with couples, if she was Spanish and they visited areas often where speaking it would be beneficial, he might have. But I'm sure he's not a green beginner. My daughter who teaches Spanish wanted to know how they moved, what they needed, but they glossed over that.

[Madame Crabanda]

On ‎9‎/‎12‎/‎2017 at 10:19 PM, KLovestoShop said:

Just watched the couple in Australia and I think the husband was a real schmuck.  He had no respect for his new wife, with his only concern being HIS music.  He only cared about perfect acoustics for his recording studio, and not about the fact that this studio could cause his wife many sleepless nights.  And if the short performances we saw, this guy needs a shot of reality and realize he's a VERY long shot for a real music career.  

Seriously, am I the only one on here who was mentally calling him "Erek Clapton?"