House Hunters International - General Discussion

[Ohwell]

18 minutes ago, mojito said:

I suspect  a lot of these people are running away from things, not looking for a new adventure. Bad debt (and one can be in debt to creditors who don't have the resources to track them down in foreign countries like, for instance, former friends or landlords), bad reputations, bad relationships with kids or former spouses. One spouse's kids despise the new spouse, so the despisedspouse suggests they  embark on a different journey to escape the family. Endless possibilities. People have skeletons in their closets.

All these things might be true but in the case of the Portugal couple, the wife kept referring to needing room for the kids coming to visit.  I don't know if she meant just her kids though. 

[debraran]

8 hours ago, Ohwell said:

All these things might be true but in the case of the Portugal couple, the wife kept referring to needing room for the kids coming to visit.  I don't know if she meant just her kids though. 

They do have to make things up also, the "issue". Sometimes it's family visiting (when no one will) or the absolute need of a dryer or "outdoor space". The overuse of the terms makes it seem less natural, the way I felt watching tiny house shows and every person needed "natural light" as number one. : ) They try to not have people talk but a couple of old participants did youtube videos to explain what they did.

I think some are more real than others, some have links to things they do or sell, but many I feel are fabricated or just airbnb starters for extra income and the extra room will be more inviting for some.  I try to look at the scenery and dislike the shows where the drama is more on the couple and less on the area.

I hope that some of the worst ones lately are fake, hard to believe that anyone would want to come off so badly on TV but that is "reality"  TV for many, just the time on, not the content.

[mojito]

NYC to Reykjavik with two 5 year olds

She's gutsier and heartier than I. She's looking forward to their outdoor life in Iceland. I see the average high temps don't even get out of the 50s. Brr. Count me out.

She's lucky to have landed a job there; more power to her.

[Pickles]

The couple relocating from Nashville to Costa Rica in hopes it would help their marriage. I don't see this working out. I wasn't paying close attention, but she seemed to make a few jabs and they seemed on different pages about a lot of things. Wouldn't Nashville be a really nice place to raise their two kids? No way would I leave Nashville (or anywhere) for permanent residence in Costa Rica. 

[chocolatine]

7 hours ago, mojito said:

She's lucky to have landed a job there; more power to her.

Did she say that at the end of the episode? My DVR cut out a minute early. I was under the impression that it was a vacation home since she mentioned how short the flight from NYC was, and since she insisted on a central location I figured she was going to rent the place out when she's not there. If she's moving there full time, I wonder what the custody situation is with the children's father.

[biakbiak]

Yeah i thought it was a vacation home as well, I thought she said something about not wanting to take on a fixer because it would be difficult to supervise the remodel from NY. Also, she said of the first place that was one bedroom would just be a crash pad because it was so small which would be a weird thing to say if it was going to be living there full-time.

[doodlebug]

14 hours ago, Pickles said:

The couple relocating from Nashville to Costa Rica in hopes it would help their marriage. I don't see this working out. I wasn't paying close attention, but she seemed to make a few jabs and they seemed on different pages about a lot of things. Wouldn't Nashville be a really nice place to raise their two kids? No way would I leave Nashville (or anywhere) for permanent residence in Costa Rica. 

Moving to a foreign country in hopes of saving a faltering marriage does seem like a poor strategy.  They were supposedly going to enroll their young kids in school down there, so it was meant to be their primary residence.  I hope the kids already knew some Spanish, otherwise that would be a rather difficult transition.  It seems to me that it would've made more sense to try to apply some of the things they were able to do in Costa Rica (more family time, less time working) to their lives in Nashville rather than uprooting the whole family.  The dad said he was an 'entrepreneur' with 4 different businesses in Nashville.  Why not sell one or more of them to make time for the family while staying put?  I would be surprised if they're not already back in the US and even more surprised if they're not divorcing.

[Mittengirl]

I will never understand these folks who insist moving to a foreign country is necessary to spend more time together.   Move to a different part of the country if you want get away from something negative (family, former spouse, public scandal, etc.), but the hassle and expense of moving to another country makes no sense.   How can running a business remotely from another country be less work than doing the same from another state, or even across the state?

The house the Costa Rica couple chose looked like it was in a development with other houses that looked just like theirs.  Probably a gated area filled with US and Canadian expats.

 I wonder whose idea it was to move, and to move there in particular.   As an outsider, I am suspicious of the motivations of whoever made the first suggestion.  Financial motivation?  Isolating the family from others?  Secrets that are about to blow up?  Inquiring minds want to know.

[mojito]

I so agree, Mittengirl. I'm suspicious of most of these people's motivation as well.

Both of those pools were laughable. Nice size for koi, but a stupid waste of space otherwise. The chairs around the pools took up more space. 

I think the kids would've found more to do on the home with acreage (where they could build a swimming pool), than they would've  at the beach. If it looked like a place to surf, then I could see it being attractive when the kids got older, but it didn't. I suspect they'll eventually tire of the beach. 

They had some nice choices for $350K or less.

[seacliffsal]

The woman who moved to Iceland seemed like she had something else going on.  She kept harping on wanting her family to be able to go outside and not deal with the hassles of living in a city.  But then, she was looking for a city center apartment.  If she wanted to live nearer to nature or even waterfalls, why not move to upstate New York?  I hear there's even a good sized waterfall there.  And, her money would have gone further.  

[biakbiak]

28 minutes ago, seacliffsal said:

She kept harping on wanting her family to be able to go outside and not deal with the hassles of living in a city.

I didn't hear her say she didn't want to deal with the hassles of the city, her refrain over and over was being close to things because she didn't want to drive anywhere.

[doodlebug]

1 hour ago, biakbiak said:

I didn't hear her say she didn't want to deal with the hassles of the city, her refrain over and over was being close to things because she didn't want to drive anywhere.

Yeah, but she also was willing to regularly fly more than 5 hours each way to get it.  There are plenty of small towns less than a couple hours away by train or car from NYC which would’ve been similarly scenic with plenty of amenities within walking distance.  Housing in Iceland is awfully expensive.  For the cost of flying back and forth as well as the cost of the house itself; she could’ve easily found something far more accessible for her money.

[mojito]

Quote

Yeah, but she also was willing to regularly fly more than 5 hours each way to get it. 

Not to mention the drive to and from LaGuardia/JFK International. That's a couple hours of city traffic right there. There was a man accompanying the woman and her kids in a couple of shots. I half expected her to tell us that she was engaged to him at the end of the show.

Austin, TX to Faaborg, Denmark, Couple with Son

Ten/eleven-year old Cosmo was funny. Said things like, "It'll work as an outside space" and "I really like the beam....it's old and it gives it more character" and I like how the living room flows into the dining room." A kid who clearly spends a lot of time with his parents. He was given a few talking head shots, too.

The mother pretty much croaked half her sentences, so much so that she was a little hard to understand. 

The father favored a house away from the city. He asked his son if he wanted to have a tree to climb, and the kid said he'd prefer to be able to walk everywhere. I'd like to see what this kid is like ten years from now.

Edited December 14, 2017 by mojito

[chocolatine]

On 12/13/2017 at 7:24 PM, seacliffsal said:

why not move to upstate New York?  I hear there's even a good sized waterfall there.

Dying!

Agree there must be something she didn't tell us about needing a place in Iceland as the only alternative to NYC life. Heck, if she hates driving in NYC so much - and I'm with her on that, it's miserable - she could move to Westchester or Nassau county with lots of outdoor activities and great public schools, and she'd only have to drive within the suburbs, which is 1000x less stressful than driving in NYC.

ETA: Just watched the Denmark episode. Poor Cosmo, his mom can't just let him be a kid. That woman was such a fragile little princess, being "terrified" by an old kitchen with a disconnected stove. Of course they went with the house that she wanted.

Edited December 15, 2017 by chocolatine

[laredhead]

I'm catching up on watching HHI and saw the New Yorker who bought a place in Iceland episode.  I am assuming that woman is going to be renting that place when she is not there.  How many times can you fly back and forth to Iceland in a year?  Yes, the country is beautiful, but she could have found some beautiful places in the U.S. that are sparsely populated, even in her own state or in Maine or Vermont or New Hampshire.  I'm thinking that was a weird investment idea of hers.  I think the narration said it was a 5 hour flight from NY to Iceland, so 5 hours in a car will get you away from New York in many directions for a variety of scenery and temperatures.   I don't think we were getting the entire story with this one.

[aguabella]

On 12/5/2017 at 2:23 PM, SmithW6079 said:

And speaking of yoga, what's with that? This is the second person they've featured who needed space for yoga classes. Is yoga the new scrapbooking?

With only a few exceptions, HHI doesn't air anywhere besides the U.S. and Canada.  Given that, casting's more difficult for HHI.

So, we often notice that participants, airing around the same timeframe, share common occupations, locations, interests, etc. b/c the HH casting agents located them through either the other participants and/or the same blog, club, etc.

Edited December 18, 2017 by aguabella

[aguabella]

On 10/31/2017 at 4:13 PM, Spunkygal said:

Sadly, I think I know what Adrian Leeds and Richard Blanco would say of American clients.....probably the same exasperated opinion I have of them! But I would watch a show with only these two realtors. They are darling!

Adrian and Richard film with the participants for at least 30 hours, if not more.  They get to know the real people instead of the highly edited, 22 minute, extreme version of the house hunters.  Given that, I'm sure Adrian and Richard's opinions of the house hunters varies significantly from most viewers.

Edited December 18, 2017 by aguabella

[mojito]

Canada to Greece

You can do all right with under $200K, and still be near a beach.

I want a family in Greece to visit!

[notoffred]

Anna who bought a house in Iceland is a friend of mine, so I can provide some additional background. She has a full time+ job in NYC, so moving upstate would take her away from that job, which doesn't really exist outside of major metropolitan areas. She went to Iceland a few years ago and fell in love, and started going a few times a year - flights can actually be quite cheap, and she doesn't live very far from the airport. So she decided to invest in an apartment there. She rents it out most of the year and then has a stable place to go with the kids when they do make it over. 

[QuinnM]

On 12/22/2017 at 6:46 PM, notoffred said:

. She went to Iceland a few years ago and fell in love, and started going a few times a year - flights can actually be quite cheap, and she doesn't live very far from the airport.

I did two days in Iceland on my way back from a French vacation.  The Iceland Air fare was so low and they let you take two days in Iceland without any upcharge.  I suggest it.  Fascinating country and very good fares to Europe.

[mojito]

Toronto to Valencia, Spain with 3 kids

Well, she must be the most undemanding female house hunter ever. All she wanted was to live in the city. She said that left to her own devices, they'd live in a hole in the wall, they just needed a place to hang their hats. A smaller place would be fine, it would encourage them to spend more time outdoors. He had more opinions about size and tile, but was far from picky himself. They left jobs in Toronto and had prepared two years for this move by getting certified to teach English (ESL). Retirement savings? Not worried about that (they looked to be maybe 40). They just took all their money and planned to get a place for $175K so they could soak up the sun and life in Spain. They picked Valencia because she had been there before and researched home prices. 

No mention of what kind of work they did before, what kind of place they had in Toronto (I had a feeling that they lived in a small place there), nothing. He spoke some Spanish but learning the language could have been part of their two-year prep. So now they teach English from two desk locations in their apartment and work 4 hours a day. Gotta love their guts and spirit.

[Ohwell]

Yet another weird HHI story.  I think they both seemed nice and undemanding but there's always something missing about how these HHI people can afford to just pick up and move to another country, especially with three kids.  Does being an ESL teacher pay that much?   

[wovenloaf]

It was nice that the people moving to Valencia weren't too demanding, but I thought it was weird how the lady seemed so unconcerned with the three kids, when it came to finding a home.  The guy was worried about having enough living space, etc.  But she didn't seem to give the kids' comfort a second thought.  A smaller house/apartment is one thing, but she was content to stuff them two deep into those "bedrooms" at the first apartment that were literally the width of a hallway!  She kind of acted like they were just extra luggage to tote around on her latest Spanish *adventure!*, but maybe it was just edited that way to play up the cramped-in-the-city-center vs. spacious-but-farther-out narrative HHI loves...   

I found the "We don't foresee retirement happening for us anyway, so screw it, let's move to Spain" explanation to be a little bizarre too. 

[Ohwell]

I think the Valencia wife was nice but perhaps trying too hard to come off as "cool mom," with the shallow stuff like the hairstyle, the teeny bikini at the beach, and the more important stuff like the lackadaisical attitude about the living arrangements, especially for the kids.

[CherryAmes]

48 minutes ago, wovenloaf said:

I found the "We don't foresee retirement happening for us anyway, so screw it, let's move to Spain" explanation to be a little bizarre too. 

Yeah unless someone has a terminal illness and they didn't want to make that part of their HHI narrative that just makes no sense.  I can totally get acknowledging that retirement isn't going to happen as long as they are capable of working because they either know they can't afford to retire or because they think they won't want to retire but eventually it's gonna happen.

[Irlandesa]

I liked the Valencia couple but it was a little weird.  Other than the fact that they moved from Toronto, there was virtually none of the backstory (real or fake) that usually accompanies these stories like how they met or what they did/are leaving behind. 

The just-on-the-outskirts apartment was probably the best compromise but I would have a hard time giving up the space of that home on the outskirts.  Usually, the in town apartments are the most appealing to me because of the location and view but not this time.  They were raving about the architecture outside of the first apartment but it looked pretty 70's standard to me.

BTW, the guy does this. I don't know how much he would have made before leaving.  And his wife worked in ESL in Canada as well as a bartender so it looks like she has more experience when it comes to teaching.  Both of their LinkedIn profiles show them teaching English in Valencia for over a year at different places so that part, at least, was a true story.  And it does look like they really were looking to buy to stay instead of renting the apartment out. 

[ML89]

Wasn't Love It or List It shot in Toronto? Apparently Toronto folks will put up with anything - after seeing people sleep in their coats on one episode...  It did strike me as bizarre how unconcerned they were for space.

[SmithW6079]

I don't know whether to be sad or relieved that Canadians can be assholes just as much as Americans. I disliked the two Canadian families shown recently -- the ones buying a vacation home in Greece and the ones moving to Spain. 

The wife in the Greece episode was so damn annoying with her constant screeching about the second bathroom, and her over-the-top dismissal of the second apartment (which is the one they chose -- of course). The husband was annoying too.

There was something "off" about the Spain couple -- and not just the wife's bizarre hair and tank top that looked like it was going to result in a "wardrobe malfunction." I didn't get their whole work set-up -- they're Skyping English lessons? Why wouldn't someone wanting to learn English go to a local school? 

Edited January 6, 2018 by SmithW6079

[debraran]

I thought that was odd too. My daughter did a year teaching English but worked with a school. They skype lessons? It sounded kind of odd especially the fake lesson you are supposed to overhear. I know they charge online by the hour but you aren't covered for insurance etc. They also don't get paid a huge amount so I feel there is a back story untold.

I like that they weren't saying they wanted something like a dryer every 5 minutes and it almost seemed like they cared less about what the kids needed compared to others and their pets.  ; ) Buying though, instead of renting, this is some info. https://www.expatica.com/es/housing/Buying-a-property-in-Spain_103805.html Some rents in Europe, like Prague, seem so much less than here in the states, (at least north east) but these apartment homes, they are like condos and I wonder about upkeep and what is included. Maybe it's a rental property later but someone told me it's not that easy to do that with property abroad. A lot of questions the show doesn't really answer. I guess they feel we care more about the people instead of the homes, area, etc. I like to see things I might never see myself and wish more was said but that would upend the poetic license to lie and stretch the truth a bit.

Edited January 2, 2018 by debraran

[juliet73]

On 1/2/2018 at 0:56 PM, SmithW6079 said:

 

There was something "off" about the Spain couple -- and not just the wife's bizarre hair and tank top that looked like it was going to result in a "wardrobe malfunction." I didn't get their whole work set-up -- they're Skyping English lessons? Why wouldn't someone wanting to learn English go to a local school? 

I thought the same so I looked them up. He is still listed as the present owner of his design company so I'm assuming he's still making money from that  The wife teaches English online, but not to Spaniards.  She teaches English to Koreans! 

[mojito]

Steamboat Springs CO to Pucon Chile with 2 young daughters

Well, that was certainly different. Two nurses in maybe their early 40s escape the hustle and bustle of life in Steamboat Springs (population under 13K) to live in Pucon, Chile (population of 20K). They've always wanted to live elsewhere and they wanted to live in a Spanish speaking country so they could "learn some Spanish". Husband initially showed high jerk potential, as he pushed for the family to live in some remote area. The wife got her way, of course, and the girls will attend a Spanish-speaking school, the parents don't plan to work, and they will all ski come winter. I think they went over their $650/month goal, but not by much. 

Nice enough couple. Once again, their back story is quite incomplete. (I kind of like not knowing all the details, but that doesn't make me not wonder nevertheless.)

[biakbiak]

I am simply not having the Elvis impersonator, nope, never, leave my screen rtc.

[QuinnM]

Quote

I am simply not having the Elvis impersonator, nope, never, leave my screen rtc.

So I was late to the episode so about 5 minutes in.  And I was out at 5 minutes and 10 seconds.  Gag. Anyone make it through the whole thing?

[Pickles]

I did not see the first few minutes of Elvis, but it was like a train wreck. I could not look away, once I started watching. The wife kept saying how Elvis was so talented and was going to be so successful, etc. Talk about not living in the real world. How on earth would they be able to support themselves? At the end, they showed Elvis taking pictures with a group and he said he was working for a charity. I think they chose the first place and it was the cheapest. The wife reminded me of the wife of Dog the Bounty Hunter. Is that his name? She was really squeezed into her clothes. Wow.

[Mittengirl]

I would think the expiration date on Elvis impersonators is rapidly approaching.  I am in my early 50’s and only have vague memories of him.  Would younger people really have any interest in seeing someone impersonate someone they never “knew”?

 

Hopefully they have other income sources the producers didn’t think were interesting enough to mention.  Did they say what she did back in the U.S.?   I know they mentioned that she worked.

 

It seemed like wife was the driving force behind the move, yet she was the one complaining about the size of the house and how much they could afford to spend on only his salary.  He seemed the more realistic of the two.  And I just have a gut feeling that the producers and the wife were the ones pushing the Elvis behavior during the tours.  He seemed a little reluctant.

Edited January 9, 2018 by Mittengirl

[LazyToaster]

Maybe Elvis is a thing that will last forever?  To people that don't really remember the real Elvis - maybe they think of him more like a character - think Superman or Spider-Man.  Ha!

I ended up watching the entire show with the Elvis Impersonator - I felt kind of embarrassed for him when he was auditioning - he seemed to be trying so hard.  Then, the part at the end with the kids was cute, it was the only part that seemed genuine to me.  So who knows, maybe he will find enough work in their new area to make a life.  But, I'm glad they are renting in case it doesn't work out.  

[mojito]

Quote

I would think the expiration date on Elvis impersonators is rapidly approaching.  I am in my early 50’s and only have vague memories of him.  Would younger people really have any interest in seeing someone impersonate someone they never “knew”?

I did a little math behind this. The oldest of the Baby Boomers (bulk of the senior citizen population) turned 71 last year. They were  all 9 when Elvis hit the scene, and 16 when the Beatles hit the scene. By that time, Elvis was pretty much finished with his string of smash singles. I would say that the Elvis expiration date is practically here. I remember being perplexed when Charlene on "Designing Women" claimed to be such an Elvis fan. She struck me as way too young for that. But I guess if your parents were fans, that would stretch out Elvis' fan base. 

I chuckled when the wife declared a small, but fine-looking stove as being too sixties. I thought, "You see what you're married to, don't you?"

Poor guy. He really needed to step up his game. Couldn't gyrate, unimpressive moves. He seemed like a nice enough guy, though, whose head wasn't in the clouds and was practical about budget and his prospects as an entertainer. And I liked the dog's name, Beacon. I hope that, considering all her faith in her husband and her references to the house they had that was four times larger, his wife won't sour on this move.

[SmithW6079]

On 1/9/2018 at 9:35 AM, QuinnM said:

So I was late to the episode so about 5 minutes in.  And I was out at 5 minutes and 10 seconds.  Gag. Anyone make it through the whole thing?

I didn't even watch it. I deleted the Mexican Elvis once I read the description on my DVR.

[biakbiak]

I dont believe there is an expiration date on Elvis impersonators because that has long become a "genre" for lack of a better word in and of itself. I do believe that if I knew that Elvis impersonator I would punch him in the face.

[chessiegal]

I'll believe Elvis impersonators are over when they stop showing up in Vegas and Graceland goes bankrupt. Don't see that happening any time in the near future.

[SmithW6079]

A recent HHI: the woman buying a property in Nicaragua. As usual, we don't get the whole story. She sold her house in Texas and made it seem like she was sinking all her money into the rental property in Nicaragua and without that rental income, she would be broke. But why did she sell her house in Texas? She moved back to Arkansas, ostensibly to be nearer to her brother and niece, so it's not like she was moving from Texas to Nicaragua. 

I'm not sure why they were hung up on the bedrooms and bathrooms. If she's renting it as an Airbnb or something like that, did she intend that multiple people with no connection to each other would rent rooms? Certainly, the house she picked eliminated that possibility, especially with the first bedroom really just a living room with a Murphy bed.

I didn't care for the friend. She struck me as one of those hard-drinkin' gals who could put a man twice her size under the table, and her intimate knowledge of the mullet. (I don't care that it is still around and apparently popular, it's a hideous haircut.)

There was another episode too, but I've completely blanked out on what it was.

[chocolatine]

3 hours ago, SmithW6079 said:

A recent HHI: the woman buying a property in Nicaragua. As usual, we don't get the whole story. She sold her house in Texas and made it seem like she was sinking all her money into the rental property in Nicaragua and without that rental income, she would be broke. But why did she sell her house in Texas? She moved back to Arkansas, ostensibly to be nearer to her brother and niece, so it's not like she was moving from Texas to Nicaragua.

Yes, her whole premise was strange. Is the tourism in that part of Nicaragua so stellar that she thinks owning a vacation rental property there is a better investment than owning a primary residence in the US? I could understand if the Nicaragua property had been dirt cheap, but the money she paid for it could buy her a house in Arkansas (median home price is $122k, according to Zillow).

Frankfurt to Bangalore:

It was an interesting episode for me because, while I've been to India, including Bangalore, I've always stayed in hotels and never been inside a private home. All three places looked bland to me. They must all have been designated for expats because there was not a smidgen of Indian decor in any of them. Very underwhelming.

I'm glad the woman ended up working for an animal charity because stray dogs are a huge problem there. I'm not even what people call an "animal lover," but it broke my heart how many sick-looking, malnourished dogs there were in the streets.

[mojito]

I liked the Bangalore episode, too. It was amusing to see the wife go from disapproving the "dated" kitchen in the first place to going nuts over the gaudy kitchen because it had an oven. She stated that they cooked most of their foods in the oven. The complete opposite of me. Rarely use the big oven. They were an adventurous couple. No way you could get me to move to India unless it was on the coast, and preferably on the set of "The Good Karma Hospital" (British series). Don't like cities to begin with, but definitely wouldn't want to deal with the crowds and chaos.

[debraran]

On 12/9/2017 at 2:26 PM, scrb said:

Google their names.  Chances are they have a blog or something, especially if they're younger.

You can find out how long they stayed in their HHI home and often they're long gone by the time the episode airs.

https://baldsasquatch.com/page/2/,

blog I found, going back to 2016, they show preparations to go, her OCD tendencies , their love of travel and new socialized medicine. Not easy to navigate but interesting to see it was "real" with real issues.  I didn't see any pics of family but only went back a year and quickly.

Edited January 13, 2018 by debraran

[Gothish520]

On 12/6/2017 at 4:09 PM, JennyMominFL said:

I've been to Norway a few times  in the last few years. They do yoga there. Any sort of physical fitness is big. In fact one of my favorite signs in Norway is for a gym. IT says, "Feeling fat and Ugly? Just be Ugly"  Golds gym or whatever

That is hilarious!

[seacliffsal]

Regarding the Elvis episode, I see absolutely no reason why a tropical resort would want an Elvis act.  There's an Elvis tributor who comes through my area once a year for one performance in a small venue (no, I haven't gone...).  But, realistically, when people go to a tropical resort why would that be the act they want to spend their money on?  In their intro, they said that they went there on vacation, saw how many resorts were there and thought it would be perfect for him to get a job.  Huh?  They showed him singing "America the Beautiful" and his voice was uneven and his big ending wasn't that big.  Hopefully they have real jobs and he just volunteers his time or something.

The Frankfurt to Bangalore episode was really interesting.  I think the girlfriend/wife has no idea what life will be like there.  I was thinking during this episode that they wouldn't be together much longer-it seemed like they really had different expectations.

[aguabella]

On 1/12/2018 at 5:59 PM, debraran said:

https://baldsasquatch.com/page/2/,

blog I found, going back to 2016, they show preparations to go, her OCD tendencies , their love of travel and new socialized medicine. Not easy to navigate but interesting to see it was "real" with real issues.  I didn't see any pics of family but only went back a year and quickly.

Portugal episode, right?  I'd pulled this blog shortly after the episode aired but hadn't gotten around to linking it.  (Thanks, debraran!)

Agree, the blog's long and diff to follow but here's what I noticed:

They'd just returned from visiting all their kids (both parents) in the U.S. for Thanksgiving.  They had many pix, IIRC.  And pix from their wedding, including the adult kids.  Didn't notice any outward family issues.  (BTW, I didn't get this sense from the episode, either.)

I believe the guy was an Apple reseller so he made a few $$$ and retired early.  Left out of the episode:  the blog had pix of a condo / rental unit in Portugal so that's part of their retirement funding.  (They moved from it into the house, IIRC.)

Didn't notice any evidence that they're renting the house out, if/when they visit the U.S.  Probably one of the very few HHI episodes where they actually did move there, long-term.

The guy's esoteric / witty sense of humor did come through in his blog.  Not surprised HH couldn't demonstrate it in a 22 minute episode.

OCD???  Sorry, don't remember it from either his blog or HH.  I do recall that her "design" style was lacking.  Or, wasn't close to mine, lol !!!

Edited January 14, 2018 by aguabella

[debraran]

7 hours ago, aguabella said:

Portugal episode, right?  I'd pulled this blog shortly after the episode aired but hadn't gotten around to linking it.  (Thanks, debraran!)

Agree, the blog's long and diff to follow but here's what I noticed:

They'd just returned from visiting all their kids (both parents) in the U.S. for Thanksgiving.  They had many pix, IIRC.  And pix from their wedding, including the adult kids.  Didn't notice any outward family issues.  (BTW, I didn't get this sense from the episode, either.)

I believe the guy was an Apple reseller so he made a few $$$ and retired early.  Left out of the episode:  the blog had pix of a condo / rental unit in Portugal so that's part of their retirement funding.  (They moved from it into the house, IIRC.)

Didn't notice any evidence that they're renting the house out, if/when they visit the U.S.  Probably one of the very few HHI episodes where they actually did move there, long-term.

The guy's esoteric / witty sense of humor did come through in his blog.  Not surprised HH couldn't demonstrate it in a 22 minute episode.

OCD???  Sorry, don't remember it from either his blog or HH.  I do recall that her "design" style was lacking.  Or, wasn't close to mine, lol !!!

The rental when they first got there was an airbnb? I know he mentioned that some thought he was crazy retiring early and maybe he wouldn't get his SS checks, etc. but I'm sure he is secure and probably avoiding taxes here.  The furniture in some pics on blog are better than they showed on TV, that was blah.  She does like clean lines though. The painting story was funny too, he got more paint on him than the ceiling and then called someone the previous owner left on a list.

I saw the OCD comments when they were selling the home and comments on estate sale. One thing her husband did to tease her was to pretend the buyers weren't by yet and she came home to find messes and peanut butter on fridge handle, etc.  : )

"One night I got home (after the house had just been shown) to find a mess in the family room, our bed unmade, and more messes in the kitchen. There was even peanut butter smeared on the refrigerator handles! When I saw the mess I found myself getting very upset. That is until I looked at my husband, and realized he was just messing with me.

My initial reaction to the mess was to become very upset. I thought my house had been shown that way! Once I discovered that my husband was responsible, and had set it up after the house had been shown, I immediately laughed at myself.

His strategy worked. He had defused the bomb that is Carolyn! We had a good laugh together, and I was able to relax (okay, just a little bit).

On page 9 he talks about visiting her son in Oregon before leaving and it was so cold (no so in Portugal) and could he get back his ski coat from the guy who bought it at the estate sale. lol

I like how they can travel so much around Europe which is so much cheaper when you are there and they laugh about the downside of not knowing the language (everyone seems to make a funny mistake asking for something) and roll with it.  My daughter  wondered (unless they really wanted to leave USA) why not rent house and move for a year, but they are older and just wanted to do it for many reasons I'm sure. I assumed the kids were scattered and they didn't see them often anyway.

https://baldsasquatch.com/page/9/

https://baldsasquatch.com/page/3/

Edited January 14, 2018 by debraran

[aguabella]

2 hours ago, debraran said:

The rental when they first got there was an airbnb? I know he mentioned that some thought he was crazy retiring early and maybe he wouldn't get his SS checks, etc. but I'm sure he is secure and probably avoiding taxes here.  The furniture in some pics on blog are better than they showed on TV, that was blah.  She does like clean lines though. The painting story was funny too, he got more paint on him than the ceiling and then called someone the previous owner left on a list.

I saw the OCD comments when they were selling the home and comments on estate sale. One thing her husband did to tease her was to pretend the buyers weren't by yet and she came home to find messes and peanut butter on fridge handle, etc.  : )

"One night I got home (after the house had just been shown) to find a mess in the family room, our bed unmade, and more messes in the kitchen. There was even peanut butter smeared on the refrigerator handles! When I saw the mess I found myself getting very upset. That is until I looked at my husband, and realized he was just messing with me.

My initial reaction to the mess was to become very upset. I thought my house had been shown that way! Once I discovered that my husband was responsible, and had set it up after the house had been shown, I immediately laughed at myself.

His strategy worked. He had defused the bomb that is Carolyn! We had a good laugh together, and I was able to relax (okay, just a little bit).

On page 9 he talks about visiting her son in Oregon before leaving and it was so cold (no so in Portugal) and could he get back his ski coat from the guy who bought it at the estate sale. lol

I like how they can travel so much around Europe which is so much cheaper when you are there and they laugh about the downside of not knowing the language (everyone seems to make a funny mistake asking for something) and roll with it.  My daughter  wondered (unless they really wanted to leave USA) why not rent house and move for a year, but they are older and just wanted to do it for many reasons I'm sure. I assumed the kids were scattered and they didn't see them often anyway.

https://baldsasquatch.com/page/9/

https://baldsasquatch.com/page/3/

Didn't check AirBnB - they might have been renting out the condo on a leased or mtm basis.  Easier / cheaper management, especially if they're travelling within Europe and the U.S.  Kinda' got the impression it was the latter -

Sounded like their adult children all lived in the Portland area, with their own lives and families.  Why would they need their parents around?

Gee, I missed the clean lines.  All looked "grandma" to me.  (Figure of speech - I love my grandmothers!)

How do we know they didn't rent their home out for a year or so?  Perhaps the condo (lower investment) was a trial.

Sorry, still missing the "OCD".  ???  Because he called her "the bomb"?  To some, that means the best or excellent, lol!

If fastidious cleaning during staging indicates OCD, I'm guilty!  OCD's a serious mental disorder.  Personally, I can't diagnose it from a 22 minute episode and random blog musings.

Agree, I'm sure they had good reasons and completed sufficient advance planning.  Don't remember if this was an HHI "moved sight unseen" plot.  Each time I've checked out those plots over the years, it's been just that, i.e. a plot, drama, not real life.

Thanks for reviewing the blog in more detail, debraran.

BTW, Incidentally, I remember several comments upthread about them moving to the "country".  The episode mentioned 15 minutes from town and the blog says something about 10 minutes to the h/w store.  That's "country" ???  HHI strikes again, lol!

Edited January 14, 2018 by aguabella

[debraran]

Yea, certain things are all relative, re the living space and country vs city. My daughter's boyfriend is from UK and he said he'd like the country to me (we are in CT) When I pointed out in a country town how I didn't like septic or being 15 minute drive to store, he looked aghast...this wasn't country to him. I guess in UK, his parents live in country setting, cottage-like house near woods, but on bus line and closer to town. City is considered city center with busy streets, shops etc right outside.

I doubt she's really clinically OCD, but she likes things a certain way, very clean, orderly, and moving and selling her house really tested that. I've known people who would find her hubby's humor even more aggravating so I think they work out a balance. She mentioned being a designer, she wanted to fix things quickly that didn't make her feel good. I can see that, your eye, is like this isn't balanced while someone else is cool with it.

I just found it refreshing that a couple really did move, really bought there, were honest about views on food, insurance and other things and you didn't find out it was a 6 month trip or bought for a rental or they didn't really work in the area they said, the list goes on.