House Hunters International - General Discussion

[chessiegal]

2 minutes ago, Kohola3 said:

Loved the Ghent Realtor - "I'm wondering if I am looking for an apartment for them or her cats."   Hee!

No kidding! I'm a cat lover, and have had cats my entire adult life (wasn't allowed to have one as a child), and all they want is food and a comfy place to sleep. Being able to watch birds is a bonus. I never let my cats outside. Our current kitty showed up on our deck in the winter cold and hungry 4 years ago. She moved in and has never looked back.

[AnnaRose]

Yep, she was super annoying about the cats.  Ugh.  That reminded me why I rarely watch House Hunters anymore.  I also hated her whining that that perfectly fine kitchen was 'dated'.  She made a terrible impression during her '15 minutes of fame'.

[biakbiak]

3 hours ago, AnnaRose said:

Yep, she was super annoying about the cats.  Ugh.  That reminded me why I rarely watch House Hunters anymore.  I also hated her whining that that perfectly fine kitchen was 'dated'.  She made a terrible impression during her '15 minutes of fame'.

All she said was "it's a little dated" which I assume was thrown in to make it appear the hour commute house was remotely in contention. I didn't actually mind her because she acknowledged that she was a crazy cat lady and they were signing at least a 3 year lease.

[laredhead]

Interesting about the lease requirements in Ghent.  I wonder why there are such stringent rules about that.  The Ghent woman drove me a little crazy with her upspeak at the end of almost every sentence.  I have had cats for many years, but I have never once thought about them when buying a house or renting an apartment.  Yes, it's nice to have a view, but they will survive w/o one.  This couple was so robotic like, and once again I fell asleep watching and had to rerun it to see which place they chose.   

[doodlebug]

19 hours ago, biakbiak said:

To each there own, several times the daughter seemed actively annoyed. I still judge peopke for their behavior on this show even if they are "acting" she still chose to play the role of overbearing asshole.

Considering the daughter spent the preceding 3 years working on a cruise ship and is now moving 10,000 miles away from her mama; I have a feeling that her mother wasn't doing much acting at all.  And who in the heck thinks that finding an apartment with two bedrooms so her room mate can be her bestest friend is a good idea?  Getting struck by lightning is far more likely.

Edited February 24, 2018 by doodlebug

[Ohwell]

Ghent couple:  The wife was annoying with her talk about the cats but, I swear, the guy had a slow and creepy voice and sounded like what my idea of a serial killer would be. 

[juliet73]

I had to turn off the Ghent ep after about a minute.  They both talked so softly and their personalities were that of a wet noodle!

[stormy]

At first the Ghent guy was a bit odd but by mid episode, I liked him and wanted him to pack up and leave her with the cats.

[seacliffsal]

As for the daughter moving to Australia and her mother's insistence that she get a room mate, I was shocked at what the mother expected the room mate to do for the 'honor' of living with her daughter.  The mother really did expect the room mate to be a best friend/mother figure to her daughter.  "Oh, someone to check in when to know that you got safely home."  Um, no.  It's not up to the room mate to keep tabs on the daughter and to check her in.  And, if the daughter got a room mate with issues, the daughter would be locked into the higher rent and a potentially stressful living arrangement.  I actually really liked the studio apartment and I wish the daughter well.

Am I the only one who ever wonders if when filming the show the House Hunters have "renters/buyers" remorse when shown some of the decoy properties?  There are several episodes during which I just cannot believe they would prefer the one the chose over some of the others.  I think that would be the worst thing about agreeing to be on this show-the potential to see something truly wonderful after already signing a contract or lease and not being able to get out of it.

[chessiegal]

There's no guarantee that any of the decoy houses are really available.

[laredhead]

Did anyone else think that the guy in the South Africa to Saigon episode was a bit controlling?  I did not hear what either of them did for a living in South Africa.  Can anyone who saw it enlighten me?  She was definitely used to, or wanted to become used to, the finer things that his money couldn't buy.  It's hot in Viet Nam.  Very much like our climate here in south Louisiana which has very high humidity in addition to high temperatures.  I couldn't live there w/o A/C.    

[chocolatine]

On 2/24/2018 at 4:15 PM, Ohwell said:

Ghent couple:  The wife was annoying with her talk about the cats but, I swear, the guy had a slow and creepy voice and sounded like what my idea of a serial killer would be. 

LOL! I agree that he looked and sounded a bit creepy, but he seemed a lot more down to earth than his wife. She was so pretentious about her PhD work, and he just stated what his PhD subject was and never mentioned it again. And don't get me started on "the cats won't enjoy this view."

[ML89]

Ghent house - did I hear him right, he was an auto emissions specialist...who was going to be a missionary? It must have been his soft voice, right, because I couldn't figure that out at all... 

[Pickles]

1 hour ago, ML89 said:

Ghent house - did I hear him right, he was an auto emissions specialist...who was going to be a missionary? It must have been his soft voice, right, because I couldn't figure that out at all... 

I initially thought he said missionary too, but I think we misheard. At another point in the episode, he said something about his phd program he would be starting and I believe it was a science-y thing. Of course, I can't remember what it is now! 

[Kohola3]

No, not a missionary. I had closed captioning on because his voice was so low.  Something to do with science, as Pickles said.

[chocolatine]

3 hours ago, Pickles said:

I initially thought he said missionary too, but I think we misheard. At another point in the episode, he said something about his phd program he would be starting and I believe it was a science-y thing. Of course, I can't remember what it is now! 

I'm pretty sure he said "machine learning" but I didn't have CC on and I've already deleted the episode from the DVR. It's a sub-field of artificial intelligence, more math-y than science-y. Back when I did it in grad school in the early 2000s it was very niche, but more recently with the advent of unprecedented computing power it's become a "hot" concept and a lot more people have started to study it.

Edited February 26, 2018 by chocolatine

[CherryAmes]

I just saw an episode with a young couple looking for a house in Goa, India.  Overall they were cute and not as annoying as I expect people on HH to be but honestly, if you're going to get the people on your show to give a fake back history you really need to make sure that they don't have an Internet presence like a blog!

[chocolatine]

Nebraska to Barcelona: I loved the realtor's expression when the HHs said they wanted a centrally located three-bedroom for $1000/month. It's like they haven't done any research about housing prices in Barcelona at all. They ended up going with a two-bedroom in Eixample for $1200/month. I absolutely love Eixample, so that would have been my choice as well. Most people who come to Barcelona want to stay in the Gothic Quarter, but that area is super-touristy, and so cramped that if you reach through the window you can almost shake hands with your neighbor across the street. 

[Zizzlezazzle]

Welp, finally a pair of house hunters that melted this cold, black heart: the Omaha couple was adorable. Sure, their initial budget expectations for Barcelona were naive, but what a great twist at the end that instead of going under budget far outside the city center, the husband was insistent on putting his wife's happiness first--but her first vocalizing that she would be happy in the place in the suburbs was awesome, and I wish we saw more of that on this show rather than those couples with one partner who brags about always getting his or her way at the end.

But don't worry--cold black heart was perfectly intact for the woman moving to Australia and her delusional mother. Super mean, but I kept squinting at her hair wondering, "is she wearing a Bumpit? Is that a requisite for cruise directors?" And speaking from experience, making friends roommates or trying to force friendship from roommates is a great way for cohabitation to get real messy real fast.

I also wanted to hide under the table when Poland guy was spinning for the dancing "friends" he was entertaining at the end of the episode. I get the feeling most of these "new friends" magically generated in just two or three months' time are people pulled off the street or hustled up via the Craigslist "gigs" section for $100 a pop and a signed waiver...

[hoosier80]

I saw the Iceland episode (and listened to it later with tv on as I tried to fall asleep).  Iceland looks fantastic, but I kept thinking how often are those kids going to want to go to Iceland once they get older and have school activities as they get older?  And the after scenes showed them going to a waterfall, which yes, it was amazing, but the rest of it was kids playing in the yard or going to the park.  I was just thinking she could have found something outside of NYC, upstate NY that would allow for more outdoor activities?  I know her whole thing was she hated driving, but there wouldn't be a train or bus to take them outside of NYC to something closer?  And they kept saying only a 5 hour plane ride, but you have to add on the hour or more arrival time at the airport (at least NYC), plus commute time to/from the airport.  I just kept thinking there had to be a closer alternative, even as nice as it is in Iceland.  I was also wondering if she was keeping the kids away from the other parent?  I also thought the last house would have suited them the best, but she wanted to be in town, which - if she wanted to be with nature, why live in another city?  I understand that having a car in another country might be a hassle, but wouldn't homeownership also have difficulties?  The apartment like buildings might have some sort of maintenance or super, but nothing was said that about it being an option.  Also not sure why she didn't rent, just to check it out first, then make a long term property search.   It didn't sound like they'd be there every weekend, but like every few months or when she could take a vacation or break from work.

[laredhead]

Hoosier, when this episode first aired and comments were made on this site, someone who knows the buyer offered a little bit of information about the episode.  They also said that she rents out the apartment when she is not there.  I cannot remember how long ago those comments were posted here, but someone else might be able to help you locate them.

[SmithW6079]

On 2/27/2018 at 9:01 PM, Zizzlezazzle said:

Welp, finally a pair of house hunters that melted this cold, black heart: the Omaha couple was adorable. Sure, their initial budget expectations for Barcelona were naive, but what a great twist at the end that instead of going under budget far outside the city center, the husband was insistent on putting his wife's happiness first--but her first vocalizing that she would be happy in the place in the suburbs was awesome, and I wish we saw more of that on this show rather than those couples with one partner who brags about always getting his or her way at the end.

But don't worry--cold black heart was perfectly intact for the woman moving to Australia and her delusional mother. Super mean, but I kept squinting at her hair wondering, "is she wearing a Bumpit? Is that a requisite for cruise directors?" And speaking from experience, making friends roommates or trying to force friendship from roommates is a great way for cohabitation to get real messy real fast.

I also wanted to hide under the table when Poland guy was spinning for the dancing "friends" he was entertaining at the end of the episode. I get the feeling most of these "new friends" magically generated in just two or three months' time are people pulled off the street or hustled up via the Craigslist "gigs" section for $100 a pop and a signed waiver...

Meh, I didn't care for the Nebraska couple. I thought he was kind of a dick. Also, her crying about her dead father and him wanting her to have adventure just seemed a little too pat. It's not like they were 20-year-olds, exploring life for the first time. If I recall, they said their children were grown and out of the house. Also, how boring was life in Omaha? They made it sound like they were escaping certain death if they remained.

I turned off the Australia woman and her mother. They were both unpleasant and unlikable.

I noticed they've been having a lot of house hunters in Poland lately. Was there a sale? For the black ex-pat, I think what was left unsaid was that the men were gay and either boyfriends or involved. I think he took the apartment that had the "detriment" of playing children in the courtyard after school, which was the best one.

The European couple moving to Poland via Bali got on my nerves. The husband "Gary" was a douche with a capital bag. I think the apartment they chose was the nicest, but they were the second couple shown who didn't remediate their mold/leak problem before moving in (the first was the family of three -- the ones with the annoying nickname for their child).

[mojito]

CA couple to Lisbon

She was insisting that she wanted a place with Lisbon flavor. When they saw the place with the graffiti all over it and the barbed wire on a balcony, the agent reminded her that this was LIsbon (which is what you asked for, isn't ?). The boring place with all the nice wood looked better to her at that point. I thought that was the nicest place.

Hope they find the fountain of youth in Lisbon.

[Pine]

On 2/25/2018 at 9:21 PM, chocolatine said:

I'm pretty sure he said "machine learning" but I didn't have CC on and I've already deleted the episode from the DVR. It's a sub-field of artificial intelligence, more math-y than science-y. Back when I did it in grad school in the early 2000s it was very niche, but more recently with the advent of unprecedented computing power it's become a "hot" concept and a lot more people have started to study it.

I heard him as saying, "EMISSIONS on automobiles"

[Ritalin Smoothie]

SmithW6079: I also noticed lately that quite a number of episodes feature a Polish wife (Malta, Krakow, etc).  And I just remember that the husband from the Lyon episode was also Polish. 

Lisbon: Oh boy, loud, obnoxious actor couple who think they were hilarious.  That was a miserable show to sit through.  Once again, she had to play up the "charm" factor.  To me, local charm is always associated with poorly insulated older houses with small rooms and outdated furnishings.  Give me a modern apartment and I'll get the local charm by sticking my head out of the window to look outside.

[Ohwell]

At first I liked the Lisbon couple and their humorous banter, but then after about five minutes it got old.  I agree they were trying too hard to be hilarious.

[aguabella]

About the Polish episodes and participants:

Casting goes in waves.  They normally film 4-6 episodes, simultaneously, in any given geographic area.  For HH, the U.S. version, they often leave the episodes in the can and air them periodically over the next year.  

Casting's tougher for HHI.  Given that, those episodes typically air 6 months after the completion of filming, in waves.

Polish spouses in other episodes?  Sure, the casting team uses those contacts to locate add'l participants.  So, that's not surprising.  

Same idea for business contacts, too.  Ever notice the waves of yoga practitioners or B&B owners?  

You guessed it!

ETA - noticed the other day my dvr includes Hanoi and Cambodia - not surprising.

Edited March 8, 2018 by aguabella

[mojito]

San Antonio to Abbateggio, Italy

If you want a cohesive story to understand this move, fuhgeddaboudit, you weren't going to get it here. She's in her 50s, has a few adult children, wants to live in this Italian town that she's apparently researched but has never been to. She brings along her "work husband" but we have no idea what kind of work she does or if she plans to continue working once she moves. She has $70K and wants a place with two bedrooms and a balcony. We have no earthly idea what the appeal is to her about this place except that she wants to drink wine. That's all we get. She wants the Italian experience, but rejects the typical Italian home (according to the agent) where you walk into the place and you're in the kitchen. 

I guess what she wanted was an American-style place with some stone and plaster on the walls, a red and white checkered tablecloth, and maybe a brick oven. We have no feel for why she wants to be there or what she wants to do there, except veg on her terrace and drink wine. Of course, her budget doesn't get her what she wants. This is one of those episodes that leaves you cold. While Arbateggio is an attractive little inland town, the homes weren't particularly interesting, let alone special, there was nothing impressive about the town, and you have no feel for any sort of potential for an exciting new life for the homeowner. 

Hey, I guess whatever works. It just didn't make for interesting TV. 

[SmithW6079]

8 hours ago, Ohwell said:

At first I liked the Lisbon couple and their humorous banter, but then after about five minutes it got old.  I agree they were trying too hard to be hilarious.

Good lord, yes. He was so obnoxious. He's the guy at the party who wants everyone to notice him, but you just end up feeling embarrassed for him. And, please, just shut the fuck up about the stairs.

I find it funny (and by funny, I really mean annoying), that all those people who want the "charm" of the city they're moving to (especially Americans, who expect the countries they move to to have remained as they were 100 years ago) also want all the modern amenities they enjoy in the USA.

I thought the couple moving to Lyon, France, via Costa Rica was annoying and pretentious. I was torn between the two city apartments. I liked the one with the river view, but I could see the appeal of the first.

The wife's whining about the renovations was over the top. The husband was right, renovating an apartment was not the same as building a restaurant in another country -- but they put in $300,000 worth of renovations and went over their original budget. How is it almost a year later their furniture hadn't arrived?

The woman moving to Italy -- good lord,  what was in her chest? Cantaloupes? I'm not a fan of people who joke, "It's all about me." I liked the place she choose, even if it needed work. I found the friend annoying with his "where would we stay? " when they were looking at the one bedroom. That's why they have hotels.

[aguabella]

On 2/16/2018 at 1:44 PM, NYGirl said:

I usually am sleeping way before 10:30 but last night I happened to still be awake at the end of HH and then I heard it...the dulcet tones of Richard Blanco!!!  I sat  up  and quickly immersed myself in the episode.  I think sometimes wanting to have a house with character is not a good thing.  I guess I'm too American.  I'd have taken the first one with the beautiful kitchen and bathrooms.  Hell I'd take Richard and the house...to hell with everything else.

Glad you're still sleeping better, NYGirl.

Uh, about Richard, you probably know he's a landlord, i.e. not agent, with an acting / thespian background.  WRT to uh, taking him, not trying to disappoint everyone but if you're a straight woman in real life ...

[abbyzenn]

Mojito - your post is spot on.

Actually, I had been watching MSNBC then House Hunters and thought for a minute there that Stormy Daniels was on House Hunters.

I can't imagine what drew her to a town of about 400 people in the middle of nowhere.  Where's she going to do all her clothes shopping?

Funny that she was supposedly only there 1 month and she has two American friends over for wine.

I also don't see the appeal of a balcony/terrace off your bedroom.  You're going to troop people thru your upstairs bedroom to sit out on the terrace (after of course you lug up all the wine and snacks).

[doodlebug]

1 hour ago, abbyzenn said:

Mojito - your post is spot on.

Actually, I had been watching MSNBC then House Hunters and thought for a minute there that Stormy Daniels was on House Hunters.

I can't imagine what drew her to a town of about 400 people in the middle of nowhere.  Where's she going to do all her clothes shopping?

Funny that she was supposedly only there 1 month and she has two American friends over for wine.

I also don't see the appeal of a balcony/terrace off your bedroom.  You're going to troop people thru your upstairs bedroom to sit out on the terrace (after of course you lug up all the wine and snacks).

The folks with balconies off the bedroom also claim they're going to sip their morning coffee out there, too.  So, they're getting out of bed, going downstairs, making coffee and carrying the pot upstairs so they can sit on the balcony?  Who does that?  I have a patio directly off my kitchen.  All I need to do is open the slider and step outside and half the time, I don't even bother doing that.  If I had to go back upstairs just to sit outdoors for morning coffee, I wouldn't do it.

There was something fishy about that gal's backstory.  No way do I believe that she randomly chose some obscure tiny Italian town to live in.  Something (more likely Someone) drew her to move there.

[slasherboy]

Agree with all the posts regarding the woman moving to the tiny Italian town.  At the end, when her friend had left, I truly felt this weird empty feeling on her behalf (yes, I know that sounds crazy, but it's true) and I actually thought, "Well, everybody I know is gone and I'm totally, 100% alone now."  It wasn't a good feeling.

Then she and her "friends" standing on the balcony with their wine.

I know very few people (one) who have their morning coffee on their balcony, and even less who sit outside with their cocktails in the evening.  Oh yes, it happens, especially, I would think, somewhere like Florida where the weather is mild at night and they may be retired with few oblilgations and aren't inside helping the kids with homework, putting the dinner dishes in the dishwasher, dealing with "life".  Then, yes, maybe.

I'd love to know why she moved there and how long until she moves back.  Is a town truly a town with a Walmart? 

[Mittengirl]

If that woman screams baaaabeeee one more time I am going to drive to Australia and smack her.

[Pickles]

The episode tonight with the Houston couple moving to Melbourne, Australia. The husband was Australian. The wife was not, but she seemed to have an Australian accent that came and went. I googled and they moved to Melbourne in mid 2016. That explains it. Omg, I hated her yelling, "baaaaabyyyyyy". From snooping, it looks like she has a full time admin job at a hospital. So much for saying she didn't want to work. She annoyed me. He seemed nice.

[Brookside]

Him: ping ping ping ping ping.  That hand on the hip at every opportunity?

Plus control freak: "I decided to move back to Australia."  He doesn't want her to work and wants to isolate her.   Not optimistic about their long term future.

Edited March 9, 2018 by Brookside

[Kohola3]

8 hours ago, Mittengirl said:

If that woman screams baaaabeeee one more time I am going to drive to Australia and smack her.

I'll help you.  Annoying as hell. And that place they picked was awful compared to the others.  Guess all that restaurant eating and shopping was expensive if she went back to work.

[laredhead]

I could not believe the Melbourne couple chose that tiny loft place.  I'm not sure I would want to live there by myself.  The prices for real estate there are incredible.  How do people afford to live there if they don't have good paying jobs?  Not everyone can be a doctor or a millionaire.  I loved the house in the rural are and could live there very happily, but as we know, it probably was a plant and not even for sale.  Yes, the wife was annoying and she kept reminding him and everyone who was within earshot how much she gave up to follow him to Australia. 

[Kohola3]

5 minutes ago, laredhead said:

I loved the house in the rural area and could live there very happily, but as we know, it probably was a plant and not even for sale. 

Did they every say how far out of town that was?  The views were stunning, I would have snatched that up in a heartbeat especially compared with that tiny shoe box of a place.  I agree that it was probably a plant and not for sale at all.

[mojito]

Quote

Him: ping ping ping ping ping.  That hand on the hip at every opportunity?

You forgot to mention their two guests.

Is the guy an MD/DO, or a PhD? I thought the latter and that she was joking about being married to a doctor. His reference to being qualified to work in the university environment also swayed me towards his being a professor.

I liked the property out in the boonies. No one to hear her screams for help, lots of good places to hide her body.

[copshop]

On 3/7/2018 at 8:41 PM, mojito said:

San Antonio to Abbateggio, Italy

If you want a cohesive story to understand this move, fuhgeddaboudit, you weren't going to get it here. She's in her 50s, has a few adult children, wants to live in this Italian town that she's apparently researched but has never been to. She brings along her "work husband" but we have no idea what kind of work she does or if she plans to continue working once she moves. She has $70K and wants a place with two bedrooms and a balcony. We have no earthly idea what the appeal is to her about this place except that she wants to drink wine. That's all we get. She wants the Italian experience, but rejects the typical Italian home (according to the agent) where you walk into the place and you're in the kitchen. 

I guess what she wanted was an American-style place with some stone and plaster on the walls, a red and white checkered tablecloth, and maybe a brick oven. We have no feel for why she wants to be there or what she wants to do there, except veg on her terrace and drink wine. Of course, her budget doesn't get her what she wants. This is one of those episodes that leaves you cold. While Arbateggio is an attractive little inland town, the homes weren't particularly interesting, let alone special, there was nothing impressive about the town, and you have no feel for any sort of potential for an exciting new life for the homeowner. 

Hey, I guess whatever works. It just didn't make for interesting TV. 

All true, but I still wanted to be there and take her place. I liked the homes--all had some potential in one way or another--and I totally got why the views sold the place.

When are they going to get the memo that we want information!

[Pickles]

3 hours ago, mojito said:

You forgot to mention their two guests.

Is the guy an MD/DO, or a PhD? I thought the latter and that she was joking about being married to a doctor. His reference to being qualified to work in the university environment also swayed me towards his being a professor.

I liked the property out in the boonies. No one to hear her screams for help, lots of good places to hide her body.

The husband was a PhD.

[chocolatine]

7 hours ago, mojito said:

I liked the property out in the boonies. No one to hear her screams for help, lots of good places to hide her body.

If she keeps yelling "baaaabeeeee" every time she walks in the door, he just has to sit back and wait a few weeks until their neighbors in the condo building kill her.

Edited March 10, 2018 by chocolatine

[Kohola3]

7 hours ago, mojito said:

No one to hear her screams for help, lots of good places to hide her body.

And there's always the trusty dingoes to blame.

[mojito]

Baltimore to Coronado, Panama

He said something funny. He said he never would have imagined that scenery could cost them a bedroom. I'm glad they didn't go for the house off the beaten path and stuck to condo living on the beach. She allowed HHI to film her in her bathing suit, which I gotta admire her for. 

Maybe it's just coincidence. Or maybe it's the geography of Panama, being narrow with mountains and lying between two oceans. I rarely see footage of that place with blue skies and sunshine; it's always overcast. Quite the opposite of what you see up north in Puerto Vallarta.

[CruiseDiva]

16 hours ago, mojito said:

Baltimore to Coronado, Panama

He said something funny. He said he never would have imagined that scenery could cost them a bedroom. I'm glad they didn't go for the house off the beaten path and stuck to condo living on the beach. She allowed HHI to film her in her bathing suit, which I gotta admire her for. 

Maybe it's just coincidence. Or maybe it's the geography of Panama, being narrow with mountains and lying between two oceans. I rarely see footage of that place with blue skies and sunshine; it's always overcast. Quite the opposite of what you see up north in Puerto Vallarta.

It must have been coincidence. I've been to Panama a couple times and the sun was shining a lot.

[juliet73]

On 3/9/2018 at 7:12 PM, Kohola3 said:

And there's always the trusty dingoes to blame.

"Maybe the dingo ate your baaaaabyyyyyy."

Sorry...I couldn't resist.

[mojito]

Quote

I've been to Panama a couple times and the sun was shining a lot.

Maybe that was the coincidence!  ?

[Kohola3]

For once I did like the back story for the military couple moving to the Netherlands.  They seemed very sweet and very nice together and to each other. 

Wow, those houses were really spectacular and so shiny clean!  Is that the thing in Holland, spotless properties?  I would have snatched up any one of them. 

Unfortunately they made him repeat the same line about 15 times about her being lonely.  However, I think that was a producer-driven thing because they didn't have widely disparate wishes so there was nothing to argue about! 

[mojito]

Albuquerque to the Netherlands

Now that was a different wrinkle for a HHI episode. The non-working wife wants to live in the country and the working husband who worries about her being isolated. I'm so tired of people saying, "Yes, but it isn't..." Of course, if the house is one style, it's not going to be another. Stop stating the obvious!