House Hunters International - General Discussion

[LennieBriscoe]

One man's pricey is another man's bargain; no point in self-referencing. A plane ticket to Europe costs what it costs, and if it's in line with other airlines,  so be it. 

I like more than one bedroom and one bathroom,  and do so have. But were I to live in any tourist destination, be it Orlando or Amsterdam or wherever,  my visitors could just stay in a hotel. Yeah,  I'm "that guy" (female,  actually).

Lyon,  France:

I'm about to watch,  but first have to comment: This couple "of a certain age" looks Botoxed, cheek-injected, and face-lifted to the almost-max ("max" being Wildenstein). And the husband's voice grates on me. 

How is a smooth-top range "old"? 

Guy's obsessed with "small." Stay in the US,  Bud.

And he thinks cafe,  car,  and other cacophony won't bother him,  "24/7"? Bwahaha!

Edited October 4, 2018 by LennieBriscoe

[Kohola3]

19 hours ago, biakbiak said:

And my point based on my own life and experiences  is many people do consider people visiting when choosing a place and people in fact do visit so it’s not some weird fals narrative pulled out of nowhere.

And here is my own life experience - I built my retirement home (on a bluff overlooking Lake Huron with a beautiful sandy beach and stairs to easily reach it, view of the lighthouse, very popular tourist town) with visitors in mind. It's about 2 hours from most of my friends and relatives.  Entire second floor for company with its own bathroom, big sun room with lake view for gathering.  No plane fair required.  Easy drive. 

First year, several visitors.  Second year, a couple.  This year two. 

Let's face it, we think we're way more appealing than we actually are especially when we're not around anymore.  Out of sight, out of mind.

The Lyons couple seemed nice and they said they had worked hard to be able to afford this move so that's nice to hear.  But those facial close ups were extremely distracting.

Edited October 4, 2018 by Kohola3

[Ohwell]

38 minutes ago, Kohola3 said:

Let's face it, we think we're way more appealing than we actually are especially when we're not around anymore.  Out of sight, out of mind.

Cold-hearted, but true, LOL.

[BlossomCulp]

47 minutes ago, Kohola3 said:

Let's face it, we think we're way more appealing than we actually are especially when we're not around anymore.  Out of sight, out of mind.

Depends on the circumstances.  Grandparents are going to want to see grandchildren even if they don't mind not seeing you!  Friends though, totally agree, you can't reasonably expect a constant parade of visitors - certainly not the same people visiting over and over again anyway.   Anyway this is HHI the need for room for guests is probably way more producer driven than it is a reflection of the participants real wants when they rented.

[Koalagirl]

18 hours ago, izabella said:

I wish, just once, someone would be adamant about having an extra bedroom in order to have some private space and time to just be alone in a small apartment.  "I can't live in a shoebox with someone in my face 24/7!  I need a room to escape into!  A room with a nice window and view!"

If I remember correctly, the husband in the Florida to Viet Nam episode said that because he was an only child he wanted some extra space to be able to get away in and be by himself which is why he wanted a another bedroom.

[mojito]

Quote

I'm about to watch,  but first have to comment: This couple "of a certain age" looks Botoxed, cheek-injected, and face-lifted to the almost-max ("max" being Wildenstein). And the husband's voice grates on me. 

So that's what it was! I thought they both looked odd to the point that I was relieved that their two sons were better looking! It took me forever to consider that "partner" didn't necessarily mean  business partner, and except for extremely obvious facelifts, I don't consider plastic surgery most of the time or that breasts could be implants or that hair might not all be natural. It only occurred to me fairly recently that the (Chlorox?) commercial of the guy laundering his daughter's princess dress might've been a stay-at-home husband of another man! Man, I'm slow on the uptake. (However, going to high school where I did, I can spot a lot of nose jobs!)  Spent all that time thinking that this couple looked weird and I didn't think once about medical enhancements. Well, at least I caught that something was off.

I kinda like the empty nesters who take off to faraway places and don't spend a lot of time harping on constantly entertaining their kids when they're purchasing properties.

[javajeanelaine]

I really preferred the first one with the balconies and I distinctly remember the agent saying that it was a short walk to the "action".

[izabella]

8 hours ago, doodlebug said:

Even the doorway seemed really narrow, like you’d have to turn sideways and suck in your gut to squeeze through it with stuff in your hands.  I cannot picture how you’d be able to get in and out holding a laundry basket.  The rest of the place was very nice, surely they could’ve made that area more accessible when they remodeled.

I wonder if that fridge really lives in that closet room.  Maybe they moved it in there for filming, but it's usually somewhere else in the kitchen.  Or maybe, since we know they've already bought the place before the show was filmed, the home buyers bought that huge fridge without realizing there wasn't enough room for it.  I think it would be impossible to open the fridge doors fully if that really is where it usually is.

[StatisticalOutlier]

20 hours ago, SpiritSong said:

It's not just you. I get not wanting a tiny, cramped space but nobody, NOBODY, needs a master bedroom the size of an airplane hangar.

I think they picture it as a retreat, with a sitting area, where they're going to curl up with a book, away from everybody else in the house.  This would be when they're not relaxing on the balcony with their morning coffee, of course.

I'll take a tiny cramped bedroom any day, as long as there's room to walk around the bed on three sides.  I've made up a bed while ON the bed and it's horrible.

 

Quote

I also don't understand all the "love all the natural light" remarks for a bedroom. Who hangs out all day in their bedroom? I want it dark so I can sleep, which is what a bedroom is for.

I am 100% with you on that one.  Rooms are no doubt lovelier to look at when they have a lot of natural light, but people aren't looking at the room when they're sleeping.

 

10 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

Let's face it, we think we're way more appealing than we actually are especially when we're not around anymore.  Out of sight, out of mind.

I once spent a summer in New York City, living in a dorm room at NYU that had two twin beds and just me in there.  (I was waaaay over student age, but it was super cheap and I just dealt with the slight awkwardness.)  I had people flying up there constantly, taking advantage of a free place to stay in an expensive city. 

Of course, that was a limited time offer, but it's not unlike the people on this show, who aren't really moving there forever.

[Irlandesa]

The woman in tonight's Paris episode could have been neighbors with Adrienne.  Long commute be damned! She should have gone for it.  Imagine having a cafe with Adrienne, going to the Farmer's Market with her---breaking a baguette. What could have been.

Edited October 5, 2018 by Irlandesa

[StatisticalOutlier]

7 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

The woman in tonight's Paris episode could have been neighbors with Adrienne.  Long commute be damned! She should have gone for it.  Imagine having a cafe with Adrienne, going to the Farmer's Market with her---breaking a baguette. What could have been.

I thought about that, too.  But walking an hour each way, especially in bad weather, especially carrying gigantic law books, is pretty brutal.  That would seriously cut into the time available to be hanging out with Adrienne.

I wondered, though, why she'd have to walk.  Maybe she'd be going in a wonky direction for public transportation?

[Irlandesa]

6 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

I thought about that, too.  But walking an hour each way, especially in bad weather, especially carrying gigantic law books, is pretty brutal.  That would seriously cut into the time available to be hanging out with Adrienne.

I wondered, though, why she'd have to walk.  Maybe she'd be going in a wonky direction for public transportation?

Yeah I wondered about needing to walk too. Paris has good public transportation.  I walked that far when I was in Europe and didn't mind it.  Having a destination and interesting things to look at as I walked made it easy.

[LittleIggy]

9 hours ago, javajeanelaine said:

I really preferred the first one with the balconies and I distinctly remember the agent saying that it was a short walk to the "action".

Yeah, the good looking agent mentioned that the Rhône River was right down the block and there were lots of restaurants there. The guy annoyed me with all the talk about being “in the action.” His wife should have asked him if he wasn’t getting enough action at home!

Paris: Adrian (“Walking the streets?”)! ? I’m glad the HH picked the place she wanted. It was cute and close to her school. What else would she need? The mother was exhausting.

[StatisticalOutlier]

3 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

Yeah I wondered about needing to walk too. Paris has good public transportation.  I walked that far when I was in Europe and didn't mind it.  Having a destination and interesting things to look at as I walked made it easy.

I couldn't agree more, which is why I hate hiking but love walking around in cities for miles and miles.

But presumably five days a week, walking the same route every day unless you want to make it longer?  In Paris in the winter?  Even I would find that daunting.

[LittleIggy]

29 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

The woman in tonight's Paris episode could have been neighbors with Adrienne.  Long commute be damned! She should have gone for it.  Imagine having a cafe with Adrienne, going to the Farmer's Market with her---breaking a baguette. What could have been.

You are assuming Adrian would want to spend time with her.

[Irlandesa]

Just now, StatisticalOutlier said:

But presumably five days a week, walking the same route every day unless you want to make it longer?  In Paris in the winter?  Even I would find that daunting.

I should have specified that, when I lived in Spain, I routinely walked an hour to and from school every day.  I could have taken the bus but I actually liked it.  (As for Paris in the winter---I actually loved those temps but I grew up in WI where it's much much colder in the winter.) 

I should say, she ended up in St. Germain, right?  If I'm honest, that's my favorite part of the city so I can't totally blame her.

2 minutes ago, LittleIggy said:

You are assuming Adrian would want to spend time with her.

True.  But she could have avoided showing her the close apartment if she were worried.

[biakbiak]

24 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

But she could have avoided showing her the close apartment if she were worried.

Given they Adrien’s real job is renting out rental properties it wouldn’t surprise me if that decoy was one of hers. 

[Kohola3]

7 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Having a destination and interesting things to look at as I walked made it easy.

Having seen the same thing 100 times I think it would wear thin even in Paris.  Schlepping heavy books around for 2 hours a day - no thanks.

The mother and her obsession with shaving her legs?  Geez, come on.  And walking in someone's shower with your high heeled boots was just nasty.  I'd have ditched her a long time ago and hopefully she doesn't come over much.  I hate parents who try and force kids to be something they are not. If her daughter is studious and determined to be an attorney then respect that.  Don't try and turn her into a barfly.

[mojito]

Paris Attorney

I'm glad the daughter had a mind of her own. She probably needs to have the Atlantic Ocean separate her from her mother.

It seems so silly to me to worry about your child's social life when her interest is in academics. Leave her alone, she's still very young.

[abbyzenn]

Bermuda to France:  Catching up on viewing - I think this was earlier this week but I don't recall seeing any comments on it, maybe because there was no drama.  I thought it was interesting their desire to have a small b&b and that his dream was to offer baking lessons and open a bakery.  I admire them for saving up and then to take a chance and live their dream.  All three choices were interesting places.  Lovely area.  I hope he succeeds but I had to laugh that last scene was of them lounging in the yard not working on his renovating the barn into a bakery.

[proserpina65]

On ‎10‎/‎04‎/‎2018 at 8:56 AM, Kohola3 said:

The Lyons couple seemed nice and they said they had worked hard to be able to afford this move so that's nice to hear. 

And in their case, I could buy wanting a second bedroom for guests because they actually had a reasonable budget for it.  They weren't trying to get 2 bedrooms on a starving student budget.  That's what bugs me about the artificial two bedroom storyline - that it clearly wasn't in the budget at all.  Surely the producers could come up with something new after all these years?

Edited October 5, 2018 by proserpina65

[proserpina65]

15 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I should have specified that, when I lived in Spain, I routinely walked an hour to and from school every day.  I could have taken the bus but I actually liked it.  (As for Paris in the winter---I actually loved those temps but I grew up in WI where it's much much colder in the winter.) 

Wasn't there some mention of the HHer having a knee problem?  I think it was in the second apartment, the one with all the stairs?  That could've been a factor.  I personally wouldn't want to walk that far every day in the winter (I hate cold weather), but Paris does have fantastic public transportation.  Still, I actually like the first apartment the best anyway.

[izabella]

7 hours ago, mojito said:

Paris Attorney

I'm glad the daughter had a mind of her own. She probably needs to have the Atlantic Ocean separate her from her mother.

It seems so silly to me to worry about your child's social life when her interest is in academics. Leave her alone, she's still very young.

Their interactions painted this whole picture in my head of mom pushing her to go outside instead of reading, pushing her to play with a bunch of friends when she'd rather hang out with only her best friend, and pushing her to be the extrovert mom is instead of the introvert her daughter naturally is. 

She seemed to be doing fine at the end, with more friends than we usually see on these shows.

[StatisticalOutlier]

59 minutes ago, izabella said:

Their interactions painted this whole picture in my head of mom pushing her to go outside instead of reading, pushing her to play with a bunch of friends when she'd rather hang out with only her best friend, and pushing her to be the extrovert mom is instead of the introvert her daughter naturally is.

You forgot pushing her to shave her legs.

[BlossomCulp]

I don't know if this is more HHI or Pet Peeves but since I only see it on HHI I'll put it here - the participants with the long list of demands and who go through angst and drah-ma "choosing" their place and then you google them and find they lived in their chosen abode for 6 months!  This happens a lot and it's just so stupid.  "Hey I wanna be on HHI I know I'm only going to be in International Country for a few months but what the hey, I'll get to be on TV!!"

[chessiegal]

54 minutes ago, BlossomCulp said:

I don't know if this is more HHI or Pet Peeves but since I only see it on HHI I'll put it here - the participants with the long list of demands and who go through angst and drah-ma "choosing" their place and then you google them and find they lived in their chosen abode for 6 months!  This happens a lot and it's just so stupid.  "Hey I wanna be on HHI I know I'm only going to be in International Country for a few months but what the hey, I'll get to be on TV!!"

Go to HGTV and look at the requirements to be on the show. It's no big secret. They are looking for folks who already live there. I remember reading a blog of one couple who said none of the apartments/homes were theirs because they didn't want it shown on TV.

[doodlebug]

2 hours ago, chessiegal said:

Go to HGTV and look at the requirements to be on the show. It's no big secret. They are looking for folks who already live there. I remember reading a blog of one couple who said none of the apartments/homes were theirs because they didn't want it shown on TV.

I'm not sur the original poster is complaining about the fact that the people featured are living overseas; but more that many of them are only planning to be there a few months which makes all the angsting over various options kinda silly.  Why do you need extra bedrooms if you're not going to be there long enough for most people to visit?  An hour long commute might be too long, but, if you're only going to have to make it for a few months, maybe it isn't as big a deal as being city center.  Maybe you'd like a dishwasher, but is it really a dealbreaker to wash dishes in the sink for 6 months?  When I was in undergrad and grad school, I lived in some hovels, places I would never choose long term; but, for the year the lease ran, I coped.

[BlossomCulp]

17 minutes ago, doodlebug said:

I'm not sur the original poster is complaining about the fact that the people featured are living overseas; but more that many of them are only planning to be there a few months which makes all the angsting over various options kinda silly. 

That's the thing.  Even if they're there longer than a few months the angst and agonizing over a temporary abode is goofy - but I can see why they need to do it for the sake of the show.  But still when I look these people up and find that they only lived in that country (who knows if they ever really lived in the apartment) for 6 months or so it just makes me roll my eyes so hard they hurt!

[Kohola3]

30 minutes ago, BlossomCulp said:

....but I can see why they need to do it for the sake of the show. 

Except that they don't.  Posters universally hate the manufactured drama so why do it?  Just let us see different places, maybe point out the differences in each of them and something that makes one more appealing than another.  But cut out the stupid fake arguing.

[BlossomCulp]

38 minutes ago, Kohola3 said:

But cut out the stupid fake arguing.

I am assuming the people who like this, or at least don't care, just don't say anything.  Forums like this are where we come to vent about stuff we dislike.  The producers must think we're the vocal minority (if they are even aware that there is criticism).

[LittleIggy]

Sloth Boy was so irritating (and unattractive). I love sloths, but I wouldn’t move to Costa Rica because of it. Running a food truck from another country? That is ridiculous.

[biakbiak]

I know it was staged but that being said HH producers don’t stage scenes of people pretending to explore an unknown cave as the tide is literally coming in.

[doodlebug]

13 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Sloth Boy was so irritating (and unattractive). I love sloths, but I wouldn’t move to Costa Rica because of it. Running a food truck from another country? That is ridiculous.

He really was a fool; I sorta liked her except for the fact that she supported his ridiculous plan.  I think they must have a trust fund/inheritance/family money that is really their main source of income; a single food truck and a B&B in Indiana, both run long distance, wouldn’t be likely to provide them with the kind of money they apparently have.  They were prepared to pay $275,000 cash for a house and I think they said they also owned a place in Colorado.

[biakbiak]

23 minutes ago, doodlebug said:

think they said they also owed a place in Colorado.

And previously owned a house in Hawaii, when she quoted his dad at the end it made me wonder if he was dead and he had inherited money from him.

[rlc]

I’ve given this too much thought. I’ve despised many, many, many people on this show, and on paper, there have been many people worse than sloth boy, but I think he annoyed me more than any other participant on this show. The fact that he decided that they are moving to Costa Rica on a whim, and the fact that his wife just allowed him to make the decision? Ugh. And the whining about his dream kitchen? Cannot stand him. The sloths were cute, though.

[sempervivum]

Despite Sloth Boy's wife wingeing about his high-handedness, it certainly seemed like she wore the pants. Every time he made some blustering statement about ocean views, he looked kind of apprehensive/shame-faced, like 'did I do that right, babe?' 

Those front-wedgie shorts she wore on the beach were not a good look.

[ML89]

If Sloth Boy didn't shut up about the ocean....  I was beginning to think the whole thing was a goof, considering the agent was zinging back comedic lines and the story was just too much - they had a house and a food truck in Hawaii, then Colorado and she had an inn in Indiana she managed. It was all a mess....

Also I'd've taken house #1, it was closer to furnished and nice than the other one and way under the "ocean view" (better to watch a typhoon roll in!)

[LittleIggy]

Qatar to Malaysia: They picked the right place. The wife irritated me. She said she wanted the toddler exposed to the culture yet had to be in an area with ex-pats. Couldn’t she have said that she wanted to have other ex-pats around to talk to? The toddler would be fine playing with any other kids, whatever language they spoke!

[sempervivum]

Qatar to Malaysia- I was impressed at what you could get for $700-those were all very nice, and not as weird as a lot of the SE Asian places we see on this show. American size fridges, no hot water heater dangling over the shower, modern looking furnishings. (Although the place with the sink separate from the rest of the kitchen made no sense). 

Wife was annoying and had a freakishly long neck.

[LittleIggy]

I got the impression that the wife was annoyed that her husband had a job and she would be a SAHM. Could be wrong. Just my impression.

[mojito]

Kinsale, Ireland

I was neutral on the husband until he made fun of the agent pronouncing three "tree". It really rubbed me the wrong way that he felt the need to make a crack about something as basic as how a local person speaks. The agent said something about his going back to America. I'd just as soon he stay there, we have enough assholes in America. The wife and her rolling hills of green....even I know the beauty of a newly turned field sprouting green, particularly initially when the sprouts are in very tidy rows. The fallow field would not have bothered me in the least.

Could be the way the show was edited, but it didn't look as though the agent thought much of the husband getting inside the bathtub. He seemed to be in disbelief. 

They picked a nice place in the end. My evil side hopes that the regulars at the nearby pub, which the husband just had to have, decide that the Yank is not their cup of tea and shun him to the point that he'll have to imbibe at home. 

[Ohwell]

I got the feeling that the Kinsale husband and the agent (I love him, forgot his name) were both in on their jokes with each other.  The guy kept going on and on about his pub but other than that and hopping in the bathtub, I didn't think he was that bad.  As beautiful as the countryside was, I would have chosen the place they picked in town to be around people.  I visited Cork but didn't have enough time to make it to Kinsale, so it was nice to see what the town looked like.  It's beautiful.

[sempervivum]

12 hours ago, mojito said:

Could be the way the show was edited, but it didn't look as though the agent thought much of the husband getting inside the bathtub. He seemed to be in disbelief. 

They picked a nice place in the end. My evil side hopes that the regulars at the nearby pub, which the husband just had to have, decide that the Yank is not their cup of tea and shun him to the point that he'll have to imbibe at home. 

I didn't think much of the guy getting in the tub with his shoes on, either! I also wonder about someone who moves to Ireland with the intent of writing 'the great Irish novel'- he had a pretty unusual job, I'd be more interested in reading about his 40 years of testing automobiles.

I fell asleep before the final choice, so I'm surprised they picked the land-locked place; it was nice enough inside, but there was barely room in the back to get the door open. They could have taken the place with the farm field and turned a portion of it into a nice big landscaped yard. 

Forgot to add- I was getting a kick out of the realtor's dry sense of humour.

Edited October 11, 2018 by sempervivum

[Babalooie]

 Way to go, editors.  At the beginning of the last segment BEFORE we saw them make their "choice",  the scene opened with the couple walking in front of the blue house on the way to the pub.  The husband was not likeable at all.

How about a show featuring  the Irish agent and Richard from London?  Pure gold.

[laredhead]

The Irish realtor is my favorite.  I've said it before, I could listen to that man read a phone book and never get tired of hearing his voice.  I will say that getting the trash bin out of the back yard looked like no small feat.  That was a very small space.  The wife got the best line with her comment about the donkeys.

[LittleIggy]

I love the Irish hottie, too. He would have to show me a lot of houses before I picked one! ?

[LittleIggy]

Spain to Vietnam: If she were working at a private language school, she would have to work in the evenings. That’s when they have classes- after school and work hours. I can see why she wouldn’t want to travel 20 minutes both ways at night. I thought they were biking all over Vietnam, so why did she say she was still getting used to riding a motorcycle? Bet the boyfriend had claw marks on his shoulder from that cat hanging on for dear life! Loved the cat sanctuary.

[doodlebug]

13 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Spain to Vietnam: If she were working at a private language school, she would have to work in the evenings. That’s when they have classes- after school and work hours. I can see why she wouldn’t want to travel 20 minutes both ways at night. I thought they were biking all over Vietnam, so why did she say she was still getting used to riding a motorcycle? Bet the boyfriend had claw marks on his shoulder from that cat hanging on for dear life! Loved the cat sanctuary.

I believe she was concerned about riding the motorcycle in city traffic which can be quite bad in Viet Nam.  I think they did the biking out in the countryside for the most part.

[kirklandia]

I saw one sloth on my visit to Costa Rica.  Unfortunately, it was road kill. (Fortunately, I did add over 100 living birds to my life list.)

[rlc]

LA to London: Richard can tick any of my boxes, anytime.