House Hunters International - General Discussion

[abbyzenn]

Funny someone mentioned about kitchens.  I think in the Lake Como episode it was the first time someone said they wanted a kitchen separate from the living area.  Was also surprised at the fairly low rents for the places they looked at.  Although that 3rd one had a great outdoor space, the living area/kitchen was quite small.

Glasgow:  what an odd couple - nothing so obvious but they just seemed like the type not to have any friends.  Laughed when they complained about the kitchen door - you can remove inside doors - instantly solves the problem of being hit by someone opening it.

[LittleIggy]

St. Croix: Reggie was some welcome eye candy! Dude works out! 😏 Was his husband a teacher? He was talking with several kids in school uniforms. I don’t know, but that rental renovation looks as if it could be expensive. I thought the “secret garden” (the townhouse) could be turned into a beautiful hideaway.

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 7/13/2019 at 9:57 AM, SmithW6079 said:

And going strong at 50.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jazzercise-fit-at-50/

I have a friend who's been doing Jazzercise since the early 1980s.  I fell away in 1994, myself.

But I went to a class with her recently, for old times' sake, and almost fainted when they said the drop-in fee was $20.  Turns out it's the most expensive location in the city, but still. 

.

On 7/18/2019 at 9:58 AM, LittleIggy said:

That’s what I thought, too, but they pretended that it was an actual option. 🙄

Between feeling personally insulted that the show presented that house to me as an option and having to listen to that little girl, I could watch this episode only to constantly bad-mouth it.

[Irlandesa]

On 7/18/2019 at 11:43 AM, LittleIggy said:

I’ve always thought that if you were busy cooking, you wouldn’t want other people in the kitchen getting in the way!

You wouldn't necessarily but that doesn't stop people from hanging out or "needing something in the kitchen" while you're cooking.   So I get wanting some moving space in a kitchen.  It makes more sense than needing a room for guests.

[Koalagirl]

8 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

I have a friend who's been doing Jazzercise since the early 1980s.  I fell away in 1994, myself.

But I went to a class with her recently, for old times' sake, and almost fainted when they said the drop-in fee was $20.  Turns out it's the most expensive location in the city, but still. 

.

Between feeling personally insulted that the show presented that house to me as an option and having to listen to that little girl, I could watch this episode only to constantly bad-mouth it.

OMG I wished that little girl would shut up.  She’s clearly the over indulged almost change of life apple of their eye. Ugh!

[LittleIggy]

Korea: The HH said she was a school psychologist. Wonder if she got a job at the base? I’m a big sageuk fan, so I would love to visit Korea.

[nb360]

I loved this episode on South Korea! The friends were like Laverne and Shirley 🙂 I would love to know how she is liking her home and Korea.

[PennyPie18]

On 7/11/2019 at 8:44 PM, QQQQ said:

The whole vibe was weird.

Yes, that whole episode was strange. I was baffled by the ending! No bands,  or the singer playing or rehearsing.Too many odd things, like was he the young singer's manager? Did he manage the band we saw at the beginning? She wasn't an RE agent, why didn't he find a professional one to help him find a place?? All staged, I'm guessing.

[PennyPie18]

On 7/18/2019 at 12:39 PM, SpiritSong said:

I wanted to reach through the tv and slap that lady going on and on and on about her stupid king size bed.

I agree, that whole family was sooooo annoying. I think the agent was getting annoyed with them, too. Several times she had a look on her face that sure wasn't happy. And please, quit showing these kids with their oh so important opinions. I mean, sure, you want your family to like a new house, but the final decision is ultimately up to the adults, or should be.

[MartyQui]

Saskatoon to Santiago:  The husband was SO annoying.  Dude, you’re not buying the house, you’re going to live there for a year.  Suck it up.  And how many people are going to come visit when it’s a 12 hour flight from Canada?  And why do two people, one of whom isn’t working, need two bathrooms?  

[biakbiak]

6 hours ago, MartyQui said:

Saskatoon to Santiago:  The husband was SO annoying.  Dude, you’re not buying the house, you’re going to live there for a year.  Suck it up.  And how many people are going to come visit when it’s a 12 hour flight from Canada?  And why do two people, one of whom isn’t working, need two bathrooms?  

It was actually the wife who was the one who would  wanted two bathrooms and given the storage in the apartments  I could see wanting to have another the bathroom, just to have a place to store basic shit.

Edited July 24, 2019 by biakbiak

[Ohwell]

Madagascar, anyone?  I thought the couple and their children were a really nice change.  The couple was not annoying and the kids were adorable.  I had never seen an episode in Madagascar before so it was interesting looking at the real estate.  I guess they chose the right place. 

[Pickles]

17 minutes ago, Ohwell said:

Madagascar, anyone?  I thought the couple and their children were a really nice change.  The couple was not annoying and the kids were adorable.  I had never seen an episode in Madagascar before so it was interesting looking at the real estate.  I guess they chose the right place. 

I actually thought they were a little odd. Well, mainly him. Maybe he was uncomfortable in front of the camera. He seemed awkward. I found her kind of annoying. Maybe it was just me. 

[Ohwell]

8 minutes ago, Pickles said:

I actually thought they were a little odd. Well, mainly him. Maybe he was uncomfortable in front of the camera. He seemed awkward. I found her kind of annoying. Maybe it was just me. 

I didn't see anything "odd" about them.  He came off as a bit nerdy because he was an environmentalist or something, but that's all I saw.  I liked them.  

[Pickles]

We can all have different opinions. 🙂

[Kohola3]

I didn't like or dislike them. Kids were cute, though.

That first huge place looked like a museum or something, was way over budget and had no furniture.  That would really have been stretching disbelief to the limit if they'd have chosen it.  It would have taken tens of thousands of dollars to furnish.

I was annoyed with pool, must have pool, pool is non-negotiable, well...want a pool but not that kind of pool.  If you wanted a wading pool you should have specified that.  Most pools are not built accommodate only children.

I did learn that inhabitants of Madagascar are called Madagasy.  Interesting. 

[Ohwell]

1 hour ago, Pickles said:

We can all have different opinions. 🙂

I was just responding because you quoted me first.  That's all.

[Pickles]

31 minutes ago, Ohwell said:

I was just responding because you quoted me first.  That's all.

That's fine. We are good.

[SmithW6079]

I thought the Madagascar wife was a big "C." Five minutes in, and I hated her. "I want it to feel like we're living in the US in Madagascar." But later she says she's lived all over the world, and she loves immersing herself in different cultures.

The second house: "We do have lights and running water, don't we?" Fuck you, you prejudiced, entitled American.

The Chile husband? What a douchebag asshole. He was unpleasant from the start. I loved that the "relocation consultant" obviously hated him. The wife was no winner either.

He looks like he'd be a terrible neighbor -- he even made a remark that alluded to neighbors having to call the cops on their loud parties.

[roseslg]

On 7/24/2019 at 8:54 AM, MartyQui said:

Saskatoon to Santiago:  The husband was SO annoying.  Dude, you’re not buying the house, you’re going to live there for a year.  Suck it up.  And how many people are going to come visit when it’s a 12 hour flight from Canada?  And why do two people, one of whom isn’t working, need two bathrooms?  

I had to turn this off. I wanted to reach through the tv and slap him.  He was so rude and disrespectful. No regard for the budget or about making his wife’s life easier, and all his ’jokes’.

[LittleIggy]

8 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

I didn't like or dislike them. Kids were cute, though.

That first huge place looked like a museum or something, was way over budget and had no furniture.  That would really have been stretching disbelief to the limit if they'd have chosen it.  It would have taken tens of thousands of dollars to furnish.

I was annoyed with pool, must have pool, pool is non-negotiable, well...want a pool but not that kind of pool.  If you wanted a wading pool you should have specified that.  Most pools are not built accommodate only children.

I did learn that inhabitants of Madagascar are called Madagasy.  Interesting. 

Actually, they are called Malagasy.

[Kenzie]

6 hours ago, roseslg said:

I had to turn this off. I wanted to reach through the tv and slap him.  He was so rude and disrespectful. No regard for the budget or about making his wife’s life easier, and all his ’jokes’.

From beginning to end I waited to discover WHAT she found appealing about this boring jerk. 

[Pickles]

The fitness guy and his retail executive wife in Costa Rica. I found him online and he has a whole fitness retreat website. He says on there that he had that house built, etc. So, what a surprise that they loved it and also the furniture in it. Lol. Anyway, it is close to $4k for a week at the fitness retreat.

[Vivigirl10]

The houses in the Costa Rica episode were really fun to see.  So beautiful.  The wife was like a walking version of a very crispy, grilled chicken leg after you've eaten all the meat off of it.  But come to find out, while she was very type A, she wasn't annoying.  It was an overall pretty easy to watch episode, in my opinion.   

[sistersledge]

The "R" and "M" dish towels hanging off the stove gave the second house away.

[biakbiak]

55 minutes ago, sistersledge said:

The "R" and "M" dish towels hanging off the stove gave the second house away.

Someone must have realized it because they came and went but they didn’t bother to reshoot.

[eel21788]

21 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

I did learn that inhabitants of Madagascar are called Madagasy.  Interesting. 

At first I thought she said "Madagastric."

[LittleIggy]

Costa Rica: I didn’t find the couple irritating, but the wife’s skin concerned me. It looked like old leather. I hope she checks frequently for melanoma. I loved the third house.

Champagne region: Adrian! Always glad to see you. After the episode I googled the wife and found her blog. They moved there about a year ago (June 2018), planning to stay for a year or so. Wonder if either of them have grown children.

[laredhead]

Loved seeing Adrian in the Champagne region episode.  She seemed much more animated and free with her comments in this one.  Such a beautiful area to be able to live in for even a short time. 

[Grrarrggh]

On 7/26/2019 at 9:00 AM, Pickles said:

The fitness guy and his retail executive wife in Costa Rica. I found him online and he has a whole fitness retreat website. He says on there that he had that house built, etc. So, what a surprise that they loved it and also the furniture in it. Lol. Anyway, it is close to $4k for a week at the fitness retreat.

Ugh, no wonder the style in that house was so "trendy". I don't want to be in Costa Rica and feel like I'm in a Housewives' house in Southern California. I hated her for going on about all they would have to change in the first house. That place was awesome. 

[QQQQ]

Dominica: I was confused whether they had two children or three - I swear it changed back and forth 😂 I so appreciated them saying they didn't need to include the kids in the decision-making process. Hallelujah!

[LittleIggy]

5 hours ago, QQQQ said:

Dominica: I was confused whether they had two children or three - I swear it changed back and forth 😂 I so appreciated them saying they didn't need to include the kids in the decision-making process. Hallelujah!

I cheered that too. There were three daughters. One was several years older than the other two. I can’t see her enjoying sharing a room with them.

[eel21788]

18 hours ago, QQQQ said:

Dominica: I was confused whether they had two children or three - I swear it changed back and forth 😂 I so appreciated them saying they didn't need to include the kids in the decision-making process. Hallelujah!

Yeah, but did she realize that if you don't want a tv in your house all you have to do is unplug it? Choosing which house to buy based on whether or not it had a tv made her IQ drop a few points.

[biakbiak]

2 minutes ago, eel21788 said:

Yeah, but did she realize that if you don't want a tv in your house all you have to do is unplug it? Choosing which house to buy based on whether or not it had a tv made her IQ drop a few points.

Well her children are old enough to plug it in. 

[eel21788]

12 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

Well her children are old enough to plug it in. 

I should have been more specific: I meant unplug it and remove it from the house entirely. My mother used to turn off the circuit breaker thinking we wouldn't figure out how to turn it back on.

[MartyQui]

Los Angeles to Turin:  Turin is gorgeous, and very walkable.  The 20 minute commute was probably a nice walk.  I’m so sick of Americans complaining about the small refrigerators!  That’s because you step out of your door to a market and buy what looks good that day.  And how big a kitchen does one guy need?

[eel21788]

1 hour ago, MartyQui said:

Los Angeles to Turin:  Turin is gorgeous, and very walkable.  The 20 minute commute was probably a nice walk.  I’m so sick of Americans complaining about the small refrigerators!  That’s because you step out of your door to a market and buy what looks good that day.  And how big a kitchen does one guy need?

I wanted to smack that guy. Show me one city anywhere in the US where you can get a 1-bedroom apartment for $600/month! Pay more or quit complaining!

[QuePasa]

1 hour ago, MartyQui said:

Los Angeles to Turin:  Turin is gorgeous, and very walkable.  The 20 minute commute was probably a nice walk.  I’m so sick of Americans complaining about the small refrigerators!  That’s because you step out of your door to a market and buy what looks good that day.  And how big a kitchen does one guy need?

He was obnoxious and had unrealistic expectations.  He had spent the summer there before so I don’t know why he was so clueless about what to expect.

I was in Turin a few years ago and it is a lovely city.  Now I want to go back.

Edited August 1, 2019 by QuePasa

[biakbiak]

I knew Gaspar looked familiar, he was a semifinalist on Ellen’s Design Challenge show on HGTV a few years ago. 

[doodlebug]

5 hours ago, eel21788 said:

I wanted to smack that guy. Show me one city anywhere in the US where you can get a 1-bedroom apartment for $600/month! Pay more or quit complaining!

Now, he expected TWO bedrooms and 2 baths for $600 and he had photos on his phone of the sort of place he wanted.  Not to mention the ability to run home for coffee between classes. I felt sorry for the poor realtor having to put up with him and it bugs me to no end on these shows when the house hunter acts all shirty with the realtor because what they want doesn't exist at their price point and starts to pout like it is the realtor's fault they can't get what they want.

His nephew is a little kid, even if he does come to spend some time in the summer, he can easily sleep in a sleeping bag or on an air mattress.  Kids that age think it's an adventure.

[Kohola3]

7 hours ago, biakbiak said:

Well her children are old enough to plug it in. 

Well, who pays the rent and houses and feeds the kids?  When parents allow kids to make the decisions I have zero sympathy. Instead of not having a TV, how about practicing some parenting skills and forbidding them from turning it on.

When my nieces and nephews visit me at my lake house, it's a electronics free zone.  No discussion, no bargaining.  Leave that stuff in the car or don't come.  Easy as that.

[biakbiak]

2 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

kids?  When parents allow kids to make the decisions I have zero sympathy. Instead of not having a TV, how about practicing some parenting skills and forbidding them from turning it on.

I was joking but also on Dominica  youre going to need a satellite dish to get any tv so commenting on the lack of tv is more than just the lack of the actual box but the lack of satellite and wiring, etc. Most kids the age of theirs are watching YouTube and streaming on tablets, laptops and phones so wouldn’t actually miss a tv.

Edited August 2, 2019 by biakbiak

[Kenzie]

13 hours ago, QuePasa said:

He was obnoxious and had unrealistic expectations.  He had spent the summer there before so I don’t know why he was so clueless about what to expect.

I was in Turin a few years ago and it is a lovely city.  Now I want to go back.

I thought the realtor showed great restraint in not tossing him off the nearest balcony. He treated her like she wasn't listening, that she "didn't get it" and was holding out on showing him what he wanted. 

[proserpina65]

On ‎07‎/‎20‎/‎2019 at 8:23 PM, Irlandesa said:

You wouldn't necessarily but that doesn't stop people from hanging out or "needing something in the kitchen" while you're cooking.   So I get wanting some moving space in a kitchen.  It makes more sense than needing a room for guests.

And if your kitchen is small, you ask them to stay in the living room.  Problem solved.

[TVForever]

16 hours ago, doodlebug said:

His nephew is a little kid, even if he does come to spend some time in the summer, he can easily sleep in a sleeping bag or on an air mattress.  Kids that age think it's an adventure.

Shoot,if a friend or family member was getting a place in another country where I'd like to visit, I'd be happy to sleep on an air mattress. No need to get a whole separate guest room on my account! I'm always yelling that at the TV when I'm watching HHI!

Edited August 2, 2019 by TVForever

[LittleIggy]

Playa del Carmen: How can the hipster morticians afford to retire? Especially since they had lived in SF. Can’t imagine it is easy to save money there.

Sydney: Dude really wanted to get in the HH’s knickers. 😏

[pep4]

Sydney was such a cringy episode, too much of the hopeless Beta storyline.  Did crack up when the realtor accidentally slammed the door and did an oopsie to the camera.

[snarts]

8 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Playa del Carmen: How can the hipster morticians afford to retire? Especially since they had lived in SF. Can’t imagine it is easy to save money there.

Likely a huge settlement from the motorcycle accident.

[PrimeTuner]

On Sat Mar 09 2019 at 8:23 PM, doodlebug said:

Absolutely; her whole schtick about the kids and their comfort boiled down to HER getting what SHE wanted: a fancy large home in a gated community where she wouldn't have to mix with the locals and where she would have a huge modern kitchen and fancy bathroom.  At the end, when she behaved like having a kitchen that was not as well lit as she wanted was a huge sacrifice on her part; I did want to slap her.  Her husband, who I must give some credit since it seemed like he was learning the language, was equally annoying when he pondered whether he could live with a master bath without a separate shower and tub.  Oh, the humanity!

As for the kids, I have no words for why any parent would insist that their child must have a bedroom of a certain size and a private bath meeting the kid's specifications.  The wife kept complaining that a bedroom, with a double bed and room to walk around it, was much too small for their daughter.  Oh, come on!  Of course, most of her worries for her kids were more about her and, if indeed the kids were that anxious about moving to Bangkok, their nutty mom probably was a big reason for it.

If you're going to move to a big, busy city; the traffic and congestion can be a bit intimidating and exhausting at first.  The answer to that is to get out there and get used to it, not to lock yourself away behind locked gates.  Anyone wanna bet that Mama doesn't leave the compound for days or weeks at a time?  In the scenes where they were in the market trying new foods, did she ever take a bite of anything?  Or were the kids expected to taste new foods while she refused?

If I were a teenager and was being dragged halfway around the world outside of my comfort zone, I too would demand the same comforts as I'm used to back home. Besides, the comforts of home are readily available in Bangkok, provided you have money. It's Thailand, a country at least as wealthy as Mexico not west Africa. 

An established family like theirs isn't going to move all the way to Thailand to downgrade their lifestyle. With the standard of living they're used to back in Austin, that wouldn't make any sense. Had they been 20 years younger or if they were empty nesters, then downsizing for the purposes of being able to travel more or because they don't need the extra space anymore, it might make some sense. 

Moreover, moving overseas for what is likely going to be a long time, you're going to have plenty of time to familiarize yourself with the culture including getting used to the food, although even that isn't entirely necessary given Bangkok is such a cosmopolitan city with food options from around the world. Also, living in the place they chose can only help, not hinder their social life and their ability to adjust to living in a very busy city. 

Thais are very class conscious people, so the idea of foreigners coming to their country and choosing to "rough it up" despite having the means to live in a more comfortable place doesn't endear you to the locals. On the contrary, locals avoid you. 

Also, foreigners who choose to live where working class Thais live tend to receive strange looks from the locals and are no more likely to integrate into the local culture than those who live like the upper classes do. They'll just be more miserable. 

I live in Thailand in a nice comfortable 4-bedroom home with garden in a gated community and my wife also has a nice large plot of land in her home province (as many Thais do). We own 2 cars and a motorcycle. Our standard of living is similar to the average upper middle class Thai. It would be beneath me to live without these creature comforts. I just couldn't do it. 

It might be mysterious and romantic when you first come to live in a new country to want to experience everything but once you've lived somewhere for a few years and have a family, life becomes routine and you demand certain comforts. Bad traffic becomes really old real quick. 

For me, if I moved back to the States or Australia or somewhere it would probably come at the price of a reduced standard of living unless I arrived with $500,000 in my pocket in order to buy a nice big house somewhere where real estate is reasonably priced. It's basically the same for most people who move to another country, including the United States, unless a good job has been lined up in advance. 

Edited August 3, 2019 by PrimeTuner

[PrimeTuner]

New York to Phnom Penh.  Seems to be a ton of people, especially Americans and Canadians moving to Phnom Penh these days, if the number of recent HHI episodes is anything to go by. Would love to see other cities represented more. How about Siem Reap? Or Battambang? What about Laos? Haven't seen a single HHI episode done there. 

Back to the musician guy moving to Phnom Penh. Could understand not wanting to move into that shoebox with a local family. That might make sense for an AFS exchange student staying for a few months in order to immerse themselves in the local culture but not a middle aged overweight guy who would probably develop a bad back sleeping on that contraption, if he doesn't break the thing first just from lying on it. 

Thought he might choose the modern spacious place as I would have but in the end he chose the more traditional one. He probably spends most of his time outside and doesn't appear to have a girlfriend or wife, so fair enough.