House Hunters International - General Discussion

[biakbiak]

Their business was organizing holidays to Easter Island.

[izabella]

It seemed the Easter Island episode was really just for advertising their business.  I doubt they ever intended to live anywhere but her family home.  I was fine with that since I found the episode fascinating.  I didn't know much about Easter Island beyond the statues! 

[darbar]

Justin and Fiona moved from Texas to Spain, and while we've seen unusual couples, this one has to rank in the top 5. She didn't want any ghosts or paranormal activity, and he has corn rowed hair like Bo Derek. I'm sorry, but why would an elderly, Caucasian, man with gray hair have long corn rows all embellished with colorful beads?

[ChesterhillGirl]

The Easter Island episode made me realize (again) that the house shoppers are paid to appear on the program.  And the various home owners are also paid to have their homes featured as potential sales.  When the husband commented that his wife didn't appreciate the usefulness of some amenitities--and he was referring to ELECTRICITY--I just laughed at how gullible these people are.  He wanted an Internet-based business in a place with no power, but it did have a garden area for the wife.

[sugarbaker design]

I'm sorry, but why would an elderly, Caucasian, man with gray hair have long corn rows all embellished with colorful beads?

 

So he could run on the beach in slow motion with Ravel's Bolero playing in the background?

[ChelseaNH]

They were going to offer adventure tourism packages to the island, and so now he would have to work in town at the internet-enabled cafe.

 

I believe there were some episodes in the early days where the purchase fell through or the couple decided not to buy.  In the modern era of House Hunters, we've had an occasional episode where people in some tourist spot go with the build-it-yourself option rather than ready-made, but that's as far off formula as they've gone.

[puppytoes]

The kookie hippie senior citizens buy the ugly house with so many stairs. Good luck climbing all those stairs as you get older.

[Cgr]

I enjoyed the Easter Island episode just because like many I know nothing about the island except the statues.  In fact I was mildly surprised the island had permanent residents!  I immediately had the feeling that they would stay in the family home.  I loved the singing at the end of the episode.

I liked the Spanish episode just for the scenery.  We lived not far from there in the early '70's and the white villages are so gorgeous.  The couple seemed to be old hippies!  I don't remember the Spanish being so into 'spirits', I think that is more of a Mexican thing.  The day of the dead stuff she was packing was certainly Mexican or S American anyway.  

[ChelseaNH]

That Stockholm episode was badly scripted:  "My wife is leaving her country behind, so it's important that she be happy -- therefore, the obvious choice is to ignore her preference and go with the place I want."  Although the kitchen could have been considerably improved with a work table, and it was a gorgeous apartment with actual outdoor space.

[Sib5]

I am out of the HHI loop, but tonight I saw two episodes that baffled me. The first was a young American couple looking in Berlin. She was pregnant and neither had a job, as far as I could tell. (He got one by the end.) It appeared they moved there just because she wanted to???? Could not figure it out.

The other was a couple from Minnesota, which caught my attention because I live in MN. But, they had both just received their Master's degrees (in what?) from a univ in France, where they had been living for a few years. They decided to move to Bogota', Columbia because it had a booming economy. Again, they move there with neither of them having a job. (Is that even allowed?). I dunno. They seemed to have a fair amount of money, as none of the places they looked at were bad. Since when do new grads have that kind of money?

If anyone can enlighten me on either of these two episodes, I'd appreciate it. I am really curious! (I also admire their courage in just picking up and moving without jobs!)

Edited June 23, 2014 by Sib5

[chessiegal]

If anyone can enlighten me on either of these two episodes, I'd appreciate it. I am really curious! (I also admire their courage in just picking up and moving without jobs!)

 

 

Because they just make stuff up for the story lines. You never know what the real deal is unless you can find their blogs. At this point, I don't care anymore. If I watch, it's to see the country and housing.

[Mrs. P.]

I am out of the HHI loop, but tonight I saw two episodes that baffled me. The first was a young American couple looking in Berlin. She was pregnant and neither had a job, as far as I could tell. (He got one by the end.) It appeared they moved there just because she wanted to???? Could not figure it out.

The Berlin couple really bothered me. They gave no reason for moving there, other than the wife wanted to. And while they were looking at homes, she kept insisting that they spend more than they could afford just so she could be close to her 'friends.' I really disliked her.

Edited June 23, 2014 by Mrs. P.

[Peanutbuttercup]

The Berlin wife did have a job, doing something with customer service.

[zivadanielle]

Justin and Fiona moved from Texas to Spain, and while we've seen unusual couples, this one has to rank in the top 5. She didn't want any ghosts or paranormal activity, and he has corn rowed hair like Bo Derek. I'm sorry, but why would an elderly, Caucasian, man with gray hair have long corn rows all embellished with colorful beads?

 

 

So he could run on the beach in slow motion with Ravel's Bolero playing in the background?

 

BAHAHAHAAA or maybe they just got back from a cruise/the islands.

 

Yeah they were a bit wackadoodle....   

[izabella]

I am out of the HHI loop, but tonight I saw two episodes that baffled me. The first was a young American couple looking in Berlin. She was pregnant and neither had a job, as far as I could tell. (He got one by the end.) It appeared they moved there just because she wanted to???? Could not figure it out.

 

I thought that one was weird, too.  For some reason, living in Germany was her "dream" and she didn't like San Diego because she hated the nice weather, the beaches, etc.  So, somehow, she's already been living in Germany long enough to have friends that she desperately wanted to live near in south Berlin, and she is now pregnant...when did that happen if she's been living in Germany?  How could she have been living there without her husband?

 

I wonder if there is a back story, like she really doesn't like his family in San Diego instead of the weather and beaches. 

 

I'm also suspicious because he supposedly left his job with a sign company that he'd had for 8 or 9 years in order to move to Germany and raise a family there.  And then, at the end of the segment, he magically got a job with another sign company despite not having any German language skills.

[slasherboy]

My favorite episodes are those in The Netherlands, so I was excited to see that Amsterdam would be featured tonight.  Unfortunately, that yoga twit person nearly ruined it for me.  However, I still enjoyed seeing Amsterdam despite her awfulness.  I don't even know what words I'm searching for to describe her so I'll just let it go at that.

[Dewey Decimate]

The yoga instructor in Amsterdam had to be an actress, right? (And if so, not a very good one. Her attitude towards the third apartment was completely different than the other two.) I actually felt bad for her in the intro when she said she lost her brother, but then laughed out loud when she went into more detail after the first commercial break. I probably should feel like a horrible human being, but my guess is that clip is part of her Emmy reel.

 

I loved the agent's reaction shots. And if those cute cats didn't give the the HHer a well-deserved allergic reaction, I hope they at least farted in her general direction.

[Enigma X]

I really love watching the Netherlands episodes too, but turned it off after the opening "introducing" the househunter. Le sigh...

[zivadanielle]

The yoga instructor in Amsterdam had to be an actress, right? (And if so, not a very good one. Her attitude towards the third apartment was completely different than the other two.) I actually felt bad for her in the intro when she said she lost her brother, but then laughed out loud when she went into more detail after the first commercial break. I probably should feel like a horrible human being, but my guess is that clip is part of her Emmy reel.

 

I loved the agent's reaction shots. And if those cute cats didn't give the the HHer a well-deserved allergic reaction, I hope they at least farted in her general direction.

 

I feel like a horrible human being for being extremely distracted by her gray flyaway hairs. 

 

The agent was SUPERB.  And those kitties were adorable. 

 

Aimée (accent à DROITE) may need to be in the HH/HHI hall of shame!  LOL. 

 

Oh!  And were were to presume the guy at the end she was giving a private yoga lesson to is her new fellow?  When she started going on and on about how she was single, didn't have a husband to support her wah wah blah blah I wanted to throw up. 

[Rhondinella]

(accent à DROITE)

 

 

"Accent à DROITE, Bitch!  It's French!"

[puppytoes]

The Yoga instructor was the most annoying person on house hunters international. I laughed when she turned her nose up and said that she didnt watch television. B***h please! I would never take a class from her. What a pompus ass! Whew, glad I got that off my chest!

[Diane M]

Kept rolling my eyes every time she said a room did or didn't have the energy she needed for her studio.  She must have uttered 'energy' 50 times. 

[Lawgiver]

Yoga lady was really irritating. She was a combination of pompous, vapid and needy. How many times did she talk about capturing a man? And attributing the change in price to the apartment owner understanding her need to teach yoga? Please.

[zivadanielle]

Also, what did she say - something like "I am a FORECASTER!" Huh.

"Accent à DROITE, Bitch!  It's French!"

Yessssss. Haha!

[izabella]

Yes, she somehow "forecasted" that people in the Netherlands would one day be into yoga.  And did her thesis paper on the subject?

 

I forecast she'll be broke really soon unless she has some invisible means of support.

[txvoodoo]

I recently saw a HHI that was set in Italy, where the couple had no jobs and just wanted to live their dreams. Afterward, I found their blog. Turns out, they lived all of 3 months in Italy and ran out of money, and couldn't get jobs because of visa issues, so moved to Paris. (!) And quickly had to come back to the US because guess what, France wasn't giving out free apartments, either!

 

I mean, they were in Florence for such a short time, that by the time her HHI episode aired, she was already living back in the US!

 

This was their ep http://www.hgtv.com/house-hunters-international/young-couple-moves-to-florence-italy/index.html

 

You can google her blog (I did). There's nothing true about their HH bio! Oh, she also talked about how she wanted to get in touch with her Italian roots, exemplified by ordering 2 coffees in Italian.

 

So basically they took a vacation & got it paid for by HHI. Her blog talked about how they just thought jobs would "find them" or something. 

[canaanite2]

 

The agent was SUPERB.

 

Loved it when Miss Energy pointed out that the bed was too big and the agent said  "I thought you wanted company." I think the yoga teacher thing is just part of the plan to snag a husband who is as loopy as she is.  

[LazyToaster]

I only believe people don't watch TV if they actually don't own one. Otherwise I call bullshit on that particular self-righteous proclamation.

[izabella]

Hey, if they're on HH, then they sent in an application to be on a TV show, so to then stand there in front of the tv cameras and disdain television is laughable.

[Quof]

You mean like the Duggars?

[DownTheShore]

Oh, I'm so glad that you folks saw the Yoga Lady one!  I was virtually screaming at the TV because she was such a twit.
 
Given how long they would have had to have been in that cat apartment to get the shots done, she didn't seem to be having any allergic reaction to them.  Maybe her allergy is just another thing that makes her special?
 
I thought it was rather sad how she was fixated on getting a man.  I pity the poor fool who is drawn into her orbit.
 
--------
 
Re the Easter Island folks, the wife kept saying how she didn't want to be far away from her family lands whenever they looked at a house - yet she had been living in freaking Sweden for years!  What, all of a sudden being on the same small island in the Pacific as the rest of her kin is somehow farther away than Sweden??

[txvoodoo]

Re the Easter Island folks, the wife kept saying how she didn't want to be far away from her family lands whenever they looked at a house - yet she had been living in freaking Sweden for years!  What, all of a sudden being on the same small island in the Pacific as the rest of her kin is somehow farther away than Sweden??

Especially considering that Rapa Nui is 15 miles long by 7 miles wide. Our metroplex is 5 times that size, width-wise. 

[DownTheShore]

I was wondering about that whole tourism bit the husband plans to do. I'm sure it's a nice place to visit, but once you've seen the statues, what's there to do, other than relax?  Take some surfing lessons from a woman who's sole qualification seems to be that she claims to be the first woman to surf there?  Wah-hoo.  I looked up accommodations there and it looks like a lot of it of staying in other peoples' homes.  If he's not even going to have a full-time internet connection, how is he going to deal immediately with any travel problems that might occur?

 

Bet they fix up her house and start booking rooms out of it.

 

----------------

Anyone else getting tired of the Australian ones where some single person decides to move to the Gold Coast, or the Wonderful Coast, or the SuperDuper Coast, or the Best-Coast-in-the-World, without having any job waiting for them?  And how are these people going to make their rent, pay their utilities and afford all their clubbing by giving massages or teaching para-sailing?

 

Does Australia just allow anyone to arrive and stay???

Edited June 28, 2014 by DownTheShore

[scrb]

I think the Commonwealth nations allow their citizens to move around more freely so Canadians, Brits and Aussies.

 

Not sure how easy it would be for Americans to get something like a residence visa or a work permit in Oz.

 

There's a lot of people trying to immigrate to Australia, particularly from Asia.  I think they try to limit that, since they could get native English speakers from the Commonwealth.

 

That and until relatively recently, like within the past half century, Australia had overt racism against non whites.

[chessiegal]

I visited Australia in the 80's, and was told unless you had a job skil they needed, you were not welcome to stay (Americans).

[scrb]

I visited Sydney in 2010 when the unemployment rate was under 5%, maybe closer to 4% or even less.  US unemployment was still around 8% then.

 

The boom they had going on at the time was due to exports of resources, including a lot of coal to China.

 

Maybe there was a labor shortage of some type then.  There was an HHI episode where a young American couple went to Melbourne to be instructors at a tennis academy there and they had a weekend to find a place.  In cases like that, the employer probably provided generous relocation and housing allowances because they needed someone to start as soon as possible.

[Diane M]

Just saw an episode where a Korean couple with three children were moving from San Diego to Germany.  They had to be one of the nicest couples I've ever seen on HHI.  Not only did they not have unreasonable expectations, but they were really nice to one another.  Wish we'd see more of that type.

[LazyToaster]

I loved that couple moving to Germany! When the realtor asked about the kids weighing in on the house decision one of the parents said something like - this isn't a democracy. Cracked me up!

[BearCat49]

if you check out either their personal blogs or linkedin, you'll find that most of the HHI participants who supposedly up and moved w/o a job already live in the new location and have for (often) a year or more.

 

It's just another standard HHI plotline, i.e. a feeble attempt to create drama.

[chessiegal]

Single Mom in Costa Rica looking for a condo - she walked into one kitchen and said it had "absolutely no dishwasher". Can you kind of have a dishwasher, or a partial dishwasher? Either it has a dishwasher or it doesn't.

[OSM Mom]

I was more interested in what if any job she had there. And once again the pool-as-deathtrap thing. Ugh. Try watching your kids...

[puppytoes]

I was wondering also how she was supporting helself and her daughter. Another phoney story. She claimed to be on a strict budget but picks the house with $500 monthly hoa. Please. She must have received life insurance money from her late boyfriend. Also, I wonder how much it costs to send her kid to that school?

[Mrs. P.]

Re: the young South African couple moving to Perth

I was so annoyed by the wife's insistence that they could afford an apartment that was $100,000 over their maximum budget. She was so sure she could 'convince' her husband to buy that apartment, and I was afraid she was going to be successful. I was so glad that he didn't give in.

[missmarple]

I was wondering also how she was supporting helself and her daughter. Another phoney story. She claimed to be on a strict budget but picks the house with $500 monthly hoa. Please. She must have received life insurance money from her late boyfriend. Also, I wonder how much it costs to send her kid to that school

 

I thought she might be getting some serious alimony-did her boyfriend die? I missed that, But if true she's  livin' large on his death benefits.

 

At this point I just sigh and roll my eyes at some these "stories," where the HH has no visible means of support, obvious job and yet appears to have generous monetary resources to be moving across the globe. I moved once across country and it was eye wateringly expensive -(I never want to do that again) The house hunters and show never talk about just how much it costs and what kind paper work- red tape you have to go through to be able work aboard.  I just love it (not) when the show makes it seem like it's incredibly easy relocate to and work in  another country. Like you just pack up and go -you know just like that.

[Taylorh2]

I wish they would do a CC on what the exchange is from US dollars into whatever local curency. When a HH says our budget is $300,00 US dollars. What is that in currency say in Costa Rico ?

[izabella]

Re: the young South African couple moving to Perth

I was so annoyed by the wife's insistence that they could afford an apartment that was $100,000 over their maximum budget. She was so sure she could 'convince' her husband to buy that apartment, and I was afraid she was going to be successful. I was so glad that he didn't give in.

 

I loathed that woman!  She prided herself on her Manic PIxie Dream Girl persona.  Dharma and Greg redux!

 

I don't know how they could even afford $600k for an apartment to begin with.  How could they have possibly saved that money while in school?

[BearCat49]

In the early HHI days, participants stated the housing costs in local currency.  The costs were also captioned in USD ($$$).  Guess tptb decided that was too complicated for our pea brains, lol!

[DownTheShore]

I was wondering also how she was supporting helself and her daughter. Another phoney story. She claimed to be on a strict budget but picks the house with $500 monthly hoa. Please. She must have received life insurance money from her late boyfriend. Also, I wonder how much it costs to send her kid to that school?

 

Did she sell a property in Hawaii?  I know they mentioned that she had to go to work when her boyfriend died to support herself and her daughter with Hawaii's cost-of-living, so he was evidently making good money if she had been able to stay home.

 

I figured if he had some life insurance and if she sold their home, then she would have a nest egg.  Selling all their household goods in Hawaii means that they probably had much lower moving costs.  And the daughter is probably getting Social Security survivors benefits which could be used to cover the higher HOA fees.

 

She could actually "be" on a budget, in that the money she has, has to last until her daughter is old enough to support herself.  She could have included private schooling in that budget. ;)

[laredhead]

The guy in the Perth episode reminded me of Donny Osmond in his younger days.  Lots of white teeth and jet black hair and a nice smile.  The woman was very unrealistic.  His future with her is going to be one negotiation after another with her.

[BearCat49]

if you check out either their personal blogs or linkedin, you'll find that most of the HHI participants who supposedly up and moved w/o a job already live in the new location and have for (often) a year or more.

 

It's just another standard HHI plotline, i.e. a feeble attempt to create drama.

Oops, I meant to say that most of them, if the HHI plot indicates they up and moved w/o a job or place to live, according to their blogs or linkedin, have BOTH lived AND worked there for often a year or more.  That is, not just lived there.  Sorry -