House Hunters International - General Discussion

[Booklady1017]

I’m wondering since they pick a home before this is filmed how realistic it is what they are saying. I find this to be true in a number of episodes, but I will just reference Phoenix to China here. I wonder if she did any research initially to learn about the size and offerings of the apartments, especially about the squat toilets.  Maybe it was just exaggerated for the show. I did know about the beds and kitchens and the size by watching other episodes in Asia, but not about the squat toilets and the toilets in the shower. Maybe that’s more exclusive to China? I haven’t seen too many episodes there. I don’t blame her for not liking those squat toilets and the shower situation. Now since I never lived in China, I was wondering if all that is standard in most apartments or it’s due to her picking smaller sized apartments. I get that the apartments are smaller to begin with, but I wonder if some of the bigger apartments maybe had different bathrooms and all or no?

[mojito]

Are all these people house hunters? Do they maybe just pick up tourists and have them fake a story line?

[Ohwell]

3 minutes ago, mojito said:

Are all these people house hunters? Do they maybe just pick up tourists and have them fake a story line?

That's exactly what I'm thinking with a lot of these international house hunters.  Also, I think the "teaching English in xxxxx country" is a fake story for a lot of them. 

[biakbiak]

The only thing I have to say about this episode is the friend was hot!

[Ohwell]

The real estate agent was very attractive as well.  I've noticed on the HHI episodes recently that the real estate agents, both male and female, are attractive it seems than in the past, and I wonder if that's on purpose to attract more viewers to the show.   

[sempervivum]

30 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

The only thing I have to say about this episode is the friend was hot!

He also used a lot of non-standard English, and I wonder if his students end up with a very interesting take on the language!

Not body-shaming the HH (I thought she was beautiful), but I wonder if living spaces this small might encourage weight loss - you'd end up with a bit more room in your apartment.

Wow at this city growing from a 'fishing village' to 13M residents in 30 years.

[Ohwell]

2 hours ago, sempervivum said:

Not body-shaming the HH (I thought she was beautiful), but I wonder if living spaces this small might encourage weight loss - you'd end up with a bit more room in your apartment.

I thought the same thing.

[TVForever]

5 hours ago, Ohwell said:

The real estate agent was very attractive as well.  I've noticed on the HHI episodes recently that the real estate agents, both male and female, are attractive it seems than in the past, and I wonder if that's on purpose to attract more viewers to the show.   

 

5 hours ago, biakbiak said:

The only thing I have to say about this episode is the friend was hot!

 

5 hours ago, Ohwell said:

 

And the three of them seemed to be having fun together on the “ house hunt”. That was nice.

If the loft apartment had been a real option, that would definitely have been the better choice.It offered more elbow room for just an extra $50 per month. 

Anybody else notice that the first apartment was noted for being in the area favored by expats, but was the only one with the squat toilet? I experienced the squat toilet during a visit to China many years ago. Glad to say I did it, but I don’t ever need to do it again. I can’t imagine there are that many expats signing up for that for everyday living .

[SmithW6079]

Fake or not, Phoenix to China was an embarrassment. She was rude and obnoxious, dismissive of another country's culture and norms. I disliked her immensely. 

Of the apartments, I liked the loft one the best.

[LittleIggy]

Seattle to Mexico: The only way I would have retired in my forties is if I had a LOT of money. I wouldn’t want to have to worry that my money would run out. I wonder how much his pension was.

[Grrarrggh]

Ohwell 15 hours ago said The real estate agent was very attractive as well.  I've noticed on the HHI episodes recently that the real estate agents, both male and female, are attractive it seems than in the past, and I wonder if that's on purpose to attract more viewers to the show.   

 

Considering that a lot of the real estate agents aren't ACTUALLY real estate agents, I'd definitely say they cast them based on looks. 

[Booklady1017]

7 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Seattle to Mexico: The only way I would have retired in my forties is if I had a LOT of money. I wouldn’t want to have to worry that my money would run out. I wonder how much his pension was.

(Seattle to Mexico)I was wondering how they could do that even with his pension.

[Pickles]

33 minutes ago, Booklady1017 said:

(Seattle to Mexico)I was wondering how they could do that even with his pension.

Wasn't the husband freaked out at the possibility of having to spend $30k on furnishings in one of the houses? That tells me they are living pretty close to the edge. If you are retiring at age 40, you better have boatloads of money socked away or coming in from somewhere. The husband said they were going to spend their time golfing, eating out, and probably counting every penny spent. After a week or two, I would be ready to end vacation life and probably kill my husband. They left all of their friends behind in Seattle. Their friends all thought they were crazy. I always think too, what if the husband or wife suddenly croaks off? I doubt that the remaining partner would stay in Mexico. I would definitely be heading back to the states, but then, I never would have moved away to begin with. 

[javajeanelaine]

It sounded like they had quite a bit of money saved from her start up $$ and the sale of their home.

[LittleIggy]

The place they bought was just $10,000 cheaper than the extra $30,000 for all the furnishings place.

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 12/4/2018 at 9:48 AM, biakbiak said:

The only thing I have to say about this episode is the friend was hot!

He was funny, too.  That whole episode was a hoot because of the friends and the agent, and they need a straight man so the HH needed to be there, I guess.  I laughed out loud at the agent's guffaw when she was hiking up the mattress to close the closet door, and when the hot friend jumped right on that Tony Little Gazelle machine and stayed on it during the conversation.  Even the long shot later--you could see him real small in the back gliding away.  And smacking that bed--whack whack--when she asked where the living space was.  I want him to be my friend.

I watched this episode in particular because the description mentioned the small space, and knowing that spaces in China tend to be small, I was interested in spaces that are notably small.  And this episode delivered on that front.

[sempervivum]

3 hours ago, Booklady1017 said:

(Seattle to Mexico)I was wondering how they could do that even with his pension.

Unless he was very high-ranking and she made millions with her startup sale, this situation makes no sense. They had only met/married 2 years ago, how much could they have saved toward this fantasy of supporting themselves for potentially 40-50+years, some of it in declining health? 

[mojito]

Quote

He also used a lot of non-standard English, and I wonder if his students end up with a very interesting take on the language!

She, too, used non-standard English. I guess I'm vain, but if I'm supposed to teach other people English and I'm being filmed, I will use my best English.

Maybe these "teachers" actually don't know better?

Quote

It sounded like they had quite a bit of money saved from her start up $$ and the sale of their home.

Not too mention that at least one of them might've come into the marriage with savings.

[Kohola3]

1 minute ago, mojito said:

Maybe these "teachers" actually don't know better?

Quote

I think the whole "teacher" bit is a big charade.  I'd wager most of those people don't even have jobs, just think they can live more cheaply over in developing countries and hang around until their funds run out which I would wager would be within a year.  How many teachers (especially those with bad grammar) do they need around the world?  Convenient story line.

[puppytoes]

9 hours ago, Booklady1017 said:

(Seattle to Mexico)I was wondering how they could do that even with his pension.

They are losing 20 plus years of paying into social security if they don’t go back to the states and work.  I don’t know if I believe their story line.

[Booklady1017]

1 hour ago, puppytoes said:

They are losing 20 plus years of paying into social security if they don’t go back to the states and work.  I don’t know if I believe their story line.

Yeah it doesn’t make sense to me.

7 hours ago, sempervivum said:

Unless he was very high-ranking and she made millions with her startup sale, this situation makes no sense. They had only met/married 2 years ago, how much could they have saved toward this fantasy of supporting themselves for potentially 40-50+years, some of it in declining health? 

I agree. I don’t see that have happened.

[LittleIggy]

12 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

I think the whole "teacher" bit is a big charade.  I'd wager most of those people don't even have jobs, just think they can live more cheaply over in developing countries and hang around until their funds run out which I would wager would be within a year.  How many teachers (especially those with bad grammar) do they need around the world?  Convenient story line.

Trust me, there are a lot of language mills that will hire native English speakers with little teaching experience (esp. if they are young, good looking and white). China is tightening up on requirements but places like Vietnam are the “new China” for English teachers.

[MsTree]

Stupid cow in Mexico (upon seeing a hot tub) says to hubby "you can bathe the dogs in there"...Ugh!  First of all, it's not a bath tub. There's no drain leading to a sewer for all the dirt, grime, hair, etc. So unless you're prepared to completely drain hundreds of gallons of water in order to clean the hot tub every time you "bathe'" your dogs (which I seriously doubt because you both seem very lazy), that's totally disgusting!

[sempervivum]

El Paso TX to Aalborg, Denmark- I thought it was funny that the pro golf guy had to go to Texas to find a girl who looked more Danish than he did (and he looked like a Viking)!

I hate episodes where the HH's end up staying where they were; I also wondered what happened to all her demands for a place where she could walk to shops, blah blah blah;. That little house was way out of town. 

[jpgr]

On 12/3/2018 at 9:55 PM, LittleIggy said:

I had to hold it in until I got back to my apartment to use the western toilet. I never could figure out how to use a squat toilet without peeing all over my clothes!

I had this problem in Japan, but figured out to look for the handicapped stalls which had western toilets. :-)

[StatisticalOutlier]

17 hours ago, puppytoes said:

They are losing 20 plus years of paying into social security if they don’t go back to the states and work.  I don’t know if I believe their story line.

I don't know if y'all are familiar with the FI/RE movement--Financially Independent and Retired Early--and those people won't be paying into social security.  I have only glancing familiarity with the whole thing, but I wouldn't be surprised if they don't worry about not paying in to social security because they're not sure it's going to be around when they become eligible.

Of course, the most successful FI/RE people have blogs that they have monetized, so if they're declaring that income they are paying into social security, but it's not something they're keen on divulging because blogging at that level is work.

I don't know if the Mexico people are FI/RE types, but there are a surprising number of them out there, and the tech sector is a common breeding ground--lots of income and a booming market to invest it in, lots of equity in houses (Seattle and Silicon Valley), and no experience with the future.

[slasherboy]

I felt so bad for the young woman in Denmark.  She's stuck out in the country with a newborn, no family except for her in-laws, no friends and not many opportunities to make any, and a husband who travels.  I can see her heading back to Texas before the baby learns to walk.

As for the woman in China, yes, she was rude and an embarrassment (she doesn't like noodles and rice so she move to China?) and I didn't like anything about her.  However, to suggest that living in a small space might encourage her to lose weight is just ignorant.

[Booklady1017]

8 hours ago, sempervivum said:

El Paso TX to Aalborg, Denmark- I thought it was funny that the pro golf guy had to go to Texas to find a girl who looked more Danish than he did (and he looked like a Viking)!

I hate episodes where the HH's end up staying where they were; I also wondered what happened to all her demands for a place where she could walk to shops, blah blah blah;. That little house was way out of town. 

I didn't get that either. 

6 hours ago, slasherboy said:

I felt so bad for the young woman in Denmark.  She's stuck out in the country with a newborn, no family except for her in-laws, no friends and not many opportunities to make any, and a husband who travels.  I can see her heading back to Texas before the baby learns to walk.

As for the woman in China, yes, she was rude and an embarrassment (she doesn't like noodles and rice so she move to China?) and I didn't like anything about her.  However, to suggest that living in a small space might encourage her to lose weight is just ignorant.

As for the issue she had about being able to go out to town when she needed stuff for the baby and her husband was away at a tournament, they never said how they resolved it. Did they get her a car so she could travel to town? And you'd think her husband wouldn't want her to be so lonely in the country. I hope at least her inlaws came to visit her.

[biakbiak]

Since they always have already chosen the home and many homeowners have lived their for awhile sometimes years, at least once the couple actually built the home they “chose”, I wonder why they just didn’t pretend he didn’t already live there like they frequently do.

[LittleIggy]

Canada to Scotland: Update didn’t mention that they had found jobs. He said he left a job he had worked hard to get to follow her after 2 weeks of dating. WTF. 🙄

[Ohwell]

7 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Canada to Scotland: Update didn’t mention that they had found jobs. He said he left a job he had worked hard to get to follow her after 2 weeks of dating. WTF. 🙄

I've given up on figuring out the back stories of these HHI people.  I think they're mostly lies.  I've gotten to the point where, unless it's a location that I'm really interested in seeing, I don't even watch HHI anymore.  I was interested in seeing Edinburgh, but this was just too much.    

[Booklady1017]

10 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Canada to Scotland: Update didn’t mention that they had found jobs. He said he left a job he had worked hard to get to follow her after 2 weeks of dating. WTF. 🙄

Yes he made a point of saying he gave up a good teaching job to follow her. I noticed they didn't mention if he or she got a job, did that mean they didn't find a job. Did she leave her job too? Yeah I did think their story was a bit unreal.

2 hours ago, Ohwell said:

I've given up on figuring out the back stories of these HHI people.  I think they're mostly lies.  I've gotten to the point where, unless it's a location that I'm really interested in seeing, I don't even watch HHI anymore.  I was interested in seeing Edinburgh, but this was just too much.    

I been to Edinburgh and it's very nice. It was lovely to see it again.

[ML89]

Canada to Scotland: Yeah, that was a puzzler. I would have been in that first house without a thought. The whole "what are we going to do" - you're teachers. I have a friend and another friend's child who both did language teaching in Japan. I'm betting Scotland is the same. Maybe he was on the lam - just deciding to go along with someone you've been dating two weeks is a bit of a craziness.

Finally saw London with record guy and I also wanted the first apartment in that one. Him going on about his records - dude, leave them in the States, you'll be by the biggest market in London and you can get new ones. Also there's this nifty invention called the iPod.

Phoenix to China: I am not sure she thought that one through because one look at that bathroom and I would have turned right around to go home. It was almost as insane as that woman in Frankfurt showering in the kitchen and I guess washing your hands for everything in the kitchen sink. 

El Paso to Denmark: that girl was so easy going. Sure, honey, I'll move to Denmark where I know no one and have a baby with you while you go on the European Tour (if he's lucky, I think Europe has the equivalent of the Web.com lesser tour where you're paid less). I agree she'll be home in a few years.

Edited December 8, 2018 by ML89

[mojito]

Canada to Scotland

How many times did she say "character"?

Quote

He said he left a job he had worked hard to get to follow her after 2 weeks of dating. 

Having someone follow someone else to another country after such a short period of dating strikes me a little as stalking.

Edited December 7, 2018 by mojito

[Tony]

Edinburgh: I turned it off as soon as she said "this has been my dreams for a while so I make the rules." What a self-centered asshat.

The boyfriend should ditch her asap so she could chase her dreams - alone.

[CruiseDiva]

8 hours ago, Booklady1017 said:

Yes he made a point of saying he gave up a good teaching job to follow her.

I turned off the TV when I heard that, as well as that they'd only dated previously for a short time. Twits.

[Booklady1017]

1 hour ago, CruiseDiva said:

I turned off the TV when I heard that, as well as that they'd only dated previously for a short time. Twits.

Yeah they both sound like idiots.

[tvrox]

I lived in Edinburgh for a few months-great to see it featured on House Hunters International! That first place, with the view of the castle, was amazing. That view is priceless and I'm surprised they didn't take it. I lived further out, but Edinburgh does have a good bus system in and out of the city, which I was glad to hear them mention. I agree with all of you that the job situation seemed weird. Can Canadians work in the UK without the work visa? If that's the case, then the move makes a bit more sense.

[SmithW6079]

On 12/7/2018 at 11:41 AM, Booklady1017 said:

Yes he made a point of saying he gave up a good teaching job to follow her. I noticed they didn't mention if he or she got a job, did that mean they didn't find a job. Did she leave her job too? Yeah I did think their story was a bit unreal.

I been to Edinburgh and it's very nice. It was lovely to see it again.

I've been to Edinburgh too, and I worked for a Scottish company, so I enjoyed the scenery of the city. I liked that they pronounced it the way the Scots pronounce it.

I too would have taken the first apartment, just for the location right below Edinburgh Castle. Morons.

On 12/7/2018 at 7:22 PM, Tony said:

Edinburgh: I turned it off as soon as she said "this has been my dreams for a while so I make the rules." What a self-centered asshat.

The boyfriend should ditch her asap so she could chase her dreams - alone.

He was pretty unsure throughout the whole thing, so I think she's the first woman whoever said yes to sleeping with him, so he let his dick make the decisions. 

The Bentonville to Melbourne couple obviously worked for Walmart. They were both annoying. However, I was coveting the realtor's tie.

[LittleIggy]

Melbourne: The husband had to have worked for Walmart, but she said she was a teacher. I like that real estate agent. He has been on there before in Oz and has a good sense of humor.

[Booklady1017]

14 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Melbourne: The husband had to have worked for Walmart, but she said she was a teacher. I like that real estate agent. He has been on there before in Oz and has a good sense of humor.

I've seen the Aussie agent too and I liked him. I knew Bentonville sounded familar and now I know why.

[Kenzie]

23 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Melbourne: The husband had to have worked for Walmart, but she said she was a teacher. I like that real estate agent. He has been on there before in Oz and has a good sense of humor.

I was so surprised when the agent said he had been married thirty years. He didn't look like he was in his 50's. I would have guessed early 40's.

[LittleIggy]

Costa Rica: Did the agent not know she would be on TV? Seriously, WTF was she thinking when she wore that romper thing? I wish the wife would do something with her hair like introduce it to a brush. During the update she mentioned they had not figured out the internet situation or something like that. If you are going to work remotely, wouldn’t that be the first thing to look into before you move to a foreign country that is not as developed as the US?

[debraran]

On 12/8/2018 at 6:21 PM, tvrox said:

I lived in Edinburgh for a few months-great to see it featured on House Hunters International! That first place, with the view of the castle, was amazing. That view is priceless and I'm surprised they didn't take it. I lived further out, but Edinburgh does have a good bus system in and out of the city, which I was glad to hear them mention. I agree with all of you that the job situation seemed weird. Can Canadians work in the UK without the work visa? If that's the case, then the move makes a bit more sense.

My daughter spent a semester there and loved it. She figured that apartment wasn't "real" and they had to pick the one far away. I'm assuming from her "savings" comment and her age, her family has money or she had it another way. You don't just move to Scotland without a job. My daughter assumed when I said, I didn't believe the 2 wk thing, that the "saw each other before" was exaggerated and they were just friends and decided to move to Scotland or the whole thing was a lie. Sometimes it's just a bit much, especially the ring. Maybe for them, the "problem" wasn't going to be a second bedroom or washing machine, but just that they were new to each other. Just didn't flow well but it was nice seeing some locations again.

[Booklady1017]

17 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Costa Rica: Did the agent not know she would be on TV? Seriously, WTF was she thinking when she wore that romper thing? I wish the wife would do something with her hair like introduce it to a brush. During the update she mentioned they had not figured out the internet situation or something like that. If you are going to work remotely, wouldn’t that be the first thing to look into before you move to a foreign country that is not as developed as the US?

Yeah sadly that dress was not the most flattering. Was it a romper or sun dress? 

[LittleIggy]

Morocco: I can understand not wanting elderly mom to have to deal with lots of stairs, but the first place was my favorite. I loved how it wrapped around that central atrium kind of space. And those colorful tiles!

[Pickles]

Morocco did not look appealing to me. I would have been moving to Spain to be closer to the mother.

[mojito]

Morocco

What a nice, pleasant, low-keyed couple. With some of these house hunter couples, it seems like someone is usually trying to present himself as some sort of unique, artistic, or quirky person. Or someone is particularly demanding or fussy. These two were of similar temperaments.

That's all I got.

[laredhead]

I had an attack of claustrophobia in the first house.  No windows, and the HH's kept saying it was dark.  The TV lights always make the interiors much brighter and more appealing.  What about fresh air in those places.  An interior courtyard doesn't provide for cross breezes.  I need to investigate the climate there.  I also wondered why they didn't move to Spain.  Tax situation?  Cost of living?  

[sempervivum]

Morocco- well, I guess hubby won this one, at least he got a nice kitchen. But neither one got the location they wanted; and, yeah, if they're going to base their choice heavily on whether the old lady can get around in it, why not just move to Spain? At 83, she's not likely to be traveling for much longer, then what? 

I don't understand what kind of 'studio' the wife needed. That 'compromise' room they ended up with looked like she just had a regular office with a computer. I assumed she wanted to paint or something.