House Hunters International - General Discussion

[Mittengirl]

I wonder what people coming to the U.S. would look for if they want an authentic American home?  And I hate when the HHIers ask for “authentic Spanish”.  No country (except maybe Vatican City) has the same “look” country-wide.

[LittleIggy]

Nick the Brit in Spain is now one of my HHI faves along with Richard, Adrian, Baby Elvis (Kevin), and Taniel.

[amarante]

I just viewed the Madrid episode and the woman was absolutely correct in terms of wanting to live in a vibrant area where it was easy to have a social life. I don’t find it strange that one would want to live in an urban neighborhood where one is surrounded with a vibrant street life.

There is a huge difference between the type of experience one will have and the realtor acknowledged that the way to experience Madrid was to live where it is easy to meet up with people. I don’t see it as different than wanting to live in any urban area in any city. My experience living in the Village is sure as hell different than if I lived in Ozone Park. I could just walk out my door and be assured of having an interesting experience. After all, there is a reason people go TO these places when they have free time. The term is geographically undesirable because there is no street life and it is way more difficult to have to shlep somewhere than walk out the door. As a rule people who live in those areas don’t visit residential suburban areas for fun  

And many US hunters want charm as part of their requirements. I wanted a place with charm and it was very specific when I looked for a place to rent in Los Angeles. 

[Homily]

7 hours ago, amarante said:

I just viewed the Madrid episode and the woman was absolutely correct in terms of wanting to live in a vibrant area where it was easy to have a social life. I don’t find it strange that one would want to live in an urban neighborhood where one is surrounded with a vibrant street life.

Absolutely.  When we first lived in England it was with children - and we chose an area with good schools and easy proximity to shops and to the train for commuting into London.  A social life wasn't an issue.  When we went back without kids (they were in university in Canada) we chose a place that was much closer to the centre of things - we weren't in our 20s anymore but we did want a social life - we didn't need to be near clubs and a  busy night life wasn't in the cards but there was a happy medium that we were able to find.

Edited September 12, 2019 by Homily

[Ohwell]

Sicily couple:  I hate being a curmudgeon but those two were too lovey dovey with each other, and I got tired of them gushing over their soon to be born daughter.   I didn't even watch long enough to see which place they picked.

[Pickles]

1 hour ago, Ohwell said:

Sicily couple:  I hate being a curmudgeon but those two were too lovey dovey with each other, and I got tired of them gushing over their soon to be born daughter.   I didn't even watch long enough to see which place they picked.

I agree. It felt like half the episode was each of them singing each other's praises. Gag.

[biakbiak]

I didn’t mind the couple because they seemed genuine and crazy excited about their relationship and their baby which is completely normal. 

[proserpina65]

On ‎08‎/‎28‎/‎2019 at 2:33 AM, 7isBlue said:

That was like a dorm room. I would have chosen that gorgeous apartment with the roommate for the same rent!

I’m pretty surprised Vienna lady decided to leave her dogs behind. I’m not half as “obsessed” with my dog, but he’s so attached to me that I know I couldn’t leave him. 

I spent six months in England and left my cat with my parents, but I knew it was a finite amount of time and the quarantine for the cat would've taken up a lot of it.  (Quarantine laws have changed a lot since then.)

[proserpina65]

On ‎09‎/‎05‎/‎2019 at 3:10 PM, LennieBriscoe said:

Paris ^^^: I agree! The daughter's affected Generic-Euro accent was maddening!

Amsterdam: Young Indian-American couple. They. Didn't. Take. The. Canal. View.  I have no more time for these idiots.

The canal view place was nice, but it didn't suit them for various reasons.  They actually chose a place based on reasonable concerns rather than dismissing reason for a canal view.

Edited September 12, 2019 by proserpina65

[proserpina65]

On ‎09‎/‎06‎/‎2019 at 12:52 AM, LittleIggy said:

“Hot water heater” has just become something people say like “ATM machine.” 

And PIN number.

[proserpina65]

On ‎09‎/‎11‎/‎2019 at 11:38 AM, LittleIggy said:

I feel sorry for all the Spaniards who aren’t living the authentic Spanish experience because they don’t live downtown. Pobrecitos.

That annoyed the crap out of me.  I get that she wanted the lively nightlife of center city Madrid, but there had to be a better way to phrase it.  Suburbanites are still living the authentic experience.

20 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

I am always speechless when the house hunters announce that they want the authentic "fill in the blank" experience.  How do they think people live?  In hovels without any modern conveniences?  I love the modern apartments that we often see on this show and would want one if I moved overseas (when I applied for a position in London I had so much fun checking out housing online...alas, I did not get the job...).  Related to the Madrid episode, if the apartment is in a building in which Spaniards live, then it is authentically Spanish.  I get it when house hunters are looking for an expat community-it may be more to expats' tastes, but when moving to another country I would just assume that most of the places I looked at were "authentic."  Some people may have a budget that allows them to live like other elites (and would live that way even in the U.S. [well above how the rest of us live]), but in the $900/month range, they are looking at authentic Spanish apartments.  Maybe people want to recreate historical fiction or something, but this is a common theme on this series.

I'm not a fan of modern architecture, and I love historic charm in a building and would much rather have a place that reflected the history, but I'd never say that any other type of apartment/building/area was not authentic to the people who lived there.  And I'd definitely take commuting time/ease into consideration.

[proserpina65]

12 hours ago, amarante said:

I just viewed the Madrid episode and the woman was absolutely correct in terms of wanting to live in a vibrant area where it was easy to have a social life. I don’t find it strange that one would want to live in an urban neighborhood where one is surrounded with a vibrant street life.

There is a huge difference between the type of experience one will have and the realtor acknowledged that the way to experience Madrid was to live where it is easy to meet up with people. I don’t see it as different than wanting to live in any urban area in any city. My experience living in the Village is sure as hell different than if I lived in Ozone Park. I could just walk out my door and be assured of having an interesting experience. After all, there is a reason people go TO these places when they have free time. The term is geographically undesirable because there is no street life and it is way more difficult to have to shlep somewhere than walk out the door. As a rule people who live in those areas don’t visit residential suburban areas for fun  

And many US hunters want charm as part of their requirements. I wanted a place with charm and it was very specific when I looked for a place to rent in Los Angeles. 

It wasn't what she wanted that annoyed me, it was how she phrased it.  Downtown Madrid is no more authentic an experience than suburban Madrid or rural Spain for that matter.  They're all Spain, they're all Spanish, they're all authentic, albeit different, experiences.

[amarante]

We all hear things differently. I watched this episode after reading posts on the thread so I was listening with certain expectations which weren't met. From my perspective what she wanted was to immerse herself in the complete Madrid experience which meant being in the center of the action rather than being somewhere in the suburbs. I didn't hear her babbling on about the outer regions being inauthentic - only that she and her husband would find it more difficult to access the kinds of experiences that are typically found in city centers.

In terms of charm, again I think that there is a rational difference between living in a brownstone or the equivalent and living in a building that could be anywhere in the world. It's a pretty typical want for many people however and wherever they are looking. People in New Mexico often want what looks like the classic New Mexican homes - people in San Francisco would love to live in a painted lady. 

If I were going to live in a place for a short period of time I would also choose to live in a vibrant urban area so that I could interact as easily as possible with as wide a variety of people as I could. A suburban lifestyle or even a lifestyle in the outer boroughs is not comparable because it is so much more effort to get out and experience things. When else do you not have to deal with constraints of children which is why typically people move to the suburbs because they compromise based on the needs of children for space or whatever. 

[LennieBriscoe]

4 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

The canal view place was nice, but it didn't suit them for various reasons.  They actually chose a place based on reasonable concerns rather than dismissing reason for a canal view.

 But there really is no other point to moving to Amsterdam, then.

[QQQQ]

23 hours ago, Mittengirl said:

I wonder what people coming to the U.S. would look for if they want an authentic American home?  And I hate when the HHIers ask for “authentic Spanish”.  No country (except maybe Vatican City) has the same “look” country-wide.

This would be a fun show. I'd love to watch people from England, Spain, Norway, Mexico, etc. house hunt in the US and critique things!!! "I simply can't live without a bidet! These people must be filthy!" or "Why are there closets everywhere I look?"

[LittleIggy]

Tangiers: Here we had the exact opposite of wanting “local charm”! I just knew they were going to pick the cramped generic apartment. I loved the second place. I would love to live someplace like that. Couldn’t they get a countertop convection oven if there was no built in oven?

BTW, apropos of hard mattresses, when I lived in China in 2010, the mattresses were rock hard. It was like sleeping on on board. Killed my back.

[scrb]

8 hours ago, LennieBriscoe said:

 But there really is no other point to moving to Amsterdam, then.

Most residents of Amsterdam don't have direct canal views.

It's a high premium to live in buildings overlooking the canal.

Same in Venice.

The point of moving to Amsterdam would be the same as moving to any European city.  There could be job reasons or people want to live in Europe, be able to easily visit other parts of Europe, etc.

[sempervivum]

Tangiers- Loved the look of the 2 traditional houses, but there was basically one room per floor, and most of them were sort of...living rooms? I would have loved for the realtor to explain how these rooms would be used by, say, a family of 6. Both outside spaces were spectacular, though.

It was funny that the husband described the wife as if she were some fun, adventurous soul, and really he was the one who was willing to take the 'risk' of living in something that didn't look just like a rather crummy US apartment (the one they picked).

[proserpina65]

20 hours ago, LennieBriscoe said:

 But there really is no other point to moving to Amsterdam, then.

Amsterdam's a great city, full of museums, cafes and activities.  If I couldn't afford to live on a canal, I'd still love living there.  And it's easy enough to get to a canal fairly quickly if you need to see one that badly.

Edited to add: oh, and the cheese, all the glorious cheese!

Edited September 13, 2019 by proserpina65

[proserpina65]

22 hours ago, amarante said:

I didn't hear her babbling on about the outer regions being inauthentic - only that she and her husband would find it more difficult to access the kinds of experiences that are typically found in city centers.

She literally talked about the "authentic Spanish experience" multiple times, and commented on how they wouldn't get it at the suburban locations.

[proserpina65]

22 hours ago, amarante said:

If I were going to live in a place for a short period of time I would also choose to live in a vibrant urban area so that I could interact as easily as possible with as wide a variety of people as I could. A suburban lifestyle or even a lifestyle in the outer boroughs is not comparable because it is so much more effort to get out and experience things. When else do you not have to deal with constraints of children which is why typically people move to the suburbs because they compromise based on the needs of children for space or whatever. 

Again, there are other considerations: travel time to work, expense, whether or not the apartment has enough space, etc.  I mean, yeah, I would rather live in the city center, but there are compromises for that, and it's not always possible even for a short time.  And having been to Madrid more than once, I can say with certainty that there are plenty of things to experience in the outer boroughs, probably just one street over from those apartments.

But as most of us pointed out: it's not her reason for wanting that particular apartment which bugged us, but how she deemed life in the city center as "the authentic Spanish experience", which does imply that anywhere is somehow inauthentically Spanish.

(I live roughly an hour one way from both Baltimore and Philadelphia - that is an inconvenient distance to the attractions of city life.  15-20 minutes by metro is nothing.)

Edited September 13, 2019 by proserpina65

[biakbiak]

12 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

gain, there are other considerations: travel time to work, expense, whether or not the apartment has enough space, etc.  I mean, yeah, I would rather live in the city center, but there are compromises for that, and it's not always possible even for a short time. 

And they weighed those considerations  and went with the one in the city. Their job was basically talking to kids in English so most likely would not take up a lot of work other than during class time.

[proserpina65]

1 minute ago, biakbiak said:

And they weighed those considerations  and went with the one in the city. Their job was basically talking to kids in English so most likely would not take up a lot of work other than during class time.

I know they did.  I was talking about the previous commenter's generalities.

Again, their priorities were fine.  It was how she put it that bugged.

[swissair100]

Quote

It was how she put it that bugged

Exactly.  

We get her preferences & desires. They are young, active & being close to/at the center of Madrid would be a more vibrant & fun experience - close to shops, bars, nightclubs, museums, tapas bars, et al.  City Centre Madrid is exciting - We agree.  An hour commute to work - fine.

But for those of us who have been to Madrid &/or lived in many cities in Europe/world,  many surrounding neighborhoods can be & are just as charming (even trendy & have a flourishing nightlife). They often provide a more authentic cultural experience as these neighborhoods aren't as "tourist-driven".

Or, maybe it's just her smugness & lack of appeal on TV, which made me dislike her. 😑

[Grrarrggh]

23 hours ago, LennieBriscoe said:

 But there really is no other point to moving to Amsterdam, then.

There are lots of other reasons. Jobs, family, education, money, adventure....

[Zanne]

12 hours ago, sempervivum said:

Tangiers- Loved the look of the 2 traditional houses, but there was basically one room per floor, and most of them were sort of...living rooms? I would have loved for the realtor to explain how these rooms would be used by, say, a family of 6. Both outside spaces were spectacular, though.

It was funny that the husband described the wife as if she were some fun, adventurous soul, and really he was the one who was willing to take the 'risk' of living in something that didn't look just like a rather crummy US apartment (the one they picked).

I went to Morocco recently and, from what I gathered, those living areas with the long banks of wall seating are often used as beds. It's a living area during the day, and people sleep there at night.

I have to admit, the wife bugged me big time. About the tenth time she said she wanted a house just like where she came from, I blurted out loud, "**** you. Stay home." I was appalled at my uncontrolled outburst, but if you want exactly like home, then why leave?

What can I say. It's been a rough week and I took my emotions out on my television.

[LittleIggy]

11 minutes ago, Zanne said:

I went to Morocco recently and, from what I gathered, those living areas with the long banks of wall seating are often used as beds. It's a living area during the day, and people sleep there at night.

I have to admit, the wife bugged me big time. About the tenth time she said she wanted a house just like where she came from, I blurted out loud, "**** you. Stay home." I was appalled at my uncontrolled outburst, but if you want exactly like home, then why leave?

What can I say. It's been a rough week and I took my emotions out on my television.

Hey, I do it all the time! Don’t worry about it. 😏

[LittleIggy]

I liked the two good-looking half bros in Vietnam. Glad they both found jobs. 

[rhofmovalley]

11 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

I liked the two good-looking half bros in Vietnam. Glad they both found jobs. 

I couldn't decide which one was better-looking <shallow>. I liked them both and loved their story.

And I have a fierce craving for pho.

[twinks]

The brothers were great! Totally enjoyed them. No complaining, whining, etc...very reasonable needs/wants.

[biakbiak]

I hope the one brother was joking about not knowing the actual name of the city he moved to because that seems worse than people not knowing what their money will get them in places.

[LennieBriscoe]

On 9/13/2019 at 2:26 AM, scrb said:

Most residents of Amsterdam don't have direct canal views.

It's a high premium to live in buildings overlooking the canal.

Same in Venice.

The point of moving to Amsterdam would be the same as moving to any European city.  There could be job reasons or people want to live in Europe, be able to easily visit other parts of Europe, etc.

Most residents of A'dam aren't, by definition, moving there. They ARE there. 

The show wasn't about why people move to Europe (I've been, many times, including to Venice, and including using A'dam as a base), but what choices we saw were open to this particular couple choosing to move to this particular city. 

We were told their budget. We were shown their option of a building overlooking a canal.  

I stand by my comment. 

Edited September 15, 2019 by LennieBriscoe

[Grrarrggh]

33 minutes ago, LennieBriscoe said:

Most residents of A'dam aren't, by definition, moving there. They ARE there. 

How do you think they got there? A good percentage weren't born there. 

[biakbiak]

22 minutes ago, Grrarrggh said:

How do you think they got there? A good percentage weren't born there. 

Seriously less than half of Amsterdam residents are even Dutch by birth much less born and raised in the city of Amsterdam.

If I moved to a Amsterdam I really wouldn’t care about being on a canal and at most go with one of the smaller ones because speaking as someone who lives near a high traffic tourist area it can get very old.

Edited September 15, 2019 by biakbiak

[doodlebug]

9 hours ago, LennieBriscoe said:

We were told their budget. We were shown their option of a building overlooking a canal.  

I stand by my comment. 

We who watch this show also know that it is scripted and that they’ve already signed a lease before filming even starts. Therefore, just because they were shown an apartment overlooking a canal doesn’t mean it was an option for them at the time they were looking.  Many, if not most, of the decoy apartments we see are not for rent at the time they are filmed.

So, I don’t fault them for not choosing an apartment that wasn’t an option at the time they did their REAL house hunt.

[rhofmovalley]

4 hours ago, doodlebug said:

We who watch this show also know that it is scripted and that they’ve already signed a lease before filming even starts. Therefore, just because they were shown an apartment overlooking a canal doesn’t mean it was an option for them at the time they were looking.  Many, if not most, of the decoy apartments we see are not for rent at the time they are filmed.

So, I don’t fault them for not choosing an apartment that wasn’t an option at the time they did their REAL house hunt.

Most of them have already been living there for weeks if not months.  And as we've seen, many of them are only there temporarily.  In fact, lots of them are already back in their home country when the episode airs.

[seacliffsal]

I think one of the issues with the Amsterdam non-canal view choice was that the wife specifically stated that she wanted a canal view.  Although we can intellectually know that they had chosen their apartment before filming the episode, we can only comment and snark on what we are shown.  Therefore, she stated that her priority was a canal view and we can snark on that no matter what shenanigans the house hunters and producers came up with and participated in while filming.

I don't always comment on the episodes as I'm usually far behind (I keep them on the dvr until ready to view); it just so happens that I am currently up to date so have participated a bit more.  My favorite episodes are the ones in which the house hunters actually have a realistic budget for where and what they want and in which they house hunters respond to each other and the options in a positive way.  

[biakbiak]

33 minutes ago, seacliffsal said:

think one of the issues with the Amsterdam non-canal view choice was that the wife specifically stated that she wanted a canal view.  Although we can intellectually know that they had chosen their apartment before filming the episode, we can only comment and snark on what we are shown.  Therefore, she stated that her priority was a canal view and we can snark on that no matter what shenanigans the house hunters and producers came up with and participated in while filming.

But I also find that realistic that when you start looking for a place you have a list of things that you want from location to views to bed/bathroom number and then you have to weigh those wants vs. smaller rooms, lack of flow etc that come with them and decide what is important.

Edited September 15, 2019 by biakbiak

[SmithW6079]

On 9/14/2019 at 12:42 AM, LittleIggy said:

I liked the two good-looking half bros in Vietnam. Glad they both found jobs. 

On 9/14/2019 at 11:48 AM, rhofmovalley said:

I couldn't decide which one was better-looking <shallow>. I liked them both and loved their story.

And I have a fierce craving for pho.

On 9/14/2019 at 8:04 PM, twinks said:

The brothers were great! Totally enjoyed them. No complaining, whining, etc...very reasonable needs/wants.

I liked them, but their story seemed a little weird. Personally, I thought the brother with all the tatts was the hotter. He definitely seemed the dominant one,  until the end, with the picking of the apartment. I thought the two-bed, two-bath one was best. Wasn't the one they picked the one with the bedroom/closet? I thought the younger brother was really being a dick about it over $100 a month.

How convenient that the tatt brother managed to get a job at the very restaurant they went to in the beginning. 😂

[Grrarrggh]

46 minutes ago, SmithW6079 said:

 I thought the younger brother was really being a dick about it over $100 a month.

$1200 a year is a good chunk of change. A lot of visits to restaurants, bars, and trips around south Asia. 

[rhofmovalley]

53 minutes ago, SmithW6079 said:

I liked them, but their story seemed a little weird. Personally, I thought the brother with all the tatts was the hotter. He definitely seemed the dominant one,  until the end, with the picking of the apartment. I thought the two-bed, two-bath one was best. Wasn't the one they picked the one with the bedroom/closet? I thought the younger brother was really being a dick about it over $100 a month.

How convenient that the tatt brother managed to get a job at the very restaurant they went to in the beginning. 😂

If you Google them, I'm sure you'll find they'd been living in Vietnam for several months. Almost none of the HHI episodes feature people who haven't been. 

[SmithW6079]

1 hour ago, Grrarrggh said:

$1200 a year is a good chunk of change. A lot of visits to restaurants, bars, and trips around south Asia. 

But they were already working in reality.

1 hour ago, rhofmovalley said:

If you Google them, I'm sure you'll find they'd been living in Vietnam for several months. Almost none of the HHI episodes feature people who haven't been. 

Well, yes, I'm sure. It was just a stupid storyline to pick.

[biakbiak]

1 hour ago, rhofmovalley said:

If you Google them, I'm sure you'll find they'd been living in Vietnam for several months. Almost none of the HHI episodes feature people who haven't been. 

It appears they moved there in November of 2018 and the brewery/restaurant location that he works at opened in Feb/March 2019. He graduated from the CIA after the army so I bet it was fairly easy for him to find a chef job. Based on both their facebooks they are still in Ho Chi Min City.

Edited September 16, 2019 by biakbiak

[Homily]

8 hours ago, biakbiak said:

Based on both their facebooks they are still in Ho Chi Min City.

That makes a change!  Usually when I go sleuthing after watching HHI I find they've moved on either back to their home country or sometimes on to another country - but that's rare.

[LittleIggy]

Aberdeen: If they are tight on money, dude sure can’t afford to buy a formal kilt ensemble. 🙄 I liked the real estate lady. Man, that ice cream looked yummy!

[irisheyes]

6 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Aberdeen: If they are tight on money, dude sure can’t afford to buy a formal kilt ensemble. 🙄 I liked the real estate lady. Man, that ice cream looked yummy!

They irritated me during their intro, but then when they were “choosing” the apartment, they seem pretty clear headed about which one worked best for their needs and budget. 

[Kohola3]

That whole killt bit was obviously just for the show. If you didn't have any money and his scholarship hadn't come through why would he need a formal outfit?

Aside from the endless repetition that this was the first time they would be living together, it was a pretty easy to take episode. I did love the realtor, I loved her accent and her comments about climbing the stairs.

[TVForever]

Aberdeen:

Between shows like this (HHI) and tv shows set in Scotland, I suddenly realized while watching this episode that the sky is always gray. For those that have experience there- does the sun ever shine in Scotland?

Also, I'm going to need Show to adjust its script with that, "Partner gave up everything to move here with me, so I want to make sure she/he is happy" line. In this instance, unmarried 23-year-olds still establishing themselves haven't "given up" anything. She came because she wanted to. And that's great, but you don't owe her anything because of that.

[SpiritSong]

1 hour ago, TVForever said:

Aberdeen:

Between shows like this (HHI) and tv shows set in Scotland, I suddenly realized while watching this episode that the sky is always gray. For those that have experience there- does the sun ever shine in Scotland?

Yes, it does shine occasionally. But the country is so stunningly beautiful that the mist and the clouds just add to the atmosphere. The weather changes frequently, so if you don't like what you're seeing, just wait 15 minutes.

Aberdeen is my favorite Scottish city, so it was great to see an episode set there. I've spent some time (not enough) in the Granite City and I love it. The show really didn't showcase just how beautiful it is.

[sempervivum]

Wouldn't you make sure you HAD a scholarship before moving across the Atlantic and starting university? 

Anybody notice that his kilt tartan (looked like purple/grey) was the same as the dressing room curtains in the shop?