House Hunters International - General Discussion

[buttersister]

Sweden looked lovely. I had to remind myself it was summer. 

Saw an ep earlier where the couple had moved often for his career. She was the follower, who claimed she never "won" a house selection; yet her kid claimed she ruled the family. Here's a thought: how bout if we get to see a country, some houses/apartments, the local color---and families keep their dysfunctional bs to themselves?

[chessiegal]

Re: Sweden. I remarked to my husband that if I was going on national tv, I wouldn't be wearing short shorts. But that's just me. 

I was in Sweden once, late October. It was definitely not shorts weather.

[Tosia]

Alessandro, the real estate agent,  had a Ricky Nelson vibe.  Soulful heartthrob for us oldsters.

[amarante]

3 hours ago, chessiegal said:

Re: Sweden. I remarked to my husband that if I was going on national tv, I wouldn't be wearing short shorts. But that's just me. 

I was in Sweden once, late October. It was definitely not shorts weather.

I remember years ago watching a woman on television - one of those audience participation shows - and she was wearing her hair in rollers. I thought Good God if she wears rollers when she is likely to be viewed on national television, what occasion merits her actually taking them out.

I think the issue for Swedish girlfriend is that she didn't have the legs for any kind of shorts. Do people look in the mirror and think this is the best way I can dress to avoid humiliation? I mean God bless comfort and all that but I think most people, especially women, want to look as attractive as possible when they are being taped for posterity. 

[7isBlue]

Designing a Life in Italy:

The last two Verona properties were beyond gorgeous! 😍 But, God help me, the wife bugged the crap out of me. She spoke with great, physical effort, trying to wrap her lips around those teeth, and she seemed ditzy and pretentious all at once. Her husband and kids seem lovely, so I’m sure I’m just being awful. I feel like HHI is punking me by annoying and inspiring me in the same episode. 😈

Edited January 25, 2020 by 7isBlue

[chessiegal]

Huh. I got a completely different impression of the wife in Verona. I thought it was refreshing to see 2 adults discuss options without any childish antics on anyone's part.

[izabella]

I loved those frescoes in that third house!  Wow, what an amazing piece of history, and how wonderful that someone was able to preserve that.  I agreed with the husband that it might have been too nice a place for young kids.   They'd have to constantly be vigilant about not damaging those frescoes.

The house they picked was great, though, lots of yard space, wonderful river view, and great to be in a neighborhood with other kids/families around.

I liked the wife's red dress.

[biakbiak]

I was curious to see how high the river wall in front of the house was because it looked like it was lapping over the bank on the other side!

[ArtFossil]

16 hours ago, 7isBlue said:

Designing a Life in Italy:

The last two Verona properties were beyond gorgeous! 😍 But, God help me, the wife bugged the crap out of me. She spoke with great, physical effort, trying to wrap her lips around those teeth, and she seemed ditzy and pretentious all at once. Her husband and kids seem lovely, so I’m sure I’m just being awful. I feel like HHI is punking me by annoying and inspiring me in the same episode. 😈

The Verona wife was so annoying. So ignorant and pretentious at once. She kept calling Verona the birthplace of modern architecture and then she called it the theatre city. And then I threw up. She styled herself as a designer but seemed to feel insecure with a (rightfully called) designer husband.

On 1/24/2020 at 7:07 PM, chessiegal said:

Re: Sweden. I remarked to my husband that if I was going on national tv, I wouldn't be wearing short shorts. But that's just me. 

I was in Sweden once, late October. It was definitely not shorts weather.

I almost couldn't get past the shorts to enjoy the views of Sweden. Poor woman. What was she thinking?

[scrb]

Wouldn't necessarily call it the architecture city, though it has beautiful buildings.

Nearby Vicenza has all the villas by Palladio.

Verona is known for Romeo and Juliet, the Roman arena where they have concerts, nearby vineyards, etc.

They showed some shots of the river with the center of the city.  Would have liked to have seen another option in the center but maybe they can't find too many 3 or 4 bedrooms in their price range in the center.

Instead of interior design, she's trying to set up tours to the nearby vineyards.

[biakbiak]

27 minutes ago, scrb said:

Wouldn't necessarily call it the architecture city, though it has beautiful building

UNESCO would disagree and listed it as a World Heritage site for urban development and architecture.

[ArtFossil]

16 hours ago, biakbiak said:

UNESCO would disagree and listed it as a World Heritage site for urban development and architecture.

Yes, but not the "birthplace of modern architecture." That house hunter was such a poseur. 

I may have to give up watching House Hunters International. The locations are lovely but the house hunters are infuriating.

Edited January 27, 2020 by ArtFossil

[Lemons]

On 1/12/2020 at 11:07 PM, Grrarrggh said:

Again, couldn't hear a thing. And she wasn't negative, she just didn't want her husband complaining everyday about the tourists AGAIN. 

She was just as bad talking about tourists like she’s never been one herself.  They probably lived in New York a few years after college together and think of themselves as always New Yorkers and will compare everything to that for the rest of their lives and loudly too.  If I had a dollar for every time one of them said “in New York” 

Those apartments in Amsterdam are killer and well priced.  So beautiful. 

Edited January 27, 2020 by Lemons

[LittleIggy]

I wish they would do more episodes located in Asia.

[CrazyInAlabama]

In the South Africa episode, I think it's rather long process to get a work permit there.    Of course, the HHI back stories are often exaggerated a lot, so who knows what the real story is.  

Edited January 27, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[kirklandia]

When I visited Sweden in the summer I did not see shorts being worn.  Capris were big, even the men - of all ages - wore them. There was a "dress pant" version, suitable for business wear, that I saw on many men...

Loved the Swedish scenery and homes, I'm a big fan of Swedish design.  I geeked out when I saw the armchair covered in a Josef Frank fabric!  I made a special trip to Svenskt Tenn to see his textiles.

Edited January 28, 2020 by kirklandia

[LittleIggy]

Wiesbaden, Germany: So great to see cutie Kevin again! The kid was cute, but the mom annoyed me with that “Queendom” 💩.

[hisbunkie]

9 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Wiesbaden, Germany: So great to see cutie Kevin again! The kid was cute, but the mom annoyed me with that “Queendom” 💩.

I so agree with you. 
“Do your job”, she says to the realtor?  Doesn’t seem to understand she is in a country/ community/society where her kind of boasting is not socially acceptable. Having a jacket telling everyone you are a queen is laughable. 
When I hear women talk like this I cringe. Can you imagine working with her, for her?  Dating her?  Being her son’s teachers?  Exhausting!  

[sskrill]

Wellington lesbians.  

What an odd couple...

[LittleIggy]

Nice: Weren’t those hipsters precious in their twee outfits? 🙄

[buttersister]

Adrian had his number. Twee love and maawidge.

[judylo]

Oh, I got a kick out of the Nice couple. But then, I’m a New Yorker.

[kirklandia]

Malmo.  Do my ears deceive me?  I hear an American couple agreeing that a European refrigerator is TOO BIG!

Edited February 9, 2020 by kirklandia

[biakbiak]

1 hour ago, kirklandia said:

Malmo.  Do my ears deceive me?  I hear an American couple agree that the refrigerator is TOO BIG!

I thought that was kind of weird. It was the size of a lot of American fridges, it just happened to be two narrow fridge/freezers put together. It’s not like it was a huge industrial fridge! Also, just because you have it doesn’t mean you have to use it all. Make one a beverage fridge and the freezers were quite small so I bet they are going to fill them up fairly quickly.

[chocolatine]

On 2/5/2020 at 7:33 PM, sskrill said:

Wellington lesbians.  

What an odd couple...

I actually thought they seemed more compatible than many of the couples on this show. The house they chose was beautiful, both in terms of decor as well as the surroundings. And the brunette wife has stunningly gorgeous hair. She should be doing shampoo commercials.

[sskrill]

On 2/9/2020 at 10:33 AM, chocolatine said:

I actually thought they seemed more compatible than many of the couples on this show. The house they chose was beautiful, both in terms of decor as well as the surroundings. And the brunette wife has stunningly gorgeous hair. She should be doing shampoo commercials.

Agreed about the brunette. 

I couldn't figure out what was so off for me at the time, but now I know.  It felt a whole lot like she was the mom searching for a house with her 14 year old son.  The way the other one would say something that she thought was so funny, then look at the camera and snicker just ... no.  They had a very parent/child dynamic to me and it made me very uncomfortable.  Every time they described something about her personality, it sounded like something you could say about the average teenage boy.  I'm sure she's a nice person, but she's someone I would avoid if she were a coworker.

I don't think they could go wrong with any of those houses.  Looks like a nice place to live, which I'm sure is why it's so expensive.

Edited February 11, 2020 by sskrill

[KFC]

On 2/8/2020 at 10:57 AM, judylo said:

Oh, I got a kick out of the Nice couple. But then, I’m a New Yorker.

I actually enjoyed them, too. The nit-picking was more amusing than annoying to me. You could definitely tell they were playing it up for the cameras, but it gave Adrian some entertaining retorts. And they ended up going with the logical choice, so overall I liked the episode.

Plus I thought it was interesting seeing that bar scene with the ex-pats/other House Hunters. I def recognized that one guy from a previous Nice episode with Adrian, and I assume the others were on HHI as well.

[LittleIggy]

Italy: So in Italy, “turnkey” means “no kitchen”? 😆 

[CrazyInAlabama]

I used to work for the U.S. military as a civilian, and lots of other civilians went to Germany to work, and they had to get a kitchen for homes, or apartments usually.    I think a lot of people rented the kitchens.  

OK, so I used to live in New Mexico, near the U.S. - Mexico border, and I knew people who went across the border to go to hairdressers, and spas, and it was super cheap.   So why are two women moving from the U.S. to Mexico City, getting a penthouse apartment in a trendy neighborhood, and opening a hair salon?    It doesn't seem realistic.     

[Ohwell]

25 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

OK, so I used to live in New Mexico, near the U.S. - Mexico border, and I knew people who went across the border to go to hairdressers, and spas, and it was super cheap.   So why are two women moving from the U.S. to Mexico City, getting a penthouse apartment in a trendy neighborhood, and opening a hair salon?    It doesn't seem realistic.  

Well, I think there was reference to them having lived in Manhattan so I'm guessing their parents have money, and this is just a junket for them.  At the end one of the sisters even mentioned how cheap it costs to get a haircut/hairstyles.   

[biakbiak]

59 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

OK, so I used to live in New Mexico, near the U.S. - Mexico border, and I knew people who went across the border to go to hairdressers, and spas, and it was super cheap.   So why are two women moving from the U.S. to Mexico City, getting a penthouse apartment in a trendy neighborhood, and opening a hair salon?    It doesn't seem realistic.     

I imagine they will be targeting a different demo. There are a lot of very wealthy people in Mexico City.

[scrb]

21 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Italy: So in Italy, “turnkey” means “no kitchen”? 😆 

We've definitely seen episodes where Italian apts. didn't have kitchens.

In this case it was a purchase.

I also saw another Italian episode from last season where one of the homes was a recently renovated home which was entirely redone, including kitchen.

This was in the town of Gradisca d'Isono, near the Slovenian border.

https://www.hgtv.com/shows/house-hunters-international/episodes/roots-versus-reality-in-gradisca-disonzo-italy

It was interesting to hear Belluno that it's a buyer's market.  

Edited February 13, 2020 by scrb

[CrazyInAlabama]

I bet there are plenty of upscale hair salons already in Mexico City.   Of course, the storylines on this show are very odd. 

The two people looking for a vacation place in Montepulciano, Italy are totally obnoxious.   They want historic, but modernized, open concept, but historic, and huge rooms, and all for $125k or under.   I would have picked the third place.  It only needed a kitchen.   The one with tiny rooms (#2) they picked was way too small, the rooms all needed work.     It's going to be a money pit .

Edited February 13, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[buttersister]

I love Montepulciano! Trouble brewing, now that I know that third place is available! Figured they’d get the place with BEAMS.
 

[biakbiak]

1 hour ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

bet there are plenty of upscale hair salons already in Mexico City.   Of course, the storylines on this show are very odd. 

 

Well of course but it’s also ginormous, so the comparison to a border towns being cheaper isn’t really relevant when talking about Mexico City . I thought they were fairly smart about knowing they couldn’t immediately open a salon but would have to work at another place to establish a clientele and Ben understood that the prices they could charge wouldn’t be the same but the cost of living still made it work.

Edited February 13, 2020 by biakbiak

[7isBlue]

3 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

The two people looking for a vacation place in Montepulciano, Italy are totally obnoxious.   They want historic, but modernized, open concept, but historic, and huge rooms, and all for $125k or under.  

Oh, I enjoyed them. Sure, they were a bit “extra,” but they seemed to like each other (no passive-aggressive asides or bickering), they considered each other’s point of view, and they seem to really enjoy each other and their new culture. 

The apartment they chose was very cozy. The price was right, but everything felt so cramped. When they showed the finished look, I couldn’t even see the kitchen space. I think I saw the same funky tiles on the back wall, so maybe the kitchen wasn’t done, yet. Personally, I would have found a way to make house #3 work. It was light, bright, and spacious. The kitchen could have been finished over time if necessary. That location was perfect and I loved the wood trim on the windows. 

More Italy, please!

[scrb]

I guess they wanted to be near their friends.

Montepulciano is nice but there are a lot of nice hill towns there.

 

[TVForever]

I liked the Montepulciano couple too. They just seemed like they actually enjoy each other and have a lot of fun together. It certainly beats all the McBickersons we usually get subjected to.

What a beautiful town! I didn't have a huge problem with any of the three houses, although the one they ended up in was my least favorite. Im going to watch the episode again; I'll come back if I change my mind on that.

[biakbiak]

They should probably know a little bit more about history because they kept saying that the buildings were 100 years old and no most of them were built long before 1919!

[LittleIggy]

On 2/12/2020 at 10:14 PM, CrazyInAlabama said:

I bet there are plenty of upscale hair salons already in Mexico City.   Of course, the storylines on this show are very odd. 

The two people looking for a vacation place in Montepulciano, Italy are totally obnoxious.   They want historic, but modernized, open concept, but historic, and huge rooms, and all for $125k or under.   I would have picked the third place.  It only needed a kitchen.   The one with tiny rooms (#2) they picked was way too small, the rooms all needed work.     It's going to be a money pit .

Mexico City: The sister (younger I assume) whinging about how “unfair” it would be to get the slightly smaller bedroom annoyed the crap out of me. What was she? 12 years old? 
Montepulciano, Italy: OMG, that hyper couple were exhausting! I fast forwarded through most of the episode so I didn’t have to listen to them. BTW, I liked the chicken tiles. 😆

23 hours ago, biakbiak said:

Well of course but it’s also ginormous, so the comparison to a border towns being cheaper isn’t really relevant when talking about Mexico City . I thought they were fairly smart about knowing they couldn’t immediately open a salon but would have to work at another place to establish a clientele and Ben understood that the prices they could charge wouldn’t be the same but the cost of living still made it work.

Ben? I didn’t see him or Erin around. 😏

Edited February 14, 2020 by LittleIggy

[scrb]

Barcelona couple.  She really wanted 2 bedrooms to have a private space from the guy, whom she’s moving in with after only 6 months.

So they get the 2 bedroom and 2 months later she says they don’t see each other much, presumably because they’re busy with work?

Anyways, this is at least the second time Katya the agent has been on so maybe they will have more episodes in Barcelona, like how they repeatedly do episodes in London, Paris, Amsterdam because they have regular agents in those cities.

[7isBlue]

Drinking game for the Barcelona episode:

Take a shot every time the boyfriend says, “like.” 

I liked her, but the boyfriend was annoying. I think it’s his clipped, accelerated way of talking. Also, like, his whole, like, aversion to the color White. Hang some art! Buy a rug! Heck, pick up some paint. Sheesh 🙄 

I had to laugh when the agent complained about them nitpicking about unimportant things that could be changed. Has she never watched this show?

[Grrarrggh]

22 hours ago, 7isBlue said:

Drinking game for the Barcelona episode:

Take a shot every time the boyfriend says, “like.” 

I liked her, but the boyfriend was annoying. I think it’s his clipped, accelerated way of talking. Also, like, his whole, like, aversion to the color White. Hang some art! Buy a rug! Heck, pick up some paint. Sheesh 🙄 

The players would have alcohol poisoning with that game! As for the white, I think he knew she wouldn't allow a rug or paint or art. 

Edited February 15, 2020 by Grrarrggh

[LittleIggy]

Singapore: I can understand why they didn’t pick it (if it was really an option), but I liked the house the best. I love places with an atrium and a water feature.

[LittleIggy]

Bogota: That woman annoyed me. I didn’t see the kitchen of the place they picked needing a major renovation. Were they both buying the place or just her?

Thailand: If the wife loved American houses, why move back to Thailand? Wonder if her family pressured her.

[biakbiak]

Oh fuck off, this tool with his SoRo nonsense.

Edited February 19, 2020 by biakbiak

[Dewey Decimate]

32 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

Oh fuck off, this tool with his SoRo nonsense.

Is this weird guy with the corpse-like lips for real? Did he already trademark the name and get t-shirts printed up? CAN you do that? I was so embarrassed on his behalf every time they showed him "pitching" his idea to a local business owner.

[biakbiak]

2 hours ago, Dewey Decimate said:

Is this weird guy with the corpse-like lips for real? Did he already trademark the name and get t-shirts printed up? CAN you do that? I was so embarrassed on his behalf every time they showed him "pitching" his idea to a local business owner.

Not sure about the shirts I deleted it the third time he said it.

Edited February 19, 2020 by biakbiak

[LittleIggy]

2 hours ago, Dewey Decimate said:

Is this weird guy with the corpse-like lips for real? Did he already trademark the name and get t-shirts printed up? CAN you do that? I was so embarrassed on his behalf every time they showed him "pitching" his idea to a local business owner.

I was embarrassed for his wife. How did she end up with him?

[laredhead]

I didn't think that the bathroom and kitchen in the 3rd apartment in Bogota needed renovation.  I liked the green on the kitchen cabinets, but I understand that someone else might not like it.  However, the rest of the kitchen looked fine from what we could see.  That place had some great outdoor space, and the fireplace was pretty cool.  She commented that having the sofa next to it seemed dangerous, yet in the reveal, the sofa was still placed next to it.  The room looked large enough to move the sofa to another location in the room and away from the fireplace.  The first place was almost a build from the ground up, and probably would have ended up costing more than the top of their budget.  I think they made a good choice.