House Hunters International - General Discussion

[ArtFossil]

2 hours ago, Grrarrggh said:

There was a lot of info left out of the Puerto Aventuras episode. I wonder what the real story is?

They creep me out. But admittedly that happens a lot to me with HHI.

[Ritalin Smoothie]

3 hours ago, ArtFossil said:

They creep me out. But admittedly that happens a lot to me with HHI.

Clean-cut American couple with multiple kids who are homeschooled in a foreign country?  Wouldn't be surprised if they're missionaries.  I did roll my eyes when the husband said his wife was in the "essential oil business."  It does sound better than "she's an MLM hun."

These couple of episodes confirmed my dislike of episodes on Australia and Mexican resort town condos.  The properties from these shows are just not interesting.

[Koalagirl]

If I had chronic kidney disease for which there was no cure I think I would want to live closer to a big city hospital. 

[Grrarrggh]

Once again a HUGE chunk of story was left out. I couldn't understand exactly what kind of business the Costa Rica hunters were starting. They said yoga (seems half of the people on this programme are either teaching ESL or yoga) but there was no place to do it. Is she going to people's houses? If so, how many Costa Rican's in that specific area does she think will want yoga lessons? Are they betting the town will become a huge tourist/expat hotspot and are getting in on the ground floor? What a wasted opportunity for some publicity, not even having a website to show. 

[Crashcourse]

22 minutes ago, Grrarrggh said:

What a wasted opportunity for some publicity, not even having a website to show. 

Hah hah, well they did show them "working" on the website at the end. 🙄

Seriously though, I think these two just wanted to spend some down time in Costa Rica, and I would be surprised if they lasted a year there.

[LittleIggy]

I wonder how many yoga/holistic medicine/organic wellness people there are per square mile in Costa Rica? 😏

[MartyQui]

They do have a website, poorly designed and full of misspellings.  They are offering a “yoga retreat” in March, 2022 for $1570, with no description of what your room actually looks like.

[LittleIggy]

On 11/5/2021 at 8:16 PM, MartyQui said:

They do have a website, poorly designed and full of misspellings.  They are offering a “yoga retreat” in March, 2022 for $1570, with no description of what your room actually looks like.

Could you share the link? 

[MartyQui]

I can’t remember her name…I looked for her on insta, and there was a link to the website.

[Grizzly]

Rotterdam, Netherlands. Hmm might have to start watching cricket. Teja is easy on the eyes. Goodness, a small 1bed/1bath is 360k. I know city center is expensive, but that's disheartening. He seemed to like the third one the best but will the lure of the city sway him? The entertaining space was good. Ok I'm not good at this, he picked #2.

[MartyQui]

Rotterdam: Teja was a pleasure to watch…no weird demands, no complaints about the smallish rooms or the prices.  I would have picked number 1, but number 2 was nice too.

[Crashcourse]

What a nice episode in Rotterdam.  No drama, and it didn't hurt that Teja was easy on the eyes, and I also liked the real estate agent.

[aghst]

Teja chose the one with the most rooms, probably most bang for buck.

But he wanted to be close to work and the city center?

Rotterdam is not that far from Amsterdam or Delft or the Hague so they could have had Sarah or Floor as the agent.

Maybe this is a case where the house hunter knew the agent?

[MartyQui]

Australia:  When the Dad was talking about where to live, and the mother commented that the 13 year old son would have a long (about an hour each way) commute to school, did I actually hear him say "It's not about him"?.  What a selfish jerk.  

[aghst]

Yeah it seemed like she was going to get her way in Quietsundays or whatever that place was called.

That place was spacious but too far away from school and from town.

Sea views for under $2000.  But maybe not much work other than tourism.

[Cetacean]

12 minutes ago, aghst said:

Yeah it seemed like she was going to get her way in Quietsundays or whatever that place was called.

The Whitsunday Islands looked gorgeous.

Not taken with either of those people, both seemed "all about me".  And when she said that a kilometer away from the school was a problem, I had to roll my eyes.  That's 6/10 of a mile, for heaven's sake.  Guess their delicate flower wasn't able to handle 10 minute walk.

[cinsays]

25 minutes ago, MartyQui said:

Australia:  When the Dad was talking about where to live, and the mother commented that the 13 year old son would have a long (about an hour each way) commute to school, did I actually hear him say "It's not about him"?.  What a selfish jerk.  

yeah, he did say that

and also, "it's my time now"

didn't win any points with me

6 minutes ago, Cetacean said:

The Whitsunday Islands looked gorgeous.

Not taken with either of those people, both seemed "all about me".  And when she said that a kilometer away from the school was a problem, I had to roll my eyes.  That's 6/10 of a mile, for heaven's sake.  Guess their delicate flower wasn't able to handle 10 minute walk.

how old was this boy? he looked to me to be pre-teen but was cuddling up in the boat with mom in a much younger way

[Cetacean]

9 minutes ago, cinsays said:

how old was this boy? he looked to me to be pre-teen but was cuddling up in the boat with mom in a much younger way

I think they said 13;  I thought the cuddling thing was a little odd too.

[Grrarrggh]

5 hours ago, Cetacean said:

I think they said 13;  I thought the cuddling thing was a little odd too.

Nothing odd about that at all. Why is loving a parent odd? 13 is still quite young. 

And it was a km to the bus stop, then a 40 minute ride to school. 

[proserpina65]

6 hours ago, MartyQui said:

Australia:  When the Dad was talking about where to live, and the mother commented that the 13 year old son would have a long (about an hour each way) commute to school, did I actually hear him say "It's not about him"?.  What a selfish jerk.  

I was with the dad.  It doesn't always have to be about the kid, who was a teenager, not a little kid.  I felt sorry for the dad who once again did what the wife wanted.  "Take one for the team"?  Seems like he's been taking one for the team for more than a decade.

I absolutely would've gone with the more remote place.

I'll admit to not being fond of the wife because she's the GPS bitch who made us do unnecessary u-turns on two different trips to Atlantic City.

48 minutes ago, Grrarrggh said:

Nothing odd about that at all. Why is loving a parent odd? 13 is still quite young. 

And it was a km to the bus stop, then a 40 minute ride to school. 

I'm used to teenagers who get embarrassed by that kind of public affection, but not everyone is the same way.  And the distance didn't seem that big a deal to me.  People who grow up in rural areas have that kind of commute to school all the time.

[MartyQui]

53 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

was with the dad.  It doesn't always have to be about the kid, who was a teenager, not a little kid. 

But he was 13, and they made him move halfway across the globe, where he didn’t have any friends (or even cousins).  I felt bad for him.

[LittleIggy]

Mexico City: I didn’t like their perceived dynamic of him making the decisions and her just going along with them.

[aghst]

2 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Mexico City: I didn’t like their perceived dynamic of him making the decisions and her just going along with them.

Yeah did he decide to sell their NY home and move them into a van?

Then to Mexico City?  Without her having much or any say?

They were constrained by having to find the best place for their dog.  That’s a $200 a month balcony versus $275 for a second bedroom, both with windows and a second full bathroom.  The place they chose has a windowless bedroom for just $75 less.

Still looked like nice places for around $1000.  The windows weren’t barred like you sometimes see in Latin America.

 

[Rootbeer]

16 hours ago, Grrarrggh said:

Nothing odd about that at all. Why is loving a parent odd? 13 is still quite young. 

And it was a km to the bus stop, then a 40 minute ride to school. 

I found it odd that he was willing to do it in front of the cameras.  Most 13 year olds are very self conscious and not likely to engage in PDA with their moms in front of strangers.  Then again, it sounded like both parents spent a good deal of their time traveling for their work in the years prior to the move, this kid might just have been thrilled to be in the same space as his mother for an extended period.

I also found the husband off-putting with his 'this is MY time' BS.  You've got a minor child, bub.  He'll be off to college in a few years, you can wait until then to live out in the boonies away from the school.  They were talking about the kid spending an hour and a half every day going to and from school; I wouldn't begrudge an adult who wanted a shorter commute than that.

Edited November 12, 2021 by Rootbeer

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 11/11/2021 at 11:10 AM, Cetacean said:

I think they said 13;  I thought the cuddling thing was a little odd too.

The intertwining on the lounge chair caught my attention, and after that he had his head all nestled against mother's breasts in the cuddling. 

I wasn't able to watch the end, but the couple of glances I got of him made me wonder if there was something a little off with him, and maybe he's not as developed as his chronological age would indicate. 

[BrownBear2012]

On 11/12/2021 at 12:53 AM, LittleIggy said:

Mexico City: I didn’t like their perceived dynamic of him making the decisions and her just going along with them.

I couldn't stand this guy...so much swagger and ego. Honestly, the way he carried on like he was Ernest Hemingway conquering Paris and living a bohemian life was just too funny. The way he imagined their life as "artists" having a "salon" where all the hip people in Mexico City would hang out and talk about their "art" was just too funny. I felt the girlfriend suffered from low self esteem and didn't have the courage to object to him making decisions for the both of them. He seemed unable to make a commitment to a lifestyle...in an apartment in NYC, then a house, then a van, then Mexico City. All the while never consulting her just making these life decisions for the both of them. I hope for her sake that she smartens up and gets on an equal footing with this guy before another life altering decision is made for her.

[Grizzly]

Tulum, Mexico. Good looking couple. #1 was gorgeous but you'd have to eat/entertain in the shared amenities since place was basically a studio. As was the pod. They didn't even show the bedroom or bathroom. And it was so remote. It would take a lot of convincing for me to be naked in a shower of windows. #3 seemed like the best bet, but constantly surprise me. Surprise!

[Thumper]

12 hours ago, Grizzly said:

Tulum, Mexico. Good looking couple. #1 was gorgeous but you'd have to eat/entertain in the shared amenities since place was basically a studio. As was the pod. They didn't even show the bedroom or bathroom. And it was so remote. It would take a lot of convincing for me to be naked in a shower of windows. #3 seemed like the best bet, but constantly surprise me. Surprise!

Their wishes were so opposite, I really could not figure out who would “win,” although I suspected the husband would.  They seemed to communicate well, but I kept wondering if she knew this about him when they were dating.  I would not want to live that remotely.

[ECM1231]

41 minutes ago, Thumper said:

Their wishes were so opposite, I really could not figure out who would “win,” although I suspected the husband would.  They seemed to communicate well, but I kept wondering if she knew this about him when they were dating.  I would not want to live that remotely.

I fell asleep and missed the ending. The look on the wife's face when the realtor talked about the jungle wildlife, including jaguars, had almost convinced me they were choosing option 3. Color me surprised!

[sempervivum]

Tulum- Well, lady, your hubby is gorgeous. Hope he's worth having zero privacy at night (yeah, as soon as you turn the  lights on, those windows will be easy to see into) and cooking OUTSIDE on a wood plank. For someone who was squeamish about having critters around, she apparently didn't mind the idea of sharing her kitchen with snakes, pooping birds, monkeys, and zillions of insects.

I predict that place has a future as an AirBnB, after they go back to civilization at her insistence.

[Grrarrggh]

2 hours ago, ECM1231 said:

The look on the wife's face when the realtor talked about the jungle wildlife, including jaguars, had almost convinced me they were choosing option 3. Color me surprised!

I laughed a bit at that, because I believe Jaguars are some of the most solitary cats around and the least likely to attack people. 

[cinsays]

1 hour ago, sempervivum said:

Tulum- Well, lady, your hubby is gorgeous. Hope he's worth having zero privacy at night (yeah, as soon as you turn the  lights on, those windows will be easy to see into) and cooking OUTSIDE on a wood plank. For someone who was squeamish about having critters around, she apparently didn't mind the idea of sharing her kitchen with snakes, pooping birds, monkeys, and zillions of insects.

I predict that place has a future as an AirBnB, after they go back to civilization at her insistence.

the realtor told them you can't see in from outside, those walls are mirrored, but, yeah, and the jaguars and other nasty varmints

[Grrarrggh]

1 hour ago, sempervivum said:

Tulum- Well, lady, your hubby is gorgeous.

He looked like he could be an Nazi officer extra in a WW2 film. 

[Crashcourse]

The Tulum husband was nice-looking but his skin looked pretty baked.  I just hope the wife feels safe living remotely but like someone posted, I expect it'll be an AirBnB and they'll be back in the States.

[aghst]

Tulum guy promised to build her an additional home.

Wouldn’t that blow up their budget?

Yeah she gave up a job and friends in LA but they didn’t say much more about the business.  So maybe that wasn’t real nor the rest of this episode.

Since they regularly go down there, maybe that pod is just a vacation home.

[QQQQ]

16 hours ago, Grrarrggh said:

He looked like he could be an Nazi officer extra in a WW2 film. 

Yes! He reminded me of the blonde actor from Die Hard and the Money Pit (my movie references are usually 35+ years old).

[MartyQui]

Sunshine Coast:  is a mile walk to the beach really that bad? I loved the country house, and grew up with a 15 minute drive to the grocery store, so 20 minutes didn’t seem like a dealbreaker.

[ArtFossil]

On 11/17/2021 at 2:27 PM, Grrarrggh said:

He looked like he could be an Nazi officer extra in a WW2 film. 

He gave me the creeps. (I can't get past the perfect coiffure.) Even when I was young, which was many decades ago, I would never ever ever ever trust any aspect of my fitness to him.

Edited November 18, 2021 by ArtFossil

[deirdra]

14 hours ago, QQQQ said:

Yes! He reminded me of the blonde actor from Die Hard and the Money Pit (my movie references are usually 35+ years old).

Alexander Godunov?  He always made me think of Boris Badenov (from Rocky & Bullwinkle ... a 60 yr-old reference😉).

[Grizzly]

Wide Bay, Australia. #1 had gorgeous floors and ceiling. Kitchen wasn't bad but bedrooms were small. He knew where the cafe was in relation to the beach, why is he being so insistent on the beach? #3 certainly looked lived in. I guess if you can do the beach, do the beach.

[ML89]

On 10/11/2021 at 12:46 PM, abbyzenn said:

London couple with royal family fascination.  I wouldn't call them contemptable - they didn't complain the rooms were too small or that the refrigerator had to be one of those giant American things that can hold enough groceries for 5 months,  that they had to be in the center of town and then complain the neighbor 50 yards away could see into their house or that they had to have old fashion charm but needed enough closet space for 5,000 pairs of shoes.  I would say they were more odd - why would anyone be so fascinated with the royal family?

I did like the studio they got - it was more like one bedroom since the bed part was really separated from the rest of the room but the real selling point was the back garden and access to that park.  

Finally saw this one - she’s going to be a social media influencer but she’s got the iPhone 12 not the Pro and was not looking particularly fashionable. Okay. (Although they had an “influencer” on Project Runway who couldn’t even position his ring light so it didn’t reflect in his glasses so maybe I need to get into this game…)
 

Also spending all that cash to be near the royals when you can hop on the Tube and get close, and use your cash for more space? That whole setup was odd. Did anyone find her social media?

[proserpina65]

On 11/18/2021 at 3:40 AM, aghst said:

Since they regularly go down there, maybe that pod is just a vacation home.

Probably so.  No way would I completely give up my life to go live in a glorified garden shed in the middle of the jungle miles from the freaking store.

On 11/18/2021 at 7:24 AM, QQQQ said:

Yes! He reminded me of the blonde actor from Die Hard and the Money Pit (my movie references are usually 35+ years old).

R.I.P. Alexander Godunov.

14 hours ago, Grizzly said:

Wide Bay, Australia. #1 had gorgeous floors and ceiling. Kitchen wasn't bad but bedrooms were small. He knew where the cafe was in relation to the beach, why is he being so insistent on the beach? #3 certainly looked lived in. I guess if you can do the beach, do the beach.

I'd absolutely be at the beach if I had the money.

[ArtFossil]

6 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

Probably so.  No way would I completely give up my life to go live in a glorified garden shed in the middle of the jungle miles from the freaking store.

Hey, I'd live in a glorified garden shed in the middle of the jungle miles from the freaking store but NOT with someone who looks and acts like a neo-Nazi.

[LittleIggy]

On 11/16/2021 at 11:02 PM, Grizzly said:

Tulum, Mexico. Good looking couple. #1 was gorgeous but you'd have to eat/entertain in the shared amenities since place was basically a studio. As was the pod. They didn't even show the bedroom or bathroom. And it was so remote. It would take a lot of convincing for me to be naked in a shower of windows. #3 seemed like the best bet, but constantly surprise me. Surprise!

I loved the first place (the architecture was amazing), but it was a hotel suite. Fine for a vacation home but not a full time home. I would like to see a one or two bedroom at that complex. Dude had beautiful blue eyes. Reminded me of Rutger Hauer.

Edited November 20, 2021 by LittleIggy

[jacksgirl]

Tullim couple- got a weird vibe. Always holding hands and touching in car. Also got a touch of he may be a controlling spouse. Agree that it's prob not going to be their full-time home. 

On a shallow note, her dress was pretty, but the jungle wreaked havoc on her hair.

[BrownBear2012]

On 11/17/2021 at 2:27 PM, Grrarrggh said:

He looked like he could be an Nazi officer extra in a WW2 film. 

That's exactly what I was thinking! He looked an officer in the S.S.  And to top it off he worse a WW2 Nazi helmet when he rode his motorcyle! Yikes!

[BrownBear2012]

When Tulum Nazi asked wifey what she was going to negotiate for him and she said "I gave up my life in LA", I was like "Yes!" This guy was controlling, he wanted what he wanted and didn't give a damn what she wanted and in the end she caved and went to live in that box in the jungle. OMG! All so he could live out some macho hyper masculine dream of living in the wild. That box looked weird and was not near stores, restaurants, doctors or a hospital...getting up every morning and wondering if you were going to be bit by a snake or approached by jaguar seemed very unappealing to me. 

[aghst]

On 11/18/2021 at 8:02 PM, Grizzly said:

Wide Bay, Australia. #1 had gorgeous floors and ceiling. Kitchen wasn't bad but bedrooms were small. He knew where the cafe was in relation to the beach, why is he being so insistent on the beach? #3 certainly looked lived in. I guess if you can do the beach, do the beach.

Wife was probably okay with the beach but she played along with the supposed conflict.

Good for the toddlers too though there was that big kangaroo in the beach house neighborhood.  Do they go through cities or towns or mostly stay in the bush?

That third house, lot of yard work to do.

[Koalagirl]

On 11/17/2021 at 2:27 PM, Grrarrggh said:

He looked like he could be an Nazi officer extra in a WW2 film. 

The first thing I thought was that he looked like Liesl’s boyfriend Rolf from The Sound of Music. Rolf, who was willing to turn them over to the Nazi’s before their escape.  So you’re on point! 

[proserpina65]

On 11/21/2021 at 3:17 AM, aghst said:

Good for the toddlers too though there was that big kangaroo in the beach house neighborhood.  Do they go through cities or towns or mostly stay in the bush?

My understanding is that you can see kangaroos in towns and, to a lesser extent, cities, but not as often.