View Full Version : HGTV's House Hunters and House Hunters International
mybodymyself
4-22-11, 7:57pm
This is from a thread that I started on another forums that I used belong to, but left.
Mainly its more to HHI (House Hunters International) then HH. At the same time it wouldn't bother if anyone talks about HH and/or HHI.
Whats up with certain Americans and Canadians that move, but still want their (mostly women then men) creature comforts when they are there. Expect a couple of Americans that moved Morocco on one episode whom built a house after looking at three choices and maybe there are more. Which I do get, but then don't. Since I would rather be grateful to be in this position and etc. Or maybe its just me because I'm not used to having tons of living space like certain Americans and Canadians do. Prefer to have little more space then what I'm used to, but not a whole lot of course for my future (whether if I'm married or not or have kid/s or not).
I watch these shows and HHI shows how spoiled Americans are. I'm actually embarrased when the women talk about how small and crowded the spaces are. Why move to some of these countries if your not wiling to go with the flow?
I agree, plus it's annoying when they are buying FURNISHED homes then they say, "well, it's not really my taste." But they complain if the home isn't furnished, because it's another expense.
I enjoy the episodes more when the client is a bit more adventurous, like the retiree who dreamed of living in Italy, and was willing to buy more or less a hovel, and put some elbow grease into it himself.
They were looking for people to profile in China a few months ago, and I sort of half-heartedly considered applying, so I know a little bit about how they do this. The people they profile already own the house they end up with. What they do is kind of recreate/fictionalize the process of the house search. People may have seen WAAAAAY more than 3 houses in the course of their search, but they use 3 because that is the format of the show (in our case, I don't think anyone would want to watch the epic saga that involved us traipsing through close to 30 apartments!). If you agree to be on the show, you also have to agree to having your house disrupted -- they move furniture out, etc. so that it doesn't look like you already live there. You get a modest payment -- like $1000-$2000 for being on the show. You should have purchased your home within the last 1-3 years.
I am guessing that they don't actually show houses that you saw during your search, but rather others that are on the market as of filming time.
I kind of wanted to do this just because it would be fun to see how it really works on the inside. But DH was not keen so I let it go.
Oh, and as to people's requirements, having lived in China for much of the last 20 years I can say that it can be REALLY hard to adjust to another style of living, even if you are committed to staying in the country. I would not consider apartments that did not have Western-style toilets, for example, or showers that were basically a corner of a tiled bathroom. Yes, you can remodel, but that was also a hassle I did not want to deal with. We also wanted a space with good basic design and efficient use of space. We saw a lot of apartments that were really poorly designed and that would not fit our needs. When we walked into the one we ended up buying, I knew immediately it was the one I wanted -- big open kitchen with DOUBLE OvENS, tons of storage including built-in bookcases and a huge walk in closet in the master, etc. The bones of the space were good and the former owners were American, so they had decorated in our style as well (neutral tones, understated fixtures, etc -- not gold and filligree everywhere). When you are looking at tons of apartments and have a choice of something that fits you and is move-in ready, versus something that would need tons of work, I think many people gravitate to the former. Especially in a foreign country. Can you imagine trying to work with a contractor in a foreign language/culture if you are not a native speaker? Been there, done that (with my inlaws apartment) -- my SIL almost went INSANE trying to deal with the contractors and they had no cultural difference. I was not keen to revisit that situation. So yes, we had to look at nearly 30 apartments, but when we saw this one it was love at first sight and I am so glad we ended up here.
lhamo
A Year In Provence, A Good Year, Under The Tuscan Sun, Driving Over Lemons. A Moveable Feast, The Garden Of Eden - a thousand others. American literature provides a pretty sane guideline for what to expect when undertaking the renovation of an indigenous building to suit an American standard, or what to expect when you go with the flow. The stress of dealing with converting indigenous to American and the stress of sticking with indigenous are both huge. Personally, I'd squat and shower in a corner, but that's a decidedly non-western approach.
I will say, I love the shows of HH that are purely international - an Italian, looking for an apartment in Florence, for example. I adore the ability to see what the options are, and what the responses are, with the whole American lens removed.
shadowmoss
4-24-11, 9:35am
Living in Honduras this year has been something of an eye-opener for me in this. I stay in a 3 room unfurnished suite at a new hotel rather than deal. The number one main reason I'm here is that the shower has hot water from a water heater, not from a shower head heater. The sight of electric lines going to the shower head to power the heater right where I'm standing just doesn't do it for me. Sounds silly. You find what your boundaries are when you travel, I realized. Also, here in Honduras most places don't let you put TP in the toilet. You are supposed to put it in the waste basket. Really silly to find that so difficult, but I do. So, I tend to stay in Americanized places. I would not have thought these things would bother me so much until they were in my face and my day to day living.
iris lily
4-24-11, 12:13pm
I saw one of the International shows and couldn't grok it. A young couple with about 5 young children who lived in Arizona wanted a place in the tropics, maybe it was Tahiti? Anyway, they looked at the standard 3 properties and chose one that while amazing was just kind of weird, but then, I simply cannot understand wanting to pack up all of your kids and fly overseas regularly. Yeah, that's a vacation for me. NOT.
I usually don't watch House Hunters. People looking at a house with perfectly sound, nice appliances and finishes and saying, Oh, I really wanted granite counters, stainless appliances. Or two people who work full time and have one little baby and can't live in less than 5,000 square feet. I can't relate.
Reader99
Living in 398 sq ft with the cheap counter that come with the place
llhamo, I have always kind of wondered about that, because sometimes (actually many times) the searchers just seem a bit too scripted in their responses. And too nonchalant.
Still I like to watch it just to see what housing in other countries looks like. I will never forget the woman house-hunting in Tel Aviv, who had to be assured the apartment she chose had a bomb shelter.
I think I saw that Tel Aviv show, and if I remember correctly, she was moving from another part of the city. I don't remember her being American or new to the area.
I think I saw that Tel Aviv show, and if I remember correctly, she was moving from another part of the city. I don't remember her being American or new to the area.
No, you remember correctly...she was Israeli and moving within the country. Like I said, it was interesting seeing housing from an area you don't normally get to see. I don't believe I said she was American.
All of these types of shows are staged and phony. I have seen this show a time or two at the gym and really don't get much out of people spending 1.5 million on a house. I just don't get it.
No, you remember correctly...she was Israeli and moving within the country. Like I said, it was interesting seeing housing from an area you don't normally get to see. I don't believe I said she was American.
That was the arc of the OP--that Americans always expect too much of properties overseas--so I was trying to fit that into your example.
moving to NZ, it's a different standard. there are a lot of nice, "flash" houses -- but you pay for them! smaller old cottages that need work -- more affordable (still expensive), but definitely do-able.
i knew that when we moved here. and, it's what i wanted anyway.
mybodymyself
4-30-11, 9:16pm
Thanx for all of your interesting to my thread here. Its nice and refreshing to see others that are like me on this and etc.
Funny, I've watched a fair number of HHI and HH. In the international show, I have always been surprised that most Americans, instead of buying the reasonable house/apartment that is middle of the road in size and updates, almost always buy the house that is in such disarray that they have to completely redo it. Like the one that's been completely torn apart and is being rebuilt. "So we can put our own stamp on it."
Maybe it's sour grapes for me to say this but I see people bragging that they have so much money that they can have two homes...this goes for everyone. It sort of goes against my frugality and simplicity beliefs...
Lhamo, thank you for that outstanding post! DH and I considered applying to be on that show, since we will be rental-apartment hunting in Israel in December. I will run your post past him to see if he's still up for it. Since we will probably be unemployed while we are doing intensive Hebrew training, the possibility of making a bit of money in such an unusual way sounds great! We have friends living in the place we intend to move, which is just south of the Lebanese border. One needs to go to a community bomb shelter, since he lives in a guest cottage on his landlord's property; the other has her own apartment with a very sturdy bomb shelter indeed---she uses it for a pantry!
Selah,
I think I may still have the email contact address for the producer somewhere in my email files. I'll see if I can look it up for you.
I think they might target specific countries at particular times so they can do all the filming at once. Last year they were looking for people in China. I think you also have to already have bought your house, but not entirely clear about that. I'll try to find the original email.
lhamo
I saw one of the International shows and couldn't grok it. A young couple with about 5 young children who lived in Arizona wanted a place in the tropics, maybe it was Tahiti? Anyway, they looked at the standard 3 properties and chose one that while amazing was just kind of weird, but then, I simply cannot understand wanting to pack up all of your kids and fly overseas regularly. Yeah, that's a vacation for me. NOT.
My thoughts exactly.
I watch both the American and International version a lot, just because I like to see what lots of different houses look like inside. I hate it when people say "We do a lot of entertaining, so we need granite countertops." That makes no sense; that's like saying, "I'm a teacher so I need blue shoes." Lots of couples with young kids act like stairs or other totally normal features of a house are too dangerous for their kids, as if. They also do the same lame jokes all the time about whether the closet is big enough to hold all the woman's clothes or shoes. I usually like the International version better, just because it's interesting to see what typical houses look like in other countries. I think the show is better when it shows someone buying a primary home in that country rather than a vacation home, because the vacation houses aren't usually what's typical for the place. One thing I think is weird on the international version is that when an American is moving to a foreign country, they still say things like, "This will be nice for entertaining," when they don't even know anybody in that country.
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