HGTV and Food Network are my go to guilty pleasures. When nothing else is on I can tune to some mindless candy I can watch while I surf the web. It's all about the multi-tasking. One show I glom onto on HGTV is House Hunters International. An offshoot of their popular House Hunters, it focuses on folks uprooting their lives to move to a foreign country. While some folks have complained that it's a little scripted and edited--read here and here--I still watch it as more of a travel show to see what places around the world look like and cost. Usually under some personal wish/belief that someday I might want to live overseas also. A number of the participants in HHI are from the US and when I watch these folks meander their way through the process of renting/buying a place in a country not the US I find myself cringing and eye-rolling my way through their comments all the while wondering--have they really not looked up how this country lives? Or-are they really that misguided/uneducated to believe they can find the same kind of house or apartment they lived in here? Sadly, I think the answer to both questions is a resounding yes. You can see the expressions on the realtor's faces when they are given people's laundry list of must haves and can't live without and then watch the realtor try in vain to temper peoples expectations. They really should just be wearing
t-shirts that say "Remember? This is America."
Everyone wants an open floor plan. Seriously, this is an American invention of housing. Because people didn't have much room to start with in some European countries they happily slapped up a wall to give themselves just a small amount of privacy in a flat they probably had to share with 6 or more family members. Sure, togetherness equals familyness, but only if you can get away from them for awhile to re-gather your sanity.
I really thought the kitchen/bathroom/living room/bedroom would be bigger? Why? Why would you ever think that? Popular cities in large foreign countries are crowded with people and space is always at a premium. It's like smaller versions of New York around the world. Of course the problem is most of these folks have never even been to New York, let alone out of the country, and are pre-disposed to their big American things and are just aghast when they can't find it everywhere around the world.
I wish the bathroom had a tub? Okay, I hear this a lot on the regular House Hunters too and I wonder
why? Think back to how often you have ever taken a bath past the age of 5? You don't see these because they are a waste of water resources in countries where water is at a premium and you are lucky if there is indoor plumbing and a river nearby. I say learn to take showers or be like the French and just shower when you feel like it. Be more like the locals and just take up smoking to cover the smell.
I would like an outdoor space. No, you wouldn't. The reason foreign places don't have outdoor spaces is because everyone goes outdoors for that. People in foreign countries get out of their houses to socialize and go to parks or sit in cafes. They don't have friends over, they meet them out. Unlike Americans who sit and "relax" around their places, foreigners actually get out and enjoy the day or night instead of being cooped up. Of course, they also get out because the places are so small, but what better reason to force oneself up off the couch and out the door than claustrophobia and having friends see your tiny rundown apartment.
This place is how much? Here's where one of the biggest disconnects is. Folks think the US dollar is like a god around the world and don't realize that inflation and high cost of living pervade many areas throughout Europe and what you get for $1000 a month here won't get you anything near as big over there. (Again think New York) I always get a small laugh when folks give their list of wants to a realtor and then they tell them the budget they have and a small wave of terror/convulsion/laughter crosses the realtor's face. And after a moment of shock they recover themselves a bit to say "I'll see what I can do," already knowing everything will be over your budget and you will just have to deal with it.
I think what gets me the most is the delusion most of these folks have about what they will be able to find. With the prevalence of the Internet and search engines they could easily see prices, square footage, locations and a lot more before they even get there. Yet for whatever reason, they never seem to do much research and look like a typically rude American stereotype as they bitch and complain about every thing. I'm still waiting for a realtor to just snap and just give them the what what on how it is. Though it's possible it has happened but just been edited out when that's the footage I really want to see. One other sad thing about so many Americans becoming expatriated is a growing homogenization of homes and apartments overseas. I start to actually see places with open floor plans, granite counter tops, baths with tubs and multiple actual bedrooms and wonder whatever happened to immersing oneself in the culture of another country? I mean isn't that one of the reason you are moving there and not just because it was a great job opportunity or whatever?
Sigh...I realize I probably expect too much from folk, but I can keep hope alive. Not everyone from the US who goes overseas to live is totally ignorant of what they will be able to get. Some do their homework and want the full native experience and even state, "that's why I wanted to come here." I guess, though, in the grand scheme of things it doesn't really make for all that interesting "reality" television if a person knows when they get to, say, Singapore and find their $900 budget gets them 2 rooms and a bathroom above a bustling market. It's much better to see the horrified look on the couples faces when get to the realization that their $900 only gets them 2 rooms and a bathroom above a bustling market in Singapore. And I guess in the end, it is one of the reasons I continue to watch and be fascinated and derisive at the same time.
t-shirts that say "Remember? This is America."
Everyone wants an open floor plan. Seriously, this is an American invention of housing. Because people didn't have much room to start with in some European countries they happily slapped up a wall to give themselves just a small amount of privacy in a flat they probably had to share with 6 or more family members. Sure, togetherness equals familyness, but only if you can get away from them for awhile to re-gather your sanity.
I really thought the kitchen/bathroom/living room/bedroom would be bigger? Why? Why would you ever think that? Popular cities in large foreign countries are crowded with people and space is always at a premium. It's like smaller versions of New York around the world. Of course the problem is most of these folks have never even been to New York, let alone out of the country, and are pre-disposed to their big American things and are just aghast when they can't find it everywhere around the world.
I wish the bathroom had a tub? Okay, I hear this a lot on the regular House Hunters too and I wonder
why? Think back to how often you have ever taken a bath past the age of 5? You don't see these because they are a waste of water resources in countries where water is at a premium and you are lucky if there is indoor plumbing and a river nearby. I say learn to take showers or be like the French and just shower when you feel like it. Be more like the locals and just take up smoking to cover the smell.
I would like an outdoor space. No, you wouldn't. The reason foreign places don't have outdoor spaces is because everyone goes outdoors for that. People in foreign countries get out of their houses to socialize and go to parks or sit in cafes. They don't have friends over, they meet them out. Unlike Americans who sit and "relax" around their places, foreigners actually get out and enjoy the day or night instead of being cooped up. Of course, they also get out because the places are so small, but what better reason to force oneself up off the couch and out the door than claustrophobia and having friends see your tiny rundown apartment.
This place is how much? Here's where one of the biggest disconnects is. Folks think the US dollar is like a god around the world and don't realize that inflation and high cost of living pervade many areas throughout Europe and what you get for $1000 a month here won't get you anything near as big over there. (Again think New York) I always get a small laugh when folks give their list of wants to a realtor and then they tell them the budget they have and a small wave of terror/convulsion/laughter crosses the realtor's face. And after a moment of shock they recover themselves a bit to say "I'll see what I can do," already knowing everything will be over your budget and you will just have to deal with it.
I think what gets me the most is the delusion most of these folks have about what they will be able to find. With the prevalence of the Internet and search engines they could easily see prices, square footage, locations and a lot more before they even get there. Yet for whatever reason, they never seem to do much research and look like a typically rude American stereotype as they bitch and complain about every thing. I'm still waiting for a realtor to just snap and just give them the what what on how it is. Though it's possible it has happened but just been edited out when that's the footage I really want to see. One other sad thing about so many Americans becoming expatriated is a growing homogenization of homes and apartments overseas. I start to actually see places with open floor plans, granite counter tops, baths with tubs and multiple actual bedrooms and wonder whatever happened to immersing oneself in the culture of another country? I mean isn't that one of the reason you are moving there and not just because it was a great job opportunity or whatever?
Sigh...I realize I probably expect too much from folk, but I can keep hope alive. Not everyone from the US who goes overseas to live is totally ignorant of what they will be able to get. Some do their homework and want the full native experience and even state, "that's why I wanted to come here." I guess, though, in the grand scheme of things it doesn't really make for all that interesting "reality" television if a person knows when they get to, say, Singapore and find their $900 budget gets them 2 rooms and a bathroom above a bustling market. It's much better to see the horrified look on the couples faces when get to the realization that their $900 only gets them 2 rooms and a bathroom above a bustling market in Singapore. And I guess in the end, it is one of the reasons I continue to watch and be fascinated and derisive at the same time.
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