Gosh darn...I can't believed I have missed those episodes this week. I'll have to tune in tonight - thanks for the reminder!

Balham, gateway to the south! (sayeth Peter Sellers)

good Indian food there (natch).

Did you mean Nappy Valley? too funny!

Nappy Valley...I thought they made wine there. :))

After seeing these episodes, a lot of cities in the US are starting to seem cheap. Maybe its just the exchange rate.

The outside of the Barcelona home those people bought was beautiful, although I think she said it was in a bad area? I'm sure the inside will be gorgeous once they renovate.

Outside of that, the episode was good for some laughs due to the femmullet that was going on. ;)

I would have taken the apt that was already renovated!
Tomorrow night, Paris !

I thought it interesting that the real estate salesmen were brits..or spoke english with a very perfect british accent if the were spanish. Prices of apartments in Barcelona seemed on par with most major cities. Paris should be fun. Looking forward to it. The showed a "trailer" at the end of the program tonight. Seems the couple are re-locating in Paris from somewhere in Oregon. The "wife" made a comment: "gosh, are all the kitchens is Paris so small?" Can't wait to see the program.

Ha! I saw that crefloors..and said to the television, YES, all the kitchens are tiny!
I want to know HOW they get to move to Paris..and buy an apt. What did the husband do in tonights episode, that they were living in Barcelona?

No one yet answered the question...how much did they spend for the London apartment?
Yes, European kitchens are "compact." However, it doesn't stop many Europeans from whipping up great meals in them. We made more multi-course meals from scratch in our little Brussels kitchen than we did in the U.S. when our kitchens were the size of our current living room.

To pick up SeaUrchin's point, houses and flats in large areas of major cities in the UK will indeed be very similar because they were built en masse, and sometimes in a hurry, by speculative builders. Georgian terraces, Victorian workers' cottages, interwar semi-detached: all out of similar pattern books.

Balham is one of those suburbs that's been up and down over the years, and is definitely on the up now, because of good transport links. There's an area of good solid family houses near there that is very popular and nicely situated between green open spaces - so the estate agents decided to give it a fancy name and started calling it 'Twixt the Commons'. Ugh.

I agree with Maryann that I wish the U.S. House Hunters would let us know what people are paying for their houses.

As far as the U.K. prices go, I mentioned on another thread that I am astounded what people pay for housing. Originally I thought maybe the salaries in the U.K. are much higher than the U.S. and that's how people afford these places, but I did a search one day and found an entry-level receptionist makes approximately £12,000 a year. I was told that in the U.K., people buy houses rather than have savings accounts or "nest eggs." Even on shows such as "Homes Under the Hammer," I can never believe what people pay for homes that look like squatters have lived in the dwelling, peed on the floors and ripped out the trim for years!

Scarlett- The husband in the Barcelona show was a merchant mariner (sea captain). I guess you could live anywhere in the world with that job.

About the Barcelona apts. - I found them all to be a bit dark, without views. If I won some great contest and was give a choice, I would definitely pick the Florence apt. from Monday's show.

Yes, what were the prices like for the London show?

Over $500,000 US for a small 2 bedroom flat in London. If you ever watch BBC America, they have a great show called Location, Location, Location. Similar to House Hunters, they get shown all around the UK, even some beautiful country estates. Love that show.

Speaking of the trailer for the Paris show tonight, did you see where the husband was walking into what appeared to be the bathroom and the doorway was so narrow that he couldn't walk straight through it. He would have to turn sideways to get into the room.

I too was wondering how the couple from Oregon could be moving to Paris. They will probably tell us tonight..they give a bit of history about each couple. The couple last night moved to Barcelona from London because they didn't want to raise their kids in London. They didn't expound any further than that. Being a sea captain, the husband can live pretty much where he wants to...kind of like airline pilots. I thought it was cool when the wife was reading with her kids..she was doing words in french and spanish..that's neat..they are at the perfect age to learn the languages. I've been kind of awestruck and the size of most of these places and like some others thinking how do they afford it? I watched a House Hunters doing Manhatten, I think it was last year..but the apartments and prices and sizes were similar to what we have been seeing. So..tonight Paris..can't wait.

twina is right - tax systems, rising aspirations and (?self-fulfilling?) expectations of price rises have worked to make buying a house the primary form of discretionary saving for your old age over the last 40-50 years or so in the UK. The last 15-20 years, there's been an extra boost as people who had rented public housing had the right to buy at discounted prices and many have begun to move up the ladder.

The elephant in the living-room has been the increasing possibility that company pension schemes may not now turn out to be as generously-funded as we had all been led to expect, but whether that means we try to pay less for housing in favour of other daving schemes is anyone's guess - some of them have had a scandal or two to put people off.

PatrickLondon - from what I read here in the US, the UK system sounds a lot like what is happening here as well. I've read that the savings rate is abysmal, and that many folks primary source of wealth in their old age is their home - a "forced savings account" if you will.

I've also read that some companies (such as some car makers) may not have enough set aside for retirement - the way it was slanted (correctly or not I don't know) was that the retirement money was put into a different company that was underfunded on purpose - i.e. can't pay it out if it's bankrupt, oh darn. (I'm paraphrasing here).

all this just in time to change social security. no wonder AARP folks are wary.

Having spend the week buying our own new house I feel like I've been LIVING House Hunters since last Thanksgiving. I caught the Montreal and London shows, and hope to see Paris tonight. I always pick up the real estate magazines when I'm traveling, and dream...

My new exotic locale will be Northwest Durham -- 10 min from Duke, 15 from Chapel Hill. That silly theme music from HH keeps echoing in my head...

$500,000 for a 2 bedroom pad in London sounds downright cheap! You can easily spend more than that for a 2 bedroom townhouse or flat out here in suburban Maidenhead. Hope they get a lot of use out of it...were they planning to live there full time or only part time and then rent it out short term to tourists?

The London house was his residence. He was not renting it but permanently living in it.

you can actually spend more in DC and Arlington VA for something similar (size wise anyway). 500K does sound cheap!

We're heading to London next week to look at apartments in Marylebone w/Relocation people so it was interesting to watch the London episode.

sandi_travelnut, I love Location, Location, Location--if only Kirstie and Phil were helping us with our move!

If anyone's interested. No.10 Downing Street is for sale:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/w...re/4448817.stm

what an address that would be! :)

I'm on th East Coast. When is this program aired?

Mimi, it is on HGTV at 10:00 pm our side of time :D

((F))

10 pm tonight for the Paris show. See hgtv.com for regular schedule.

Scarlett, mvor, virtual thank you kiss.

Which house did they pick? I fell asleep. Was it the one over their budget?

Thanks.

It's on at 10:00 p.m. in California as well. How long has House Hunters International been on? I first heard of it a few days ago and watched it for the first time last night. I didn't care for any of the Barcelona flats they were shown. Looking for to Paris tonight.

Madison, they were true fixer uppers. Which one did they chose? I fell asleep. I think HH International is new.

Seetheworld: They picked the second flat -- the most expensive one.

I was kind of surprised they didn't pick the third one -- it was the least expensive and had the most potential, I thought. But the hubby and I would have taken any of them, frankly -- love those high ceilings. So many of the flats they're showing this week have such great character!

I've gotta say, though, all the flats seem quite big by Euro standards. And definitely out of our price range...

For those who can't stay awake...look at your listings...where I am they show it twice..once at 7:00 and again at 10:00 so see if that applies to your area.

In the US, on the East Coast, they have back-to-back HH 10 and 10:30.

Crefloor: all it takes is that little commercial break right before the big decision and I'm OUT! I-)

Lutece: I loved the one with the really huge door - but it would have taken a lot of work to fix that one up.

I thought that woman last night was really charming and quirky. It takes a real creative person to have been able to look at the 3rd apartment in Barcelona and talk about the charm of the tiny sink and how sweet the little windows were etc. I thought that would have been an incredible space at half the cost of the one they did pick.

seetheworld: I know what you mean. So many nights I have that crick in my neck from falling asleep in front of the TV...I have finally become my mother. LOL

seetheworld - That door was amazing!! You're right that it would have been a lot of work, but I have to wonder if it would have cost more than the one they bought when all was said and done. But then, I know a lot of people who just don't want the hassle of fixing up. The hubby and I are major fixer-uppers, but we often bite off more than we can chew! ;-)

Sandi - I thought that woman was great, too! It was so great that she could see something good in all of them. It's always nice to know some people have the vision to see through the plaster dust! Sometimes people on that show (the US version) seem to not be able to see past bad wallpaper or dirty carpet!

TTT
The Paris episode just started.

Thanks, I'm utta here for now!

Lutece, is she serious about having to get a physical to get a loan in Paris?! she said you get weighed etc..and the only thing that doesn't count against you is if you smoke!

I missed the first 15 minutes so I didn't hear their story, but, as soon as I saw that terrace I thought whoa, baby, that's the one! what a beautiful apartment!