House Hunting Abroad
December 7th, 2007 Posted in International living/working, Work/Life/Travel Balance
We got Tivo earlier this year and it has enabled me to catch each episode of House Hunters International that has aired in the past few months on HGTV. I was skeptical after the first two I saw involved an expensive development in Los Cabos and one of the most expensive communities available in Nicaragua, but as I’ve caught more and more episodes I’ve been impressed by the balance of situations and budget ranges they have presented.
I just caught one where the couple got a nice 2-bedroom condo in a prime area of Buenos Aires for $130,000 and one where a woman bought a fixer-upper in Merida, Mexico and ended up with a palace for less than $90K.
It’s not all Latin America though. Other shows have covered Europe and the Caribbean. Nothing in Asia yet it looks like–probably too much of a hike since the crew has to film twice: during the hunt and after move-in.
If you are thinking about moving abroad someday, this show is worth checking out. You can often do better on price than what’s presented here since they only show three places and they’re dealing with a real estate agent who speaks good English for the camera. But it gives a good overview of what to expect, including local quirks and the (often great) quality of local workmanship.
Then follow this link for some good resources on living abroad.
