Skip to main content

House Hunters' Hang Ups



It seems like every time I open a newspaper or turn on the television lately, I see something about the Bachelor Canada which premiered this month.   I have NEVER watched any of these matchmaking shows.  Frankly, I think they are all repugnant and I have never been able to fathom how people stomach watching such crap.  I feel similarly about most reality shows (Biggest Loser, Survivor, etc.).

The one exception is real estate/home reno shows.  I could watch HGTV all day.  Personally, I think these shows are qualitatively different than above mentioned.  They are not about competition or exploitation or public humiliation.  Just pure real estate porn and voyeurism.  Nothing wrong with that!

I particularly love watching the shows that follow house hunters.  This includes, of course, House Hunters and House Hunters International, but also ones like Urban Suburban, Property Virgins, Buy Herself, etc.

Nevertheless, there are certain things that I see frequently on these shows that drive me nuts and really make me wonder about North Americans' (particularly those in the U.S.) values and expectations.  Here are some examples:

Man Caves - I had never even heard this term until I started watching American house hunting shows.  Seriously?  You cannot be serious!  Any man who thinks he deserves his own room in a house where he can scratch his balls and act like a neanderthal doesn't actually need a house, he needs a cave.  A real cave.  Where he can eat raw meat with his bare hands.

Need for Privacy - I don't understand people who want to live in densely populated urban areas, but can't handle the idea of ever seeing another human being near their property.  What exactly are these people doing that they need so much privacy?  If you like to run around naked, you can always close your blinds, or your neighbours can close theirs...and if your neighbours prefer to watch, I say, "You go girl!"  Or "Guy!".

Stairs - When young, able-bodied people refuse to live in a home with stairs, it's not difficult to see why we have an obesity epidemic on our hands.  Like come on, a few stairs is gonna kill you?

Need for space - Okay, if you have 4 kids, you need space.  But why does an older, child-free couple need a 2,600 square foot home?  What about trying to minimize our carbon footprint, or live a simpler life??

Luxuries - It amazes me that even people looking for their first house, with a minimal budget feel they are entitled to a home with all the bells and whistles.  This is particularly true with Americans and seems to include a huge master suite with ensuite, soaker tub and double sinks, and granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances in the kitchen.  The double sinks is really weird to me.  Does a couple really struggle over sink space that much?  I don't think Adam and I ever have, and growing up in my parents' home, I don't recall either they nor my brother and I ever fighting over sink space in the morning...and we were all a.m. showerers!

Bathroom placement - Although if you have someone in your family with IBS I can see how this would not be ideal, I don't really understand the hysteria over having a bathroom near the kitchen.  Actually makes sense if you ask me!

Size over location - I love cities and I like being right in the center of everything, so I am always puzzled when house hunters choose a sprawling property in the middle of nowhere with a long commute to work over a smaller place downtown.  But that's just my personal bias and my desire to be able to walk everywhere.

Okay, that's it, that's my rant for the day.  Now go watch HGTV like good little boys and girls and see what I mean!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Book Review: The A to Z of Children's Health

Hey there, welcome to Monday!  We had a delightful, relatively quiet weekend.  How was yours?  Hopefully no one in your home was sick...there is a lot of nasty stuff going around these days. If you're a parent, than you have probably spent far more time that you would like to desperately searching Google and/or parenting books trying to figure out if your child's rash, cough or fever warrants a trip to the doctor or if there is something that can be done to treat it.  It's hard not to worry that it could be something more ominous that just an every day infection and while you'd make yourself (and everyone around you) nuts if you panicked every time your kid has the sniffles, as a parent, you naturally want to do everything in your power to prevent your child from harm. Recently I was sent The A to Z of Children's Health , written by doctors Jeremy Friedman, Natasha Saunders, and Norman Saunders, of Toronto's very own Hospital for Sick Children .  One of th

How to Look Like a Celebrity

Okay, I know you're going to be interested in this post! I am sure virtually every woman in North America has wondered how Hollywood celebrities achieve such 'perfect' bodies.  Well, at CAN FIT PRO last week, one of Hollywood's top fitness trainers, Eric the Trainer , was there to tell us fitness professionals the secrets! Eric the Trainer, gave several presentations, and I caught the one on Celebrity Secrets, and it was most interesting!!!  I also found some of what he said rather disturbing. First off, he was very upfront about the fact that celebrities come to him for improve their appearance.  Not to improve their health or athletic performance.  To look their best.  He admitted that his approach then, is entirely dedicated to that end. Male and female celebrities are trained in completely different ways because Hollywood wants women to be lithe and thin and in his words, "look like they dropped out of heaven looking this way without every having ste

Blackfly Coolers: Product Review

Summer is over! Well, at least if you're a student. Officially it doesn't end for a few weeks, and it certainly still feels like summer. Yeah, I hate it. This f*cking hot, humid weather needs to end NOW! We made the most of our last weekend of the summer with our annual trip to the CNE on Friday, with a crowd of friends. It wasn't unbearably lot, thank goodness, and the girls and their friends had a blast on the rides.  Saturday I had to work, and Sunday was errand day. Monday we took the girls berry/apple/pear picking but didn't last long due to the heat. I organized the house to prepare for the construction workers starting back up yesterday, while Adam took the girls for a swim in our neighbourhood pool. Yesterday was the first day of school. Grade 2 and Grade 5. Yep, the girls are growing up.  We are fortunate that the girls don't have much anxiety about school, they are so much more confident than I ever was as a kid! But now, in the midst of our reno ch