I have two favorite places to sit in my house, what about you?

Mine are:

1) In front of my computer

2). In front of my TV

No, I’m not a lazy bum, but I admit that there are two things I love, other than my husband of course (although I don’t mean to call him a thing) and that’s:

• The Internet
• HGTV’s House Hunters International (preferably with a nice cold glass of Chardonnay.)

As far as the Internet, I’ve taken up way too much time discussing this whole social media thing lately, and just in case you need to make sure you don’t fit in the 6 % category, I urge you to check out Sandra’s step-by-step guide to overcoming digital overwhelm.

Anyway, coming back to my second favorite seat in my house: the one in front of my TV, this is where I could easily spend hours watching HGTV’s House Hunters International, but thankfully the Internet has saved me from becoming a TV addict.

What is House Hunter’s International? and what makes it so exciting?

If you’ve never heard of the program, here’s a brief synopsis:

“House Hunters globe trots from Sao Paolo to Prague. Home hunters and their real estate agents check out all sorts of architectural styles and work through the idiosyncrasies of buying real estate in other countries. In any language, home buying is an emotional experience.“

My explanation of why I love this show is simple; it’s about wanderlust with a twist.

“Wanderlust is a strong desire for or impulse to wander or travel and explore the world”

What better way to escape our depressing economy and job market than through “pretending” that we’re on vacation looking at potential homes to buy. Not surprising, the number of viewers has been growing with an average of about 1.37 million viewers between Sept. 28, 2009, and Sept 7, 2010, and here are some reasons why I believe more people are flocking to this show.

• we want to escape our busy life
• we dream of a vacation home
• we’re nosy
• we like to snoop around the inside of people’s homes
• we like to see how houses are furnished in other parts of the world
• we want to immerse ourselves in another culture, architecture, and way of life
• we want to see what houses cost in other parts of the world
• we want a good deal in a foreign country
• we want to taste new foods, meet new people, see new environments and learn from others
• we get bored in one place and crave adventure (that’s me and my Gutsy side)
• we’re looking for another place we could move to (now that’s my real reason for watching House Hunters International)

The other night I watched several back to back episodes of HGTV’s House Hunters International. The one that interested me the most was a couple from Washington DC, who were looking for a house in Botswana. Now I have a blogger friend, Lauri Kubuitsile,  who is a prolific author living in Botswana. I was so excited to see her country and had no clue how beautiful Botswana truly is. Do you really have zebras strolling in your back yard?

Gabarone is the capital with a population of around 186,000.  The American husband on the show was offered a teaching job at the University in Gabarone and I turned towards my husband and said, “Duke, couldn’t you get a job teaching business or law there? Perhaps I could teach French in a school in Gabarone.” He didn’t seem too keen.

The three homes they showed in Botswana were gorgeous. It could have been southern California, as far as the vegetation and the outdoor swimming pools, as well as the price tag for renting which shocked me: $1,800- $2,200/month. Then I thought, “Perhaps the teaching jobs pay well at the University.” A little disappointed, I did expect rent to be much lower but often I’m surprised by house prices and the rent they’re asking on these shows. For example, $5,800 in Budapest. All I can say is I have a feeling they inflate the prices for the show. I know for a fact that the price of condos and houses on Ambergris Caye, Belize, where my family lived for a year, are much higher on the HGTV show than when you actually go there, rent a cheap (hut) and become familiar with the island and the local realtors.

I did a search on HGTV for an episode on Belize, and found one video which I think you will enjoy as it shows why so many seek a second place to escape their work life. A stressed out woman from San Diego wants a second home on Ambergris Caye. She wants to unplug from her busy life in the U.S. This video made me want to move back to savor our slower-paced life on Ambergris Caye, where we lived in 2004-2005.

Do you have wanderlust? In what way? Is there a particular country or place you’d like to move to, have a second home or anything else you’d like to share?

 Photo credit above (Tambako the Jaguar)