House Hunters International to film in Sonoma

HGTV to film journey of local couple moving to Europe|

The production team responsible for the long-running HGTV show, House Hunters International, will be filming in and around major Sonoma Valley landmarks this Thursday, according to the cable show’s production coordinator Vanessa Weiss.

The reality TV show will be filming all day on Aug. 24, at Sonoma State Historic Park, the Sonoma Plaza, General Vallejo’s Home and at Maxwell Farms Regional Park.

The HGTV international television series reveals the intricacies of purchasing a home abroad, and also follows the person, couple or family on the journey as they say goodbye to their old city and work with a real estate agent to find a new home in their new city.

In each episode, the buyers must decide between three properties, ultimately choosing one before the end of the episode. The show concludes by revisiting the buyers in their new home a few weeks or months later, where they describe the changes they’ve made and the effect the new home has had on their life.

The viewing audience sees the general location of each property being considered along with the amount being asked for each property.

Weiss wasn’t at liberty to disclose the name of the couple who are moving from Sonoma abroad, but their identity may be easy to discover on Thursday. Otherwise, Weiss said that this episode will air in about six to eight months time.

The original domestic show, House Hunters, debuted in 1999. House Hunters International is the show’s first (of now a dozen) spinoff series. The show focuses on moves to places with a different language and culture either for a retirement or vacation house, schooling or job opportunities.

HGTV (Home & Garden Television) is a basic cable and satellite television channel owned by Scripps Networks Interactive. The cable channel was last in Sonoma for the HGTV Dream House giveaway of an Armstrong Estates property on Fifth Street East, back in 2009.

House Hunters International is available in Sonoma on HGTV on Comcast channel 119 or on Direct TV/U-verse channel 229. New episodes air weeknights at 10:30 p.m.

Contact Lorna at lorna.sheridan@sonomanews.com.

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