Escape to the Country annoyances.

[DontEscapeToTheCountry]

Why is there a new part where they show them standing on their doorstep chatting like a couple of vagrants?

Why when they show an elderly couple a kitchen or living room that you could host a barn dance in, do they say that it's much too small? What are these people doing in their kitchens that requires so much space?

And why, when they say that they want a 3 bedroom home with no stairs and a small garden, do they show them Chatsworth House?

This.
I long ago gave up any ‘rural idyll’ dreams after we were regularly visiting friends in rural N Devon - down a steep, tiny lane, where you needed to drive for 10 minutes plus just for a pint of milk. A lovely area, very scenic, but….

One of them eventually became unable to drive, so God knows what would have happened if the other- who was decidedly accident prone - had suffered the same.
After her dh finally died she moved asap to a very nice city-borders flat, within easy reach by public transport of all amenities.

Something we haven’t mentioned, they make some new ETTC and then show old episodes mixed in with the new. The repeats are endless, I’ve watched some episodes several times. Yes that’s how sad I am. 😂

Surely the stairs in a top floor flat are an issue for your disabled husband? Also how can it have lots of outside space when it’s in the top floor?

@Myneedycat

Well no, we have a lift direct to our front door. It’s a penthouse with a large terrace and a balcony. These things exist 😁

A couple of years ago, we decided we’d like to retire back to my DH’s country area. Prices were reasonable. Now, however, we’re priced out of the market. We’re still planning on it, tho, just might have to work a couple of years longer. We are stereotypes, wanting land, chickens etc. Unlike some of the ETTC candidates, we do know about maintaining land (horsey) and we’re both practical. We don’t want lots of land but enough not to have immediate neighbours. I have a handy network of people locally who bring me back to reality when I post a house.

We were open mouthed at a recent episode of Location, couple looking to buy their first house in our area (north of London) where Phil totally ignored the biggest nearest town and they ended up buying miles from their original destination in the smallest out of the way area. I could have done a far better job! It was hilarious.

I think I remember the episode with the non-farming person wanting 80 acres. Did they also show them something that seemed to tick literally every box but the couple rejected it? I got the distinct feeling that the supposed buyers never had any intention of buying anything and just fancied a weekend in whatever part of the country it was at the Beeb's expense.

@Myneedycat Surely the stairs in a top floor flat are an issue for your disabled husband? Also how can it have lots of outside space when it’s in the top floor?

I'm guessing a lift, massive balcony.

(We have 4 needy cats 🤣, so space was imperative)

Not MN “massive” @usernother 😁 but pretty big, as much space as the average modern estate garden.

I've seen a few with gay couples.

You're watching repeats. They also show up to date ones.

If they do buy, they usually say so at the end. You can also find out what at least some of them buy by watching "I Escaped to the Country".

I feel quite sorry for the empty nesters who buy a house with several bedrooms in the expectation that they'll be needed when their families visit. They don't seem to realise that if their children live nearby, they won't need bedrooms, and if they're further away they aren't going to be packing the kids into the car and driving for hours to visit granny and grandad every other week. At some point surely it will dawn on them that they are cleaning and heating a load of rooms that are never used? It would make much more sense to buy somewhere smaller and put the kids up in a local B&B if they visit.

Passepartoute

I feel quite sorry for the empty nesters who buy a house with several bedrooms in the expectation that they'll be needed when their families visit. They don't seem to realise that if their children live nearby, they won't need bedrooms, and if they're further away they aren't going to be packing the kids into the car and driving for hours to visit granny and grandad every other week. At some point surely it will dawn on them that they are cleaning and heating a load of rooms that are never used? It would make much more sense to buy somewhere smaller and put the kids up in a local B&B if they visit”

Yep, spare cash is far more useful 😁
**

Just realised I know someone who was on ETTC but they pulled out of the property they wanted to buy, which they saw on the show, because there were rights issues with it.

I stopped watching years ago when they stopped showing reasonably ordinary houses/couples.
When it became all
"Susie and Timothy have taken early retirement and want to live rurally with 6 or 7 acres to keep horses, pigs and goats"
Then after showing them a property which is exactly what they asked for it was all
"on paper yes, it's beautiful,but 2 of us can't possibly manage with less than 4 bathrooms, 2 toilets, 6 bedrooms and a kitchen the size of a ballroom. We must have space for entertaining and our son may want to stay a couple of nights once a year. I also think on balance we need at least 15 acres" 🙄

Indeed they do but in many cities they are more expensive than large family houses and attract hefty service charges - am nosey about which city? 😊

Will you build some sort of catio or are the "sides" too high for them to jump? I think I'd have paranoia about them gaily leaping over the sides.

What you have described is very rare, if you want detached, driveway, garage a garden etc, they all tend to come with vast houses attached, if you want a small easy to maintain but extremely expensive property in a fabulous location you would probably be looking at a flash apartment within a desirable postcode, it’s hard enough to downsize from a normal detached family home as is reflected in many ‘downsizing’ threads on here, people can’t find suitable small properties so they stay where they are.

I wouldn’t feel too sorry for them they probably enjoy all the space they have, bedrooms don’t have to stay as bedrooms, they can be used for hobby rooms, offices, gym or whatever.

My friend is an avid fan of Escape to the Sun (or whatever it's called). She constantly complains to me about everyone who wants to move to Spain and moans that in the houses 'all the windows are SO SMALL', when it's usually so hot in Spain that what you want in summer is small windows.

But I, along evidently with the people on this show, have never been to Spain, so have no idea about this. Perhaps someone here can confirm, just so I can assure my friend that it's not just her.

I want to live with @MrsSkylerWhite

I’ve viewed a few houses featured and I have no idea how they do the door step recording next to busy roads!

Why are the places they film in 'A Place in the Sun' always so empty? Do they film at 5am?

‘A flash apartment’ - that is exactly what I want. @MrsSkylerWhite is pretty much describing it. I don’t want a detached house with driveway or big garden. I want to live somewhere comfortable, within east reach of life’s essentials, ideally without needing a car, and with a spare room for guests. I don’t want my living quarters to be a drain on me.

We wonder about that too!

I suspect that they film mostly during the off peak seasons, so that might explain some of it. Not all though.