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 is exactly what it's like. It's hilarious.

You did say in your original post ‘the most gorgeous small house’ though, you didn’t say to wanted a flash apartment, flash expensive apartments are very easy to come by compared to small but very expensive detached houses.

Oh good grief 🙄

I never said detached house or driveway or garden though, did I? Where I live there are some lovely tiny terraces in a great part of the city. I’d be equally happy in a flat. I’m really not sure what your point is here?

My point was finding a small but very expensive house in a great location is difficult, according to threads on here a lot of people who have achieved a detached house don’t necessarily want to move to a flat or a terrace, all I am saying is they a rare find, does that help?

I don’t necessarily want a very expensive house, although I will pay for location so that would make a house more expensive in itself. I can’t speak for anyone else, but where I live there are regularly houses on the market that would exactly fit the bill, so it seems perfectly achievable to me. A small house can be expensive in lots of ways, including location, fixtures, decoration.

You don’t need to buy a big house in the country to live wealthily. I can’t call myself super rich by any means but I would have the choice between living in one of them when retired, and my small house/flat in a lovely bit of the city within walking distance of everything I needed, and I will be be choosing the latter.

I watched (I think) wanted down under a few years ago. It was a couple who worked long hours and had high stress jobs who wanted a better work/life balance (they had 2 teen/tween kids). They went to Australia and went on.....a family bike ride! They were all gushing about how great it was as if bike riding was some niche and unique activity unavailable in the UK. 🤣🤣
And they always love all the stuff they're doing in Australia...part of which is because they're on holiday and not at work!!

I watched one a couple of years back where the buyer (a single woman) sneered at everything for being too small. . She had sold her house and was living in a bloody caravan at the time. Now THAT is small.

I always assume that they film January February but these places look like ghost towns !

@Fizbosshoes this is so true. I don't think they realise that the stress factor will still be there with jobs and commutes etc

@Celibacyinthesticks actually we live in Bath and do have quite a lot of that, small Georgian or mock Georgian mews houses, coach houses etc with garden and garage- but most aren't detached and they aren't cheap

Ahh it's so formulaic I love it. Literally every episode is the same.

Bedroom with walk in wardrobe: "ooh this'll do for me," says wife, "where will you put your clothes, husband?" Snort snort.

Awkwardly holding hands while sidling sideways through a doorway that's not designed for two to pass through while holding hands, while looking like they haven't held hands in real life since 1995.

"We've lived in Milton Keynes our whole life, all of our family, friends, everything we've ever known is here, but inexplicably we've decided we want to buy 6 bedrooms and 20 acres in the middle of Wales to run a small holding in/grow old in. We know nothing about animals or Wales. We want at least a
30ft kitchen and space to entertain all of our friends from Milton Keynes once every 5-10 years."

"We want buckets of character but we don't like beams/small windows/low ceilings or anything that is too expensive to run."

Wife talks non-stop about what "we" like while husband says nothing.

"I can just imagine us here on the patio with a glass of wine."

Programme ends:

"Sadly, John and Jane have decided none of the houses in Wales were quite right for them and have decided to stay in their three bed semi in Milton Keynes."

And repeat in Sussex, Gloucestershire, the wilds of Scotland, Cornwall, Norfolk etc etc.

🤣🤣

@Labtastic I would like to see a reverse formula- 'welcome back to the city' or something similar

Susi and John have decided north Devon is a pain in the arse for getting to Heathrow and the expected visits from friends havent materialised so are looking at 4 bedders in oxshott etc

Yep it’s the detached that’s always the difficult part.

I would also prefer period to mock.

Does anyone remember the one with the artist moving from London to Wales? She wanted lots of land because she wanted to run a sort of mini-smallholding with animals although she had absolutely no experience of it: you could tell she thought of it in terms of stroking the cute alpacas and not at all in terms of all the messier and nastier aspects of looking after animals. She also knew absolutely nothing about Wales. She moaned about one apparently perfect house, saying that it would be fine if they could turn it round so the front looked over the garden, and you could see the poor old presenter struggling not to sound too sarcastic in pointing out that there were windows you could look out of at the back.

Somehow or other she had managed to spend 8 hours getting from London to Pembrokeshire, God knows how, and at the end she suddenly announced that she'd junked the whole idea because she realised that none of her friends were going to spend 8 hours coming to visit. Just as well all round, really.

at the end she suddenly announced that she'd junked the whole idea because she realised that none of her friends were going to spend 8 hours coming to visit.

With an attitude like that, I'd have thought that ALL her friends would be regularly visiting... travelling on a motorbike with two spare seats

I honestly think some people lose the plot usually when life gives you a lot of choices , be that divorce (with no kids to worry about) home working, inheritances, kids leaving home etc.

I totally get why people want a complete change, but when they start to make very expensive plans and yet have zero understanding or experience of what they are getting into -you almost know it will go badly wrong. And there are the downsizers (in their head) who clearly will not downsize because they want the size/space/location etc- I sit there thinking 'why waste peoples time' !!

Lovely précis @Labtastic, and that's exactly why we all watch it

@Labtastic that’s it in a nutshell 😂

And another thing, I can never understand the couples that want to move really far away from their friends. This means that until (if) they make new friends their OH will be their only company. Which for me would be awful. Not because I don't like him but I'd be really bored just having one person to knock around with. I like variety.

C8H10N4O2 · Yesterday 11:45
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MrsSkylerWhite · Yesterday 10:19
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@Myneedycat
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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 😁
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? 😊
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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.

Central belt, Scotland. Yep. Enclosed catio on the balcony (11ft by 5, 8ft high with walkways, a tree, ladders, etc) and on the terrace cat proofing, the roley poles on the hand rails (can’t remember what they’re called) so they can’t get a grip if they try to jump up. Our eldest was the main worry as he’s adventurous but he’s knocking on now, will be 11 then and getting hefty 😁 he’s becoming less of a roamer in the family home. The girls don’t go out much anyway, through choice. They’re more lap cats. We’ve no concerns. I would have rejected it if I had !

Depends if you have good friends where you are I suppose.

Escape to the Home Counties!