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AIBU?

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Original poster

to just not understand 'Wanted Down Under'

216 replies

AtYourCervix · 20/01/2011 09:24

All these people wanting to move 'To improve the quality of life'

but every one has older children refusing to go, partners with 'major concerns' and extended families devastated at the thought of families so far away.

Why? I don't get how this could Improve their lives.

Enlighten me.....

OP posts:
2babyblues · 21/01/2011 11:04

Saw a bit this morning before being forced to let ill son watch octonauts on iplayer! Their house in England was so gorgeous, she obviously didn't want to leave recently bereaved mother, so it was only really the husband who wanted to go for better quality of life. However, they looked like they had an ideal existence anyway.

Milngavie · 21/01/2011 11:19

Did anyone see the episode a couple of weeks ago where the womans parents were hysterical at the thought of their daughter leaving?

It was awful, they were practically using emotional blackmail on national tv. "if you leave us we will both die" type thing. I was Shock.

belleofbelfastcity · 27/01/2011 10:00

Gotta revive this thread after watching today's "WDU - Revisited". What did the husband think being a SAHP involved? Oh poor thing, he spends all day in the house, looking after his kids, then when his wife gets in from a job as a mental health nurse (i would imagine that is quite a tough thing to do), he has to go down the shops and get food in, then "do it all over again"...

And if he can't get a job, even though his family love living in Oz, he will make them all go back to Scotland as he can't hack doing the washing. In the sunshine. With enough money not to have to worry about going to work.

theinet · 27/01/2011 22:52

Often the people who go on these shows are from small towns in the UK and i notice it comes as a huge shock to them that they find they will be living in a city of several million people if they move to Oz, as most Aussies live in the state capitals, and they will live much more of a city based life than in the UK, where living in the countryside is highly valued.

Or, alternatively they coo about how amazing the culture is, and how many things there are to do in the city

If they moved to a large UK city, or London, they'd find the same.

AAlso agree with the poster about big similarities between NZ and Scotland. Sometimes people don't really discover what is on their own doorstep.

And moving to Oz for "the weather" must surely be one of the crappest ideas ever.

sooz28 · 27/01/2011 23:06

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Lovethesea · 27/01/2011 23:12

When I lived in London I had good friends from Perth, Australia. They moved back to Perth after their first baby as they were both nurses and in central London had a one bed flat and no chance of bigger. In Perth they got a house, garden, family to help, beach etc.

But they were gutted to leave. They loved the cosmopolitan nature of London and what they called the 'culture'. They said they liked the beach and BBQ's but there wasn't a lot else in Perth itself (this was a decade ago and I know other parts of Australia are different, but the distance to get to them from Perth!).

They had a plan to return to London one day but I think the 4th kid might have put paid to that plan now .........

thegrudge · 27/01/2011 23:25

They always start off saying that they want to cut their hours and be 'mortgage free' but end up saying that they will both have to work FT to afford the massive house they want that they thought would cost £1.

theinet · 27/01/2011 23:41

no such thing as an easy ride in today's global economy.

and as the UK has been up the creek economicaly for a few years, and oz is doing well, those wishing to sell up in the cheap UK now to buy expensive property in oz with the exchange rate as it is.... well,. you'd have to be bonkers.

the people that moved 4+ years ago did very well indeed. The exchange rate was amazing and UK property was really overpriced, Oz property less so.

It's the opposite way round now.

those going now will be, generally, poor in comparison.

living on the beach in a large (or even not so large) house and having to do a bit of wokr here and there is a laughable fantasy for 99% of Brits considering a move to Oz.

what makes the show amusing is the punters ignorance and surprise as they realise.

echt · 28/01/2011 00:56

theinet I completely get what you say about wanting to move to Oz for the weather. Except in my case it's always Aussies who ask me was it the weather that made us move.

Having said that, if we were to move back to the UK, which we're not, the weather here would be missed; essentially the frequency of blue skies, even when it's cold.

But as for it being a reason to leave all your family and move across the world. Hmm

MamaChocolat · 28/01/2011 00:58

I thoght WAnted down under was about women desperate for their DHs to have a shag . And now they have to fill in appilcations forms. no woneder we're all divroced

TechnoKitten · 28/01/2011 03:12

I watched this a few times before we moved to NZ & thought it was OK though too Oz focussed!

We moved here 2 years ago. Not that we didn't like the UK, but we thought being here would suit us better & be a better place for the boys to grow up. So far nothing's happened to change our minds! Quality of life is several magnitudes better, I see more of my children working FT here than I did in England, DH is running the small business, reading up on gardening/self sufficiency, the chooks are laying 8+ eggs a day and the boys are thriving in the sunshine. Cost of living seems to be less and people still have respect for others - maybe that's where the 50's comments come in.

As far as family goes, MiL is keen to move too, my Dad & sister have been out on extended holidays twice & Skype (when they get their act together & it works!) is fab.

BeenBeta, if you & family are ever around Nelson then drop in for coffee! (you're welcome to bring a laptop & use the wifi :) )

TechnoKitten · 28/01/2011 03:17

Oh - trim milk (skimmed or semi depending on fat content) is $3.60 for 2L (~£1.30).

TechnoKitten · 28/01/2011 03:18

£1.80 even. Friday afternoon, end of the week, no excuse :)

sooz28 · 28/01/2011 17:32

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

lightthebluetouchpaper · 28/01/2011 17:44

I have been to Aus twice and absolutely love it, but one of the things it always reminds me of is that I am English. Going on holiday is one thing, moving there quite another

It is a very silly programme anyway. Always harping on about the "outdoor lifestyle". Most of the Aussies I know live a life pretty much like ours.

MilaMae · 28/01/2011 17:52

I love that show Blush. I always watch it with a "oh if only I had the guts" feeling.

Dp has mentioned wanting to go as has a job on the skills wanted list,his best friend went years ago but I'm one of those people who always over research and suspect the grass is always greener. However the Jan weather and slimy Cameron could tempt me at the moment.

I like the revisited shows and marvel at the couples who had the guts to do it. Did think the couple with the gorgeous Welsh barn were mad though. The SAH dad annoyed me however I think he may have been suffering from depression. Not sure why he couldn't go out and get a job,dragging his family back to Glasgow would have been a little selfish imvho. His wife really blossomed in Oz didn't she.

MilaMae · 28/01/2011 17:57

How friendly are Australians out of interest? I always wonder how easy it would be to make friends in Oz.

lulalullabye · 28/01/2011 18:00

4 pints of milk in Oz is about $3, so I think the bbc had been shopping in Australia's equivalent of harrods!!

kepler10b · 28/01/2011 18:01

most of the contribs seem to have made a bit of a pigs ear of life in the uk and then they compare that to successful life in oz. you could equally compare life in some grim oz backwater with some exciting life in uk.

i lived in nz for a bit. liked the capital but couldn't see anywhere else i'd want to live there. equally i like life in london but i'd hate the thought of living in some little provincial uk town.

workwise there are a lot more opportunities in uk for me but then i have the sort of career that most people aspire to.

lulalullabye · 28/01/2011 18:04

kepler10b lucky youHmm

Mumfee · 28/01/2011 19:32

My favourite was the father that said "When Janey told me she was thinking of going to Australia, I said 'why don't you just rip my heart out!'"
As humorous as this was, I'm glad it wasn't the way my parents reacted 10 years ago when I left Australia, and can only hope it's not the way my I/L react when we choose to move back.

ElsieMc · 28/01/2011 20:22

Did you see the couple who had a rather nice cottage in the Lake District who expected around £800,000 for it but had it valued at £325,000 by two of the agents? This just shows how out of touch people are. I knew one of the agents involved and his body language said it all - the house had been extended but it was unfinished, rubble in the garden etc.

They seemed to expect to move to a Beverley Hills type mansion after the sale of their own home. They refused point blank to believe any of the estate agents.

Like an earlier poster said, why on earth do you not get an idea of it's worth before viewing fabulous properties you could never, ever afford. If you like humiliation, it certainly made for good TV.

lightthebluetouchpaper · 29/01/2011 13:42

MilaMae Australians are just the same as everyone else. Some sre friendly, some are not. I have noticed on WDU that they mention how many expats live in the area "so it should be easy to make friends" as though they are going to want to make friends with other people in the same boat, rather than Australians who were born there.
Incidentally one of my Australian friends (third generation) complains about the heat in their summer and in their winter, when we were in shorts and T shirts she had thermals under her jumper! She's in NSW. Don't think she'd cope in far north Q'land.

Fizrim · 30/01/2011 00:57

I've seen a few of these last week - DH is off work sick. It's making CBeebies look tempting!

They all get off the plane and comment what a long way it is - now that may be scripted by the programme makers but please stop, we know it's a long way!

They have done a 'revisited' programme, in the one I saw the couple had a large group of expat friends. No Australians.

richFREESERVE2 · 08/02/2016 10:18

What really irritates me is the constant voting throughout the programme and deciding whether to go or not. There is always one member who rather stay in the UK and surprise, surprise in the final vote they decide to all go to Australia! People can't even dream of going to Australia due to expense and family. People on this show have a free trip to Australia and don't seem to care they are leaving parents or loved ones in the UK. The whole programme just irritates me so much and I just switch to another programme when it starts!!