To be a bit fuming at Escape To The Country

[jamoncrumpets]

Yes, yes, I know I am watching tv in the day and should be out working or volunteering or something, but both kids are ill so we're all having a down day today.

Anyway, I'm fuming because the couple (male, female) are viewing houses and every single time they walk into a kitchen the presenter says 'Well, will this do for you Sharon?' and then when they get to the outside space, garage etc, he turns to the man and says 'What do you think then, Nigel?'

The woman has already said that she isn't much of a cook. He's not letting her off the hook, he is absolutely DESPERATE to sell her a big old kitchen so she fit more neatly into her gender role.

I've never seen this show before, is it always like this? AIBU to want to take the presenter to a female boxing club and have him pummelled for a few bouts?

I'd be "stuff the kitchen show me the stables " . I get the rage with people who just want to have land for the sake of it and not to have animals on.

I love ETTC and have watched it from the very early days. One episode was absolutely hilarious. A couple and the wife's sister were viewing mansion-like properties in north Somerset. The wife wanted to 'rip out' fabulous old oak paneling in the dining room and install a glitter ball. She also wanted to 'rip out' a beautiful Adam fireplace , remove the lawn and put down astro turf. At first I thought it was a spoof, but no. The poor presenter, Catherine Gee, was visibly wincing and gritting her teeth. Best episode ever!

Chicken hotels?
They don't order KFC for room service then?

That would be cannibalism, silly.

I just wanted to say that this is the most middle class thread title I have ever read on mn

I was accepted to be on it, but we'd already found our house by the time they got round to anything!

Actually, I retract my previous statement. This is the most middle class thread title I’ve seen on mn

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3545141-Artist-bill-is-nearly-twice-what-I-was-quoted?pg=9&order=

In ETTC more often than not they are upsizing not downsizing.

That would be cannibalism, silly.

They will eat other birds though.

One day, I witnessed Amelia catch a blue tit, then Gracie stole it off her. There then followed a chase of several minutes (with the Benny Hill music playing in my head!), while Amelia tried to get it back. When Gracie had a bit of distance between them, she stopped to tear chunks off the poor little bird, quickly swallow, and leg it, as Amelia caught up with her, until the whole thing was devoured.

They are dinosaur predators.

It’s pure fantasy. It’s not about houses, it’s about lust! The people who could ever hope to afford those houses are working 27/7 and not at home watching daytime TV. It’s just lifestyle porn and voyeurism for poor people.

@HazelBite. I’m always baffled by that too - I’m 50 and when I see couples age 60+ looking to live remotely I think whoopydoo, maybe I will have eternal youth and won’t have to consider the impracticalities of that when we downsize!!!

Know several people who live rurally but want to move back to the city but can’t sell apparently bottom fallen out of country house market so could be expensive mistake...

My mother and her NDNs both escaped to the country after relatively early retirement and now after 10 to 15 years or so, both need to escape back to a town.

My mother doesn’t like driving on country lanes/in the ice/in the snow/in the rain or driving in the dark AT ALL. My mother’s whole existence is built around only ever leaving the house and making sure she is safely returned to it under the perfect conditions. This means daylight, no rain or adverse weather of any sort, and in winter, getting home before the low sun blinds her on her westerly drive up a two mile lane. Which, in winter, pretty much means being home by 2pm.

Escape to the country could be re titled trapped in the country if you can’t sell your house. Shudder

All the normal people are rejected at the devising stage as they would not make good TV. People with unrealistic expectations and couples who cannot agree are the staple of ETTC and other programmes like it. My DD knows a couple who tried to be on LLL and were too nice to be chosen.

ETTC deliciously plumbs new depths, though, as it must when the presenter seems more idiotic than the house hunters.

I like this programme too but I take it with a pinch of salt for its utter naffness!

It’s like 1980 British telly and the couples often seem pig shit stupid.

There was one episode that made me 😱😱😱
The couple actually fell in love with an apartment in a converted Oast house complex. All good. Then at the very end, the presenter (think it was Jools ) said they moved in but sadly there was a major fire. So some escape.

The ones who gobsmack me are those that have sold their own property, have to be in within weeks, have no real idea where in their new county they wish to live and no real idea of the house they want.

I know we have to be politically correct these days but it does wind me up that everyone has to get so incensed about everything. If I'm looking at houses I'm always more interested in the kitchen then my partner. I think it's the room that is the heart of the home. Nor sure he appreciates that. I'm not saying my partner doesn't care about it but I definitely care more. If we are being honest in most homes it's still the woman who does the majority of cooking, cleaning, washing etc so most women do care more about the kitchen. That's not to say men don't pull their weight.

And yes, they wanted a big kitchen and space for rescue donkeys.

And Character. Don’t forget the magic word “character”!

If I'm looking at houses I'm always more interested in the kitchen then my partner

Have to say I’m the same. My partner actually takes the mick out of me for it because my first words are usually “ooh I like this kitchen” and he usually replies with “but you rarely cook!”

I always thought that maybe having a lovely and big kitchen would ‘inspire’ me to experiment more with cooking. It’s probably unlikely though

browneyes77 oh yes, indeed, that goes without saying

Strange thing was, my house ticked every one of the boxes on their (incredibly long) list - the production crew were really excited and were sure it'd be "the one". Their previous viewing must have been with the estate agent as I didn't remember them at all and I have absolutely no idea what it was that they didn't like. Still, as they hadn't even put theirs on the market, it was all a bit academic in the end.

I've watched it and in fairness it is not always the female to whom the kitchen is directed or the garage, out buildings the male. At the beginning the presenter asks the participants what they would be looking for in a property. Sometimes the male enjoys cooking and a female wants space for a hobby or business venture. It is you who are pigeonholing.

To be fair tho, I’m not much of a cook (in fact DH does most of the cooking) but a nice looking kitchen would really appeal to me and dh would likely point it out at me if we were viewing houses. He’d love nothing more than a man cave too and we are defo not stereotypical types in real life.

There is an Australian version called Escape from the City. Today they had a couple with a budget of $450,00. Even I could afford that!

They were looking south of Sydney so obviously the budget didn’t buy much (one ‘house’ was a tiny home on a bush block) but they were certainly normal, relatable people. They still hadn’t bought anything by the end of the episode though.

ETTC is the worst of the property programme s for giving me rage. People younger than me with more money than sense who have no appreciation of how lucky they are. They can't possibly live here, the garden is a millimetre too small or the kitchen doesn't have an island. Meanwhile in the real world people are relying on food banks. I get that it's property porn but the lack of awareness is quite poor taste.