To think the people on Wanted Down Under have unrealistic expectations?

[CatherineOfAragonsPrayerBook]

Just watching this morning, as have a late shift. It's a 'revisted' episode so idea when it first aired. Mum has a small budget of £150,000 but wants a 'dream home' in Australia. First apartment too small, as is the second. You only have a budget of £150,000!! Eventually last house hits all the right notes, but is £60,000 overbudget. So she'll just work harder.

Planning to do Social Work, so goes to an experience day. The SW's are dealing with the case of an indigenous Aboriginal family. They work with a lot of indigenous families and their customs. Does she know anything about the Aboriginal people? No. Not done any research So what view of Australia does she have?

Everytime I watch this program the participants seem to have massive unrealistic expectations. AIBU to think they should at least know something about the Aboriginal people if they plan to move there?

I also love it when they enter a house, declare it their dream property until they reach the ensuite and say that there is no way they could live there because the tiles are not to their liking or the owners sofa is too old fashioned. They go all catsbum faced and the thought of changing the tiles or the owner taking their furniture with them hasn't occurred to them.

Pure entertainment.

Catherine-of Aragon

I was just thinking that

How far do they think £150k can stretch😄 v v unrealistic and tbh you would have thought anyone with half a thought of moving to the other part of the world would have looked at house prices before going on that kind of a program!

Its as if some people believe they can have a low income life in the UK that will magically be transformed into a millionaire lifestyle once in Oz

I also thought they where a bit ridiculous and fussy about second house i thought for the budget it was actually v decent

We vaguely considered melbourne but decided against for a number of reasons but we where aware that property their is expensive and that exchange rates made this even more so.

It always makes me sad when they reveal they are moving away from their DC's father to start a new life in Australia with their new stepfather and siblings.

I remember one where some awful woman was trying to guilt trip her son into going when he didn’t want to leave his dad and half siblings, telling him he was ruining it for everyone else...appalling. In the revisited episode it revealed they hadn’t gone as the boy’s dad had obtained a court order preventing her taking him. Dreadful woman.

Yes, what about visas?! Do they address this on the show at all?

They usually do, but they just skipped over it this morning and didn’t mention it at all.

Dexy this is mentioned very briefly but not enough weight given. The same re the qualification differences. There have been a few that I remember that were in senior positions in the UK but got to Australia to discover that their quals are not transferable so would not get a n equivalent job. IIRC there was a woman who was a senior paramedic in the UK who ended up going back to university in Aus to do nursing as her qualifications weren't recognized. They never mention the cost of this extra training or visas either!

And of course the very worst episode ever, the one with Poor Brendan :(

Do tell, who’s poor Brendan?

Yes, who was Brendan?

Poor Brendan was married to a dreadful woman who was hellbent on moving to Aus (despite not having realistic job prospects) who had brainwashed their daughters and were bullying Poor Brendan to go even though he clearly didn’t want to. He kept breaking down and crying because he didn’t want to go but as his wife was hellbent he knew he’d lose his wife and kids if he didn’t agree. It was truly awful :(

There was a thread before where Poor Brendan was referenced:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/telly_addicts/3318840-Wanted-Down-Under-more-ridiculous-than-ever

I never understand the ones that go and leave an older child behind. I've seen quite a few where there's a DC around 16-18 who clearly doesn't want to go, and that for me would be a massive deal breaker. But no: 'we're going to go and X can visit us'. What message is that sending to the child? Yeah, your DF and I are moving to the other side of the world with your siblings, maybe see you in 6 months. But I'm off topic … yes, my DH watches this and is always amazed by the attitude of some of the applicants - 'it's been a dream since childhood to move to Aus'. Do you know anything about the country, culture, job market, housing market? 'No. But they all have pools and it's always sunny.'

I think there is a general misunderstanding about Australia and Australians. People in these shows always seem to think it's back-home-but-with-sunshine.

It isn't. It has it's own national identity, own culture, own sense of humour. They speak english and drive on the same side of the road, but after that things diverge.
I think it's a huge shock to some that go over feeling a teeny bit superior, only to find that no one over there is impressed.

The worst bit is when they do the sob-story please-don't-take-my-grandkids video from their families. And they cry, like they hadn't thought about leaving their infirm mum behind!

I remember one episode of A Place In The Sun, this couple wanted to move to Spain, but not be living in a Spanish area near any Spaniards

Aint there was a similar one where she wanted a Spanish, rustic, rural farmhouse in an area that didn't have any insects!

There was one I saw which nearly made me break my TV in frustration, where the couple wanted to move to Spain to get away from all the immigrants in the UK. But were very clear they needed somewhere with a big expat community where they wouldn't need to learn Spanish ...

Can you not actually hear what's coming out from your own mouth?!

They have not even considered the snakes and spiders that lurk there.

That's probably the same one I'm thinking of Fink! It was ridiculous!

An area with no insects What did she want them to do, put up signs saying 'No insects allowed'?

I knew someone who appeared on wanted down under who had zero intention of moving there, just bullshitted for the free holiday and to get on telly.

I know Hammering ,the ex colleague of mine who does seem ( according to facebok) to have an amazing life in Australia seems to spend an awful lot of time shuttling backwards and forwards to the UK ,she has no siblings and is in her late 40,s so her parents look at least late 70,s ,and don't seem in great health do people not think of that .

They think it's some kind of paradise, but my Oz family spend quite a lot of their time hiding from the bloody sun trying to not get skin cancer! They're also very liberal in their views, and Oz can be very, very conservative and quite macho in culture. Their gay son had a horrendous time in school, in a city, and fled the country as soon as he could, and he was very sporty. God knows how he'd been treated if he wasn't good at sport. I remember being in Sydney and Canberra and being surprised at the racism, it reminded me of being in the US South. Wasn't expected it in OZ at all.

I have a gay friend who lives there and he has a terrible time in certain areas.

They seem to think they'll spend their days having BBQs on the beach.

The last one I had on in the background, the wife grew up there but wasn't interested in moving back. The husband had got it into his head that they should move there based on his wife's childhood stories. He didn't work but his wife did. It actually turned out that she could earn double her salary over there, but he was looking at part time shop work. Don't know how it turned out but he had a bit of a cheek. And their house in the U.K. was gorgeous!

Not just on there. Most people on the Kirstie/Phil thing - Location Location Location - that's the thing - they also wanted a cheapish house with a large garden , firstly wanting detached then settling for a semi , not near a main road, several bedrooms, en suite etc etc.