Am I the only one who gets irritated by 'Wanted Down Under'?

I got bitten by a white tail spider in New Zealand
Elliane That was an unfortunate experience. Did they have to cut you out of the wetsuit? No time to waste, I imagine.
Could have been worse though I suppose, if it had got you in the derriere
At least you could have then said between your tears, "does my bum look big in this !?"
Sorry! Slap on wrist! Couldn't resist it!
Good Health

Watched (well part of), an episode today. People are so over-optimistic. Told that their house in the UK was worth approx £400,000 - for a quick sale £375,000. They immediately said that four hundred thousand is wonderful and the house in Oz would only be another ten grand. No account being taken of fees, or removal costs, etc/

And then the Mum told her children that they would often be able to see their old friends in Uk (if they moved), as they would get them to visit often......!!!!! Sure!!!! just a few grand for each visit.

G'Day. Not quite a red back, but I got bitten by a white tail spider in New Zealand. The little critter was hiding in a wetsuit I squeezed into to go swimming on the West Coast. My leg swelled up like a balloon and was boiling hot. The doc gave me a pile of antibiotics but there was concern about my flying home. Luckily I managed the 4 hours to Sydney with no shoe on and leg raised, then had 5 days to recover. I don't think I'd have made it all the way to Heathrow any earlier.

I remember my kids were so upset when Steve Irwin had his accident.

Have you been to Ningaloo Bay*Rufus*
Pamela I thought this was going to be a joke about a resort for real-estate salesmen!

No! Wish we had, even though it's a bit far away!
I thought the following would prompt you to do a Google search, not that you would need reminding.

Quote: from the Internet.
"In the pristine Ningaloo Reef waters you can swim with whale sharks, manta rays, humpback whales, turtles, fish and dugongs. UNESCO World Heritage Listed area is also home to national parks full of kangaroos and etc etc!"

Sit back and enjoy again!
OoRoo

?? DH had a close encounter with a red back. He was sawing off the bottom of the Christmas tree when he saw it.
“Hey DD what do I do about this”?
“Dad, don’t move, let me get a box”.

She popped it in a small box and took it to work to put it in an exhibit tank. She worked at the Manly Aquarium.
She set up the shark dives there. We could have had a free turn but turned it down. Not a decision we regret?
Never seen a snake there but she was with us here in Cambridge when we saw one in the Botanical garden sunning itself on a rock.
Can’t wait to go back. Have you been to Ningaloo Bay*Rufus*?
They have the sharks I wouldn’t mind swimming with.

The worst things are the mozzies and flies when you sit outside
Nanna8 Worser things are anything aquatic. Only the other day a 9metre croc. dragged a solo fisherman out of his tinny and he wasn't seen again until they opened up the croc and found his remains.
Mind you, that's a better way to go than via a 6 metre white pointer shark.
The croc. drowns you first by pulling you under so you're not aware of what happens next, whereas the shark chews you up first before spitting out bits of your surfboard.
The list goes on; sting-rays like what got Steve Irwin; box jelly fish; stone-fish etc. etc.
Welcome to Down Under after dealing with Covid 19.
Good Luck
OoRoo

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We are average in Australia and a normal holiday costs us $16-20,000 for the two of us that includes travel and accommodation but it will be more now because of increased airfares , local ones I mean. Everything here is expensive and normally we would fly to Thailand or Bali (half the price) but now we will have to pay through the nose here.

I've just read that prices of houses in Australia and New Zealand have recently soared. All the people who can't get away on trips overseas are moving house instead. It said their holidays aren't like our budget Euopean breaks, we are talking 10s of 1000s of pounds (or dollars).
That will make it harder for the TV programme's participants to find properties to fit their budgets.

Haha hairy spiders. Those big ones are ok ,it’s the funnel webs, red backs and white tails you’ve got to watch. We have seen a few snakes over the years but not here in the suburbs and they are not usually aggressive unless you accidentally tread on them. The dingos you never see unless you are on Fraser Island or right in the bush. The worst things are the mozzies and flies when you sit outside.

The spiders would put me off. Big hairy ones. With knees

Witzend
They needed stinger suits?
It is a well know fact that if you move to Australia then you must be aware that there is a plethora of nasty little things.
Plus some big ones, on one visit we had a big kangaroo kill another one in the garden of our cottage. Two days later we met a stroppy dingo on a beach.

I haven’t watch it for a few years but I often thought there were underlying problems in the marriage, which they imagined would magically disappear if only it was nice and hot and they could be near a beach, have a pool in the garden and barbecues 3 times a week.

Plus they often had a shock at the cost of housing, unless they wanted to live right out in the sticks.

Talking of Aussie beaches, a niece of dh was there for a year (her dh was a dr on a placement) and once the jet lag had worn off she took her 3 very little dcs to the beach..
They were just heading in for a paddle when a local man charged up, yelling, ‘Don’t go in the water!! Stingers!!!’

I love the programme. I find it really interesting and very poignant. My daughter fell in love with an Australian whilst on a gap year holiday to New Zealand about 12 years ago and we thought she’d want to settle in Oz. This took DH and I through a huge range of emotions and I guess that’s why I can relate to the programme. The relationship didn’t last beyond a holiday romance and she stayed in the UK, eventually married an Englishman, 2 children followed and they are very happy. On a selfish note, I am so glad she stayed here and we now have 2 gorgeous GC, who we see a lot of (well did, pre Pandemic!) but we would never have stopped her and wouldn’t have voiced any emotional blackmail to get her to stay here (although I would have had loads of tears, privately). She would have gone with our full support and we can’t stop our children doing what they want to do, within reason of course. I do think that’s it’s a case of “the grass is greener” on the other side with the families in Wanted Down Under/New Life Down Under. The lifestyle does look wonderful and the job opportunities may be better, but leaving family behind here must be extremely difficult for all concerned. Apparently, about half of all families who emigrate return here after a few years. I wonder what their reasons are?

Tabbycat and Callistemon I don’t watch the emotional blackmail bit, too cringe making.

It is a bit of a comedy really, that show. It usually takes many months or even years to actually get here because the emigration system is slow. By that time the houses they look at would be long gone and prices would be utterly different. It is a very volatile housing market. We emigrated early in the 1970s when they were actively recruiting people to work in Australia and it still took us around 12 months to get here. Some of the people who go on that show just want a holiday I think because there is no way they would meet immigration requirements.
On the question of whether children miss the extended family, I would say no they don’t because they don’t know any different. We had 2 babies when we came and had 2 more over here and we used to see their grandparents for extended stays every few years . When my mum died my Dad came over here permanently but now that doesn’t happen so much because it is more difficult to meet requirements. Even worse now I imagine, you cannot even get here if you are have an Australian passport.

love this show and also' wanted down under revisited' to see where they are now. Am surprised to see how soon their relatives go and visit them for a few weeks. Also how much more free time they are able to have with there children on outdoor pursuits. today it was a couple who had got married in New Zealand several years ago then come back here and had a family and good jobs and were going to see about moving back over.
Some really sour comments here. whats the matter with some of you.

I can completely understand people trying to improve their standard of living, hoping to give their children opportunities etc., but the few episodes have watched have always involved both parents working full time so when exactly do they plan to spend this sparkling fun filled time with their family? The family and friends bit is tortuous, there was one episode a few years back ( since repeated) when the woman's Mother hadn't spoken to her since she had decided to emigrate! Maybe her controlling Mother was one of the reasons she was moving thousands of miles away....

Are they after a cheap holiday?
I think some are.

Marmight I think some do think that life will be easy, life will be one long holiday but that is just not the reality.
However, hard work does bring good rewards although, as you say, property is expensive especially in larger cities.

Yes, and I get irritated by those saying they want to live there when they have NEVER even visited.
Are they after a cheap holiday?

I think many families on this programme have unrealistically high expectations of life in Oz. There’s always one who is resistant to moving who eventually becomes the keenest to do so! Depending on where, of course, property and the cost of living are pretty expensive, far more so than the applicants appear to think. DD2 has been there for more than half her life now, is married to an Aussie and has 4 children. They have a good life and have worked hard to achieve it. After all this time she has, at last, applied for citizenship. Although she will still retain her UK passport, I think this upsets me more than anything else - the realisation that she’s more Aussie than Brit ?. She still has really bad bouts of homesickness made worse by Covid restrictions on travel. I usually visit at least once a year and await the day these restrictions are lifted. Not for a long while yet I fear. I just hope I’m still robust enough by then to face the journey

Occasionally you do see episodes where a follow up has been done and not everyone makes the move.

I used to watch it, never dreaming that either of our boys would go but when our eldest got married, he went over to Perth as that was his wife's dream.

That was 6 years ago and 3 years after moving out there they spilt up and are now divorced. No children involved which was a good thing and he's still there, loving the lifestyle.

I don't think it was all as lovely for the £10 Poms as they portrayed it, Maggiemaybe.
It caused a bit of disharmony with our family as DB wanted to go with his family in the 1960s.
They didn't go, I think they wished they had in the end.

I think if you were prepared to work hard, you could have a very good life, better than in the UK. But hard work was the key.

Back in the 1950s my family was all set to move to Oz as £10 Poms. The tickets had already been bought for my mam, dad and sister and they got a free one for me as a babe in arms. As a miner, my dad had a well paid job all set up and they’d a house to go to. My mother changed her mind at the last minute, saying that she didn’t want to leave the family. I bet the air was blue in our house that night!

My dad would bring the subject up regularly, but only as a bit of banter between them. It’s strange now to think how different all our lives would have been (for better or for worse, who knows?).

Jillyjosie

There is a follow up series showing families' experiences both good and bad. Sorry can't remember where you can find it but it does exist

I saw it recently on BBC. It’s called Wanted Down Under Revisited.

It shows highlights of the family’s original episode then visits them 2 years later to see where they are now. I found it really interesting. Some had stayed and settled really well. Some couldn’t settle and returned to the UK. Others decided not to make the move at all.

What annoys me most about Wanted Down Under is the emotional blackmail during the family and friends messages . I would never have stopped my sister or my daughter from going to live abroad. They have the right to live their own lives and make their own decisions.

Yes, it is cringe making, Tabbycat.
We should give them roots and wings.

I'm amazed at the number of people who watch the programme but obviously dislike it