Escape To The Country (Nit Picking).

And the comment regarding the size of their dining table. How wonderful it would be at Christmas and the tree could sit in such and such a place.

If anyone else mentions " the kitchen is the heart of the home" I'll scream ( and scream till I'm sick) to quote Violet.

I don't like the format of this programme now. If they are only going to show 3 properties, they should all meet the client's brief, there is no room for a 'mystery property'. I preferred it when they showed 4 houses and didn't have all the candle making/ pea picking/ wine tasting segments. I watch on iPlayer and fast forward through those bits!

I wonder if the prospective buyers are given a script beforehand:

Ooh, look at that view. I can imagine waking up in the morning to that ....

Ooh, a log burner/island

This house is a contender.

I like the flow ......

I can picture the Christmas tree there...

I can hear the birds singing.

....

No one ever says:
Where is the nearest doctor's surgery/dentist?
Where is the best school (even when they have children)
How far is it to the supermarket/pharmacy/hairdressers?

PS. And people who want to retire to their "forever home" are shown a house with a steep back garden like the Alps which would be impossible to cope with as they get older.

Or "has it ever flooded?"

Yes loopyloo. That "lovely stream" at the bottom of the garden becomes a rushing torrent.

A house a few doors away from us was being filmed the other day for the show. It has had at least 5 occupants since we moved here 12 years ago. One family never actually moved in. It has listed status and a very old-fashioned impractical kitchen which presumably cannot be structurally altered.
I am beginning to think that perhaps Estate agents who cannot sell properties are contacting these programs.
An Estate agent who moved into the area about 2 years ago seems suddenly to be selling property that has been difficult to sell or stood empty for a time. He puts property on Google and I have even seen one on a TV advert where someone gave a guided tour omitting all the drawbacks.
People who do not know the areas lap it all up then find themselves isolated, when they have to commute in very bad weather. Or find themselves isolated from family and friends who live at the other end of the country.
We have another example of this two doors away. They moved in just before Covid had the place gutted and moved out 12 months ago.

sodapop

If anyone else mentions " the kitchen is the heart of the home" I'll scream ( and scream till I'm sick) to quote Violet.

Oh and “put our own stamp on it” 🤮

My next door neighbour put on Facebook that her daughter’s house, in a nearby village, had been on the programme.

Looks a lovely property, but the most expensive one in the village, which is maybe why it’s been on the market for over a year.

I don’t think a sale resulted and unfortunately I didn’t see the actual programme so no idea how it came across.

RosiesMaw

sodapop

If anyone else mentions " the kitchen is the heart of the home" I'll scream ( and scream till I'm sick) to quote Violet.

Oh and “put our own stamp on it” 🤮

Try putting your own stamp on it pet when it has listed status ,linen fold panelling you can't paint, windows you are not allowed to change to double glazing and some ones listed Oak tree at the bottom of your garden and blocks all the light on that side of the house. They ignore the rain gauges at each end of the village, move in and then complain that there are no theatres or cinemas. Of course, there aren't you are in a b...rural community, with no post office never mind a theatre. I have not made any of this up and have had it all moaned at me.

I like this thread but I'm slightly disappointed I thought Nit-picking must be some sort of activity people were escaping to the country to do. You know "We want a few acres to keep pigs and hens, grow our own Veg and do some nit-picking"

Amazes why an older couple, entering a large kitchen, say "it's not big enough". When they enter a good size bedroom, with en suite, and state the same. Unrealistic to say the least. Or as we say, "more money than sense."

I can picture the Christmas tree there...

I really need to move to a house with a bay window in the front for the Christmas tree
It's a dilemma once a year🎄 😁

Freya5

Amazes why an older couple, entering a large kitchen, say "it's not big enough". When they enter a good size bedroom, with en suite, and state the same. Unrealistic to say the least. Or as we say, "more money than sense."

I think these sort of comments are just an excuse. The couple have no intention of buying. Many haven't got a buyer for their own house and don't intend to move.... they just want to be on TV and have a few days away at the expense of the programme. I often think this when a couple are choosing to move somewhere that they haven't even visited!!! Why would anyone sane do that?
(suspicious? Moi??)

At the end when the result is usually negative, we say "they just wanted to be on the telly!"

However, we do know of two couples who did relocate not that far from here 🙂

Same as Wanted Down Under. The majority just wanted a holiday paid for by the BBC and to see themselves on tv.

nanna8

Same as Wanted Down Under. The majority just wanted a holiday paid for by the BBC and to see themselves on tv.

I did see one young couple who'd relocated Down Under in a shopping centre and recognised them from the programme!

Phil and Kirsty found my DS and DiL their first property. It was not scripted and they found that Kirsty was very down to earth and gave them good advice. They bought the flat and stayed a few years.

I hope the vendors get something out of it because it is a big upheaval having a film crew traipsing around the house. Having said that, the vendors are getting national coverage.

Not quite the same, but we were in a documentary with Nigel Lawson (1988) about the housing market. Two huge ITV trucks with cameras and sound gear turned up, plus the agent, and there were people tramping all over the house. It was all staged even then, and they firstly wanted a shot of the cot being taken down the drive by the removal men? I held onto the baby, while they filmed but then realised I had nowhere to put her down to make them all a cup of tea! We had to do silly things like pretend to wrap up china and hoover carpets! We were given a bunch of flowers by ITV, but with hindsight, we should have asked them to pay at least our estate agent fees or removal costs.
Sadly, my acting career did not take off from that!

Sparklefizz

Freya5

Amazes why an older couple, entering a large kitchen, say "it's not big enough". When they enter a good size bedroom, with en suite, and state the same. Unrealistic to say the least. Or as we say, "more money than sense."

I think these sort of comments are just an excuse. The couple have no intention of buying. Many haven't got a buyer for their own house and don't intend to move.... they just want to be on TV and have a few days away at the expense of the programme. I often think this when a couple are choosing to move somewhere that they haven't even visited!!! Why would anyone sane do that?
(suspicious? Moi??)

Yes you could be right there. The modern age, 5 mins of fame.

Joseann

I hope the vendors get something out of it because it is a big upheaval having a film crew traipsing around the house. Having said that, the vendors are getting national coverage.

Not quite the same, but we were in a documentary with Nigel Lawson (1988) about the housing market. Two huge ITV trucks with cameras and sound gear turned up, plus the agent, and there were people tramping all over the house. It was all staged even then, and they firstly wanted a shot of the cot being taken down the drive by the removal men? I held onto the baby, while they filmed but then realised I had nowhere to put her down to make them all a cup of tea! We had to do silly things like pretend to wrap up china and hoover carpets! We were given a bunch of flowers by ITV, but with hindsight, we should have asked them to pay at least our estate agent fees or removal costs.
Sadly, my acting career did not take off from that!

I wondered if the vendors got their houses deep cleaned and styled before they filmed.

Almost every episode has something about having parties/entertaining or feeding a lot of people. If you move 200 miles and know nobody, will you be doing a lot of mass entertaining? Family at Christmas - there must be better places for them to meet without the expense of all that petrol?
As for people coming to stay, friends who moved 200 miles to the country assured me that once their friends had found how wearing driving 400 miles in a weekend, plus the joy of little lanes at one end, friends only came once!

There was an opinion piece in the I, yesterday I think, from a woman with a young baby who moved to rural Cornwall because she had enjoyed some lovely holidays there.

She soon found out that having to drive up to an hour for the most mundane of reasons was a real nuisance and regretted making the move.

I have lived in the country and hated it. I can't drive, and the bus service was very limited, stopping at 6 pm. Even if I could drive, there might come a time when I would not be able to. I don't think people always think things through properly.

I always laugh at the obsession with fireplaces and wood burning fires.

Yes, Eloethan, the wood burners go through a lot of wood, don’t they ? We usually have enough around on our block but still only use our open fire a few times a year. To buy wood costs an absolute rocket, more expensive than gas or electricity.