Want to be on Build an new life in the country?

[Andy Hamilton]

Got sent this, anyone want to be in it?

Hi Dave & Andy,

I'm a Director on a TV show called 'Build A New Life in the Country' for Channel Five. We have been commissioned to make a fourth series of this succesful show. I am now looking for stories/leads on any interesting projects that revolve around creating a self-sufficient lifestyle.
This series will be presented by an Architect who is passionate about Green issues ( Charlie Luxton) and I am extremely keen to find a family or couple who are about to restore a property or set up a business with a passion for all things green in the forefront of their mind...

I am well aware that my TV type email is probably one of very many you receive on a probably far too regular basis, but Charlie is tremendously passionate about green issues and I'm sure the right story is out there. It would be a shame to find sixteen stories and not have at least one of them based on the desire for a 'green home'. Furthermore, we are looking for people who have 'real' budgets, and ideally who will be carrying out the majority of the work themselves.


Thanks ever so much,


build@shinelimited.com

[mrsflibble]

nope...

[circlecross]

only if a "real" budget means "no money whatsoever"

[snapdragon]

flippin 'eck - and I thought they did it all for you


haven't seen the programme - but 'move to the country' etc progs have put our prices up - and supplied lots of 'empty all week' houses where the owners working week is done from their 'london flat'

[dudley]

Yes I agree Snapdragon, progs like this 'Build A New Life in the Country' is so annoying to us as most people relocating to the country do not build a new life. We have nothing against genuine relocation, but people who commute to work and do contribute to village life or even shop in the village is a big , NO NO NO
We have good examples on our own door step. Our farm drive is shared by what used to be two tied cottages. Unfortunately these were sold off before we bought the farm and have changed hands several times since. Both are now owned by youngish families who not only take their children to schools outside the area but both sets of parents travel into London for work, a minimum of 3 hours daily commuting. They say they could not afford to live here otherwise without the commuting. No wonder, the property prices are beyond the reach of my newly married son and his wife who have had to buy a property 45 mins away from his home village and place of work.

[MKG]

Oh boy oh boy is that a good point. I'm one of the lucky ones who happened to drop into a rural village (and it really was luck). So many young people who were born and brought up here have to move elsewhere because of the influx of money. I could cry for them sometimes.

[Stonehead]

Don't blame it all on the blow-ins, though. Up here, a couple of generations of people in the village did very well out of selling property to incomers at vastly inflated prices and then moving themselves into either inherited properties or new builds on patches of land owned by their families. Now that prices are inflated, supply is drying up and their children are looking for homes, these same people are whining about how unfair it is that their children can't find anywhere to live in the village.

[oldfella]

Don't blame it all on the blow-ins, though. Up here, a couple of generations of people in the village did very well out of selling property to incomers at vastly inflated prices and then moving themselves into either inherited properties or new builds on patches of land owned by their families. Now that prices are inflated, supply is drying up and their children are looking for homes, these same people are whining about how unfair it is that their children can't find anywhere to live in the village.

This is true and it is the same in France, when we went to local meeting in the village this question was raised and the locals themselves made this very point.

[possum]

well if they wanted someone abroad, we would qualify, trying to set up an environmentally friendly campsite here down under as escapes from urban UK

[Annpan]

Not having a TV I have no idea what this programme is.

We have already left the city for the country, so I guess we aren't what they are looking for... not sure that I can imagine anything worse than having a blummin' TV crew following me around while I am trying to get stuff done.... mind you they would probably pay you for using your property to film in?

My OH commutes but we are closer to his office now than we were when we lived in Glasgow. We HAVE to commute, there are not enough jobs locally (maybe 500 jobs in a rural area of 10,000 - including a small town) we do use the local shops sometimes, but even they are 3 miles away.

It is 'the market' that has got carried away with itself, you can't blame it on one single group of people for that.

[theabsinthefairy]

When we were researching our move to France we were approached by a channel 4 programme that I think was called 'a place in the sun home or away', or something like that.

We were initially quite interested, but made it clear to them that we were looking at Poland and France,
they made us fill in questionnaires,
-we sent them back saying ' no, we are not looking at Dorset and Poland, we are looking France and Poland',
they made us do a video shoot, and then asked us to confirm whereabouts in Dorset we were looking
- we said 'nowhere unless Dorset has magically transported itself to France',
they said fine go ahead and send us your list of estate agents and short lists of properties in Dorset, we can start filming in August
- we said 'there's no point we are not looking at Dorset',
they said contracts are in the post,
- we said 'we've found our ideal home in FRANCE, had the offer accepted and are moving in September',
they said why haven't you returned the contracts
- we let Royal Mail sort out the return address on the contracts, and cancelled our BT email address and BT home number and when the mobile contract was cancelled a year later in July 2007, they finally stopped phoning us.

Don't do it!

Monika

[the.fee.fairy]

Actually...on second thought (initially, i was very very wary) i might give it a go!

We're looking at moving to Gloucester, in one of the more rural areas. We want to move permanently, preferably to a village, or just outside village location. We're interested in being self sufficientish (not completely self sufficient).

We want to become part of the village, not use it as a holiday home, or not get involved. Dad sings in the church choir at the moment, and he's a member of the village hall committee and stuff like that, so he'd like to be involved in village activities in the new place.

I want to join the local WI...

Hmmm...its a tempting thought, but i think thy'd need to give us a lot more information. I've never seen the programme...i work when its on.

Might google it later.

[Smooth Hound]

what concerns me more than people not taking part in the community, is the situation with empty houses and second homes, especially when there is such a hortage of houses, which pushes the prices up even more, i was talking on another forum about this, and i think there should be some sort of legislation on this subject, whilst there is nowhere to build and no more council houses are being built, not sure what but something really needs to be done about this,

[the.fee.fairy]

Nah, maybe not, i've just had a look. Its blatantly only for rich people...all the houses are over the 1/4 Million mark...

Don't think we're rich enough to appear. Its a shame.

I don't see many of the previous properties looking very self suffcient either...

[ina]

Nah, maybe not, i've just had a look. Its blatantly only for rich people...all the houses are over the 1/4 Million mark...

Don't think we're rich enough to appear. Its a shame.

I don't see many of the previous properties looking very self suffcient either...

Could it be that they only get the rich folk to participate? Because they have more of a drive to "show off" or something?


And - Monika - you couldn't make it up, could you... Wouldn't your story be a good one for a TV comedy?