I’m Renting Out.......

[Twilight]

Reminds me of that "swap houses" TV makeover show, where the owners usually hated the makeover. What was it called? I think it is coming back, Lawrence L-B was involved.

Changing Rooms.

 

[Suki 1]

Craig got a new car ??? I remember a time when he could barely afford to get repairs done to his flat ! or so he said on air. Then came the major renovations and decorations with artfully placed QVC items for his photoshoots. Well, perhaps Ebay is paying off after all

Maybe his partner is paying for it all.

 

[Lilo Lil]

Locals sell their houses to the highest bidder usually - Same thing happened in Southwold (reported today) ...

Who can blame them?

 

[maymorganlondon]

Locals sell their houses to the highest bidder usually - Same thing happened in Southwold (reported today) ...

Who can blame them?

If they are leaving the area they won't have to live with the consequences...
It is inevitable that money talks, but the irony is that 2nd homers hollow out the place and all the appealing features of the place that attracted them are gone, never to return. So they pay top dollar, but when they come to sell, will it still command a premium?

 

[SusieSue]

I never watch Escape to the Country, it's usually a couple who have made their money in the city wanting a property in the country when people who are born and bred in the area have zero chance of owning or even renting a place in the village where they grew up.

Living close to the Norfolk coast I've seen how the villages are empty in the winter and how the narrow roads are choked with Chelsea Tractors in the summer, and I've seen how those who have retired and chosen to move here to live, so now Norfolk has a disproportionally high elderly population putting a huge strain on local resources, it's almost impossible to register with a doctor, while younger families have no choice but to live on housing estates on the edge of town in a property roughly the size of a rabbit hutch.

Escape to the Country just encourages it

 

[rosielinks]

I never watch Escape to the Country, it's usually a couple who have made their money in the city wanting a property in the country when people who are born and bred in the area have zero chance of owning or even renting a place in the village where they grew up.

Living close to the Norfolk coast I've seen how the villages are empty in the winter and how the narrow roads are choked with Chelsea Tractors in the summer, and I've seen how those who have retired and chosen to move here to live, so now Norfolk has a disproportionally high elderly population putting a huge strain on local resources, it's almost impossible to register with a doctor, while younger families have no choice but to live on housing estates on the edge of town in a property roughly the size of a rabbit hutch.

Escape to the Country just encourages it

This is so true and very sad for the country. I have acquaintances who've inherited money from their parents who purchase beautiful cottages in scenic areas such as the Cotswolds and Suffolk. They rent them out most of the year and spend the summers and the odd Easter week in them.

If I was a local I would be so disappointed to see another pretty house go to people who already own an expensive house in another part of the country. The people who rent are just there for their paid week and will not add to the community in any other way except spend cash. It's so sad to see beautiful areas lose their life force in this way.

This situation really highlights the divide within our society.

 

[Silver Fox]

The sadness is that people buying second homes can push the prices up and locals cannot afford to buy.It happens all over the country I know Cumbria but there is no way I could have afforded a property within the National Park.If I was an established local I would hate to live next door to a property which is a holiday home & let out with people coming and going all the time.This destroys communities.

 

[Twilight]

I never watch Escape to the Country, it's usually a couple who have made their money in the city wanting a property in the country when people who are born and bred in the area have zero chance of owning or even renting a place in the village where they grew up.

Living close to the Norfolk coast I've seen how the villages are empty in the winter and how the narrow roads are choked with Chelsea Tractors in the summer, and I've seen how those who have retired and chosen to move here to live, so now Norfolk has a disproportionally high elderly population putting a huge strain on local resources, it's almost impossible to register with a doctor, while younger families have no choice but to live on housing estates on the edge of town in a property roughly the size of a rabbit hutch.

Escape to the Country just encourages it

Escape To The Country - couples who often retired, or approaching that stage in life, & want 'acres' where they can raise alpacas or have a vegetable patch the size of a market garden. In addition those who are still working need to be within a certain distance/driving time of their workplace but don't like the noise from the road at the bottom of the garden that they'll be using. People have always had second properties & holiday homes, however, when my aunt bought a cottage in Devon in the 60s she was the first incomer to the village.

 

[maymorganlondon]

Escape To The Country - couples who often retired, or approaching that stage in life, & want 'acres' where they can raise alpacas or have a vegetable patch the size of a market garden. In addition those who are still working need to be within a certain distance/driving time of their workplace but don't like the noise from the road at the bottom of the garden that they'll be using. People have always had second properties & holiday homes, however, when my aunt bought a cottage in Devon in the 60s she was the first incomer to the village.

I wonder how long some of them last once they see that the rural idyll isn't as straightforward and convenient as their former lives...or when they realise they should have downsized not upsized for their stage in life?

 

[I Love Chocolate]

What a tasteless load of sh!t
What’s happened to all the beiges and greys, most of all where’s all her Culinary Concepts like those octopus bowls you put ice cubes in, or the mice knives to cut cheese with? Just goes to show you that a clear cut posh accent and a few quid in the bank can’t buy you taste or class.........bet KH is mortified.

Pretty much like Amanda Hold’ems wallpaper in the loo of framed people from the regency era? now that’s really tasteless and imagine having all those people on that wallpaper staring at you when you’re trying to take a leak or worse still, a .

There are two octopus bowls on the dining room table!

 

[Clothescloth]

I wonder how long some of them last once they see that the rural idyll isn't as straightforward and convenient as their former lives...or when they realise they should have downsized not upsized for their stage in life?

I have to laugh at the expectations of some couples. Lived all their lives somewhere like London with office or teaching type jobs. When they make their move to the country, they want lots of land,keep horses, grow vegetables, and run holiday lets or a B&B. Do they realise the amount of work and know how anything like that takes?

 

[Silver Fox]

I have to laugh at the expectations of some couples. Lived all their lives somewhere like London with office or teaching type jobs. When they make their move to the country, they want lots of land,keep horses, grow vegetables, and run holiday lets or a B&B. Do they realise the amount of work and know how anything like that takes?

Don’t forget the craft room probably for spinning and weaving the Alpaca hair, the heart of the home kitchen, extra bedrooms when the grandchildren visit every five years and we have a budget of possibly at a slight stretch £1 million.

 

[maymorganlondon]

Don’t forget the craft room probably for spinning and weaving the Alpaca hair, the heart of the home kitchen, extra bedrooms when the grandchildren visit every five years and we have a budget of possibly at a slight stretch £1 million.

Delusions of grandeur!

 

[Twilight]

Don’t forget the craft room probably for spinning and weaving the Alpaca hair, the heart of the home kitchen, extra bedrooms when the grandchildren visit every five years and we have a budget of possibly at a slight stretch £1 million.

I enjoy cooking, love baking but I'm a really messy cook. The thought of people gathering round, 'glass in hand', while I'm chopping, stirring & getting hotter by the minute is not a pleasant one. I am really nosey & very judgemental so I love watching ETTC for those reasons & I frequently wonder aloud how such ugly people can have so much money, did I mention that I was judgemental?
PS: I've got a craft corner, it's in my Mr T's study - a table, two theatre seats rescued from Malvern theatre when they had a refurb & my boxes of needle felting paraphernalia.

 

[Twilight]

There are two octopus bowls on the dining room table!

Plus a cheeseboard & a large shell bowl on the window sill, talk about over doing it.

 

[Mazza]

Escape To The Country - couples who often retired, or approaching that stage in life, & want 'acres' where they can raise alpacas or have a vegetable patch the size of a market garden. In addition those who are still working need to be within a certain distance/driving time of their workplace but don't like the noise from the road at the bottom of the garden that they'll be using. People have always had second properties & holiday homes, however, when my aunt bought a cottage in Devon in the 60s she was the first incomer to the village.

That always cracks me up on ETTC and LoLoLo. They cannot abide the road noise but need space for their two cars when they roar off to work! And as for the ones who want acres for llamas and alpacas, I wonder how many of them continue to keep them after one season of all that work! For me it’s the entertaining space, man cave etc etc which normally warrant an expletive!

 

[Evie]

It’s like Freebie Flint and her Devon retreat. She thought she would take the village by storm and she didn’t. Her concert, her tea rooms, the QVC filled house, the kitchen equipment, the Tiffany style lamps all over the place, the Kelly Hoppen bedding, the Sealy mattresses, the gym equipment......... I can only imagine how some felt when she advertised it as a holiday let sleeping 16!
In my opinion she is bored with it. I thought this when she started sharing that she was living the dream. The full board retreat has been replaced by a diy breakfast and an evening meal across the road at the pub. I won’t be surprised if she soon announces that she is selling. She constantly seems to be moving from one scheme to another. Business woman, writer ( film script, healthy eating manuals, novels), singer, retreat / airbnb owner, blogger, influencer with an an eye on local politics, involvement with running the residents association of her block of flats. Ye gods, I wish she would give it rest.

 

[maymorganlondon]

It’s like Freebie Flint and her Devon retreat. She thought she would take the village by storm and she didn’t. Her concert, her tea rooms, the QVC filled house, the kitchen equipment, the Tiffany style lamps all over the place, the Kelly Hoppen bedding, the Sealy mattresses, the gym equipment......... I can only imagine how some felt when she advertised it as a holiday let sleeping 16!
In my opinion she is bored with it. I thought this when she started sharing that she was living the dream. The full board retreat has been replaced by a diy breakfast and an evening meal across the road at the pub. I won’t be surprised if she soon announces that she is selling. She constantly seems to be moving from one scheme to another. Business woman, writer ( film script, healthy eating manuals, novels), singer, retreat / airbnb owner, blogger, influencer with an an eye on local politics, involvement with running the residents association of her block of flats. Ye gods, I wish she would give it rest.

If any of these gambits had paid off and delivered megabucks, she would have been off, never giving Q a backwards glance, in my opinion.

 

[Clothescloth]

Well she tried that once, didn’t she? ( the starting up of IW) That didn’t work out, nor did any of her other schemes. She then came back to QVC with her tail between her legs. Knows which side her bread’s buttered now!

 

[maymorganlondon]

I do admire Debbie's bounce-backability. It is said that truly successful people are not afraid of failure, and they will try again with something new. I'd say the IW experience showed her that she needs something to be a substantial, sustained success before she moves on permanently...so we should really be wishing her massive success in one or other of her screens