backagen

I hate these shows too, but in some respects I don't really blame people for believing them.

People tend to trust the media, and indeed they SHOULD be able to, because often it is the main source of certain information that is available to most people.

It's a bit like the way most of the news media portrayed the events of September 11, 2001. Most people automatically believed what they were told by the news, and didn't see any reason to question it.

It is possible to find things out through the internet that newspapers and TV don't tell you, but still not everybody knows where to look and for that matter, a lot of people simply wouldn't see any need to check that what they've seen on TV or wherever is true.

They just assume it is. I'm not sure what the answer is, but certainly the media has a responsibility to be more accurate in how they portray things, especially when it can influence people to make major, life-changing decisions.

Sadly I think the media is mostly motivated by entertainment value, rather than objective and factual content.

Fleaflyfloflum

Yeah, but WE are paying less for the same crap

rabsody

Good post.

The media is motivated by advertising revenue, hence entertainment tactics to attract an increasingly apathetic audience (plus obviously the US influence).

3 go mad in Adelaide

No they don't, but as there are more people in the UK, they have better buying power and therefore you can buy better quality at lower prices - that's how business works 'darling'

coolio_carl

I saw that episode last night too. It was the first time i had seen WDU since i got back. Me and my partner were laughing at how they portrayed Brisbane, it almost looked liveable. Camera trickery or what!
And you can't tell me 1 week is enough to give you a push on which country to live in. It took us towards the end of our stay to make a final decision and that was 3 months.
I think that programme is designed to hang a transparent dangling carrot in front of all of us in the UK who think we have it bad.
You certainly don't see such programmes in Australia, it would be considered as treachery!

northernbird

Yeah even I don't like it up there, we are heading that way for a week next month and I hate the drive!

Midlands Girl

I forgot to mention in my original post that being a vegetarian I was even more limited for choice when it came to food shopping and eating out was a joke..I didn't bother after a while. It seriously made me wonder whether Aussies had ever heard of vegetarians. In contrast the choice available at supermarkets and restaurants in the uk is absolutely brilliant.

Midlands Girl

Yes Mikey it's great having Ryanair and Easyjet here and I agree Jetstar and Virgin may be cheaper than other airlines in oz but still expensive. I travelled with Jetstar from Sydney to Melbourne in May and not only was it expensive but the service was pretty poor. I'm looking forward to my trip to Dublin....a great city with great people.

maka paka

I agree,the Aussies wouldn't put up with anyone even suggesting their country was perhaps not the best thing that god has made.

They have named such places here as "The Sunshine coast" It rains a lot up there.
"The gold coast" sounds luxurious and bursting full of golden delights....It is the Blackpool of Australia with the fights and drug taking to boot.

The thing is this is a superficial shallow land and some people who are shallow and superficial may just love it.

If you have a brain in your head then you will see it for what it is,dull, boring and semi materialistic.
Not better than the UK on many counts.

grevillia

I think it depends which part of Australia you are talking about. I found eating out as a vegetarian very hard in QLD, but great in Sydney & Melbourne. The latter has whole streets of ethnic restaurants offering masses of vege choices, along with a number of excellent dedicated vege restautants.

As for food shopping: the mentality in Aus is not to eat the ready meals/TV dinners that are so popular in the UK/US (these simply aren't available), but to buy fresh ingredients & cook the meal yourself. It's a totally different style of shopping from the UK which is very 'Tesco-dominated' (ie a one-stop shop with an emphasis on convenience foods).

Personally I found the lack of ready meals really daunting at first, but once I'd discovered the local delis & the Queen Vic market, I started cooking a lot more, and it has to be said, enjoying my food more, too.

It all depends what you are used to & what your priorities are....

G.

Margaret3

Personally I found the lack of ready meals really daunting at first, but once I'd discovered the local delis & the Queen Vic market, I started cooking a lot more, and it has to be said, enjoying my food more, too.

It all depends what you are used to & what your priorities are....

G.[/QUOTE]



ditto, i even have one of those granny trollies, i love shopping for food here now, going round the markets, buying things i dont recognise

But i still miss tesco and asda,mostly i think i miss bumping into people and familiar faces in there.

rabsody

ditto, i even have one of those granny trollies, i love shopping for food here now, going round the markets, buying things i dont recognise

But i still miss tesco and asda,mostly i think i miss bumping into people and familiar faces in there. [/QUOTE]

I don't mind cooking fresh, it's the having to go round numerous different shops that gets my goat. If I'm going to spend my time shopping it's going to be for clothes or shoes!

Cheshire Karen

I really miss seeing farm animals, we lived mid Cheshire, approx 25 miles outside of Manchester and everyday driving we would see cows, sheep etc and local open free farms for the kids were really accessible. Here in Brissy, we end up going to 'Old Macdonalds farm' shows or visiting the zoo/ attractions. Oh hang on, if you drive toward Strathpine, you can see a bunch of very sad looking cows!!!

I confess I was a bit addicted to WTD before coming to Brissie, I too noticed how nobody ever said anything bad about OZ other than the electrician Hutch mentioned. Kind of felt daft not to watch given we would be headed down under shortly. However, it does wonders for the image of OZ in the eyes of UK bods. I know people shouldn't be so gullible but its on the BBC and people kind of falsely give that some kind of KUDOS. I actually agree with Hutch! I did think at the time a lot of them appeared like complete mindless dimwits. Which did make me seriously wonder whether I would like OZ.

For you Granada folks, did anyone see the one with Bob Greaves (Retired Granada News reporter) and his partner (much much younger) thinking of resettling in Cairns? I was transfixed, who would have thought his life would have been so bizarre!

I also watched the one about people wanting to return to the UK, which is even more intriguing as not once did they ever mention any of the things stated on this forum. Food prices, lack of choice, culture. It was always family, friends, and a sense of belonging that made them want to return to UK. Me thinks they not tell the truth or even more sinister were told not to tell the truth!!

Pollyana

Just a passing comment - you guys may not all be aware of this, but quite a few people from these programmes post on BE, so when commenting on the participants can you bear that in mind
Thanks!

Cheshire Karen

My apologies if i have offended anyone. Thanks for pointing that out Pollyanna.

I suppose given how TV works, they could have asked lots of questions and shown concerns that were conveniently edited out.