Purrball

Hadn't seen this show, so being slightly curious, I watched a couple of New Zealand episodes over the past day or so; this one on YouTube with a family from Liverpool looking at Auckland and one currently on BBC iPlayer with a gay couple (Se06ep20 Boraston/Andrews) looking at properties in Wellington.

To be fair, they're not documentaries. They're light entertainment/travelogues/realityshow hybrids — the BBC categorises them under Families & Relationships — and were a little more grounded or realistic than I had first imagined. At least they make the participants sit down and work through household budgets and also to watch clips of the people they would be leaving behind talking about how much they would be missed.

What struck me is how people who had never been to New Zealand before viewed the properties, bowled over by sweeping views, large expanses of glass and large rooms, but in the case of the electrician fom Liverpool, justifiably dismissive about building and interior decoration standards in their price range. It also seemed the shows are shot during summer to give the best pictures (and to gloss over the lack of central heating)... and when it came to prospective employers offering or being positive about employment chances, I couldn't help think they were saying certain things in certain ways only because they had a BBC camera crew hovering in front of them.

Although I've only watched a couple of episodes, I was also interested to note how much time and emotional energy was spent over worrying about ties to family and friends, but in the end, these always seemed to count for little when making their final decisions... and how people seemed to think that living in New Zealand or Australia meant you weren't swapping one rat race for another.


Watch the one I've linked to with the family from Liverpool. It's also a little more realistic because the dad comes down ill and has to go into hospital for a couple of days, leaving mum and the kids at a loose end.

Think the Wanted Down Under Revisited might be more interesting, following people up after a year or two after making the move. Tons of those on YouTube.

bourbon-biscuit

They also flavour such shows according to viewers' mood, and currently, despite the weather, there is an unusual appetite for patriotism in the UK resulting from the Olympics, the royal wedding and birth, and the recession (among other things) fostering a sense of "we're all in this together". So I think a lot of the show's negative focus taps into this.

JaneRiley

Yes - the idea that everyone works a few hours then goes home to barbecue stuff or walk along beaches. To be honest there were some days like that when I lived in NZ but it wasn't an everyday reality. I grew up in London and since I was 18 have always lived in rural and often remote places...so that when I watch Escape to the Country (another dirty secret) it always makes me laugh at people who are looking for a slower pace of life. Slower? Well the supermarket is flipping miles away so maybe that's what they mean - slower access to food etc!! I really must stop watching the telly and get a life!

S_and_T

I've often wondered what was the point in the revisited episodes which feature families who stayed in the UK. Surely the point is to see how families have adapted to a new country.

I watched the gay couple in Wellington repeat earlier this week. I was amazed to hear Paraparamu described as 'outskirts of Wellington'!! Little bit further out than that!

TommyLuck

Depends whether were talking Wellington as a city, or Wellington as a region?

If the latter, it's perfectly accurate

davros1984

so i watched the entire show of the couple in auckland and I am glad that reality hit home for them.

Their 4 bed detached house in brighton was in the low 300k mark (pounds) as of 2013.compared to auckland prices that seems ridiculously cheap, especially for BRIGHTON!

they also did their calculations and the same life in NZ as home in UK would mean they were £1780 worse off each MONTH in NZ. For me that is all the justification for people to move home.

confusedkiwigirl

The last one of the series is on this morning - also in Auckland, so I'll be tuning for one last fix!

Bo-Jangles

Glad you said that as I hadn't seen the programme and was interested in the comment above that said:

and guessed it might be a case that those 'way above the price range' properties were just typical Auckland houses.

Sounds like they made the right decision not to bother as NZ$600k goes absolutely nowhere in Auckland and certainly isn't going to provide anyone with that typical Wanted Down Under dream home by the sea with a massive garden.

Purrball

If it was this episode, it wasn't really the same life, though, was it?

She would walk into a similar post as a psychologist, but take a pay cut of about 20%... and he wanted to chuck his City career in and become a snowboarding teacher, going from earning, just guessing, but in the vicinity of hundreds of thousands pounds per annum to the kind of pay a college or university-leaver would take, which is what many snow-boarding dudes and dudesses start from. In that kind of field, you only get up to the big bucks when you doing things like heli-ski/mountain guide, with all the years of experience and qualifications you need. What's more, they weren't prepared to sell up all their properties in the UK.

Seemed to me that he was looking for a quasi-retirement. Lots of unspoken thoughts going between them, it looked like, in the sense that if they wanted to do it and retain their standard of living, he would have to stay in a similar field instead of indulging in what were essentially hobbies. I'm also guessing that the production keeps to Auckland and Wellington to keep production costs down and disrupting people and kids in terms of moving around the country and also to alleviate the slight culture shock of seeing quieter and smaller town New Zealand for the first time.

Slightly guilty but compulsive viewing. Think I've seen enough, though.

dannigirl

There was another valuation on the house of £380,000...and the house was outside Brighton. Lovely inside, but hideous new build. I agree though, seems good value compared to some of the Auckland prices.

dannigirl

Think you're spot on Purrball about this couple. In my view they had a pretty good set up in the UK (albeit, he was apparently burnt out from his city job). With both of their families in the UK I couldn't see the attraction for them in NZ, but I guess sometimes you feel you can downscale your life/job by moving country! With several properties in the UK, I don't think budget would have been too much of a problem, but maintaining their lifestyle/current standard of living would come at a hefty price and probably wouldn't make sense for them in the long term.

My guilty pleasure viewing too. Did you see the expat kiwis - don't think either of them made the decision to return (you can read an update on each family on BBC Wanted Down Under page).

Purrball

No!

Post a link, please. I've lived over half my life outside NZ, felt like a tourist or a stranger when I last returned, often chat with other Kiwi expats in London and am more attuned — in my mind at least — as to how Brits see NZ, which is why I read and occasionally post here. I can't get the truth or the downsides from friends and family in New Zealand; they tell me it's paradise, no worries mate... when, on a number of factors, it clearly isn't.

Returning Kiwis have an even more complex dynamic to negotiate, in my view, because they're often caught up in feelings of nostalgia, the myths we're bought up with about New Zealand and not wanting to be seen to be running the country down because otherwise we'd be whinging poms, so to speak. On the whole, we're a pretty divided lot.

Think I can fit in one more episode!

bearskin

That's us! I love the fact that (on a fine day) I can do just that - often both.

bearskin

That's not us is it?? lol. No, can't be - we came from Bristol, and it was 2003, not 70s. We still cross paths with loads of newbie migrants, most of whom are doing well.

davros1984

there were 2 valuations,if you were to take the average, it was low 300's. even if they got top whack they wouldnt get as good a house in auckland. They would be far better off moving up north or to scotland, would get the snow and much much more for their money (what we will be doing very soon).