 Poster: A snowHead
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Can't remember the name of the programme, but it's about two Brits who move to the Alps (France?) to open a B&B for skiers (in winter) and cyclists (in summer).
Apparently making use of their hobbies.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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It's on Beeb2 skanky,
| Quote: |
| Series offering advice on how to set up a new life abroad, with professional relocators Scott Huggins and Melissa Porter. The Bensons from Hertfordshire try out life in the Italian Alps for a month with a view to a permanent move but find the local beauracracy hard to cope with. |
Thanks, that should be interesting....
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Channel: BBC2
Date: Tuesday 13 July Time: 8:00pm to 9:00pm
Review
Series offering advice on how to set up a new life abroad, with professional relocators Scott Huggins and Melissa Porter. The Bensons from Hertfordshire try out life in the Italian Alps for a month with a view to a permanent move but find the local bureaucracy hard to cope with.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Also, the same programme is then on BBC2 next week, withouth the relocators on 2 or 3 evenings, in more detail. I think it is 6 pm on Sun, Mon and Wed.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Heres teh speel from teh BBC website re Mondays episode
Get a New Life
Mon 19 Jul, 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm 60mins
Italy
Meet the Bensons: Kent, Michelle and George. They've chucked in their sales jobs in Hitchen for a life of leisure activities in Perosa Argentina, a little Italian village just north of Turin.
The Bensons' plan is to run a B & B that offers cycling tours in the summer and ski holidays in the winter, but with hardly any savings in the bank right now they're living off credit cards. So, before they can put their plan into action, they need to get money coming in. With neither of them speaking the lingo it's going to be tough.
We see Michelle hit the streets in search of a teaching job, in English of course. Meanwhile, Kent finds it more productive to take his bike out for a spin to explore potential tour routes. Little George, however, isn't finding the move to the mountains as easy as his parents. Unable to speak Italian, his frustration gets the best of him as he lashes out at the other students.
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No money, and don't speak the language? No experience of running a holiday business?
We hardly have to watch this programme then, to know what the result will be, sooner or later.
I don't know what it is about the "B & B drop everything and go and live in the Dordogne/Provence/Alps alternative lifestyle syndrome" that makes apparently sane people give up steady jobs and head off into the unknown, completely understimating costs/impact on kids and relationship with partner etc etc.
Last edited by Then you can post your own questions or snow reports... on Tue 13-07-04 12:59; edited 2 times in total
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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PG, I think the TV companies do a careful screen to make sure that people that speak the language, have a plan and any sort of competance don't get onto the programme...
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Ian Hopkinson, I don't think they have to look very far to find fully qualified contenders! The most recent example I came across in France involved a secondary school headmaster and a schools inspector who bought a property by a main road last winter, down in the south of France. Come June, when they were about to move in, they discovered that the noise from the road was unbearable. It simply hadn't occurred to them that the traffic in early December would be nothing to the conditions they would find when the Provençal summer got into full swing.
I come across this sort of thing all the time. Intelligent people completely blinded to all possibility of problems by their dream, naively believing all the locals will love them and never rip them off.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I've seen it closer to home in Snowdonia and even the Yorkshire Dales.
It does however make me wonder about the word 'intelligent'. Perhaps 'educated but lacking common sense' is a better description ?
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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There was another one of these on the other week, couple had bought a half built Austrian pension. She spent her whole time out riding her horses & he did all the work. Just remember, if it all goes well & everything is hunkydory, it doesn't make good TV. These peope all seem to make the same mistake of blowing half their cash on a "holiday" first. You're there to work, it's very different.
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Also amazes me how many of them buy, in a foriegn language, without a survey, knowing nothing of local regulations, an old building and watch as their dreamers' budget spirals out of control.
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You know it makes sense.
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| PG wrote: |
| I come across this sort of thing all the time. Intelligent people completely blinded to all possibility of problems by their dream, naively believing all the locals will love them and never rip them off. |
I've seen this, however I don't assume they're intelligent, rather as proof to the contrary  The general lack of ability to make judgments based on likely outcomes, i.e. not thinking things through, is of epidemic proportions in modern life so I take some satisfaction when these sort of people do come unstuck instead of just ruining my work day or destroying the hospital, schools etc they run for a living. (rant over (for the time being))
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| Rich Goodliffe wrote: |
| Also amazes me how many of them buy, in a foriegn language, without a survey, knowing nothing of local regulations, an old building and watch as their dreamers' budget spirals out of control. |
Doesn't matter if the buildings old or new, the nature of the problem alters but the principle's the same. Signing contracts you don't understand always has the chance to end badly. Looking at some of the people buying round the Alpes recently it's struck me that the issue of contracts being in a language they don't speak is moot since I doubt they're literate or numerate in a way I'd recognize in their own language.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Bizarrely when I bought my bar in Peisey-Vallandry I had some conversatons with BBC "Living The Dream" as they wanted to film someone setting up a business in the Alps. After a while they went cold on the idea, which I kind of take as a compliment - they must have thought I was too organised and had thought it through too much for good TV.
Very glad they did lose interest in the end - its stressful enough without someone asking you if they can re-film bits when you have a flood in the cellar, staff off sick and 40 people wanting lunch! 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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It's all about cheap TV, unfortunately. Using unpaid members of the public in their own houses cuts the cost hugely. No studio costs, minmal crew and often no "face" to pay for - just a voiceover which is far cheaper than a filmed presenter.
With an increase in TV stations and no corresponding increase in advertising income shows such as " Get a new Grounforce Place in Living the Property Ladder Changing the Dream Home in the Sun" will increase.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Unfortunately the free publicity afforded by an appearance on TV means that it is just the feckless/disorganised/naive etc who make it - anybody remember the couple who set up shop in Chamonix - he couldnt cook a creme brulee (or anything else for that matter) to save his life -? They were so successful, I gather that they've now bought another property and have staff to do the donkey work for them.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I should imagine that the free publicity would be a great help - but any success wouldn't last if it wasn't soundly based. However it's always seemed odd to me that so many seemingly intelligent people think living in their favourite holiday area will be like being on permanent holiday. Why should they think this? Is their life at home like a holiday? I do wonder!
Apart from anything else, it's just plain rude to move somewhere and not be able to talk at least a little, to the locals in their own language. The allowances made for tourists are seldom made for residents.
On the other hand......... if there are any TV directors out there who would like to make a non-disaster movie about an english ski teacher ..................... 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I came across that couple's chalet in Chamonix on the internet when I was organising some accomodation earlier in the year, Chalet Blanc I think its called. Unsurprisingly they advertise it 'as seen on Channel 4 television'. I watched that program when it first aired & if I remember correctly they only got to ski on Boxing Day during the whole of their first season. If they've since turned it around & are making it work, I say good luck to them, they seemed like a nice (if a little naive) couple.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Robbie wrote: |
Heres teh speel from teh BBC website re Mondays episode
Get a New Life
Mon 19 Jul, 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm 60mins
Italy
Meet the Bensons: Kent, Michelle and George. They've chucked in their sales jobs in Hitchen for a life of leisure activities in Perosa Argentina, a little Italian village just north of Turin.
The Bensons' plan is to run a B & B that offers cycling tours in the summer and ski holidays in the winter, but with hardly any savings in the bank right now they're living off credit cards. So, before they can put their plan into action, they need to get money coming in. With neither of them speaking the lingo it's going to be tough.
We see Michelle hit the streets in search of a teaching job, in English of course. Meanwhile, Kent finds it more productive to take his bike out for a spin to explore potential tour routes. Little George, however, isn't finding the move to the mountains as easy as his parents. Unable to speak Italian, his frustration gets the best of him as he lashes out at the other students. |
Can you point me at your link, please Robbie? I found this one - the same text as others - but not yours which seems to be about a later episode.
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easiski, maybe they'd like to film a summer skiing lesson.
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I missed the bit right at the end when there was a mention for how they're coping now... anyone hear this?
Otherwise it was pretty much as expected. A crash course in the language which resulted in them just about being able to say bongiorno and ciao. The naive expectatation that employers would jump at the chance of employing them even though they had no Italian. A definite reluctance to do a temporary job where the language wasn't required - such as washing-up. Some ideas that were just plain silly, such as becoming a cycling guide in mid-winter, without speaking Italian, knowing the area, or if any qualifications were required. No funds.
The young boy coped admirably though. And the parents did seem pretty determined.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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The epilogue was that the wife got a job as a part-time english teacher, and the husband was working on a website for B&B stuff. Kiddy fitting in well at school.
One thing I didn't quite get - was the premis of the programme that they would have to go out for 1 month without jobs etc etc and see if they want to stick it out after the month? That would explain the apparent naivity...
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| flying_squirrel wrote: |
The epilogue was that the wife got a job as a part-time english teacher, and the husband was working on a website for B&B stuff. Kiddy fitting in well at school.
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That's what I saw. But that doesn't tie in with Robbie's message above, which says that the youngster's frustration with his lack of Italian led to behaviour problems. Does anyone know if that refers to a follow-up episode?
I am interested; I would have thought the right decision, when offered a chance to return to Hitchin, would have been to do just that.
But the couple chose to stay on - I would like to see how they fared - say 6 and 12 months after they started.
| flying_squirrel wrote: |
| One thing I didn't quite get - was the premis of the programme that they would have to go out for 1 month without jobs etc etc and see if they want to stick it out after the month? That would explain the apparent naivity... |
From what I have seen of other couples on this program, the would-be migrants are very welcome to get stuck into employment as soon as possible - and the wife was challenged to do that in this episode. What we saw was how this couple took on the challenge, and how they got on - over a very limited period.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Nick Zotov wrote: |
| flying_squirrel wrote: |
The epilogue was that the wife got a job as a part-time english teacher, and the husband was working on a website for B&B stuff. Kiddy fitting in well at school.
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That's what I saw. But that doesn't tie in with Robbie's message above, which says that the youngster's frustration with his lack of Italian led to behaviour problems. Does anyone know if that refers to a follow-up episode? |
When we were down south near Avignon, each year the local infant and primary school received one or two children, often from Canadian/American families on 'sabbatical'. We got to know quite a few of them, and generally speaking they adapted very well indeed, and within a couple of months the kids were perfectly integrated, speaking good French. The parents themselves though are often from academic backgrounds, or with highly paid IT jobs etc that allow them to work from pretty much anywhere - so rather a different scenario. The producers picking the 'stars' who feature in these TV programmes no doubt apply a totally different set of criteria during the selection process .
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| poma wrote: |
| Unfortunately the free publicity afforded by an appearance on TV means that it is just the feckless/disorganised/naive etc who make it - anybody remember the couple who set up shop in Chamonix - he couldnt cook a creme brulee (or anything else for that matter) to save his life -? They were so successful, I gather that they've now bought another property and have staff to do the donkey work for them. |
I think that's a bit unfair and rather inaccurate. I do recall the program in question and it was a success before the program ever aired. They were navie about the amount of work required but quickly realised and made a go of it. More to the point, they were very organised in terms of planning, budgets and targets.
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Nick Zotov, So, after the 8 pm Tuesday night show with the relocators the BBC then show the same programme the following week in another format, and in more detail (wihtout the relocators). It is on on MOnday, Wednesday, and Sunday, BBC2 at 6 pm i think. I got the link from the BBC website, schedules. A link
HOpe that helps
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You know it makes sense.
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| Robbie wrote: |
HOpe that helps |
Sure does. Thanks, Robbie.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Oooh, how did someone tidy up my link? Or did it do it to itself? I know nothing... 
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