EACH YEAR, nearly 200,000 Britons move abroad. ICM polls have shown that over half of Britain’s adult population would like to live abroad or has seriously considered a move.
Many adults move because of good career opportunities abroad. A poll of almost 11,000 16 to 29 year olds in The Face magazine found that almost half thought the UK was a worse place to live now than it was five years ago. An astonishingly high 83 per cent wanted to leave the country. The huge majority of these people agree that a foreign climate, with different people and new scenery brings an improved quality of life.
Many simply want a healthier lifestyle in a healthier part of the world, where property prices are often cheaper. If you are taking steps to change your life, you can even have your story documented for television.
Programmes like the UK Channel Five’s new series, Build A New Life, have shown that if you really want to make it work, you can change your life completely and start again in a new dream house, in a new dream location, with a new dream job.
If you’ve recently begun your life change or are getting ready to take the plunge, Five would like to hear from you now. They are looking for people not just planning to exchange cramped city flats for idyllic cottages, but who want to create their own homes to their own designs by renovating or modernising buildings such as ruined barns or disused water towers. At the same time, you must be adjusting to a new life in a new environment, perhaps starting a new job or setting up your own business.
If you do make it onto the show, you’ll be guided, every step of the way, by architect George Clarke, who provides seasoned advice and vital moral support as you work towards achieving your new lifestyles. Build a New Life is George’s third series for Five, following Property Dreams and A Dream Home Abroad.
Each programme begins with George meeting the contributors and learning of their dreams and aspirations for their new home and life. Some choose to live in a caravan in the garden, while others live in the house they are restoring. Where possible, the programme will follow them as they finalise designs, hunt down local builders and get their projects underway. It’s once the building gets going that the programme really gets into full swing. It follows progress through to completion as well as watching people juggling the building with their new lifestyles in a new country.
Build A New Life is on Channel Five on Thursdays at 9pm. If you are interested in appearing on the programme, contact producers on 00 44 871 210 8871 or email [email protected]. More information can be found on website www.five.tv/programmes/buildanewlife
