[Rowdy Whaleback]

Hello, and sorry for the subject line it is not intended to cause any upset!  Please read the following (lengthy) post with a sense of humour.
In 2 years time I will retire as a Police Officer at the age of 49.  For 30 years the Steeleye Span loving hippy in me has been suppressed and I want to stop working for the man.
If at this point you find yourself rolling your eyes and thinking to yourself NARPO  (Not another retired Police Officer) then please stop reading.
I was brought up in a village and my wife was brought up on a farm, raising lambs, to a farming family.  Our first son has Down's syndrome and our second son is currently apprenticing with an agricultural engineering firm.  My wife is the caring type and I don't mind a bit of hard physical labour.  We currently live in the suburbs of a small Town, we have a dog, oh, and some goldfish. 
We have a plan that when my engineering son finishes his apprenticeship in 3 years time we will look to get a place where we have a couple of acres or so and at some point an annexe for number one son.  The wife likes the sound of keeping Alpacas and goats (I imagine this may bring about a bit more eye rolling!) and I want to grow my own ham, egg and chips (who needs more?) and maybe even put an acre or so to a small campsite in some beautiful picturesque haven!  I would like to run a place for beer money, self sustaining if you like.  I appreciate that I am privileged enough to be able to do so, but I also have to think about number two sons future prospects, will there be work wherever we go or could he run the place and live off it.
Whilst house prices where we live at the moment are astronomical we have the conundrum of staying within 40 miles or so of where we live and not getting much for the money or selling up and moving to the Welsh borders or Dorsetshire where we enjoy the rolling countryside and the Urban sprawl doesn't seem so great.
We have 3 years to plan and prepare and I will be reading magazines, books and visiting this site frequently.
I know I'm probably a 60's child "good life", hovel in the hills, wanabee, cliche but finally to my point. (One of many to come, I'm sure)
Having recently had a bit of a life crises I read the book "Stumbling on happiness".  It taught me that despite what I think, we are all pretty similar and if you want to know how your future will look, go ask someone there already because your imagination is flawed.  So...did you find yourself in a similar position to me and how did it go for you?  I know it will be cold, wet, back breaking work.  Were there any hidden issues that you hadn't thought about?  What would you have done differently?
Thank you for reading to the end and if you are living my dream please remember to remind yourself how lucky I think you are.

[Rosemary]

What a great name! Welcome to the forums 

Have you thought about Scotland as a possible destination? Great country, great people - we have the lectric and everything now and have stopped eating missionaries (but not Tories  )

[TheSmilingSheep]

All sounds like an excellent, and achievable plan to me! Go for it.... part of the adventure is the finding out what works, and what doesn't work, for you all.....
We left city life three years ago - wouldn't swap it for the world.....

[clydesdaleclopper]

Hi and welcome to TAS 


I can't really help with the planning side of it as we fell into it after buying a place where we could keep the Clydie at home. We now no longer have the horse but do have goats, sheep, pigs, geese, ducks, chickens and guinea fowl    the main thing I would look for now if I was to buy somewhere new is lots of outbuildings for storing tools, hay, feed and somewhere to house all the animals.

[Rowdy Whaleback]

Thanks for the replies so far folks. 
I've spent a little time in Scotland.  We motorcycle toured around once.  The predominant memory was in wild camping overlooking a loch over on the West.  6pm or so the air went black with midges and it got so bad we were breathing them in so chucked everything back on the bike and rode to the East!  We also holiday'd for a week in Torridon, same thing with the midge.
I have a concern that I don't want to be too remote so number one son could get public transport to Town if needed.
You can certainly get bang for buck up there.

[Womble]

Yes.


After spending a misty morning with the sheep, overlooking a beautiful valley, and with my back to all the unfinished jobs, yes, I think I am! 

[SallyintNorth]

Left the rat race 2004, WWOOFed for a year or so, ended up buying a moorland farm with an experienced farmer.

Bang for buckwise we moved north, to Northumberland.  I'm now just over the border in Cumbria. 

Love the life, absolutely love it.

Miss summer. 

Wish the old body was a bit younger and more flexible.

Would I do it again?  In a heartbeat.

[uksfdawn]

yes yes yes, moved from Milton Keynes to rural Wales 18 months ago bought a small holding, have Alpacas, goats, chickens ducks and turkeys, raised 2 pigs last year for the freezer, grow our own veg, hubby works away during the week, its hard work, love it and wouldnt go back for anything.
I spent years planning for this learning and trying things out on a small scale now I am doing it for real so glad I had a chance to try out and learn skills before hand, we are on our way to be some-what self sufficient in 18 months hubby will be here full time, I can and do earn a small income from crafting, it suits me.
Good luck and I look forward to hearing about your journey 

[Backinwellies]

Carmarthenshire here too.  My advice isgo for it ..... But think how much time you want to spend daily on livestock .... Alpacas and goats will take much more input than sheep and cows.  Also don't underestimate how much land you  need..... I have met many smallholders who thought 5 acres was a lot then realised 5 acres on wet welsh meadow is not the same as 5 acres of grazing in the dryer east .

Start your planning now... Maybe do what Sally did and try woofing or helpxingto try things out

[Fleecewife]

I love it when folk are at the stage you are at, with all that to look forward to.

I too would second Scotland - it's not all midgies and rain, although I have been in the same situation as you with having to pack up the bike and dash.  The plan is not to try camping in the summer when the midgies swarm.

We are in Scotland, somewhere to the south of Edinburgh.  It's beautiful country, low on tourists and we do have a bus service (also the new Borders Railway) for getting in to town.  Midgies are also fairly rare 

One thing we have learnt is that you can't expect your offspring to love your new life as you do.  We are disappointed that ours don't, but it means we don't have impossible expectations as to what will happen to the place when we pop it.  We would rather that a family who really love smallholding should buy our place and continue what we have started, and that our offspring can sell up and use the money as they wish.
Your number one son will though almost certainly love working with the animals, and of course having the space to live in his own quarters.  Come to think of it, our smallholding, with its granny flat and so on would probably suit you fine.  But we don't plan on leaving quite yet.........

Many on here will say to avoid alpacas, as I think you expect, but as long as you are not trying to make a living from the place, you have the luxury to do as you please. 

I would say don't fall into the trap of trying to squeeze too many animals, and species of animals, into such a small acreage - I know it sounds a lot, but once you get there you will realise how tiny it is.  Start small and see what you have room for, and how much time you need to put in, or get a few more acres.  It doesn't have to be backbreaking, which can make fun turn into a chore.

Many people have found going on smallholding courses to be a big help, or doing Wwoofs or HelpX as Sallyintnorth did.  If you go on a course, make sure you choose a reputable one - there are many sharks out there.

Enjoy your research time - you'll love the new life and, yes, you'll be happy.

[Lesley Silvester]

  from Shropshire.


I've never been in a position to buy a smallholding but I've got the second best - a microholding, ie a large garden. I keep goat, grow veggies and fruit and love it. I would suggest seeing if you can visit someone doing what you hope to do and seeing how they do things.

[DavidandCollette]

  from north Lincolnshire. Just got back from letting the chickens out and milking the goats. Had home made yoghurt and honey for breakfast, home grown lamb for dinner last night. Courgette soup for lunch. Im knackered but would I change it? Not on your Nellie.  Go for it. As a police man you will have experienced things that many of us would not be able to bear. Enjoy what you have

[devonlady]

Hello from Devon. Yes, go for it! You may find it's not for you after a while but, if you don't try it you will spend your life thinking "what if?" My son-in-law is a police officer (traffic) and, as David and Collette said, has seen things in the course of duty that he would rather not have.
If I were 35 instead of 65 I would sell up here and think seriously about Wales, Ireland or Scotland.
With age I have discovered the trick of not rushing into things, especially livestock but to do things in small bites so as not to be overwhelmed.
Good luck to you in your dream!!

[Rowdy Whaleback]

All, once again thanks for the response.  We have looked at Alpacas on the forum and didn't realise some of the issues, particularly the TB possibility.

Devonlady, why "foreign lands"  everybody please excuse my casual racism but when I was a kid people were getting their cottages burnt down.  I'm not naive, so don't believe this for a moment, particularly if I'm making a home and not buying a "holiday home".  As a family we holiday in the UK and the further away you get from the rat-race the friendlier the people (sometimes).  But what of the weather?   Sallyintnorth misses the summer.  Northumbria, for example, is one of the best places in the Country to holiday in summer, particularly with the castles and empty beaches but the weather can be unreliable.  I know N wales is wet and grey all the time (once again winking, smiley face and all that)
I'm not writing this to elicit a storm of controversy but have people found the more extreme moves pain free?

I suppose another way of saying all of the above is why are these places so much cheaper?  What's the catch?  There are loads of places in a place called Lampeter for sale it seems.  Why are people running away from Lampeter?

[Womble]

why are these places so much cheaper?  What's the catch?

I think it's just accessibility to towns and hence the jobs that go with them. Also nice houses with small plots of land tend to be bought up by well to do horsey people, at least around here.


We seriously considered moving to the back of beyond, but once we realised how hard it would be to make a smallholding pay, we realised that was unrealistic for us. In the end we managed to find somewhere 'wild enough' for me, yet commutable to both Glasgow and Edinburgh. (Our wee place was too run down to be snapped up by horsey people  ). We still have a much bigger mortgage than had we bought a similar place in the back of beyond of course, but it means I can still work at what I am trained for, which then pays better than if I'd had to change job to suit a location move.


Of course if you already have capital available to buy a place, and a pension that means you don't have to make it pay, that frees you up from having to live near civilisation (unless you want to). If you've got three years, don't be in any hurry. Just go on holiday (or wwoof?) in all the locations you think you might fancy, until you find one that feels like home!