The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Coffee Lounge => Topic started by: kevkev57 on July 06, 2009, 11:50:07 am
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After much talk within the family, we have decided to buy a property on an island off Scotland. We will keep our home in the Ardennes but sell our apartment in Brussels, which we use rarely.
Our idea is to spend from June - October in Scotland, and the rest of the year in the Ardennes. As you can see we are not great lovers of heat ! My wife can now work from home full time, which is great.
I would like the following,
Smaller house
prefer stone
two bedrooms max
isolated, preferably near the sea or isolated inland.
no neighbours
land, 1 acre max.
For those of you with knowledge of the islands , which do you prefer ? I have visited several but certainly not all.
Kevin
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Must be great to be able to afford two houses, when so many can't afford one.
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Oh dear, is it a crime now ?
During the 80s and 90s, I spent little on holidays and luxuries. I eyed up the property market in Brussels and bought cheap. Against the flow, Brussels has sky high prices now, due to the influx of EU staff and lobby groups. Now is the time to sell.
Yes it is great to be able to afford two houses. My house in the Ardennes I bought 10 years back as a ruin. I rebuilt it myself. I am proud of that. I spent years of my life working on this home. I personally turned a ruin into a splendid house. My efforts, MY efforts allow me now to buy a second home, and any amount of cheap jibes like yours simply bounce off me...
It is a sad reflection on yourself that you get bitter and twisted about this. You don't even know me. Bottom line is that I have put my backbone into keeping my family afloat. I want them to benefit and enjoy a nice little home in bonny Scotland a few months a year. Assuming of course that is ok with you..
Kevin
kevin
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Hiya Kev i don't believe Rosemary is picking on you, You original post did seem like a bit of a shopping list hehe.
I believe if we could afford it, we would be all in better positions with the housing situation.
(I for one would not have my neighbour , I would have,nt any neighbour if i could help it)
Linz
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Hi Linz...oh s**t , I can feel another apology coming on..also just worked out who she is..
well it was a shopping list ! I am shopping for a house. Baked beans, toilet rolls , mars bars, island houses, whats the difference ?
I still think she was picking on me......a wee bit, as my new to be neighbours will probaby say , assuming they use the telephone, as I dont want them too close.l
Kevin,
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hehe
:)
Can i add my shopping to your list too please
:)
Linz
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Knowing Rosemary very well I would say she made what she thought was a plain statement of fact and was not 'getting' at you at all. And your post does rather look like a shopping list - have you tried all the local estate agents and websites. I found my present home by spending about a year looking at websites. I would do so again - there is a lot of information out there.
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Same here, I still look at houses!!! I am sooooo restless, if I had the money I would have loads of homes!!!!!! As much as I did not get on with my ex I felt for him as people were jealous as he appeared to have money BUT I knew he worked very hard for what he had!!!!
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This can be a useful site to use .. it scrapes data off multiple property websites and allows you to search them by text *or map*. Very useful for looking in general areas where you perhaps don't know the road names ... or there aren't any.
http://www.globrix.com/
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I wasn't getting at you personally and I'm neither bitter nor twisted, nor envious of those who can afford multiple "homes". I'm sure you have worked hard and invested well.
It simply doesn't sit well with me in principle. I believe if you want to commit to a home and community somewhere then do that otherwise just go on holiday there.
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I'd love to buy a home on a Scottish Island but hubster thinks it may be a little too remote? Is that possible?!? Ok, maybe for some but I'd like to try it. I think he is also apprehensive that the climate may reduce or growing ability.
Anyway, have fun looking!
;D
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my hubby is the same, I would live in the middle of no where if i could but hubby wants to have a tarmac road close by, lol
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property is theft, none of us should own houses!!!!
;D
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theft implies the concept of personal ownership, none of us should be able to understand the word!
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So if no one owns houses, how would they be doled out. Who would be responsible for the upkeep, and who would get the big houses (i.e. buck house)? :)
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Me, because I'd be very responsible (honest) ;D
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NOPE ... ME , because I would be MORE responsible !!!
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I think we need to take this to the courts to decide. Err, we don't have those. One of us will need to act as judge... I vote me!
(On a slightly more serious note, for anyone who's perhaps interested in such a society, I would recommend Ayn Rand's Anthem .. it's a short novella, so won't take long to work through.)
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surely all the big houses would be pulled down and everyone would be given an equal sized property with some land to work?
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I looked on that link for houses for sale and my address came up!! no photo, just some red writing and a different B&B uhhhhh, not sure how that happened but the rest of the houses were correct...Anyway, if we were all wild animals, some would have better shelters than others, some better at providing for their offspring, some fitter etc etc, we are not equal. When I married my ex had a twin brother, both went into the building trade, my ex was very good with money and liked to collect treasures but the other did not care too much what he had as long as he was not hungry and had a warm house, as years passed the poorer brother teased the richer one, my ex, called him mean etc etc yet people envied what he had....nice car, big house etc, Both are very close but very different and I am still in contact with them but as the example shows both had the same start just different charactors and needs so one should not envy the other!!!!!!!!
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Just remembered, the twin used to say " we married the wrong partners as his wife (now ex) was also a bit good with money, he would add, we would be happy and poor and they would be rich and miserable!!!!!!! I am sure there is a happy medium, I think I have that now...
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everyone will be equal .... but some will be more equal than others..... ::) :o er isn't that how communism works ? Yes .. the good old USSR ....MMMmmmm oh well, maybe not the best example ?
cheers
Russ
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Sorry Rosemary, didnt mean to be too harsh. However I still think it is possible to live 6 months a year , here and there AND commit to the area.
:bouquet:
Both Laura and I have lived in many places, all of which we think we might have made our mark a little. I lived in Zambia for several years before I met her, and she was living and working in Algeria and then South Korea. Lots of life experiences that have made us what we are....for better or worse ! A wee house in Scotland is therefore a doddle.
Kevin
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just watch what day of the week you put your washing out!!!
there are some strange ways up on the western islands!
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AND which way up you hang your knickers.
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do they still burn those wicker man things up there too ???? :o ::) ;D
cheers
Russ
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No, they burn white settlers!!!
funnily enough, The Wicker Man was on telly tonight
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lol... good film ....I seem to remember liking Brits scenes a lot :love: :o They remade it a few years ago with Nicholas Cage , not seen that one , they say it is crap ?
The song sung at the end of the film is below , first in Middle English , then in Modern English . It is an old English song written in the 13th century , possibly by W. de Wycombe.
Sumer is icumen in,
Lhude sing cuccu!
Growež sed and blowež med
And springž že wde nu,
Sing cuccu!
Awe bletež after lomb,
Lhouž after calue cu.
Bulluc stertež, bucke uertež,
Murie sing cuccu!
Cuccu, cuccu, wel singes žu cuccu;
Ne swik žu nauer nu.
Pes:
Sing cuccu nu. Sing cuccu.
Sing cuccu. Sing cuccu nu!
or you may prefer:
Summer is a-coming in,
Loudly sing, Cuckoo!
The seed grows and the meadow
blooms
And the wood springs anew,
Sing, Cuckoo!
The ewe bleats after the lamb
The cow lows after the calf.
The bullock stirs, the stag farts,
Merrily sing, Cuckoo!
Cuckoo, cuckoo, well you sing,
cuckoo;
Don't you ever stop now,
Sing cuckoo now. Sing, Cuckoo.
Sing Cuckoo. Sing cuckoo now!
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Terrible accusations flying in here, saying that my house requirements ' look a bit like a shopping list ' ...IT IS A SHOPPING LIST !! Dear readers, can I help it if I am a highly organised machine ?
How else can I find the perfect home where I can commit myself ( albeit 6 months a year , Rosemary ) to the community ?
Now lets get down to the Wicker man talk. If I lived on an island with that lot I would have to upgrade my shopping list. I would most certainly have to buy the manor house, and prance around like Christopher Lee in a black wig. I would also like to have a girlfriend that lived in a pub across the water , called Britt probably, but a younger version ( eh Russ )
Russ would certainly not be invited on my island, as chances are he would want to be lighting big bonfires. Rosemary would be invited and she can go and bond with the ' community ' ...full time !!
Or I could just build a moat around my house in the Ardennes and pretend I am on an island.
Kevin
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Or I could just build a moat around my house in the Ardennes and pretend I am on an island.
Kevin
Aslong as you didn't become an british MP and uses your expense to do it lol
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KevKev
Now you need to add Crockodiles to your shopping list - that would be cool! You would not have to worry about any visitors then.
If I can get some eggs from a Zoo, I will hatch them for you ;D
regards
Julie
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I am crushed ... totally crushed :( :( :( where can I go now to burn my wickerman (containing MP's !!!) ???? Well, if Britt works in the pub , I may just pop along for an orange and lemonade instead ????
oh by the way Linz , Kevin would be a Euro MP not a UK MP , they get even more money !!!!!
and we pay that lot too..... where's those matches , keep the home fires burning ....
cheers
Russ
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Kev the euro MP , yep its got a nice ring to it.
kevin
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Hi Kev
Despite your good intentions you will find that part time residents get treated with the same contempt as holiday home residents on Lewis and Harris. I can't speak for the other islands but have seen it first hand here, house prices pushed way beyond what local youngsters can afford. In places where holiday homes prdominate we are even starting to see racist (anti english) graffiti!
It's a sad world sometimes :(
Dave
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Hi Dave, thanks. Good to hear a comment from someone that lives on an island.
Having travelled extensively in my life, I do not carry that ' narrow minded ' viewpoint that you attribute to some of the long term island residents. Not there fault really if you think about it. Island life and lack of contact with outsiders is bound to cause problems.
I consider myself a good mixer with all kind of people, it was part of my career. If however there is rejection, then so be it. I certainly do not want close neighbours, and that goes for anywhere I live, island or not. You can interact easily with people without having them right next door !
In an age as we are now where social interaction is on the decline, we must be prepared for rejection.
Any anti English feelings toward me will just be treated with the contempy they deserve.....silence.
Yesterday I got talking to a good Belgian friend of mine. He was most interested in my ideas about spending six months a year over in Scotland. I then worked out why. He sells expensive house across the EU to rich Belgians. Apparently he is very busy, as these rich folk are taking money out of funds and banks and putting it into bricks, usually for rental. With the excellent ferry service from Zeebrugge, Belgium to Rosythe, he sees an opportunity. Last I saw him after a rather hefty session of drinking, he was muttering about ' putting a plan together ' Probably the drink talking, but it might come to something. At least it woud give me something to do whilst there, searching out suitable property........WHICH presumably the very same anti English locals, are happy to sell in the first place.
You will know if I start to sell some property up there, as you will see ' Belgians out ' on the walls !
Kevin
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Sadly as the economy changes most small villages, towns etc have little or no work for locals so people either move out or become unemployed so they then become less populated by high income earners, the only people who can afford to live where there is little employment either have enough mo money not to work or have another source of income, working from home etc, so, inevitably houses get into poor state or repair and sell cheaply to outsiders who make the property better and add economically to the community. It has happended for many many years throughout the country not just small islands in Scotland. I remember my Ex husbands family moaning as they lived in a small farming village were families had lived for generations, the first "rich family" moved into a dilapidated house and the whole village were talking about the outsiders! I remember it well, then more came as the elderly inhabitants died off, then farm shops as people took up smallholdings, pretty buildings maintained well, livery stables, the pub became popular with Bar meals instead of the dark old inn it used to be with a few men at he bar playing darts.......and so on.....life changes...!!!!for good and bad. I know in some farming areas covenants are placed on properties for sole use of local people, not sure how it works and who comes up with the money but an option......my tea is getting cold after that rant!!!!
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Hi Sandy, Yes I am afraid its happening everywhere. Here in the Ardennes the Walloon gov have thrown some money at the problem. Basically it works like this.
If you are local to the area and have been living here for over 10 years and are under 25 years old, you can get a deposit for a house interest free and only payable back to the govt IF you sell and move away within 5 years of purchase ( normally around 12,000 euros ) The rest is on a mortgage, which is at 1% lower than the best rate normally available. Then finally the govt pays the first 100 euros of your mortgage every month for 2 years.
The house you buy has to be older than 50 years. All repair work to get it into shape only attracts VAT at 6% Add to that the whole raft of subsidized deals for solar panels, insulation, heating etc its worthwhile AND working well. In a way the govt is taking a chance and could possibly be accused of being racist, as its only an offer open to locals.
We are now seeing younger couples move back into villages.
Kevin
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I think it is a good idea as there will still be locals who want to move or have to move for work. I am in a small village that once was booming with Woolen mills, Mining and Distilleries and lots of other industry, shops etc that went along with it so people moved to improve their chances of getting work, we moved here to improve our lives!!!!My ancestors had to move away as they were miners and all the people moving into the country are also trying to better themselves. I am broad minded as well and why should we so possessive about a place we just happend to be born in, I know it helps to have family around for baby sitting and helping out etc but maybe starting life somewhere else is a better way of interaction and social education!!! It all reminds me of people arguing over parking spaces ;D ;D
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Wherever you choose to live it must be very hard if you are desperate for somewhere to live; even homeless; to see a house standing empty for 6 months of the year.
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Hello Sandy
It is the same here in Ireland.
My Grandfather and Grandma moved from here in the early 1900's as they could not feed their six children. They moved to Bradford in Yorkshire to work in the Woolen Mills and also Deliver Coal to houses, two of them had to work and live in tenaments to house their children and earn money for food and clothes.
Now, 100 years later, their Grand Daughter (Me) chose to live in Ireland and raise their Great Great Grand Daughter.
Sadly both of them did not live long enough to see this happen, and luckily I was fortunate to be able to make the move, as the quality of life here is much better than in Bradford.
People move all the time - and in the future, more cultures will land in all places as Europe opens its doors, and Pakistan and the East have their wars.
Life changes, and I know it is hard for the elderly population to accept change, and for people to accept newcomers to the area they believe is theirs.
In England I was classed as Irish, and in Eire I am classed as English - purely because of my accent.
Basically we are all from Planet Earth, and we are all Humans from different cultures with lots to learn from each other.
Julie
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People are very strange, aren't they? I've just been speaking to my sister. Both of us are born and bred Aberdonians. I moved to Central Scotland just over a year ago and have made a lot of new friends - of many different nationalities as well as locals, and I have never felt anything other than 'accepted'. Helen moved to Inverness with her family some 25 years ago and was recently told she was an 'incomer', despite both their sons having strong Invernesian accents, and having joined in as many of the local organisations as possible - Rotary, football club etc. I think it is a Highland and Islands thing, not and English and Scots thing.
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I worked with homeless and asylum seekers and do not feel I own where I was born, Leicester, in fact, I feel more at home here in Scotland, home of my Grandparents, well my Grandad, My Grandma was from Castle town county mayo, she was Agnes McKreith and moved to Wales with her family due to the potato blight, my children laugh as I love spuds!!!!!!!. We are free to roam and wherever we can earn an income and pay our way is home, I just object to benefit surfers!!!!!!!! ;D
First off my partner has done a spell check, ( what is this a school where you have your best prefect etc) I am not into this stuff. I said I want a go if we are talking about boundries, no one owns anywhere. some will say they do hence deeds etc, well this may be the case but in the big picture it ain't nothing. We all have a limited time so no one has any authority over how we interact or justify are thoughts and ideas, hence not to be conditioned into certain mundane thought processes.
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'Hilarys mum ' It would certainly not be empty for the other six months. I would rent it out if possible for as long as I can, even if it was for a low price. You can always find people who want accomodation for a few weeks or months if you look hard enough, even out of season., walkers, Writers, bird watchers etc.
I need to recup the yearly expenses, such as council tax and insurance costs. Renting out will help reduce costs.
Kevin
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'Doganjo '
It might be a highland and island thing, but I think its widespread.
I used to live in a village in the Ardennes where they accepted you very well. I made many friends that I still have. Our next move ( only 4 kms away ) was completely different. Luckily we do not live in the village but on a hill with no neighbours for 1km. Ok its a tiny village with only 80 people or so. Hostility is the key word. My old friends warned me, but we fell in love with our home, and its remote.
This mentality I put down to ignorance and I am afraid to say , in many cases, low intellect. Apart from two or three, and I MEAN two or three people, the rest are inbred and in a few cases,cretins. Put it this way. When the bus turns up from the ' special school ' there are not many seats empty.
If you look at the history of this village it tells a story. They did not have a tarmac road in or out of the village until 1976. It is one road in and out only. They remained cut off from most outside activity until then. Just a weekly walk into the nearest town for market day or a shared drive. Nearest town is 7kms away.
Things of course have changed considerably. They have their X boxes now,and all of the other consumer trappings. However even if a Belgian moving in from a close village they are not accepted ! I remember back in 2001 when a motorway was put down about 10kms away. To open a service /cafe stop they invited local people. I went along and to my amazement the kids from the village spent nearly all their time going up and down the escalator. They had never seen one before.
So faced with this backward outlook, there is no chance of fitting in with a community. At a guess there must be communities nearly everywhere including Scotland similar in their ways and non acceptence.
At the end of the day though , they have the problem not me.
This constant quest for being part of the community is a bit overhyped I think. If its poosible then grab it, but never bust a gut if you are getting blanked and ignored.
Kevin
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;D
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Hi Kevin wasnt particularly referring to you posting(s) just generally - living here watching perfectly good houses left empty and falling into ruin, eventually becoming worthless, when they could be offered for social housing.
Sorry if my comment appeared to be a aimed at you, it wasnt meant. HM
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Hi ' Hilarysmum ' absolutely no problems ! I didnt take it in a bad way. The more comments the better.
It is true that houses left empty do tend to fall into a poor state eventually, bit like cars really.
Kevin
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It's rarer down here in Central Scotland but in Aberdeenshire there were loads of little cottage just lying there dying because no-one had attended to the basic need of keeping the roof in good repair. That was how we manage to buy the little plot at the bottom of our garden that I built my last house on - the old guy who we bought our croft from one year just uplifted the slates one day and used them on a friends barn (and got paid for them although they weren't his!)
I just feel I want to find out who owns them, buy them, and rebuild them with some TLC. Now if the lottery ever comes my way that IS what I'll do, and let them out cheaply to people who want to live out of town and can't afford to buy or pay high rents.
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It was like that in Ireland 15 years ago when I first came - loads of lovely old cottages in really scenic areas empty for years.
When I enquired about them I got several responses but the most common ones were:-
That family do not need the money - so will never sell
Cannot trace the children it was left to - gone to America long ago
The farmer wants 50,000 punt for it - at the time it was worth 8,000 punt
We do not know who owns it
The German that owned it dissapeared without any contact info.
When the Celtic Tiger started, suddenly extensive enquiries were made, people returned from America and a lot of these houses were knocked down and new "boxes" put in their place.
It is a shame, all the character of the old country places is being wiped out, instead of being restored, but like our 200 yr old place, the foundations are non existant and there damp and cold places to live, and very expensive to rebuild and keep it looking original.
Like you I wish they were lived in, affordable housing for people who will work the land and bring it back to its former glory - and have fun in the process.
Julie
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Like you I wish they were lived in, affordable housing for people who will work the land and bring it back to its former glory - and have fun in the process.
If things go the way Russ and Ree think, that may not be very far away.
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Kev
Been thinking carefully about this move of yours.
You should consider Ireland - its even called island. ;D
Not only that, we are in euro's, so you would not have to change your money for six months of the year. ;D
There are islands off ireland. ;D - Very nice ones too!
Mad people already live here (me and Joe) so if the locals ingnore you at least you would know someone you could phone for information and education on things Irish. ;D
There is no Council Tax, no Rates on country properties, and very few if any neighbours in the West of Ireland. ;D
With only 4 million population we are well spread our peoples and very underpopulated shoud things go T*ts up, as Russ put it! ;D
If you needed to get back in a hurry, there's Ryanair with their cheap flights for 10 euro return. ;D
Now theres a few things to consider - plus we could start a wicker man thing so as not to upset Russ, and there are loads of old mines and caves and places in the middle of nowhere to explore.
On the West Coast the Air is totally Pure and free from pollution. :o
Let me know if you want names of local estate agents and auctioneers ;D ;D ;D
Julie
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Wow thank you Julie, now I know why I moved here!!! Of course I would say the South East is better - you can be remote and close enough to life to survive - near the sea and mountains.
You are right about the council tax, but what no one told me before I came is that you have to pay for refuse collection or in my case as I am in the middle of no where get rid yourself - I now can claim to recycle everything!! Also you need a good car as the roads are crap.
Neighbours, well some are OK, others still remember you are descended from Oliver Cromwell!! I am known locally as the odd Londoner who lives on the hill, in fact that could be my address.
Still wouldn't live anywhere else
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We thought about ireland but the extra effort for my fail to visit via ferry etc was a step too much, as for any of the Islands around.
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Now if we are going to talk alternative locations lets put the best forward[ha ha]. What about Northern Ireland ? Every bit as beautiful and unspoilt only lightly populated and as joe keeps saying far cheaper ! The people are friendly but not on top of you ,and there is a wide choice of property some incredibly remote if that's your thing.]] As for the taxes they are not bad at all[although i am comparing to what we used to pay in good old London town] Seriously though the cost of living is not at all bad here.
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You would lose the big benefit of still being in EURO though, not having to change money all the time is a big advantage - you don't lose money to the greedy banks for changing it over.
The North has different notes - money that they won't even take in England, on the ferries or in the shops - so another currency to deal with as well as English pound for the tolls to ferries to france.
There are equally nice places though, Gavin lives in a lovely spot, and between his house and ours, going through to Manorhamilton via Rossinver, the scenery is wonderful and it is remote, but has acces to both sides of Ireland.
Good Luck
Julie
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My friend has her house on the market at the moment,
http://www.isleofcoll-cottage.com/ISLE-OF-COLL-COTTAGE-FOR-SALE-ARINAGOUR-VILLAGE
I know, you'd have neighbours but it could be an option for you, otherwise good luck in your search! :)
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Yes you would have to change currencies but the cost of living in the south is such that many from Eire come to the North for shopping as they just can't afford the prices in Eire. So i think the high costs outweigh the currency changes.As for the currency of N I not being taken in England or on the ferry i have not found this to be the case and i go back and forth regularly.
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I on the other hand have found that they will NOT take Northern Ireland notes at all they sometimes don't like the Scottish £10 notes either!.
It is because they are not used to them and can't tell the good ones from the bad.
Last year when I travelled over to Leeds to the British Saddle Back AGM I met up with Vaughan Byrne and Stefan Smith (Two of the oldest Founder Members of Rare Breeds in Northern Ireland) and they had brought Northen Sterling with them and were not able to use it.
Tommorrow Julie is going to England and the Bank of Ireland asked me when I got Sterling out did I want it for the North or the UK as they won't take Northern Notes in the UK.
But then again you seem to have No problem at all using them so all I can say is LUCKY you. ::)
Kind regards to all especially Gavo
Joe ;)
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islands off ireland are now tax free as an incentive for people to move there and they are very beautiful!
also things have been heating up a little in the north with a handful of extremeists so i would thoroughly research any area before you consider moving over (if you lived just inside the border of the republic you would get the best of both!) the west of ireland is also nice!!!
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N.I ? Hmm , I value my white knobby knee caps.
I swore back in the 70's that I would never set foot there however beutiful it is.
Kevin
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Perhaps they are just better informed about currencies in the big smoke! Yes we are very lucky thanks.
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You could have a look here!
http://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/properties/index.htm