[Mar88]

Hi everyone, I'm Marcin

My partner and I are in the early stages of planning a move (we are looking at mid 2026 or so but will rely on luck and opportunities here) to start a more self-sufficient life on a smallholding — something simple, affordable (the key word) and rooted in the land. While we’ve been living and working in London for many years now, we’re both originally from Eastern Europe and were brought up close to the countryside. We may lack practical experience right now, but we’re certainly no strangers to rural living and are very ready to roll up our sleeves and learn.

We’re currently exploring different areas, with Wales catching our interest softly for now. That said, we’ve noticed that many of the more affordable properties with land seem to be completely off the grid, which does not sound ideal.

As much as we’d love to eventually become self-sufficient where possible, we’re a bit concerned about properties without water mains or reliable electricity — especially in the early stages. My partner will be keeping his remote job initially so we can cover the mortgage (so he will also need reliable internet connection), which we’ll be taking out using a deposit of around £40,000. Paying that off will be the priority before we can fully relax into the lifestyle.

In the meantime, I plan to build up side income through a small plant nursery (horticulture is my passion), honey sales, and occasional freelance work. We’re looking for something with at least 2 acres of land, could be more, and a liveable (if rundown) house with potential. We'd love to raise chickens, try mushroom cultivation, keep bees, grow food, and maybe even get a goat down the line.

Privacy and space are important to us — we’re already very hermit-like by nature, so we’re not afraid of being quite remote and away from civilisation, as long as there’s at least a shop within a cycling distance. Funny as it may sound, we don’t currently drive — but we’re used to planning our groceries well in advance here in London and we do a lot of food prep (ferments, preserves, frozen meals), so we’re not too worried about managing without a car at the beginning. Once it becomes a real concern or we have a bit of spare money, we’d look to get one.

If anyone has thoughts on areas we might look into — or advice on managing a move like this while staying somewhat connected to basic infrastructure — I’d be really grateful to hear your insights.

Meantime I'll start diving into the discussion boards 😀