Hello. Welcome to Wales, and to Carmarthenshire
we moved here 7 years ago, love the place, very friendly people, settled nicely. Live near Cross Hands and also have The Equine Shop by the botanic gardens with my friend and business partner Carol
Will you be working as well as running your smallholding? or retired and smallholding? or just smallholding? as all that will make a difference to 'where' you decide ultimately to settle in to, especially with the cost of petrol/diesal going through the roof every five minutes
We have solid fuel for heating/hot water, decided against putting oil in when we moved here as we couldn't afford to at the time - glad we didn't!! We can run 12+ radiators and have hot water 24/7 for next to nothing usuing wood and even with coal (anthracite) it's enormously cheaper to run than oil or gas
so if you are fit and able, could be worth looking at property with some woodland so you can chop/process/grow your own wood??? will save you a fortune in the long haul if you have the time and energy to do it. We bought a log splitter which is fantastic, cuts through the wood like butter, so even if you have to have a man with chainsaw to cut the trees down you can still split and process the wood yourself.
We keep chickens for eggs and rear our own for meat/egg laying in the spring time, always happy to share knowledge and tips etc, but probably wont be thinking of chooks for a few months yet but you are welcome to call in to the shop. I'm recovering from Pleurisy at the moment so might not be around much for a few weeks on a regular basis, but if you are passing this way, do pop in you can always pin a notice on the board offering your help, we have a number of customers with farms etc that might be pleased of some help. There is also Dyfed smallholders club meets once a month in carmarthen.
Friends are selling a property in Mynydd Cerrig with 2 or 3 acres, not sure what your price range is? they are looking for around £300k, nice large 4 bed bungalow with the land stretching out the back, outbuildings etc and stables. If this is within your budget, feel free to message me and I can put you in touch.