Some of the low cost eco houses which have been built are wonderful though, so I can see why someone would hanker after them. I'm thinking of the 'hidden in the woods' kind with a sod roof, but realistically as everyone says you need commitment and a whole lot of hard work. We are very lucky to live in a cottage built many years ago from local stone, which was itself recycled from a local castle - no castle now, just several houses dotted around with interesting stonework
) Stone is my favourite building material because you can huff and puff as hard as you like but you won't blow it down. It is also warm in winter, once the wood burner has warmed up the walls, and cool in summer. It also blends very nicely into the background.
Juno - there
is a better way of living and you are going the right way about making a start, by finding out as much as you can about your chosen way before you kick the job. Once you have done that you are on your own. What many people do, as we did, is to carry on working for a while as you get set up, until you reach the point where you may be able to manage without any income at all. More practically, you will almost certainly always need to have some income, even just to pay the rates