Hi all - we lived in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, and kept rare breeds of poultry, before moving to France. We moved partly because of the climate (I have arthritis) and partly as the idea of renovating a house and having land appealed to us. We now have 20hectares - down to primarily sheep, 5 pigs, geese, ducks, chickens, dog, cats etc plus all the wild animals like deer, hares, rabbits, wild boar and load of other wildlife like buzzards, masses of red kites and black kites, and quite a few hectares down to woodland. Unfortunately as far as a smallholding is concerned it isnt the same in France. You can keep animals on the land but there are lots of red tape and hoops to jump through if you keep more than just a few animals. The house has now been (well almost) renovated and my OH pretty much concentrates on the animals. We are self sufficient as far as meat and some veg goes so our outgoings are not much - we use our wood to cut for central heating fuel. We spend more on animal feed than on ourselves. Prices in general (food, clothes) in France are now dearer than in the UK - but well worth thinking about a move over here if it is land you want. Houses for renovation are available fairly reasonably with or without land and France has almost the same population as UK but with about four times the amount of land. It is worth investigating the possibility of moving if you are not dependant on an income from a job. Please dont hesitate to get in touch if you want more info re smallholdings over here.