Hermit - We too have no light pollution and luv to star gaze. Nether of us have ever seen the northern lights - must be fantastic. Life up there must certainly throw you some challenges but must be fantastic at times. Do you fish?
Dan -Let me know if you have a holiday in the area and we will put on a "tea". Just don't look at the price of land or small farms here in La Creuse or you would sell up tomorrow. Because it is the most depopulated part of France with no employment (except in the cattle and forestry trades) life is very rural. Even our department's principle town smacks of old UK county towns on market days of 40 years ago.
Most people live in very small hamlets ( 3-5 fermettes) so smallholding is very common and thus easier to sustain with markets and local agro co-ops providing all that is needed.
We do not have much tourism in La Cruese ( except for the local Wolf Sanctuary) but if the family like swimming in lakes, ,fishing, riding , walking and visiting village fetes then it beats the hectic tourist areas in the south and Dordogne. Seriously - pop in if you holiday here ever - you could even give me some advise on what I could do around a little plot.