This week I have been mostly...

...house hunting for a change.

We've seen 31 properties now, and I am getting a bit exasperated as they nearly all have something significantly wrong with them, like a new incinerator being built in the area, near busy roads with trucks roaring along them, or wet no-good land, or not enough land.

Saw this on Wednesday. All lime render and posh tiles, but NEAR A ROAD!


We're thinking about the organic nursery we saw on week 1 again: was it so bad, or was it just superficial stuff? When we saw it we thought we'd be able to find something perfect and rejected it, but perfect isn't going to happen.


I think the location of the place and the land are the most important things, as everything else can be altered with time and effort. Next on the list is structural integrity. Estate agents are ok, but notaires are better: most property is with them, and they're easier to get along with as they're not on commission. But what matters is getting a place to live, so whoever has what we want wins.

So, new rules for house hunting: must be in a healthy place (no pesticide-laden fields next door, or noisy roads that will drive me mad), must be in an interesting place (no flat featureless plains), must not be about to fall down (or be too hideous!), must be able to grow enough food on the land (without digging drains/clearing conifers). The rest is superficial.

Got three more lined up for next week - all in Finistere. We're re-visiting the organic hippy place, and are looking at a farmhouse with 12.5 acres, and a longere with -ahem- 32 acres!


Whatever happens, this time next year we'll be eating what I've grown, and all this will have been worthwhile.

Light at the end of the tunnel?

PS - you know you can get paid for just being registered as an organic producer? Pay the Man E650 for membership and get a grant for E3000-ish a year. All that is required is that you keep off the Roundup - you don't even have to sell owt! Vive la France and it's wholesale consumption of EU funds.