Thinking of complete lifestyle change
Discussion
I have reached that time in life where both my wife and I are seriously considering a complete change of lifestyle. We are both employed in decent jobs and are both fed up with the drudgery and craving change. The kids are grown up, although we have our disabled 23 year old who is dependant and lives with us.
We have talked about leaving our respective jobs and considering a range of alternate options to bring back some quality of life and to be masters of our own destiny. So, one option is to sell up and buy an established business in the UK in East Anglia or the South West, maybe a holiday complex business or sub post office and general stores. The extreme option is to emigrate to France and buy a Gite complex business in Aquitaine or Limousin areas.
There are obvious risks to this strategy; financial being the obvious one but I have done some cursory searches and there is some stuff out there that ticks the boxes and is possibly affordable.
So, my question is, has any out there done anything similar? What are your experiences, advice etc?
We have talked about leaving our respective jobs and considering a range of alternate options to bring back some quality of life and to be masters of our own destiny. So, one option is to sell up and buy an established business in the UK in East Anglia or the South West, maybe a holiday complex business or sub post office and general stores. The extreme option is to emigrate to France and buy a Gite complex business in Aquitaine or Limousin areas.
There are obvious risks to this strategy; financial being the obvious one but I have done some cursory searches and there is some stuff out there that ticks the boxes and is possibly affordable.
So, my question is, has any out there done anything similar? What are your experiences, advice etc?
Thanks for your thoughts.
I will admit to not being familiar with France at all, and I have never stayed in a Gite. Clearly if this were an option I would do a lot more research to ensure that I found the right area. I found a really good ŵesbite with French properties for sale and in our budget (dependant on getting sufficient mortgage) there seems to be a fair selection of properties -the budget would be around €400-500k. Being fairly close to an airport and TGV plus a guarantee of decent weather (Dordogne?) would be high on the agenda. It seems that rural France and the Gite lifestyle has an instant attraction.
As far as a Uk based business goes, I have already tuned into the fact that there would need to be a valid reason for the sale and scrutiny of the books would be absolutely vital. I think there is always a little risk to the general store/post office, just in case One of the big retailers decides to spoil the party or the Post Office pull the plug. A holiday let business in the South West, complete with decent owners house, seem to be out of our budget.
Just to finish, I am not shy of hard work and would be willing to dig out if the rewards are proportional to the effort. I am only 48 so young enough to still get stuck in.
I will admit to not being familiar with France at all, and I have never stayed in a Gite. Clearly if this were an option I would do a lot more research to ensure that I found the right area. I found a really good ŵesbite with French properties for sale and in our budget (dependant on getting sufficient mortgage) there seems to be a fair selection of properties -the budget would be around €400-500k. Being fairly close to an airport and TGV plus a guarantee of decent weather (Dordogne?) would be high on the agenda. It seems that rural France and the Gite lifestyle has an instant attraction.
As far as a Uk based business goes, I have already tuned into the fact that there would need to be a valid reason for the sale and scrutiny of the books would be absolutely vital. I think there is always a little risk to the general store/post office, just in case One of the big retailers decides to spoil the party or the Post Office pull the plug. A holiday let business in the South West, complete with decent owners house, seem to be out of our budget.
Just to finish, I am not shy of hard work and would be willing to dig out if the rewards are proportional to the effort. I am only 48 so young enough to still get stuck in.
Edited by mercGLowner on Thursday 24th April 19:39
santona1937 said:
check out se loger uk for properties.
Will check it out thanks. This is the other site I found that has some fabulous properties.http://www.jacwoodestates.co.uk
I have to say, that is a really useful post AJS, thank you for taking the time.
Firstly, the 'lifestyle' change idea has been in the pipeline for a while, certainly not a spur of the moment or a post 'holidays blues' type of idea. For other reasons, which I do not really wish to expand upon, this is a pivotal stage in my family's life. Nothing will decided and actioned without considerable research, that is in my nature, and I am a naturally cautious type of bloke. It may even be the case that that we continue with the 'status quo' option, not ideal but that may be the optimum choice for now.
Thanks for the tips in Limousin, to be fair, even after a limited amount of research on the internet, Limousin doesn't come out as a favoured choice. Aquitaine probably scores higher in most of the areas and in particular the Dordogne. There would be all sorts of issues to unravel particularly having a disabled dependent - not least, should we keep a footprint (property) in the UK? How much money would we need to be really comfortable? would we need a mortgage for the standard of property we desire? What would be the healthcare/social care issues with a disabled adult etc etc
Rotaree said:
I'm in the Southwest and selling something you might be interested in although your comment about budget might rule it out, feel free to PM me.
Thanks, I'll PM you to see what you have.Gassing Station | Jobs & Employment Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff