We bought 7 acres of land in the Brecon Beacons with a dilapidated farmhouse in February 2022. Si…
T=0: The Decision
Twelve years as an investment analyst in the City of London. £95k salary, a flat in Canary Wharf, and a growing conviction that I was building other people's wealth while my own life happened on the weekends. My partner, who had been nursing for ten years, felt similarly about hers.
We bought 7 acres of land in the Brecon Beacons with a dilapidated farmhouse in February 2022. Signed for it on a Tuesday. Gave notice on Wednesday. Both of us.
Covering the mortgage from the land within 3 years. Not having Sunday dread.
6 Months Out
Everything YouTube homesteaders grow in a montage died. The first batch of chickens had respiratory illness. The polytunnel blew down in November. We were not prepared for how much smallholding is reactive crisis management rather than idyllic production.
“Work on an established smallholding for at least two weekends before you start your own. YouTube does not capture the physical and psychological cost of a bad run.”