For location, you can find villages or monasteries in Europe, especially depopulating areas in Italy for brutally cheap (under $100k). If you have a bit more mo

For location, you can find villages or monasteries in Europe, especially depopulating areas in Italy for brutally cheap (under $100k). If you have a bit more money, say $5-700k, you can buy an old factory or convent in France. Various tax advantages can be had with enough cleverness. An endowment you can rustle up with sufficiently well connected people, especially if you aren't looking for that much money. Grants I agree are a problem. Darpa as I recall doesn't necessarily require university connections, but I'm not sure if Europe has anything easy like that. Maybe you attach a startup incubator? 1)https://www.patrice-besse.co.uk/ads/historic-buildings-for-sale-in-france-near-montpellier-provence-languedoc-roussillon-cote-d-azur-upper-savoy-pb302639 https://www.patrice-besse.co.uk/ads/historic-buildings-for-s... 2) https://www.patrice-besse.co.uk/ads/historic-buildings-religious-edifices-farms-for-sale-in-france-cotentin-regon-normandy-brittany-anjou-perche-pb495746 https://www.patrice-besse.co.uk/ads/historic-buildings-relig... EDIT: In terms of financing, how much money do you really need? If you are self sufficient in terms of owning the property, endowment income and growing vegetables and selling beer/yoghurt etc., is that not enough? Would the modern academic type be interested at all in essentially living in a commune/monastery where some amount of time is dedicated to cleaning/maintenance/carpentry/agriculture?