8 ms·
Near Albi, Tarn, France, (1h from) Toulouse. Working remotely as a SWE. Balancing between two extremes, growing veggies and coding. Had to install a 4g antennas
by blaydator 4y ago
Near Albi, Tarn, France, (1h from) Toulouse. Working remotely as a SWE. Balancing between two extremes, growing veggies and coding. Had to install a 4g antennas works like a charm. Countryside in France is cheap, not to remote (5min from bakery, market, college), 15min from coworking Space (once a week to see friends), friendly neighbors, living my dream. Move here 2 years ago with my wife and new born. We made friends, bought a farm with 2ha. My quality of life is amazing. Please ama if inspired or investigating France !
- edmcnulty101 4y agoWere you American and immigrated?
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- SnowHill9902 4y ago>>France ! He’s definitely French.
- gojomo 4y agoIs a space-before-exclamation-point a Frenchism?
- me_bx 4y agoYes. Question marks, exclamation marks, colons and semicolons take a space character before. More details: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/should-you-ever-put-a-space-before-a-period https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/should-y...
- edmcnulty101 4y agoThanks for the info. Had no idea!
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- blaydator 4y agoIt is ! Space before any “double” ponctuations ; like this. Isn’t ? Sry
- blaydator 4y agoDefinitely !
- dlivingston 4y agoThis is fascinating and I’ve long ‘fantasized’ about living that kind of life. A few questions, if you indulge me: - What prompted you to make that switch to rural developer? - Are you an expat or French? If an expat, what was your pre-France life like? - What is cost of living like, and how does that compare with your salary? - Does/did your salary get affected by your remote location?
- blaydator 4y ago> - What prompted you to make that switch to rural developer? My wife's parents live in the countryside. Coming from an urban place, I enjoyed being surrounded by nature. Best thing for me is coding under a tree, listening to birds. It's my life journey, I was't happy in cities. I just found my balance in that way but it took us time to find the right place (not to remote, not to expansive, not to "old", etc...). - Are you an expat or French? If an expat, what was your pre-France life like? French. - What is cost of living like, and how does that compare with your salary? It is really subjective but I feel like living in abundance. Earning 50k€/yr after all taxes (working 30 hours a week, 10 weeks OFF). I bought the farm for 300k€. Standard houses (100m2 with 1000m2 garden) are loaned for 600€/month around here. - Does/did your salary get affected by your remote location? I have always worked remotely so no change at all.
- ChuckNorris89 4y ago> Earning 50k€/yr after all taxes (working 30 hours a week, 10 weeks OFF) Wow, that's insanely good! Can I ask how to find such a great job? I live in Austria and make 50k€/yr BEFORE taxes, 40h/week, 5 weeks off, significantly worse off than you, but that seems to be the norm in this country.
- throawayaway 4y agoIt can't be generically that bad. What field are you working in? Almost 15 years ago I came to Vienna as a sysadmin with 5-10 years of experience for a ~2.5-3kE net monthly salary. I left the country after a few years and around 2017 I came back for over 100kE still for sysadmin/Citrix/automation work (this included the usual 13th salary). Was it just my luck?
- Foobar8568 4y agoWhich surface do you farm? 2ha looks a bit huge :o
- blaydator 4y agoVegetable garden is on 300m2. Fruit trees on 500m2 expanding it to another 500m2 and planning to add chicken, dwarf goat and geese. 1.3ha is mown by a farmer to make hay bales, in exchange for 2 bales. Rest is buildings (main house, guest house, yoga studio, dependencies) and garden.
- belugacat 4y agoAlso French, did the same thing (albeit in the Alps rather than the south :) after being very burned out living in a tiny San Francisco apartment during Covid, post LTR breakup. Huge boost for my mental health - I can go for beautiful walks anytime I want, the local village has a huge sense of community, I've been spending more time with my family (which I'd neglected while building my career abroad over the last 15 years), the food is so tasty and all local, I'm very close (~30 min drive) to mid sized cities, and my cost of living necessities is not even 1k euro a month... The one downside is that dating is pretty close to impossible. Pretty much anyone over the age of 25 has kids, and it's not in tiny mountain villages that you'll find people who are into the same kind of nerdy multicultural things that you are. (the postwoman is pretty cute but huh that seems like a bad idea). I've been back in the bay area for work since, but turns out "I spend most of my time on a farm in rural Europe" is a turnoff for city people, YMMV. So definitely do it after you're partnered, if that matters to you.
- Termitiono 4y agoHow did immigration work for you? Any blog about your buy experience? Any Tipps?
- burntoutfire 4y ago> did the same thing Are you doing both SWE job and farming, as the OP? If so, how do find time for walks etc.? I imagine farming itself is very time-intesive activity.
- belugacat 4y agoSame as with everything in life, we never have enough time, so you get help from others, and you make sure to make time for what you want to do. I guess I won't starve if my beans don't make it, which is a nice privilege for sure. Also not having kids helps a lot with remaining master of your time and energy :)
- hardlianotion 4y agoI moved out to “pays de mont blanc” after similar reasons (covid and burnout) tho I had more walking and cycling in mind than farming. Great local produce and strong farming culture. My neighbours have been here for generations.
- frogger8 4y agoTarn looks like a magical part of the world! Definitely plan to visit for about a month once 5g or other solid internet option is available at the Airbnb we end up at.
- blaydator 4y agoI have installed a 4g antenna on the roof : https://www.speedtest.net/fr/result/13239915850 https://www.speedtest.net/fr/result/13239915850 50€ for truly unlimited traffic. Fiber coming next year in all the Tarn!
- Termitiono 4y agoHui you did exactly what we are currently trying to do. I'm from Germany and France countryside is so much cheaper than anything in Germany, looks nice and they have great food. I also want to work remote and actually can. Do you have more to share? Blog? Email? Are you from France? Any knowledge on building code? Did you check future proves like water table?
- blaydator 4y ago> Do you have more to share? Blog? Email? Are you from France? Sorry no blog. Email in my profile, we can have a zoom. > Any knowledge on building code? I am a developper since 10 years. > Did you check future proves like water table? I did my research, looks ok to me. Long topic.. Got a well and 8m3 of buried tank currently, planning to build 10m3 more. But I am not a prepper.
- jonchurch_ 4y agoThink they meant “building codes” as in “what are you legally allowed to build on your own land”. Laws governing structures and how they are constructed.
- xxxtentacijs 4y agoI would also like to chat, but I don't see your email in your profile. I'm writing regularly about returning to humanity (example: https://backtohumanity.substack.com/p/the-need-for-new-communities-in-the?s=w https://backtohumanity.substack.com/p/the-need-for-new-commu...). Could you send me an email: daosalon /a--t/ protonmail so we can talk?
- Termitiono 4y agoDid you get an answer?
- trompetenaccoun 4y agoWhen have you last been to France? It's the exact opposite, cost of living is higher than in Germany. Almost anything is more expensive, including groceries. Not that it's a huge difference but just saying. I like France but moving there for the cost of living makes no sense when you come from Germany.
- Fiahil 4y ago> bought a farm with 2ha We bought an old farm in the east of Bretagne. I'm mostly into growing trees. What kind of farming equipment do you own for 2ha ? It's too big for growing anything by hand, but not that much for a big tractor
- throwaway894345 4y agoI studied at a school outside of Rennes. I always enjoyed going for walks in the countryside. I remember one day walking on a gravel road and hearing a loud engine and then seeing a 1969ish Ford Mustang crest a hill. It reminded me of home (America).
- saalweachter 4y agoAt least in the US, you can still find "vintage" tractors like the Ford 8N or an old Allis Chalmers or Farm-All, which were sized for much smaller fields. They're simple enough machines and you can still find parts for them; if you want to add machining to your skillset, you can also find the manuals that tell you how to machine new parts yourself.
- spaniard89277 4y agoThere are plenty of small tractor brands in Europe. I know that italians have at least a handful of them. If you speak spanish go and ask in the agroterra forums.
- blaydator 4y agoVegetable garden is on 300m2. Fruit trees on 500m2 currently expanding it to another 500m2 and planning to add chicken, dwarf goat and geese. 1.3ha is a meadow mown by a farmer to make hay bales, in exchange for 2 bales. My plan is to slowly expand on the meadow to make guest houses (for tourism and yoga retreats for my wife)n fruit trees and animals. Rest of land is composed of buildings (main house, guest house, yoga studio, and other dependencies) and garden. I am not a farmer, and I don't enjoy spending my time cutting grass, that's why I am planning on adding small animals as they eat grass all day. I am trying to minimize the "human" part of the land, so I am using basic thermic tools (mower, brush cutter...) to cut grass and trees.
- LunaSea 4y agoHow's the water situation there? I was under the impression that it would (soon) be too dry.
- blaydator 4y agoIt's still fine as it is a semi-continental climate. Raining a lot in winter, summer pretty dry and hot (95 °F / 35°C). I have got a 8m3 of buried water tank, planning to build a 10m3 more (by a pro) and a well that dries up in summer + water from public network (of course).
- ornornor 4y agoHow did you learn the skills to grow your crops and look after everything?
- blaydator 4y agoNot a farmer, still a SWE. Growing crops is a hobby. Youtube and concret experiences (eg : start with urban farming in shared garden). En https://www.youtube.com/c/RichardPerkinsofRidgedale https://www.youtube.com/c/RichardPerkinsofRidgedale https://www.youtube.com/c/jamesprigioni https://www.youtube.com/c/jamesprigioni Fr https://www.youtube.com/c/AgricultureVivri%C3%A8re https://www.youtube.com/c/AgricultureVivri%C3%A8re https://www.youtube.com/c/LepotagerdOlivier https://www.youtube.com/c/LepotagerdOlivier https://www.youtube.com/c/AntoinelePotagiste https://www.youtube.com/c/AntoinelePotagiste https://www.youtube.com/c/PermacultureFrance https://www.youtube.com/c/PermacultureFrance
- throwaway41597 4y agoDo you feel like you got lucky with neighbors? One fear I have is neighbors not liking some weird nerd living next door. Are you extroverted or introverted? Are they mostly nosy or indifferent? Also, do you find younger neighbors easier to connect with or age doesn't matter? Thanks!
- vintagedave 4y ago> Please ama if inspired or investigating France ! I'm inspired, and I'd love to hear more. I'm curious about the prices: I spent a while just now looking up real estate and saw land ranging from 3,000eur (in accessible, no road) to 80,000eur (inaccessible, no road, but near a village) for about the same area, a hectare or so, in the east near the Alps. I don't know enough about France to know if I was looking in a particularly representative area: for interest, my goal would be to live in a stone house (maybe one I built myself) in deeply mid-European forest (oaks, etc) near hilled mixed forest/farmland or near forested mountains. I'm looking at Estonia for the same reason (plus I live there already.) Few hills and no mountains, and a long winter, but it is a very forested country, and very high-tech.
- _njyk 4y agoRegarding Estonia prices are raising very fast (20%+ inflation), the weather is quite cold, people speak very well English in the cities, but if you plan to live in the country-side it's not that great. There is significant risk of geopolitical instability and conflicts in the society (last month lot of people were concerned). Also in the relative short-term, government plans to raise taxes (in particular land taxes) so I'm not sure I'd recommend it as a plan to settle for the next 10 years. You can look at country-side France (cities are generally horrible though but deep country-side is great to live), Switzerland or Slovenia.
- tomp 4y agoMake sure you’re making a lot of money before moving to Switzerland (very high cost of living) and forget about buying property. Make sure you’re making very little money before moving to Slovenia (very high taxes although you can avoid most of them by earning less than 100k EUR)
- blaydator 4y agoReally depends one the area and type of land (legally buildable, water, quality of soil, sun exposition, view, …). Bought my farm for 300k€ (multiple all stone buildings, 250m2 livable without renovation, 300m2 non livable, 2ha land). 1 hour from Toulouse (not remote). Same thing more remote you can find for half the price (Cantal, Puy de Dome, Corrèze, Ariège).
- rejor121 4y agoI’m also very interested in France in the next few years, and the wife and I have talked about it. Thing is, I’m American and she’s Chinese. We might have enough money to buy a place in the near future but actually being able to live there is another problem. That said, I’m software and she’s finance so we might be able to find something
- nextos 4y agoMid Spain or the Pyrenees area have amazing spots, just to name two regions, and it is really easy to get a residence permit if you invest in a property.
- bogomipz 4y agoIs this the golden visa program you are referring to? Do you know if you need to live there full time if you are granted the residence permit or would you be allowed to split your time between there and elsewhere? Also might you know if eventually that residence permit is convertible to permanent residency?
- nextos 4y agoYes, I was referring to the golden visa program. I think you only need to visit the country once a year. Lawyer writeups seem to confirm this: https://www.immigrationspain.es/residencia-por-compra-vivienda/ https://www.immigrationspain.es/residencia-por-compra-vivien... AFAIK, yes you can convert it to permanent residency and it is quite easy. There are other easier routes, for example if you have Jewish ancestry or if you are a national of many countries in South America.
- theremotetribe 4y agoBrittany is a wonderful place. I have bees, hens, tomatoes... What is your project ?
- b20000 4y agotaxes?