Couple buy French 'village' for €80,000 - 'cheaper than a flat in UK'

Wales Online

12-05-2025

Couple buy French 'village' for €80,000 - 'cheaper than a flat in UK'
They said it was all about escaping the 9 to 5 in England
Nathan in the French 'village' they bought
(Image: Ben Pearson/SWNS )
A British couple quit the rat race and bought a French 'village' for just €80k - so they can retire and have a "peaceful life". Ben Pearson, 39, and his husband, Nathan, 31, had always dreamed of moving to France and stumbled across the abandoned farmhouse in Sainte Segros.
When they started seriously looking to buy two years ago the property came on the market and the couple were able to purchase the 'village' - which comes with five outbuildings and two hectares of land. They have spent the last two years going through paperwork, but finally got the keys in December 2024.
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Currently the property - which dates back to the 1600s - has no toilet or heating but Ben plans to transform it into a three-bed home all by himself. They hope to eventually turn the outbuildings into Airbnb's and guesthouses.
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Ben, a RAF aircraft engineer, from Hull, East Yorkshire, said: "It's getting out of the 9 to 5 rat race in England. There is no way we could afford something like that in the UK.
"You can barely buy a flat for £80k. It's a nicer way of life - there is no running around. It will be a peaceful life and no stress - once it is built."
Nathan, an English tutor, said: "When we dreamed of a simpler life, we somehow ended up buying a small village - we wouldn't change it for the world."
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Ben Pearson (right) and his husband Nathan
(Image: Ben Pearson/SWNS )
Ben's mum, Karen Pearson, 62, moved out to France 10 years ago and the couple stumbled across the farm in her village seven years ago. They loved the house, but were not ready to move.
Three years ago, they started searching for their dream retirement home and initially couldn't find anything, but when the farmhouse came back on the market, they couldn't believe it.
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They put in an offer in February 2022, which was accepted, but have spent the last two years "on tenterhooks" while the paperwork was sorted. They sold up everything in the UK and are now moving in July to start work on their home.
Nathan said: "It's the oldest property in the little commune. The main house is early 1800s and the farmhouse is 1600s. There were old pots and pans, mason jars all left on the shelves."
Inside one of the buildings
(Image: Ben Pearson/SWNS )
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Ben said: "It had never been modernised. There is one tap, no toilet. No heating - apart from an open fire."
Ben is finishing work in July and the pair will move out to France to start work on the main house. It will need a new roof, septic tank and heating put in. They hope to have a liveable room within six months and will live in a caravan while working. They plan to restore the home in keeping with its history - and even hope to frame some of the old contracts they have found.
Nathan said: "We want to keep the grandeur of it all."
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Ben Pearson and his husband Nathan's French 'village'
(Image: Ben Pearson/SWNS )
The couple have £100,000 saved to start with the restoration work, but are under no illusion that it will likely cost a lot more. But they can't wait to move and get out of the UK.
Nathan said: "Even when you go to the nearest town, the people are friendly and welcoming. There is the perception that the French are snobbish, but it's the opposite."
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Ben said: "This is the sort of thing we'd been looking for. We never dreamed it would come true."
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