Considerations for looking at a new place in the middle of the country.

It’s far. That means you will have to spend more on petrol (unless you get a new car).

Being far means there’s not much around you too. Are you OK with that? I think I would be. It just means instead of passing through streets of houses on your way to the shops you pass through rice fields, not a bad alternative!

You will have to be better at shopping, which isn’t really an issue because you’re a Kiwi and in NZ it’s normal to shop once a week, and probably cheaper, plus you can get Amazon Prime or a similar service for groceries.

Probably the biggest thing would be the cost. Thankfully it’s nowhere near as expensive as NZ, and that means you can build exactly what you want too. You’ll have to borrow money, but you would have had to have done that anyway. It just means that you won’t be able to get money back on this investment, unless you play your cards right and are able to rent it out somehow.

And now the positives:

You can build the house exactly as you like, all things considered.

You can become self-sustainable. This puts you on the road to early retirement much, much quicker. If you could cover your living costs, then you’d be free.

Having such a big property to look after will keep you active. It will also give you good vegetables, if you play your cards right, and actually do the work. Which you will, won’t you? You can also make everything organic. That would be well worth it.

It may also give you fruit, literally. That would be pretty cool indeed.

It’s an alternative lifestyle that ironically wasn’t alternative a few centuries ago.

You can get a pet. Finally. An awesome dog. Maybe a Jack Russel? You’ll probably want a cat too.