I have Irish citizenship from my grandparents, and thus a passport that entitles me to live anywhere in the EU. I’m in my early 60s and am thinking about retiring there. I’m not wealthy but would like to purchase a small farm as I have here in the US where I can keep a couple of horses and transition them to boarding as I get older. I’m interested in hearing from anyone else who has done this, or has thought of doing it, and what areas of Europe you would recommend looking into. Ideally I would like to find a place with a good equestrian community, opportunities for hacking out, near a park or natural area, but not more than a few hours from a major city. Political stability, safety for a single female, and good internet are musts. Bonus if they are friendly to Americans or if there is an expat scene. I speak a little Spanish, studied Latin in school, and am open to learning other languages but would be starting from zero. I haven’t ruled out Ireland or the UK, but the cost of property there is off putting and I was disappointed to learn about the lack of public bridleways in Ireland vs the UK.
this would a good question to ask in Horse & Hound
Since Great Britain withdrew from the EU I really do not know if the Irish passport would provide a gateway in to permanent residence there
There used to be (still is?) a TV show Escape to the Country that featured buyers looking for homes in the UK.
England mostly, but Ireland, Scotland & Wales too. All levels of budget & a lot of buyers were looking for horse properties
Even if it’s now outdated, you might see areas that you hadn’t considered.
One episode visited Carl Hester’s barn in Gloucestershire.
Portugal is becoming more expensive, but it certainly has horses.
Anywhere north or central is pretty expensive, I’d think. But eastern eu might be a good option. I think Poland is lovely.
But I’m American and have only ever lived in Germany, which is where I’d look, though is not cheap.
The Republic of Ireland is still part of the EU.
Northern Ireland is part of the UK.
I can’t avoid sponsorizing Italy Lol . If you stay away from the fanciest areas you can buy a nice property. Horses are widespread (we have many national breeds too) from North to South, from the backyard old trail horse to the eventing champion. People are more than friendly and there are many US citizens living here (mainly Tuscany Lazio and Umbria I think). Good food, good wine, good weather. Life in the country is pretty chill, I live in a small village (about 1.000 residents) but very turistic area, I never had any problem and I always felt safe. We have two quite big cities (Genoa and La Spezia) within an hour drive and we are near Pisa, Florence, Parma too.
The Common Travel Area (CTA) is a long-standing arrangement between the UK, the Crown Dependencies (Bailiwick of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Isle of Man) and Ireland that pre-dates both British and Irish membership of the EU and is not dependent on it.
Under the CTA, British and Irish citizens can move freely and reside in either jurisdiction and enjoy associated rights and privileges, including the right to work, study and vote in certain elections, as well as to access social welfare benefits and health services.
Nowhere is as easy as surface appearance may suggest. Politics are deep and history is close. Large cities aren’t an issue: distances are small, regional variation large. Horses are to be found, to greater or lesser degree, in almost all European nations with the possible exception of Greece and Albania. Italy, in my experience, is fairly horsey to the north but it lacks a deep horse culture. In Eastern Europe horses have very recently been working animals. In Western Europe horses have been used in leisure since before WW2. Property is not cheap in either the UK or Ireland: it is a big political issue. France, Spain and Portugal all have substantial ex-pat communities. All three have a strong equestrian culture. Property is likely cheaper away from coastal regions but there is some tension between locals and incomers pushing up the price of property. Eastern Europe: Poland, Austria, Hungary are a bit too close to Russia to be comfortable currently… Sport-wise, France for Endurance, Belgium and Netherlands for Showjumping, Germany, Netherlands, Denmark for Dressage, UK for Eventing, Spain and Portugal for Working Equitation, UK and Ireland for Foxhunting.
I thought fox hunting was banned. Are they maintaining drag hunts?
Yes, I have perused those boards but I can’t ask them for the American perspective.
Yay!
It’s still on
Hope it helps, if not great pipedream viewing
I live in France. Not retired but theres tons of retired English, German, and Dutch people in my area. It’s especially popular for English horse people who move here and can own a farm with land that they’d never be able to afford in the UK.
The land where I live has gone up in the past couple years but it’s still cheap. I live in the Limousin and there are tons of farms available. Depending on budget you can get something already set up for horses, or there’s tons of run down old farms that need fixing up that you can get for next to nothing. We paid 150k for a farm with 100 acres, two big stone barns and a house.
France is a bit of a nightmare for bureaucratic matters, though.
This area of France is empty by Europe standards. The hacking is amazing. I can go out my farm and ride for hours on grassy tree-lined trails and never see another person. There are tons of equestrian centres around and they all run little shows. You can go out competing every weekend if you want all year round and never drive more than an hour.
Winters are mild and wet. Summers are warm.
Here’s one of my fields that I see from my house.
Looks really beautiful!
Having lived in Paris for a bit, I know the bureaucratic nightmare that France can be, but also having been to your region and further south, in Occitanie, I have to admit I dream of horse-keeping there.
There is a “green line” where the climate changes from wet enough for grass to Mediterranean scrub. Too far south, it is harder to keep horses.
A small word of warning that ties in with Willesden’s post.
Everyone I know that moved from the UK to southern France, Spain and Portugal with horses eventually came back to the UK. The lack of greenery & grass and increasing summer temperatures leading to forage supply issues and a lack of good available farrier / trimmers were the main reasons.
The ever giving nightmare that is Brexit was the other, although that won’t affect you.
