Have you ever dreamed of leaving the rat race behind and moving somewhere beautiful where you can embrace a slower pace of life?  

Meet Ben and Nathan Pearson, an inspiring British couple who bought a 200-year-old farmhouse in France for just €80,000, which is around £68,000 ($92k) and are now renovating it into the home of their dreams with "two dogs and zero experience" but plenty of enthusiasm.

Click or scroll on to follow the ambitious couple as they begin their incredible restoration journey... 

Before this bold move, Ben, 39, and Nathan, 32, were living in this three-bedroom house in Lincoln, in the East Midlands of England and working full-time jobs, but they knew this wasn't the life for them.

Aware that they could never afford the house of their dreams in England and that Ben's job in the RAF meant he would be able to retire with a good pension aged 40, they began to look further afield.

Ben's mum had moved to France, to the village of Sainte-Segros, 15 years before.

It was while visiting her that the couple came across a beautiful – if dilapidated – abandoned farmhouse that had its own 'village' of outbuildings, plus lots of land, and began to start thinking of the potential it offered.

It was a slow-burning idea that took root with the couple. Ben says: “We saw it, dreamed of getting it but we never really thought it would be possible."

However, in early 2023, determined to turn their dream of moving to France into a reality, the couple were in France to view another property when they received news that the person who owned this house had died and it was going to go on the market.

Not only was the property something Ben and Nathan saw huge potential in but it had appeal for practical reasons too, as it is located just behind Ben's mum's house.

This meant they could lean on family for moral support throughout any kind of renovations, plus have help navigating all the French white tape and everything else a purchase like this throws at you.

That wasn't all, due to the couple's strong ties with the area through Ben's mum, it was an open secret that Ben and Nathan had their eye on the house.

They were given first refusal before it even hit the market, so then went to view it with Ben's mum (who acted like a translator) and, according to Ben, “put an offer in there and then”.

No sooner had they put an offer in than the couple began thinking about how they could fund such a big project.

They knew Ben was coming up for retirement from the RAF and that he would get a decent pension (and be free to do a lot of the work himself). Meanwhile, Nathan was studying for a degree and planned to teach English as a foreign language. Eventually, the couple planned to host immersive language stays, but would that be enough to pay for the work?

The answer was no. They decided to put their Lincoln home up for sale and move into rented military accommodation to help pay for the work the new property needed.

This gave them an initial renovation budget of £100,000 ($135k). The property itself, including fees, cost them €94,000 (£80k/108k) to purchase. The couple, however, plans to top up their renovation funds by setting aside part of their monthly income. As Ben puts it: “We’re not delusional enough to think that will be enough!”

But before they could think about all that, their current home needed a bit of a refresh to get it ready to sell.

And that's not all. The couple decided to throw everything at their dream of living simply, enjoying the house and the peace of France, so they ended up selling most of their belongings, including their beloved blue camper van.

Ever the optimist, Nathan hopes this is just a temporary pause in their travel plans. "Once the house is in a good place, we would also like to convert a campervan so we can travel and explore the rest of France and Europe," he says. 

Though Ben and Nathan were sold on the idea of getting stuck in, there were lots of delays on the seller's side, and it wasn't until Christmas 2024 that they finally got the keys to their new home.

Ben says that the most nail-biting day of all was when they were all sitting in the notary's office going through every line of the contract in French before everyone signed.

Ben says: "Our French wasn’t that good, so there was a lot of smiling and nodding!"

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But where to live while renovations were taking place? Having sold their house in England, even before they'd received the keys, Ben and Nathan (pictured) bought a caravan they named Utopia, which was to be their sanctuary throughout the long process.

The couple have been documenting the whole renovation project through their Maison du Potager YouTube channel, which includes everything from charting their thought process to giving a tour of their caravan, to starting work on the house.

Despite having no prior renovation experience, Ben and Nathan have big plans for the property, which include opening up the kitchen to create a kitchen-diner with a sliding door onto a terrace in the garden. 

"As you walk into the front door, you will be greeted with a large reception room and a fireplace, plus an internal staircase (the house currently only has an external staircase)," Nathan says.

Upstairs, plans seem even more ambitious. This part of the house has never been habitable, as it was where the family stored the milling machinery for the farm.

With big cracks in the stonework, the couple has their work cut out. It's a good job Ben has completed a lime plaster course in preparation.

Nathan says: "Upstairs, we plan to have a large, high-vaulted ceiling master bedroom with an ensuite. We will have a snug too, where we can watch TV and relax. Then, two double bedrooms, both with ensuites for visiting guests."

"We also plan to convert our basement into a bar because it is almost the same footprint as the house."

With such a big project ahead of them, it's important to Ben and Nathan that they enjoy small successes where possible. 

In the almost two years it took for them to get keys to the property, the small things they could do involved cutting back the garden. While the 'au naturel' feel to this entrance driveway may appeal to some, it wasn't quite to their liking.

While it might not seem like a huge step, simply giving this driveway a bit of a tidy and adding some handmade gates to give it a more formal and considered entry has made the couple very happy.

Perhaps it's also been a welcome distraction from all the things they still have to do inside...

Before the couple could even think about reconfiguring spaces and knocking down walls, Ben and Nathan had to give the place a good old clear-out.

This has involved breaking down and removing furniture that is well past its best and emptying an abandoned pantry cupboard that looked as though it hadn't been touched in years. 

While Ben will do the majority of the work at the property, Nathan is always keen to lend a hand to create the home of their dreams.

"My favourite part is looking at the exterior of the house and seeing how beautiful it looks in its surroundings. I have only ever dreamed of owning a house of this grandeur because we certainly wouldn’t be able to afford something like this in England," he says. 

With some of the tidying complete, one of the early jobs Ben had to do was knock down one of the interior walls downstairs to give the couple the open kitchen-diner they were hoping for.

Here he is preparing to disconnect the electrics before he gets to work – Ben's work as an RAF engineer means he can get pretty hands-on with things.

Remarkably, this sink in what Nathan likes to describe as the 'grande cuisine' (big kitchen) is the only water source in the house, though as Ben points out, even this isn't working.

Getting running water in the house will be something the couple needs to think about before they can even consider leaving the caravan, but thankfully, there is at least a well on the property.

Between all the big, messy jobs and discoveries of broken cupboards and rooms that have fallen into ruin there are little things that remind the couple of the big picture and what they hope to achieve, such as original features like these light switches.

But what do their family and friends think of it all? "Overall they have been supportive," Nathan says. "They cannot wait to come across and visit (providing they bring some tools and a paintbrush)."

Ben and Nathan have already had lots of friends and family come to visit and seem to be embracing their new lives amid the chaos.

With such a big project on their hands, it's important they zoom out sometimes and remember just why they're doing it.  

The house itself is 4,844 square feet (450sqm), but it also comes with just under five acres (2ha) of land, plus four other buildings, including the original 17th-century farmhouse, two barns and a garage.

The couple plan to possibly turn the old farmhouse into gites, one of the barns into an entertaining space/workshop and the smaller barn into an office.

Meanwhile, the garage will be knocked down to give them some stone to make a wall around some of the garden.

Although some would argue they already have a lot on their plates, Ben and Nathan even managed to find time to sneak in a wedding in January 2025.

"We met about 10 years ago while we were both working in Lincoln," Ben says. "We were engaged much longer than expected due to delays caused by COVID."

But rather than relax into a long honeymoon period, the couple must now stay on top of their French, as they will need to pass language tests when it comes to renewing their visas.

The couple hope to be moving into the house in some form by Christmas 2025, and have a functional home by Christmas 2026.

"It will all be complete in three, four, or 20 years," Ben laughs. Until then, they're holding on to the day when they can move into their new bedroom and enjoy the view from the balcony overlooking the land every morning.

With the benefit of hindsight, what would the couple recommend others do if following a similar path?

Ben says: "Plan how you are going to survive out there, work out your visas, but ultimately go for it. We have said a few times, the absolute worst case scenario is we sell up and move back to England and carry on doing what we were doing. You don’t know until you try."

That said, there is a lot of bureaucracy that those considering a similar move should be aware of. "Be sure of the buildings, be aware of the taxation on buildings (if they are habitable, you may have to pay a lot more yearly tax)," Ben says.

Nathan adds: "Also, check if you have to get permission to make changes, especially if it is an old property and you are changing the face of it. There is a lot of paperwork in France!"

On the buying process, Ben advises: "Be reactive, nothing happens for an age, then suddenly something has to be signed on the very same day. Luckily, we did it all from the UK, using an online signing platform – super easy!" 

With that all now behind them, the couple are looking forward to the renovation journey, as well as finding their feet in France and, of course, sharing it all with their growing community of YouTube and Instagram followers.

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