British couple buy 110-acre farm in Italy while droves of locals have left the area for jobs in UK - Daily Mail

By Natasha Anderson For Mailonline
Published: 12:46 EDT, 22 August 2022 | Updated: 16:50 EDT, 22 August 2022

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A British couple ditched their big city life to buy a sprawling farm in rural Italy with no running water or electricity while droves of locals are fleeing the nation to move to the UK.
Lucie Davidson and Jerry O’Shea bought an 110-acre farm in Italy’s Le Marche region last year for €160,000 (about £136,000) after the ‘expensive property ladder’ in London left them with disappointing real estate options within their £450,000 budget.
They fell in love with the historic Pitino Agricolo farm, which ‘takes up a whole valley,’ upon first sight and now say they ‘don’t think we’ll ever leave.’
The couple, who operate an agro-diverse farm focused that prioritises sustainability and regenerative agriculture, say the younger people in their new homeland think they are ‘mad’ because ‘they all want to go to London.’
Young adults, aged 15 to 44, make up only 33.6 per cent of Italy’s population. Over 2 million young Italians, many educated and skilled, have left the nation over the last 15 years. They cited Italy’s youth unemployment rates, poor economic growth, bureaucracy and high levels of corruption for their decision to leave, according to NPR.
Many of the expats have pursued lives in the UK, Germany, Portugal, South Africa and the US, among other nations. Last year 342,000 Italian nationals were residing in the UK.
Additionally, their move comes as Britons battle an ever-worsening cost-of-living crisis that is seeing housing costs skyrocket. Average property prices are up 11.8 per cent across the country year-on-year and house hunters are spending almost nine times their annual income to purchase a property.
Lucie Davidson and Jerry O’Shea bought an 110-acre farm in Italy’s Le Marche region last year for €160,000 (about £136,000) after the ‘expensive property ladder’ in London left them with disappointing real estate options within their £450,000 budget
Instead they purchased the historic Pitino Agricolo farm in Italy’s Le Marche region for €160,000 (about £136,000) after falling in love with the property that they claim takes up a ‘whole valley’
The couple decided to buy in Le Marche, Italy, located outside of Tuscany, in May 2021. The farm was listed for €200,000 (about £170,000) but they negotiated and got €40,000 knocked off the price
‘All the younger people in Italy look at us like we’re mad,’ O’Shea, 28, told Mail Online on Monday. ‘When we tell them we bought a place out here they look at us like “what the hell?” Because they all want to go to London.’
O’Shea and Davidson, 26, decided to leave London after soaring property prices left them with the prospect of spending nearly half a million pounds to ‘live in a box.’
The pair – who met while pursuing their politics PhDs at University of Cambridge – began saving up to buy their own home after moving into O’Shea’s family home in Otford, Kent during the pandemic.
They were searching for flats in the trendy Brixton, Bermondsey and Camberwell neighbourhoods, but quickly learned the cost-of-living crisis had left them with options that were less than desirable.
The Pitino Agricolo farm was listed for €200,000 (about £170,000) but they negotiated and got €40,000 knocked off the price, allowing them to buy the property outright with their savings and a loan from O’Shea’s parents.
House hunters, on average, spent nearly £678,000 in the last year to own in London, data has revealed. Homes in the couple’s preferred neighbourhoods of Brixton, Bermondsey and Camberwell were purchased last year for an average of around £560,000, £727,00 and £530,000, respectively.
‘Getting on the property ladder in England is expensive,’ Davidson explained. ‘It would tie us down to getting jobs that would pay the London mortgage.’
‘We could afford to live in London,’ O’Shea echoed, but said buying in capital would have left them with ‘no garden, a lack of space and a lesser quality of life.’
However, unlike their neighbours in Italy, the says their loved ones back in England have applauded their move.
‘Quite a lot of our friends in England don’t think we are as crazy as we seem to the Italians,’ O’Shea said, adding: ‘I don’t think we’ll ever leave the valley.’
‘All the younger people in Italy look at us like we’re mad,’ O’Shea, 28, told Mail Online on Monday. ‘When we tell them we bought a place out here they look at us like “what the hell?” Because they all want to go to London’
O’Shea is pictured with the couple’s first olive harvest. They have profited €5,000 (about £4,200) by selling olive oil from their first harvest
The lovebirds permanently moved to Italy in January and dove straight into the farming venture. They first learned how to tend to the existing 80 olive trees and then then taught themselves how to make olive oil by reading academic papers, watching YouTube videos and asking neighbours for help
The couple purchased the property in Le Marche, Italy, located outside of Tuscany, in May 2021.
However, their dream home lacked reasonable living quarters. The 19th-century farmhouse situated on the property was badly damaged in an earthquake in 2016. The home had no running water or electricity and lacked proper roadways.
Italian law also left the couple facing a €17,000 (about £14,400) tax bill unless they agreed to the farm land – which decreased their 12 to 15 per cent tax liability to 1 per cent.
O’Shea and Davidson permanently moved to Italy in January and dove straight into the farming venture.
They first learned how to tend to the existing 80 olive trees and then then taught themselves how to make olive oil by reading academic papers, watching YouTube videos and asking neighbours for help.
‘It was a massive learning curve,’ O’Shea said. ‘Some stuff has failed. I tried to grow peas and lost the crop even though it was a draught resistance variety. But more than 99 per cent of trees we planted survived.’
He noted they were lucky the farm had been well-kept and that they weren’t badly impacted by the tree-killer bacterium called xylella fastidiosa that had destroyed millions of olive trees in Italy.
‘We owe a lot to the people who were running the farm over the last hundreds of years. We have old olive trees that are resistant to the new diseases,’ O’Shea said.
‘But we are fighting off olive knot – tumours that grow on the branches – and we discovered that one or two of three trees have it. But we basically got rid of it so we are hoping that by removing those trees.’
Davidson added: ‘Knot is endemic in every area where there are olive trees. If you’ve got olive trees, it’s almost inevitable. But with proper pruning you can control it.
‘Only one tree has it and we managed to prune most of it off. It hasn’t affected our trees so much.’
Young adults, aged 15 to 44, make up only 33.6 per cent of Italy’s population. Over 2 million young Italians, many educated and skilled, have left the nation in the last 15 years citing the nation’s youth unemployment rates, poor economic growth, bureaucracy and high levels of corruption
Many of the expats have pursued lives in the UK, Germany, Portugal, South Africa and the US, among other nations. Last year 342,000 Italian nationals were residing in the UK
So far Davidson and O’Shea have profited €5,000 (about £4,200) by selling olive oil from their first harvest, The Times reported. Next year they’re forecast to produce a few thousand bottles of wine.
They say they are optimistic that Pitino Agricolo can double its profits in 2023.
They planted an additional 250 olive trees this year, as well as 30 fruit trees and 50 hazelnut trees. The saplings cost the couple between €5 (£4.24) and €8 (£6.78) each.
The couple has set up a crowdfunding account to raise money to plant more trees. They encourage those who want to ‘sink some carbon’ to fund new trees. In return donors will receive olive oil, wine and other farm-to-table speciality products.
The fundraiser has earned enough money for over 500 trees but O’Shea says he ‘won’t be happy until we’ve got 11,000 trees.’
They are also hoping to get an organic certification for the farm and a regional certificate of ancient varieties for their oils. The latter certificate could be obtained as early as September, Davidson told Mail Online. The organic certification will take five years to earn.
Overall, they want their valley to be a global leader in regenerative agriculture and to continue to build an exemplar profitable climate-positive farm.
‘Hopefully one day we’ll be making more than €100,000 a year. We want to be an example of a self-sufficient, organic, regenerative farm,’ O’Shea said.
However, their dream home lacked reasonable living quarters. The 19th-century farmhouse situated on the property was badly damaged in an earthquake in 2016. The home had no running water or electricity and lacked proper roadways
Next year they’re forecast to produce a few thousand bottles of wine. They are optimistic that Pitino Agricolo can double its profits in 2023
A picture of Davidson and O’Shea’s olive oil. Their first harvest produced two olive profiles – a spicy blend and a fruity blend
The couple’s other goal is to renovate the dilapidated farmhouse on the property and rent it out on AirBnB as a luxury farm stay.
‘‘The main income for at least the while will be renting out some of the houses, but the big picture is the regenerative farm. Any money from renting the properties will be put into the farm,’ O’Shea said.
None of the homes on the property are currently in liveable condition. The couple says ‘they all need to be demolished and rebuilt,’ noting that one may be salvageable.
They had wanted top start renovating the smaller buildings on the property first, but due to Italian zoning laws have to prioritise the main farmhouse first.
The renovations, which were quoted between €250,000 (about £212,00) and €300,000 (about £254,000) just to repair the building, have been put on the back burner for now. The couple cited supply chain disruptions among Italian builders and lack of capital.
‘Right now we don’t have the money to do the house because we have already stretched our budget quite heavily with the farming,’ Davidson told The Times.
They have decided to wait until construction costs drop and they have saved up more money. Meantime, the couple is renting a three-bedroom flat near the farm for €350 (£297) a month, plus utilities and bills.
The pair will continue managing their farm and tutoring university students online, a profitable gig they launched during the COVID lockdowns, while they grow their renovation fund.
Despite its challenges, the couple says living on the farm is the ‘best thing in the world.’
‘The pace of life and the style of life is the best thing,’ Davidson shared. ‘I’m always outdoors in the sun. I can’t ever imagine going back.’
O’Shea echoed: ‘Every evening you see a deer or a porcupine or sometimes even eagles. You can’t hear any cars down in the valley, just wild animals in the spring. It’s the best place to work that I can imagine.’
The couple has set up a crowdfunding account to raise money to plant more trees. They encourage those who want to ‘sink some carbon’ to fund new trees. In return donors will receive olive oil, wine and other farm-to-table speciality products
The couple’s other goal is to renovate the dilapidated farmhouse on the property and rent it out on AirBnB as a luxury farm stay. They have decided to wait until construction costs drop and they have saved up more money. Meantime, the couple is renting a three-bedroom flat near the farm for €350 (£297) a month, plus utilities and bills
Davidson and O’Shea fled the UK as the nation battles the ongoing cost of living crisis that has house hunters spending almost nine times their annual income to purchase a property, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.
The average home sold in England cost the equivalent of 8.7 times the average annual disposable household income. In Wales and Scotland the multiple was lower at six and 5.5 respectively.
UK house prices fell for the first time in a year, figures released in early August revealed, dropping by 0.1 per cent month-on-month in July – a £365 fall in cash terms. It means a typical UK property now costs £293,221, according banking firm Halifax.
The small but potentially significant slow in the market – the first since June 2021 – comes after average UK house prices reached a record high of £293,586 in June.
Average property prices are still up 11.8 per cent across the country year-on-year – a rise of around £30,000 when compared to July 2021.
However experts say activity in the housing market has ‘softened’ in recent months, and that a ‘slowdown’ on house prices – which exploded during the pandemic – has been ‘expected for some time.’
Average house prices in the UK fell by 0.1 per cent month-on-month in July – a £365 fall in cash terms – according newly released data from Halifax. It means a typical UK property now costs £293,221
The priciest area in the UK is London’s West End where a room costs an average of £1,229 a month – as much as many mortgages
A London studio flat that is so small that the washing machine is underneath the bed has been successfully rented out for £975 a month in August.
The owner will only rent the flat on North Road, Islington, which has two rooms including the bathroom and open plan kitchen, bedroom and living room area to someone on at least £29,250 per year.
This is when the average annual worker’s salary is £38,600 for full-time employees and £13,803 for those working part-time.
A London studio flat that is so small that the washing machine is underneath the bed has been successfully rented out for £975 a month
Described as a ‘clean and recently decorated studio flat’, it is suited to one household and two individuals – though it’s not quite clear how a second person would fit in the snug space.
The property, featured on OpenRent, does come with a bathroom with a full-sized bath, along with a toilet, shower curtain and sink.
Despite the price, no bills are included and a £975 deposit (one month’s rent) is also required.

They warn that increased borrowing costs, sparked by recent rises in interest rates, are now adding to the squeeze on household budgets against a backdrop of ‘exceptionally high’ house price-to-income ratios.
Earlier this month, The Bank of England pushed up its base rate by 0.5 percentage point rise – the biggest increase in 27 years – in a bid to control spiralling inflation. Its base rate, which banks use to set mortgage costs, is now at a 13-year high of 1.75 per cent, up from 1.25 per cent.
The rise is the sixth consecutive increase since December. And it has sparked warnings of a potential ‘mortgage time bomb’ for millions of mortgage owners, as their fixed-rate loans come to an end.
In the neighbourhoods Davidson and O’Shea sought to live, their £450,000 budget would have secured them a one or two-bedroom flat, as evidenced by current market listings.
For example, a 470 square-foot flat on Chantrey Road in Brixton is currently listed for £450,000. The second-floor residence offers a 17-foot by 14-foot open concept living, cooking and dining space, one bath and a large double bedroom.
House hunters, on average, are spending £560,807 to own in the trendy Brixton area, according to real estate agency Foxtons. But that budget will only get you a two or three-bedroom flat, if you’re lucky.
In Bermondsey the couple could’ve secured a 707 square-foot flat for £450,000, but it would also only feature one bedroom. On average, home owners are spending £726,615 to live in Bermondsey.
A current listing on St James’s Road shows a flat with an open floor plan living space that has room for dining and relaxing. However, the only bathroom is an en-suite in the bedroom, which is not ideal when entertaining guests.
Current listings in Camberwell show the couple could’ve gotten a little more for their money in the area, but not by much.
A 647 square-foot flat, featuring two bedrooms and one bath, on Grove Lane has been listed for £450,000.
It has a 4.1m reception room and separate kitchen space. The master bedroom appears to house a large closet, whereas the second bedroom may be better fit for a nursery or home office.
The average sold price in Camberwell in the last year was £530,164.
Rent costs have also shot up to record levels across the UK as 40 towns and cities see their highest-ever rent prices amid the cost of living crisis. Some bargains are still available in the capital with rent for as little as £616 a month.
A 470 square-foot flat on Chantrey Road in Brixton is currently listed for £450,000
The second-floor residence offers a 17-foot by 14-foot open concept living, cooking and dining space, one bath and a large double bedroom
A current listing on St James’s Road in Bermondsey shows a flat with an open floor plan living space that has room for dining and relaxing
However, the only bathroom is an en-suite in the bedroom, which is not ideal when entertaining guests
Current listings in Camberwell show the couple could’ve gotten a little more for their money in the area, but not by much. A 647 square-foot flat, featuring two bedrooms and one bath, on Grove Lane has been listed for £450,000
It has a 4.1m reception room and separate kitchen space. The master bedroom appears to house a large closet, whereas the second bedroom may be better fit for a nursery or home office
However, the priciest areas in the UK remain in London – the West End and Soho top the list with an average cost of as much as £1,229 a month.
According to data published by Spareroom, rent prices have ‘skyrocketed’ across the UK, with 50 towns and cities seeing year-on-year increases from 2021 to 2022 and 40 hitting record levels.
The data shows the cheapest place to rent a room in London is in Abbey Wood in the south-east of the city, where rent is £656 a month.
Bargains can also be found in Manor Park and East Ham in the east end, where rent is around £620 a month.
The most expensive place to live in London after Soho is Westminster and Belgravia where rent is £1,097 a month, followed by Earl’s Court at £1,060.
Outside London, the cheapest places to live are Darlington where average rent is £391, Huddersfield at £394 and Middlesbrough at £396.
The high rent prices are adding to the cost of living crisis across the UK – bills and food prices are rising, but many employers are refusing to give their staff pay rises to cover their rising costs.
Italy’s housing market has made headlines in the last few years as cluster of forsaken homes sold for as little as 85p
Ninety neglected homes, located Bisaccia in the province of Avellino and just two hours away from the capital Naples, were listed for only €1 each in 2020. The old homes were being sold by local authorities
The idyllic town has been hit with a series of earthquakes and it believed that these have played an part in its population decline
Meanwhile, Italy’s housing market has made headlines in the last few years as cluster of forsaken homes sold for as little as 85p.
Ninety neglected homes, located Bisaccia in the province of Avellino and just two hours away from the capital Naples, were listed for only €1 each in 2020. The old homes were being sold by local authorities.
The new owners were expected to renovate their property but officials did not state the time frame within which the work has to be carried out or a minimum investment they will need to spend.
In recent years the sleepy town of Bisaccia had been hit with a series of earthquakes, with the last one hitting the town in 1980, and it believed that these have played an part in the quiet town’s population decline.
The year before, in 2019, Bivona in southern Sicily, which has a population of 3,800, offered its dilapidated homes for just one euro in a bid to encourage more residents into the area.
Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd
Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group