european forests

[Limbothefirst]

hello, for the past few years have been intersted in and studing wilderness survival and self sufficient living. i have since dicided to buy a small parcel of land to build a small house/cabin to live.
though i have lived in the tropics of eastern austraila all my life (were a hot day is 48.0 °C with 75% humidity) I am drawn to the forest and woodland of weastern europe ( or Temperate Deciduous Forest to be exact). I know little about the climate and terrain.


so my problem is, were should i look to buy land?
i like the looks of france and the uk but am open to any part of europe, tho have found it hard to get and infomation in the plants and wildlife.
i would like to know your opinion on were the most warm, moist, lush and well vegetated regions would be. ideally where i can grow crops most of the year.
some were with a small population with Plenty of wildness to hunt in... and also doesnt shit down snow in winter (but i understand anywere will still be cold).
I have seen many beautiful forests in documenrtys but do not know what there called or were thay are.

Any maps, websites and other resources on wildlife and plants would be a grate help.

 

[Kermmak]

Reviews laws on hunting fishing and gathering plants. Can cause major problems because trapping is illegal in much of Europe.

 

[eisman]

European forests are drastically different than those of the USA. They are much more intensely managed with attention to detail and specifics. I doubt there are any "old" forests left east of Russia and south of Finland. Trees are spaced and undergrowth limited by law. building in them is mostly forbidden. And the less it snows, the more people there are and less forest there is. To an American who spent a large portion of early life in the forests around the Great Lakes and the Western States they seem artificial; much more like gardening on a grand scale. I think you would have to purchase an enormous amount of land (difficult) and it would take decades to transform. Still, it's a worthy cause.

If it were not for the chronic economic disaster that passes for national politics I'd suggest the northern part of Argentina would be a good option.

In Europe I'd consider something in what used to be Yugoslavia or the Czech Republic/Slovakia.

Realize in most of these places you will be restricted as to what you do with the land. Building on it will require approval, as will hunting, fishing, etc.

You might also consider British Columbia, Canada, but you'd want to stay near the water (of course so does almost everybody else). Inland they measure snow in meters.

 

[fmajor007]

In Europe I'd consider something in what used to be Yugoslavia or the Czech Republic/Slovakia.

I would *categorically* eliminate the idea of purchasing any land in any in of the former Yugoslavia nation-states except possibly Slovenia (and that exception is very tenuous). I lived in Bosnia for 7 years, studied the region for several more than that and I cannot more strongly try to dissuade you from making a purchase there.

There are many beautiful places in East/Southeast Europe for sure, but the laws/governments that rule these lands are very important to understand. To even begin this understanding, it's imperative to have a local, trustworthy attorney "on retainer" to answer questions/negotiations/handle "problems".

 

[s_f]

I am drawn to the forest and woodland of weastern europe
...
some were with a small population with Plenty of wildness to hunt in...

This might be tricky since we do have a lot of people for our area. And there are villages basically everywhere. Getting a hunting licence is also not that easy and usually quite expensive in most western european countries. Mild winters are probably in the southern part of France or around the Bodensee (Lake Constance) and otherwise at any coast (incl. the UK). And south of the alps is more mediterranean climate and forests.

Why don't you first come over here, pick a smaller town or city to live in (20k-200k ppl) and start exploring and looking for a nice place?

Our wildlife is... well. Domesticated? There are basically no big/dangerous animals and not so many poisoneous plants since they've been hunted down for centuries.

 

[c.t.smith]

If your coming to B.C. and want out of the snow its limited to the south coast. o and B.C stands for BRING CASH

 

[lightleak]

To me, this sounds like you're 200 years too late. For a mild climate you would have to stick to western europe where the gulf stream runs, yet those areas in the UK/Ireland/France are quite populated, as others have pointed out. Most of the impressive, picturesque forest areas you see in documentaries on european countries will most likely be protected or will not be for sale. I agree that what you describe would work better in Canada, yet B.C. has a very different type of forest so this is probably not what you're after. Maybe you could escape the scandinavian cold along the very western coastline of southern norway, still.. not sure about crops all year long. That sounds more like the mediterranean area indeed, then again the mediterranian forests are probably not what you are after.
Maybe Slovenia is not such a bad idea. Beautiful country. Still, to me most of your ideas really sound like south island / new zealand

 

[sideways]

A nice location, reasonable prices, stable democracy. Select two.

Central and western
The Loz�re district in France is about as lost as I have ever been in central Europe. However, you will not make it there without a working knowledge of French. It's all as French as French can be and nationalistic and stuff. Besides the very real language barrier you would have to deal with the French bureaucracy. The German countries are crowded and efficient enough that I doubt there is much to be had for an outsider, they are sewn up tight. Benelux you can forget, they are too crowded by far, the same can be said for the UK.

South
Going south to the Mediterranean countries you get corruption and government expropriation of assets on a good year, not a good place to be in this geopolitical climate. They are also pretty crowded and especially Spain is arid.

East
Just as cold in the winter as the northern states and getting stuff done can be tricky. These countries are not yet fully fledged democracies. You might not get what you though you were buying but the price is right. Buyer beware

North
Scandinavia is expensive, taxes are high and it gets cold in the winter (the ice off the southern coast of Finland is still half a meter thick in parts). The good news is they are all stable democracies and there is space. Generally speaking the Finnish forests are not wild, trees are grown and harvested like plants with incredible efficiency due to a strong forestry industry. Eastern Finland and the Russian border are relatively untamed. The Swedish and Norwegian forests are not as well maintained to my knowledge, but Sweden is again more crowded and Norway is more expensive.