The good:
- Downstairs has a small cellar, kitchen, dining room/lounge, hall, and utility room (room for a 19" rack
) - First floor has three large bedrooms and a large bathroom
- The attic is already converted and has a fumoir/smoker so I can smoke my own meat
- It has a huge split-level barn with a red brick floor in the bottom (where cows were kept) and a cathedralic upper floor where tractors and grain were kept
- It's structurally ok
- Actually most of it is built like a bunker
- The main house part can be lived in straight away
- It was relatively cheap
- It's unbelievably tranquil up there
- It's going to improve my DIY skills
The bad:
- The back garden is practically non-existant
- The front garden is entirely tarmaced (and only parks 4 of 5 cars)
- All wallpaper, paint, etc, has to die
- All first floor ceilings must be replaced
- Wiring must be replaced (current wiring is still 1950s)
- My commute to work will be ~1h20 instead of ~10mins
The ugly:
- The house is actually pretty ugly (outside and in) ... but that's going to change soon
- Whoever did the decor loved grey. Grey tiles, grey wallpaper, grey floor!
The lawyers are still poring over their deeds and stuff but we expect to have the keys to the house by the end of November. I'll post some piccies some time and might start a "house renovation" blog style jobby to document the transformation.
The UMTS/GPRS service is alleged to be reasonable so I might give that a shot. When I worked in London I commuted 2 hours there and 2 hours back and survived.. mostly. 
