Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Village people: why owning your own town is the new private island

You could own the pub, the spa and even the church for less than a London house, says Ailis Brennan

When fictional millionaire Johnny Rose purchased a town named Schitt’s Creek as a birthday present for his son, the world laughed at what seemed like little more than a ludicrous sitcom premise.

But while Netflix viewers chuckled, property magnates were nodding in sage appreciation. In a socially distanced world, where better to call home than your very own town or village? It’s a tempting prospect, and not quite as ridiculous – or rare – a purchase as you might expect.

Just ask Johnny Depp. After 20 years (intermittently) living the Provençal life, the Hollywood star is reportedly preparing to sell the 19th-century village he owns in France, situated just a stone’s throw from A-list hotspot Saint-Tropez. Having spent a reported $10 million (£7.2 million) renovating the dinky hamlet’s historic stone and wood-beamed buildings, Depp is now said to have put an asking price of $55.5 million on the sprawling estate, which boasts its own private restaurant, a church-turned-guest house, town square, skate park and wine cave – only open to Depp’s guests, of course.

Hamlet haven: Johnny Depp is reportedly selling his 19th-century French village


As “private village” becomes the new private island, Kanye West chose the 4,500-acre Monster Lake Ranch for his pandemic bolthole. While it is unclear quite how much of the sweeping Wyoming estate the rapper bought in 2019, the $14 million ranch features a saloon, working horse barn, restaurant, shooting range, office building and two fishing lakes.

Pandemic bolthole: Kanye West’s 4,500 acre ranch in Wyoming


Closer to home, Ed Sheeran’s growing property complex near his hometown of Framlingham has been dubbed “Sheeranville”, with the singer gradually acquiring or building four houses, a pub, a recording studio, fruit orchard and more. In 2019, he submitted planning permission to add a “place of worship”.

With business rather than leisure in mind, Elon Musk’s rocket company SpaceX is on the verge of buying the entire village of Boca Chica in Texas, a 40-home community that Musk plans to turn into a launch site and “resort” – if he can convince the last few stubborn residents to leave. Similarly futuristic are the plans of R&B singer Akon (aka “Mr Lonely”) to build Akon City, a cryptocurrency-centric, solar-powered public utopia in Senegal. The plan is backed by the country’s government and Akon laid the first stone in September.

Buy your own Schitt’s Creek

It’s the little things: Almost all the houses in the Welsh village of Aberllefenni are on sale as one lot

If you’re not one of the world’s richest men, but just moderately wealthy, it’s still possible to own your own town. Headlines have swirled in recent years around empty villages in Italy and Spain selling off properties for as little as €1. In 2018, Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop Christmas gift guide included a complete Galician hamlet listed at £134,837. An attractive prospect indeed, but these abandoned towns are invariably in need of some significant financial investment to make them much more than habitable (remember what Depp spent on his…).

If you’re not looking for such a big job, consider Aberllefenni. Almost all the houses in this Welsh village (16, to be precise) are for sale as one lot, with a current all-in asking price of £1.15 million.

“The process is very much the same as any other sale, but you’ve just got more properties in one block,” says estate agent Dafydd Hardy, who is overseeing the sale of the tenanted homes, built for workers at the nearby slate mine.

“We’ve had a mix of interest: individuals, companies with property portfolios that are a bit unusual, local people as well as people from away looking at it for investment purposes, and community groups too.”

Picture-perfect: Sätra Brunn, a 320-year-old spa village in Sweden, is on the market for £6m


A bit higher end is the 320-year-old Swedish spa village of Sätra Brunn on sale for a fairly affordable £6 million.

“I believe it’s the biggest village I’ve ever seen on the market for the last 15-20 years,” says Christie’s agent Jonas Martinsson, of the picture-perfect town. “It has a daycare, a hotel, your own spring-water well, your own church and all this history.”

But, as ever, with great power comes great responsibility. Having housed a university department before being passed on to an ownership group who vowed to preserve it and support the community, there is a diverse set of interests and cultural concerns to take into account by any new owner.

“The opportunity and the problem with this village is that it has four different legs to stand on,” says Jonas. “You have a hotel, spa area, rent outs and a conference centre – and not all people who are interested want to work with all this.”

Dafydd Hardy concurs. “Aberllefenni suits someone with a conscience, in the sense that you would want to retain it as it is.”

“Would Johnny Depp want to buy it? I’m not so sure.”

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
×