When Alexis Lamoureux heard about a troglodyte home (AKA a cave dwelling) that his great aunt used to own in France, he went to have a look.

The house/cave had been left to crumble for the last 25 years, but it didn’t put Alexis off. He snapped up the property for one euro at an auction, and then himself and his girlfriend got to work.

They had to come up with €25,000 to fund the renovations, and because no one would give them a loan, they worked for three years in his father’s restaurant and saved like hell.

That’s when the real work began: “There was no water, there was no sewer, nothing at all. We had to dig the trench hole along the path, me and my girlfriend, in order to have the water coming, the electricity and the sewer. And then we did the networks inside. We now have two bedrooms with two bathrooms [and] one kitchen, and we just recently got the Internet. It’s just like a modern house now.”

Apparently living in a troglodyte home is becoming common place in France: “It’s very hard to find a job at the moment. Regular apartments are not really affordable, especially for young guys. You can expect to get these places for very cheap. Within ten years, you won’t have any neglected anymore because everyone is starting to renovate them. Some young guys do—there is one young guy in my town doing the same—but mostly it’s investors.”

We would LOVE to live in one of these places, and if you want to experience what it’s like, Alexis and his girlfriend Lotte van Riel are renting out their second bedroom on AirBnB!

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