I am a dual citizen of both France and Australia. I lived in Australia my adult life, before emigrating to France 10 years ago. Finding meaningful, reasonably paid work in France has been a challenge. Recently I trained & now work as a french patissier, which I really love. I also trained as an English language teacher in France, but they should've told me...there's no demand for English learning by the French. I also trained in import/export procedures, but in France, it's difficult to find work in that field, too.
I am in my mid-50s and do not receive income from pensions or investments. I also tertiary educational qualifications in marketing and business (from Australia).
I am considering relocating to Croatia, inland from Zadar. I visited the Dalmation coast last autumn and I loved it, but it was too crowded. I'm looking a bit further inland and found some villages/regions that interest me. I am considering doing either agriculture and/or rural tourism. Mostly these two go well together (in France they do) and was wondering if anyone had done anything like this in Croatia?
Some ideas that crossed my mind were a couple of guest houses on constructible land (with an adjoining agricultural component), near a tourist village or similar. Or maybe one house with a few lettable rooms, for short term letting. I'm not keen on renovating and noticed the considerable quantity of half-finished "looking" houses on the Dalmatia (which appear to be livable inside). I also don't like the extreme heat and crowding in summer.
On the agricultural side, I was thinking growing fruit trees (nut trees/ stonefruits/strawberries), horticulture (creation and sale of small plants), and/or mushrooms (in tunnels). Or any other fruit that is grown there. Not sure how developed that side of the market is, or if even opportunity exists.
Other than being careful and doing correct property background searches, I was wondering if anyone can give me any advice regarding my project? Obviously, I need to produce an income, as I don't speak Croatian and doubt that I would get a job in with my french or english language skills.
So I'd have to buy land, build, establish an orchard or tunnels or similar. I also want my own water source (either from a river or bore water).
Are there other expats on this forum who have done something like this? This sort of thing is done alot in France (and plus, they eat really well there), but not in Australia (where everyone is busy driving up house prices....which is very sad for the next generation).
Alternatively, I could consider buying a farm and/or rural guesthouse. Any websites where I could find business listings? (And I will request verification of any information, especially financial... I don't trust meaningless numbers on paper). Not sure if I trust auditors either.
Anyway, I'm dreaming a little, I may not be able to do all of the above, but am putting my feelers out there for information and contacts.
I could also teach my newly learnt skills of french patisserie and/or import/export, but these fields take months to master, and can't be done online. I wonder are there young people who may be interested in learning these skills, let alone jobs for such persons? In France, the government pays for this sort of job training, directly to the school.
Thank you for taking the time to read. 
