Looking for a Career

At some point my wife and I want to own some land. We live in the city, but at some point I’m thinking of moving somewhere rural. Personally I grew up in the country until I became older. I love the country, but one concern of mine is the job market is very limited. It’s either trades or factory work for me.  I’ve done the trades in various fields and hate it with a passion.

I’m done working with assholes and drug addicts all day that don’t care about safety. That being said I need a career with flexibility. I considered a park ranger, but they don’t make jack squat. The only 2 option I’ve come up with is park maintenance or starting a business. I currently work in apartment maintenance, which I love, but that’s not really an option in rural areas (also from personal experience). My question for people who own land in the country, what do you do for work? And for someone who loves being outdoors and nature what options do I have?

Personally I run a little rural convenience store, my husband repairs and services classic landrovers (and does most of the shop admin.).

As well as normal support industries (teaching, nursing, driving) we have many jobs locally associated to the high number of second homes; so cleaners, garden maintenance, building work, as well as other tourist related jobs (hotels, restaurants and shops). There are a few who appear to make a living through odd jobs on the farms - helping out with gathering, lambing, shearing, and more who work remotely  - having a good internet connection is vital for this of course.

It's actually one of the questions we get asked a lot in the shop 'what do people do here?' I tell them we have a lot of midge farmers The answer is much as they do elsewhere. We just don't have a big employer handing out a career ladder, mostly people are self employed or work for the government. Actually most are retired...