Meet the family who ditched the 9-5 for an alpaca farm
“We’re so much happier… we’ve never looked back”
A UK couple and their teenage son say they are ‘so much happier’ after leaving the 9-5 hustle and bustle to run an alpaca farm in the west of Ireland.
Ruth Newton and her husband Stewart moved to Ireland leaving behind their jobs, home and life in the north-east of England in 2017.
With their teenage son Charlie they have designed a completely different live for themselves and say they have never looked back.
The move meant leaving behind their jobs as mental health nurses, Ruth told Independent.ie.
“It was very stressful. It got too much, it was difficult to find the work life balance. As a family we knew something had to change,” she said.
“We thought to ourselves, if we won the lotto, what would we do? We didn't win the lotto, but we all decided we wanted to live in the country with animals.”
Alpacas from Curraghduff Farm
The family settled on Curraghduff Farm in Galway, and now offer an ‘alpaca experience’, where visitors can do a meet and greet with the animals and take them for walks.
Each of the eight alpacas on the farm has a name, including four named after characters from the hit TV show Peaky Blinders; Little John, Alfie, Tommy and Arthur.
Next on the agenda is to offer a farm glamping experience for holidaymakers.
"We've never looked back, we love it here. Everyone is so friendly and the community has welcomed us with open arms, it’s a much better lifestyle,” Ruth said.
"We've got less money but we're much happier, that’s what so brilliant."
To find out more about Ruth’s Alpaca Farm visit the Facebook page @alpacaglampingfarm
Nicola Conville has worked as a journalist and editor for more than 20 years across a wide range of print and online publications. Her areas of expertise are parenting, health and travel. She has two children; Lucy, age eight, and Nathan, age five.
