Disclaimer: This post is to inform my audience (mostly North Americans wondering about moving to Italy) about some of the challenges house-hunting in Italy. This post is not coming from a clueless American who wants to be coddled. It is possible to adore Italy and not adore every single thing about it. My intention is to be helpful and realistic and not to only describe a La La Land under the Tuscan sun.
Are you a North American thinking about buying property in Italy? Or just want to know what the search has been like so far, for one?
I had hoped to buy property in Italy, and not throw tons of money down the drain in rent. I’ve seen about 20 apartments/houses in the Lucca area and about 20 in Florence, and I have, for now, ceased looking.
The problem with multiple realtors
So, you’re used to the American way? Where you choose a realtor who you like, who is sympathetic to your wish list, and who you know will go to bat for you?
Be aware, if you are coming from the US, and used to going around with one realtor of your choice, who spends her time (not yours) finding a slew of properties to show you, who spends her time (not yours) setting up the appointments, and who picks you up and drives you to all of them—it is not like that in Italy. And realtors in Italy work for both the seller and the buyer, so they don’t have the commitment to you that you are used to in the US.
There is no MLS. Realtors have their territory. They represent only some properties. And they don’t seem to spend a lot of time coming up with possible places to see. So I found myself spending a hundred hours online searching properties and clicking on the “more info” button when I liked something. This resulted in an almost mind-numbing onslaught of calls coming in from realtors.
Example: after hours of searching online and requesting info (where I had to fill in a phone number) I would have to field a bunch of calls a day in Italian which my Italian can handle fine, but just to make you aware of the process, this is how the calls went:
Chandi: “Hello”
Rapid speaking realtor (RSR): “I am calling from Bla Bla Agency, you requested info about the house in Bla Bla Street and bla bla bla…”
Chandi: “Uh, hang on, street names are never given on these sites so I don’t know which the one is in Bla Bla Street.”
RSR: “It’s the apartment with the bla bla bla.”
Chandi: “The thing is, I sent at least ten requests today. I don’t know which one you are. If you could reply by email, then I’d see the link and I’d know which one we’re talking about.”
RSR: “No, I prefer to call. I can’t get to my emails.”
This same conversation happened many times a day. Each one resulted in me begging them to email me so I could have clarity.
For many reasons it was more clear by email. In order to set up many appointments for my 24 hours in Florence, I wanted to refer to emails to see what times I’d set up with each agency and I wanted to receive the street names by email, and use google maps to see where to go. I also had time by email to look up words I did not know, allowing me to have clearer communication than on the phone.
Each time it was like pulling teeth to get them to use email instead of the phone. I had sort through all the phone calls and make eight different appointments with eight different realtors.
Then, at each appointment I’d meet random man or random woman in front of a door on a street and they’d show me the apartment and then disappear.
I spent most of December and most of January, searching house-for-sale sites online—easily a hundred and fifty hours of looking in those two months, that’s just online, never mind the actual going to see the places, and trying to find someone to take care of my cat so I could make an over-night trip to Florence.
At first, over the summer and through the fall, I was looking in the Lucca area. By December I switched my focus to Florence.
What’s a Geometra and why you want one
A geometra is a specialist whose job is a combo of architect, engineer and surveyor. A geometra surveys and evaluates properties and deals with paperwork and oversees restoration. Recently I’ve met one who I feel great about. He has a kind gentle matter and explains things patiently.
He informed me that the job of the realtor in Italy (regarding the buyer) is ONLY to show the buyer a property and then get his/her commission. He clarified that I should not expect to turn to the realtor to get questions answered during the process, nor should I expect to have a sense of the realtor having my back through the process. He said that HE in fact would take on that roll, particularly because he’d be working only for me and not for the seller as well.
If you know this going in, then you will focus on getting a reputable geometra that you feel good about, and you’ll avoid being disappointed in your realtor.
The problem with kitchens
When you’re on a budget they’re awful. And even if you have $600,000 to spend on an apartment in Florence, the kitchen will be enclosed by walls with no window and the washing machine will be outside.
The world in which we’re raised shapes us and in my case, when it comes to houses, I am shaped by the concept that a kitchen is an open inviting place, and by the concept of a room dedicated to laundry. I know well that this is not the norm in Italy. And while I love hundreds of things about Italy, I will never love a windowless kitchen in a closet.
“Italians do a heck of a lot of things better than we do,” I say to the owner of the house, “but we do kitchens better.” I’m in an apartment for sale in Florence chatting with the owner. She shows me how she made an opening in the kitchen wall, creating a pass-through window to the dining area. I tell her it’s almost like an American kitchen and she surprises me by saying with enthusiasm that she loves the American style of open-plan kitchens. It’s the first time I’ve encountered this sentiment during my search.
I’m at a point where I want to run from a house I’m viewing if it has a kitchen in a closet but I refrain from saying this.
“Italians think kitchens must be hidden,” she says.
Now, a caveat here: Although she said this, and other Italians have told me this, I also have been told that once upon a time, before villas and farm houses were broken up into smaller apartments, that kitchens were large and were the center of the home.
What I have noticed for myself, as an American, is that I see kitchens as the heart of the house, a place that is inviting, and festive, with an island where guests can sit with their wine while the host prepares food.
At my budget, kitchens are pretty much in closets here in Italy.
I understand that my dream kitchen, and my dream of buying property in Italy may not “marry well” (to take a phrase from Italian) and I have to find a balance.
I view some new apartments in Florence at a high-end complex being constructed from an ex-cinema. I can’t afford it but the realtor tells me I can get a mortgage so I figure I’ll take a look, and the apartments have radiant floor heating and gardens, so I can’t resist. (After going through the winter months in a rustic countryside place with no heat except for a pellet stove, the thought of radiant floor heat, and new, air-tight construction sounds like Heaven.)
I walk into the main room, a nice big space, with large windows and a glass door and at the end of it, opening to the garden. But at the back of this room where there are no windows; is the kitchen with walls around it. All closed in.
The problem with rote repetition
I notice, in this modern apartment, that there’s enough space to figure into the plan at least a closet for the washing machine; (I’ve never seen a room dedicated to laundry in Italy and do not expect to,) and so I’m surprised to see that the washing machine is outside. I ask the realtor about it.
“We think that’s where washing machines go. If they’re not under the kitchen counter, they are outside.”
But lets think out the box. I want to say. Why stick the washing machine outside by default when with a bit of creativity and thoughtfulness, a space inside for it could have been planned?
This place got big points in my book for radiant floor heating. Other “new build” places I have seen still stick radiators on the walls like they’ve done for a hundred years, even though radiant floor heat lowers the heating bills and frees up space so that furniture is not competing for wall space with radiators.
But this apartment comes to $600,000 in dollars and for that much, my kitchen would be windowless and hidden, and my washing machine would be outside.
I look at another apartment with a different realtor. It’s in the historic center of Florence so of course the building is ancient. He walks me into a construction zone of a dark ground floor apartment which has been gutted. The floors are damp dirt, and in the tiny rooms the ancient stone walls are oozing wet grout. He shows me the room where the kitchen will be. The edge of this area has a nice opening onto a tiny garden. Some sun would come in here, making it a great place for the kitchen, with a window, that would get the only possible light in the whole place, and with a view of the garden.
But the kitchen is being created in a windowless room at the back. Yet again, by default, the kitchen goes into a closet without considering that it might be nicer to put it near the light. My heart sinks.
In the muddy trench of the floor are some workers. I ask if them, and the realtor, if they’ve considered radiant floor heating.
“Oh no,” they reply. “We’re putting in radiators.”
“It is something worth considering when you’re at this stage,” I say. “It lowers the heating bills.”
“Oh, we’re very behind you Americans,” one of them says.
“Well the Swedes all do it. They’ve been doing it for ages. So it is here in Europe.”
“Oh but we’re afraid of it,” the realtor says.
“Honestly, if you tried it, you’d love it. It’s fantastic,” I say.
It seems with these workers and developers who remodel places, that there’s some rote repetition going on.
Italians are creative with art, food, and fashion. With kitchen and laundry rooms, not so much.
The problem with space
I tried to paint an image in words the other day for my sister, of an apartment for sale I’d viewed in Florence. I told her about the extremely steep narrow stairs going up to it.
How anyone gets furniture up there is beyond me. But even if hired movers carry the furniture up, what happens when I go away, and come back with a heavy suitcase, by myself, at 1:00am? How do I get a heavy suitcase up those stairs?
Then I tell her about the weird little mezzanine thing in the bedroom.
The narrow stairs led right into this big beam in the ceiling that you are supposed to duck under and then stay bent in half in order to somehow use this space. The space had a width of only about three feet.
The realtor crawled in and said, “this could be a child’s bedroom!”
“Huh?”
“It’s certainly useful for something!”
“It makes my back hurt just considering crawling in there,” I said, remaining on the stairs.
(The place where I herniated a disc in my back had been feeling sensitive lately. So I found this weird mezzanine extra unappealing.)
Then I told my sister how there was no cupboard/wardrobe space (which is exceedingly common) and she said as if she’d just realized it, “My God, it’s like looking for housing in New York, where people are willing to pay astronomical amounts to be in minuscule funky places!”
“Yes, exactly,” I said. And I realized that she’s never been inside an apartment in Florence. Which made me realize that some of my audience for this site may not have either, and maybe a blog post about all this is warranted.
Kathryn Daily says
Good luck! Makes me really appreciate the beautiful apartment I rented in Lucca two years ago.
Chandi Wyant says
Thanks Kathryn!
I have had much better experiences with short-term rentals than long-term ones, in Italy.
Ro says
Great post. We also encountered the same difficulties. In the end, we decided not to purchase property here until we were absolutely committed to making Italy a permanent home. The resale of any property was also a concern for us. I had it a lot easier in that there was a vacant place owned by my husband’s family. Not ideal in any way…. unnecessary walls, heinous tiles everywhere, outdated everything. we spent 7 months renovating it – a whole other experience to write about!
Chandi Wyant says
Ciao Ro, Thanks for your comment and for letting me know I’m not crazy!
Yes, I have been told/warned quite a bit that resale can be a problem, which is really a bummer to hear because I’d rather not rent forever. But to put all my savings into a house and not be able to sell it, “if” I needed to, is not a good scenario.
LORRAINE A LORUSSO says
Same here. I’ve been looking for about 2 years. Is it too much to ask for a “real” kitchen?
Chandi Wyant says
Oh my gosh, two years? I’m sorry. Where are you looking?
LORRAINE A LORUSSO says
first in Rome, then Tuscany then Umbria. Now I’m expanding my search to Abruzzo. I went to look at one place and by the time I got there, they jacked up the price! I’m so tired of real estate agents.
Chandi Wyant says
Lorraine, I completely get what you are saying and feeling. Please stay in touch and let me know how it goes.
Kay says
Check out Sicily! We bought an apartment there 5 years ago, with stunning terrace views of the Ionian Sea & a bright empty space for the kitchen. Lots of headaches later, and an opening cut into it from the living area, and we had a lovely, functioning kitchen. Is it as large as ours at home in the US? No, but the view from my large kitchen window cannot be beat. My husband and I had never even been to the town we chose before we purchased. I just googled it, took a tour of the town using Google street view, looked online at available listings in our price range, found a property that looked promising, then wandered into a local real estate agent’s office when we arrived. We didn’t speak a word of Italian, and the realtor didn’t speak a word of English. We both used Google translate with many hilarious results. The realtor was patient and kind, especially since he probably doubted we were seriously considering buying. One week later we owned our little slice of heaven. It’s the best decision we ever made.
tom torriglia says
good article. Last year, I left Lucca for Genova. It was my third time coming to Genova to live. In-between were stops in Rome, Ravenna and Lucca. I was thinking of buying something here in Genova because I wanted to have a feeling of being home. Yes, I know that home is where the heart is, but in this case, I wanted somewhere to get my mail.
Where did I start? I walked around the neighborhoods I liked and looked for for-sale signs. I went online to immobiliare.it and casa.it and stopped in at real estate places.
In the meantime, I created a facebook page called Expats in Genova as a way for us itinerants to interact and help each other. One member became my “realtor.” She’s an American realtor and works like a traditional realtor in the US does in that she works as my intermediary with other realtors.
Here’s an interesting fact you may not know. Realtors in Italy work for both the buyers and sellers. So, if you see something you like (that the realtor is repping) you go in and say you want to see it. If you want to buy it you are now a client of that same realtor and he/she transacts the sale and purchase. And he/she gets double commission!
But, I digress…Anyway, my realtor’s deal was that if I looked online or in a window at something I liked, I would become her client and she would talk to the realtor on my behalf. Thus, more like an American transaction with realtors for both sides. So, the realtor wouldn’t be double dipping when it came to the commission. And she was willing to give me a break on her commission, which was very nice.
So, I started looking around as did she because she said she would hear things and I might get an opportunity to see something before it got posted online. After a couple of weeks she called to have a little heart to heart with me. She wanted to know really, truly why I wanted to buy. She asked if I really wanted to deal with taxes, all the repairs and the fact that if I wanted to sell, good luck with that! Also, I wanted to live in an area that was beyond what I could pay cash for. So, I was looking at a mutuo (mortgage). She wanted to know (and tried to put it as delicately as possible) if I really wanted to take on a mortgage at my age (64).
I’m renting.
where do I start? Same place. Walking around, online, etc.
Not only do you have to decide what you want space wise, but then there’s all this other crap. Furnished/Unfurnished? Oh, and you want unfurnished? Did I mention that in many cases you have to go to the store and buy your kitchen appliances? That’s right, many apartments don’t come with kitchen appliances (vuoto). People take them with them. So, you have to buy all that and pay to have it installed. Same goes for light fixtures. People take all their light fixtures when they move. Who does that?
And what kind of contract comes with the place? Transitorio (yours for up to 18 months, typically) prima casa (you get to establish residency-which means you can get a doctor and residency card. And, you may have to for pay for gas, water, lights, maybe garbage. Depends if you get central heat or autonomo) or seconda casa (no residency, no doctor. Typically central heat)
Let’s say you find something you want to see. You contact the realtor. You can send an email if you never want to hear from him or her or you can call or stop in. Let’s say you make contact and go to see a place. If you don’t take it on the spot, they may never show you anything else. I think the realtors get offended easily. There’s another thing. There’s no application process and calling your employer and submitting credit reports. If you want it, you express that and typically it’s on hold for you. Then, you go to the office with documentation that you can afford it. The fact that you may have a ton of money in the bank doesn’t impress them. They want to see your pay stub. Documentation that you are on Social Security seems to please them.
And what about getting into a place once you say you want it? Typically, first month’s rent, a couple months deposit and the realtor’s commission which varies. Typically, one month’s rent and possibly a tax. When I was in Lucca, the agency got one month’s rent and 22% tax.
So, let’s say you get a prima casa so that you can get a doctor (go to the ASL office) and residency (go to the commune).
For next time, folks. happy hunting.
Wynne says
Omg, just reading this (and Chandi’s post) gives me agida! I’m planning on renting a place the three months I’ll be in Italy later this year and even though it’s more expensive, I’m going the Airbnb/VRBO route. I am NOT a patient person, especially for the inanity that is Italian bureaucracy for ANYthing needing to get done.
I applaud yours and Chandi’s patience! I would have made a terrible Job. 😉
Chandi Wyant says
Ciao Tom!
Thanks so much for sharing all of this. I appreciate it and I’m sure my readers will too, who often are considering a move to Italy.
Yes, I know that the realtors in Italy work for both the buyer and seller. Yeah, the 22% agency fee is really high. It is what I’ve been quoted for places in Florence too. I have always tried to find a rental in Italy without an agency, but it’s not easy.
Tim says
Some of this is certainly true. As an American living in the deep south, i.e. Salento, for the past 4 years I’ve found there is a different approach to the use of email vs. the US. Luckily, my girlfriend is Italian and could quickly deal with phone inquiries. We purchased a house (i.e. apartment/condo) two years ago and had a good agent, though per your article she wasn’t an American-style agent. During the search I was struck by the lack of professional (or semi-professional) photos and also how the houses were never “cleaned up” for viewing. Often, of course, the homes down here have been vacant for awhile as the children are just trying to sell the property they inherited. Anyway, one quickly gets used to this, and looks beyond the mess. The houses in this area (i.e. Lecce) are very inexpensive and the beaches are beautiful. Also, the pace is slow, the cost of living is low and the people are very friendly. Oh, and we found many places with large kitchens. It’s worth considering.
Chandi Wyant says
Hi Tim, thanks for joining the discussion. An interesting topic for sure.
A year and a half ago I spent a month in Lecce with the goal of looking at properties and getting to know the area, as I realized it was more affordable than Tuscany, which is the region I’d lived in 2x in the past and the region I was attached to. When I moved to Italy last April, I ended up choosing Tuscany again, knowing it is pricey but wanting what it offers. I have a masters in Florentine Renaissance history and have loved Florence almost more than anything else in my life, since I was first there in the 80s. It is really really tough for me to give up Florence. I may have to though. And if it comes to that, I will be heart broken, but I will manage. I’ve had my heart broken before.
One thing I’ve been strongly warned about is re-sale. I have been told that if I am putting a large amount of my worldly savings into a property, I have to realize that if that property is in the countryside, it may not sell, “if” I needed to sell. I have been told that the safest best for re-sale is to buy in the historic center of a popular city. Of course this means facing high prices, or perhaps it means not buying at all. What is the word on the street about re-sale down in your area?
Tim says
Hello Chandi, regarding the ability to resell your property, I think that is always a concern and it’s no different here. However, in this area one does not have to put their life savings into buying a home. There are many properties vacant, especially outside Lecce and along either coast, i.e. the Adriatic or Ionic sea. The Adriatic side is less populated and there are many available houses (standalone) near Frigole up to Casalabate, for instance. The problem is that there are few amenities, such as stores, bars, etc., and many of those are closed in the winter. And, again, many of the houses are just vacant. But the prices are amazingly low for being so close to the sea. In the surrounding countryside you can also find houses with land that also will not require your life savings. In the city of Lecce, the prices, of course, are higher, but still low compared to the north. Tourism continues to increase here and I’m frequently amazed by the number of people in the center even in the middle of winter on weeknights. I know several people who are catering to tourists via small businesses or B&B rentals, etc., and are getting by. (There are very few, if any, available jobs in this area, so people focus on creating opportunities.) We found an amazing apartment/condo, albeit small, in a building that is only a 5-10 minute walk to the center. However, since we are one of the ground-floor units we own the very large garden/patio. It’s probably 3 times the size of our house. We did a lot of renovation, but even with those costs it was relatively inexpensive overall. Because of its proximity to the center and the large garden, we would be able to resell it. But again, if we had bought a house away from the city I would imagine it would be more difficult to sell. But we didn’t approach the purchase necessarily with that in mind as we wanted to own instead of renting, and a place that was close to a school for my girlfriend’s 12-year-old son. Anyway, I’ve grown to appreciate this area for a number of reasons over the past several years. And we have a few ideas to create some income so we may buy another property. I’m not sure if I exactly answered your question, but perhaps my limited insight helps.
Chandi Wyant says
Ciao Tim,
Basically what I have been told is that re-sale IS different in here in Italy, that the market here is not liquid like in the US and that re-sale is a much bigger concern here.
You mention lack of jobs in the south and that’s one reason I am trying to aim for Florence. Particularly because of my degree in Florentine Renaissance history, which I’d love to use. But good to hear your take on things down in Puglia!
wendy says
good article Chandi. It does make me concerned and I can’t help but say, “are you sure Florence if worth it?” I’m glad you’re getting feedback from others in different parts of Italy. I know how much Florence makes sense. But, I also know you, and aesthetics and feeling content, safe and happy in your personal space is very important. You need to think long term about whether you would really be happy day to day in a small apartment in Florence with all the sacrifices just so you can walk out and be in Florence. Some people don’t care much about their personal space, but you are not one of them and this is possibly your long term HOME space where you need to feel you enjoy being IN that space, cooking, living etc. IF you had to go to a cheaper place in Italy, you could still go to Florence frequently so you need to weigh all that up….. For example, are there towns that are still very popular where you could be a guide and lead trips maybe on the pilgrimage route and still do Air B&B for extra money ….. I think Italy is popular enough that even a more out of the way place would still work for Air B&B??? It just sounds and looks so bad in Florence from your description and pictures….
Chandi Wyant says
Hey Wendy,
Those descriptions and pictures would be the same in cities larger than Florence and in towns smaller than Florence, like Lucca where I presently am. Most apartments in most towns in Italy were built hundreds of years ago and most in my price range have not been updated and have the horribly outdated bathrooms, etc.
I agree with what you are saying that if I consider the countryside I’d have more house for my money. The problem is, I have been told for re-sale that it is very very hard to sell in the countryside and that if I want to be careful about re-sale, I should buy in the historic center of a popular city. AND, getting a driver’s license is a royal pain and I’d need a car in the countryside and as a single woman I would likely feel more isolated in the countryside. The guiding is going to happen in Florence, not in smaller towns, and taking a train into Florence to guide would be quite tiring and not necessarily reliable.
Jackie says
Great post! So true. My washing machine in Florence was outside. My kitchen in Milan was in a space the size of a closet (but it had a window!). My washing machine in one apartment in Milan was in the bathroom, in another it was in a closet. My mother in law lives in the south. When she cooks in her kitchen, her back is about three inches from the wall. There are no windows. But she doesn’t want to open it up because then people might see the mess! (As if she ever leaves it messy! :)) Now we are renting a place in Avellino… I chose it because it has a huge kitchen with a window (promptly bought an island!) and -gasp- a laundry room! It’s a tiny laundry room, but still so nice! It’s not our permanent home but it’s very nice for now! However, there are almost no real windows, just window-doors so between those and the radiators there’s practically no room for furniture along the walls. We are getting ready to start looking at houses again … already bracing myself for the tiny kitchens, bad layouts, mansardi, ugly tile floors and bathroom walls etc that are sure to be in our price range. ????
Chandi Wyant says
Hi Jackie,
Love your comment. Thanks!
Ha ha, regarding your mention of “bathroom walls” I didn’t want my post to have too long a litany, so I didn’t tackle bathrooms, but I sure know what you mean. I have seen literally the ugliest bathrooms ever during my searches for apartment rentals or for property to buy, here in Italy. How did such ugly tiles that are pepto-bismol pink or barf brown even get made in a country as artistic as Italy? Who even thought it would be a good idea to put them up three-fourths of the walls?
Kimberly Beck says
This is such an interesting article! As a Realtor in Denver Colorado, navigating our hot market with buyers and sellers, this article makes me very THANKFUL!
Wynne says
Hi Chandi – which service did you use for your short-term rentals? I REALLY want to use AirBnB (or some facsimile thereof) this Fall (Bologna or Lucca at the top of the list), but they’re a bit pricey for me this time.
TIA,
Wynne
Chandi Wyant says
I have used Trip Advisor, Booking.com and Air BnB. The first two have often been a bit cheaper. Try Italian sites like subito.it
Wynne says
Thank you! Booking.com not fruitful thus far, but I’ve barely scratched the surface there. And I never even knew that Trip Advisor listed rentals! Am familiar w/ subito.
Thanks again…much research ahead!
Thea says
I feel your pain. After an exhaustive house hunt that lasted for years (and realtors that refused to cal back, much less not send an email) I truly appreciate the American system.
With that said, this article is a reminder of why I love Milan. I’ve seen kitchens with islands and even lived in a home with a dedicated laundry room.
Chandi Wyant says
Oh wow, your house hunt lasted years? Where you primarily searching? Did you end up buying in Milan?
Yes, the Italian woman I spoke of in the post, who was enthusiastic about American kitchens, said that she was starting to see open-concept kitchens with islands in Milan. It was so nice for me to see her enthusiasm about it. Made me feel like I’m not off my rocker.
Lindsey says
Great read. I can relate to what you are talking about here.
Last year my fiance and I were looking for apartments to rent in Tuscany countryside and we can through so many crazy apartments. One of them had the toilet in the shower, literally. In others, the windows were just big enough for my cat to sit in.
The design of so many of these places was so poorly thought out. I was beginning to get anxious because we had seen so many that just weren’t comfortable. Interestingly enough we had 6 different agents and we ended up finding our perfect flat through a friend.
I have learned that word of mouth is the best way to find something good. A friend of a friend tells a co-worker who’s aunt just moved away (or more likely passed) and boom first comes first served.
It was so crazy, being a California girl myself and also a person who wants instant gratification I was totally out of my element. Luckily my husband is Italian so he knew how to handle it. But I dread the day we begin to look for a place to buy! haha…
Chandi Wyant says
Hi, yes, I prefer word of mouth for finding a rental, versus using an agent. So far, for my rentals in Italy I have managed to do that. The agency fee of a month of rent + 22% tax is very high for how little they do. Yes, a bit easier for you having an Italian husband. Luckily my Italian is good and I manage but it does get exhausting dealing with complicated things in a language that you did not grow up with.
For me it is not an “instant gratification” desire. For me it’s an enormous need to have a place that is mine, that is restful and attractive and nurturing. I have simply moved way too much. It was one thing in my twenties. I didn’t care. In my 30s I started wanting a house and I got one for the first time. But in my forties I divorced and I ended up moving 9 times in the past 6 years. (Three of those were international moves.) At this point I am simply exhausted and almost feel like I literally cannot keep dealing with moving and with renting funky places. My need to get a place of my own that will be nurturing, is like hollering at me daily!
Jennifer says
Great post! I can totally relate to requesting an email but instead are flooded with phone calls. Or worse, you ask, while on the phone to send you a photo of XYZ to your email, you provide the email address, twice. They then send 9 photos to your WhatsApp number, eliminating your data/GB for the month. Sigh.
Chandi Wyant says
Ciao Jennifer, good to hear you can relate.
sabine says
Chandi,
Just wanted to say thanks for the article and thanks for making me laugh about the crazy parts of living here. And to heck with the humorless haters on FB. Caspita! You made it clear that you love almost everything about being here and that is why you’re doing all this work! We’re looking in Florence too and I keep saying “what is with these terrible photographs? these kitchens? (in a country that adores food and cooking?!) a shower stall as skinny as a broomstick?”
I think most people from the States visit on holiday and have little idea as to what the real living and a true real estate hunt here will be like. Thanks and good luck finding a place.
Chandi Wyant says
Hey Sabine,
Yeah, I got reamed in some comments on FB. Ah well, that’s what happens when you post opinions on social media. People are very quick to be hyper critical these days.
Very true that living here is quite different from being on holiday here. Thanks for your nice comment!
Daniela says
Well written! Yes, I know the point. Its just simply one of the things, where – as an expat – you have to change some ideas about your dream country. Welcome in reality!
At the end of the day, you can solve anything, just be flexibly enough.
sameena says
Thank you for information and your good article. I like so much Italy!