I had a birthday a couple weeks ago — I called it my second Golden Birthday since I turned 62 was born in 1962. I don’t really remember my first Golden Birthday (I was 12). There are probably pictures somewhere. This time, I’d like to say my birthday week was memorable, but some parts of it, I’d like to forget.
On Sunday night, we had dinner with friends who have a house near Mt. Hood. We went to a nice restaurant and had a delicious meal and good company with our friends. Everything was fabulous: the meal, the company, the air, since we were at a higher elevation than normal. I always wish I would’ve taken photos, but remember after I’m home!
For the sake of not boring you all with details, Monday and Tuesday were so-so. There isn’t much to report. On Wednesday, I spent a bulk of the day running errands. By Wednesday afternoon, my husband and I went to Oswego Grill in Happy Valley to enjoy happy hour. At the end of the “meal,” I had a hot fudge sundae that was to die for! It was pretty epic. When we got home, I decided to show my husband pictures of homes in Sicily that were for sale. I had collected a list of “favourites” on Idealista.it (a real estate website). Please note the European spelling! There were 16 to look at. We went through each one and deleted five as projects we would not want to take on when we retire. The criteria for favourites include things such as location, proximity to an airport, property condition (with hopefully no major yardwork required), price, views, proximity to a town, and no more than 4 bedrooms.
One house, which was on my list had way too many stairs. It has beautiful views and was recently renovated with new flooring throughout, which was very nice (appeared to be mostly quartz, tile, etc.). I really couldn’t bring myself to remove it because of the interesting finishes. It also looked to be brand new and the price was right, considering the size. But then… the immediate view of the rooftops of a bunch of houses surrounding this place is the first thing you see. The ocean is visible, but the photo apparently was a zoom-out to the Mediterranean.
I am currently checking with Idealista.it to see if I can post pictures or listing on my blog. I would like to share, but when I posted a photo on a previous blog, I was contacted by an attorney who thought I was using the copyrighted photo to make money. I talked to the attorney and explained that I had no ill-intent in posting a photo that hundreds (if not thousands) of people had already posted on Facebook. Anyway, I want to be on the up-and-up and not get phone calls about posting things without permission. Apparently, Idealista did not understand my questions about my blog and sent me a bunch of news stories about where to buy in Italy. So here’s an example of what we are looking at:
https://www.idealista.it/en/immobile/30100058/
Hopefully this won’t send up any alarms!
I have a close friend who is a real estate broker. We wanted to get her take on purchasing property in Italy. She asked some questions, which I thought were very good:
- What is the cost of travel to and from your destination?
- What is the exchange rate?
- What kind of natural disasters might affect your property?
- What would happen if you had grandchildren?
- What is the political structure, taxes, economics, etc.?
- What about real estate agents in Italy?
She also offered support for our plan. It is still early, I know. But it is also good that we have time to decide. Knowledge is power in my opinion.
It is also nice to know my husband and I are on the same page. We want the same things — a place to live in Italy where we can absorb a culture, leave the rat race and retire in a beautiful place. This is a dream we share and I get excited just thinking about spending time in such a beautiful, interesting country.
To close, I am posting a photo taken in the Mediterranean on June 13, 2022 as we were going through the Messina Strait on our way to Sorrento from Sicily. It was a full moon on that warm evening and it made me sad to leave a place we had such a connection with. I know I was thinking, “I could live here.”
Ciao!
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