“You can’t buy happiness, but you can buy a house in Italy, and that’s kind of the same thing.” — Anonymous
We are in the process of looking for a house to buy, as well as an uliveto (olive grove). Even when it seems easy since there are many abandoned groves and empty houses, the reality is a bit more complicated. I am not sure if it is because owners are scared of “possible seller’s remorse” or just don’t want to sell. Another problem is that the ones that are listed for sale are, most of them, out of our budget.
We have Gustavo and Natalia, who showed us some houses, and also Antonino, who connected us with some owners to see other houses. Antonino is an architect and gave us advice about what we were looking at. After living for the last 25 years in the USA, we realized that construction here is quite different. That advice helped us, for example, to identify some asbestos roofs that, when removed, would cost over 5000 euros to dispose of properly.
Now, after looking in several different borgos, we are starting to understand the market better. One thing we quickly noticed is that many of the houses are pretty small—medieval houses were built for a very different lifestyle than today’s. Another interesting thing is that most of them don’t have bathrooms inside the house. When they were built, plumbing was not common at all (except for the upper classes), so people relied on communal latrines. Later, when waste management and plumbing became more widespread, bathrooms were added—but often on the balconies!
Bathrooms built on the balconies
When we were with the owners at the house we didn’t buy because of the asbestos removal issue, they were showing all the necessary papers (deed, etc.) to our architect friend. There were three owners plus the realtor, all talking at the same time and explaining things to our friend while he was trying to verify if everything was in order. I stood off to the side, trying to follow along and pick up on anything I could. If you didn’t know what was going on, you would have guessed that everything was wrong—no deed, no succession, a total mess! But when they finished, I pulled my friend aside and asked, “Anything wrong?” He said, “No, everything is right, the papers are good.” So why all that heated discussion? “That’s just how we communicate,” he laughed. It’s a learning process! (I will get there 🙂 )
We have one house that we like and that we might be able to get. There’s a chance the owner won’t accept our offer, but we’ll keep our fingers crossed!
Now, onto the driving experience.
Driving in Italy is “interesting.” Everybody knows that life here moves at a much slower pace than in the USA, and for many of us, that’s one of the biggest reasons to love Italy. Italians even coined the phrase Dolce far niente (the sweetness of doing nothing) and that deserve a separate post.
And it’s true… until they get behind the wheel. Then they flip a switch and suddenly start speeding, tailgating, cutting you off, parking wherever they please, and making driving a bit of a wild experience. Like I said before, after driving in the USA for so many years, I’ve become soft and gentle on the road. I’m not sure if I will keep driving like I do now for long or if I will soon become Italian behind the wheel!
This was only my second time renting a car in Italy. The first time, I paid a little too much for insurance because I didn’t know better. The second time, I was ready. I booked everything online through the company’s website, making sure to include full coverage insurance—Rome drivers are intense, and I didn’t want to take any risks.
When I arrived at the rental office about an hour early, I decided to ask if I could get the car sooner. This was the conversation:
Me: Hi, I know I am a little early, but I was wondering if I could have the car now.
Guy: Yes, sir, not a problem.
Me: Thank you!
Guy: Next time, just rent the car online without insurance, and I will add the insurance here (same price) so I can give you upgrades like early pickup without charging you extra.
Me: Ohh, I didn’t know…
Guy: No problem. Let me check how much extra I should collect.
Me: Okay…
Guy: (holding the keys) It will be 115 euros.
Me: That’s fine, I can wait. (I had paid 160 euros for the whole week, including insurance, so paying almost the same for an extra hour wasn’t worth it.)
Guy: Let me check what I can do. (He hands me the keys.)
Me: Thank you.
Guy: I can charge you just 70 euros.
Me: No way, I’ll wait.
Guy: No worries, let me check if the car is already in.
Me: (holding the keys) Okay…
Guy: Go ahead and get the car. Thank you for your business!
Sometimes, things just work out in funny ways!
Advice: Try to do everything online, At the desk they will try to “squeeze ” you with “special offers” and always be prepared to walk away if the price isn’t right!
Next time, I’ll just rent a Vespa!
That’s all for now. More updates soon!
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