Wait, what? Why?
Yeah, we're thinking about moving to Italy...seriously. In October of 2019 Scarlett and I went on a Rick Steves tour of Village Italy. We spent two weeks touring the Italian countryside in primarily Umbria and Tuscany and spending a day or two in each of several villages along the way. It was a wonderful trip, and we absolutely loved it. We particularly fell in love with a village named Orvieto, a walled town that sits perched atop a giant mound of volcanic tufa and boasts a 3,000-year history dating back to the Etruscans. It's a beautiful town, with a pleasant mix of medieval homes and newer structures that remain true to the town's original aesthetic. We were only there for a couple of days, but the longer we wandered its scenic streets, each of which seemed to end in a spectacular view of the surrounding countryside, the more we felt at home...and it got us thinking.
As much as we love our home in Virginia, along with the friends and family we have here, we kinda want to get out. While every place has its challenges, there are some things about living here of which we've grown weary and which would like to leave behind. I won't go into what all that is, but we really just want to be someplace where people are more concerned with the daily business of living a good life than they are about what Trump's tweeting, who's the latest racist/sexist pariah, or how many genders there are. Do those things exist in Italy? Sure they do, but in a setting like Orvieto it will be a lot easier not to care.
It will also be a lot cheaper than living in Virginia. There are some things that are more expensive in Europe, for sure, but our two largest expenses - namely housing and food - will be much lower. We've confirmed this by talking to someone who lives there - a retired gentleman with whom I recently became acquainted via Facebook. He gave us a lot of insight into what it's like to live as an expat in Orvieto, and we talked at length about costs and the relocation process. It turns out that living in Orvieto can be very affordable. Scarlett and I have talked a lot in the past about downsizing once our daughter is done with college, and while we could certainly do that in the U.S. it would be much more fun to do so as part of the process of starting a whole new life in a medieval Italian village.
As far as our time line goes, we're thinking at least 3 to 5 years out from now. Our daughter is still in college and has a couple years of that left, so we'll stick around for at least that long so that she has a place to live while she's in school. We'll also be debt-free within two years' time (except for the house), and we'll spend the next 2-3 years after that squirreling away as much money as we can so that we're well-prepared to pull up stakes when the time comes.
In the meantime, we'll be doing tons of research and preparation. It's likely that updates to this blog will be sparse while we figure things out over the next few years, but I'll try to keep it going as we make actual progress. I've no doubt that the process of moving to another country will bring plenty of challenges, some known and others not, but I personally look forward to figuring it all out, and I know that it will be worthwhile in the end. I hope lots of you will follow along with us on what is sure to be an adventure.
As much as we love our home in Virginia, along with the friends and family we have here, we kinda want to get out. While every place has its challenges, there are some things about living here of which we've grown weary and which would like to leave behind. I won't go into what all that is, but we really just want to be someplace where people are more concerned with the daily business of living a good life than they are about what Trump's tweeting, who's the latest racist/sexist pariah, or how many genders there are. Do those things exist in Italy? Sure they do, but in a setting like Orvieto it will be a lot easier not to care.
It will also be a lot cheaper than living in Virginia. There are some things that are more expensive in Europe, for sure, but our two largest expenses - namely housing and food - will be much lower. We've confirmed this by talking to someone who lives there - a retired gentleman with whom I recently became acquainted via Facebook. He gave us a lot of insight into what it's like to live as an expat in Orvieto, and we talked at length about costs and the relocation process. It turns out that living in Orvieto can be very affordable. Scarlett and I have talked a lot in the past about downsizing once our daughter is done with college, and while we could certainly do that in the U.S. it would be much more fun to do so as part of the process of starting a whole new life in a medieval Italian village.
As far as our time line goes, we're thinking at least 3 to 5 years out from now. Our daughter is still in college and has a couple years of that left, so we'll stick around for at least that long so that she has a place to live while she's in school. We'll also be debt-free within two years' time (except for the house), and we'll spend the next 2-3 years after that squirreling away as much money as we can so that we're well-prepared to pull up stakes when the time comes.
In the meantime, we'll be doing tons of research and preparation. It's likely that updates to this blog will be sparse while we figure things out over the next few years, but I'll try to keep it going as we make actual progress. I've no doubt that the process of moving to another country will bring plenty of challenges, some known and others not, but I personally look forward to figuring it all out, and I know that it will be worthwhile in the end. I hope lots of you will follow along with us on what is sure to be an adventure.
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