Salaiola & Stadera Thoughts

(( Stadera - continued ))

Thoughts:

First and foremost in my mind is the basic fact that – unless, by some miracle,  I win big in the lottery – pretty soon I can no longer afford this house here in Lelystad. At least I can continue living here until July 2022, but anything after that is by no means certain…. Far from  it!

Selling the house and renting something else here in Holland might be an option, but I would slowly “eat up” any savings I have, leaving nothing by the time I die, most likely. (That is the way things are set up here, unfortunately). On top of that: it is bloody hard to find livable housing at affordable prices, except maybe in the least populated & - popular areas of Holland. Having ONLY the State Pension I am at their mercy. It basically is "a fraction too much to starve, but not enough to live on"...  let alone enjoy life.

                      La Dolce Vita :)

 

This year I have seen that life in Italy could be cheaper and much more enjoyable than in Holland. Take into account I “do much better” in sunnier climes (in Winter; Seasonal Affected Disorder) as long as it is not too hot, a change of course seems only logical and only a matter of time.

Heat, by the way, is very much dependent on proximity to sea and/or altitude, especially the last.






I have always liked the hills & mountains, much more so than the sea!

Over the years I have dreamed of buying & restoring an old farm(-house), but considering my age ‘that ship has sailed’…  IMHO that is no longer an realistic plan of action.

With a bit of luck I can hopefully do the following:

• Sell this house and “pocket” a decent amount of “savings” / “profit”
• Buy a plot of land
• Commission a house that will be energy-neutral or even slightly –positive
• (Do all this without a new mortgage, if at all possible!)
• Go and live “la dolce vita” at least the best part of the year.

My previous posts were already about my “explorations” into land and house…. Hence the point I need to commission a new build! And I slowwwwly came to realize that I also need to be practical / pragmatic about the location of any plot of land!

A few thousand square meters will be more than enough, but too small would limit my rights to build: the size of the plot is linked to the allowed size of the house. Too big will be too costly and too much to maintain at my age.

In Italy / Tuscany to be allowed to commission a house being built just about the only option is to buy a plot of land with an EXISTING building of some sort!

As I intend to have an energy-neutral house, or close to it, a conversion of an existing structure is not practical and not cost-efficient. That sort of dictates the choice for land with a “pile of bricks”; a ruin – or Rudere in Italian – and that is what I tried to find.

First rule of real estate is: Location, Location, LOCATION! I did/do consider the option of buying a part of the land of Hans. The advantages are obvious: friends close by, helping each other out whenever needed, helping with his ideas of “Il Rifugio” etc etc. But I would lack the views I would so much like to have. And the "seccatoio" in it's present location has no road access!

Salaiola may have the most biodiversity, that is just about ALL they have! Some 40 mostly elderly inhabitants, the nearest bus stop at the foot of the hill (2 Km away?!), no shops nearby. OTOH it has an active society organizing events and then there is the date of their celebration of the consecration of their church: September 18th! ( A sign??! )

(II) Stadera

((  ... "Dreams"  continued...   ))

Chapter VI

The project (house) now has a name, to make it tangible. When staying in Hans' place I found very old weighing scales. In Italian: 

stadera
[sta-dè-ra]s.f.

Bilancia formata da un'asta metallica graduata su cui scorre un peso costante, da un gancio per il quale deve essere tenuta al momento della pesata e da un piatto, appeso a un'estremità dell'asta, in cui va posto l'oggetto da pesare

One day *this* one will be in or at the house!

Chapter VII

A LOT has happened in the past few months, not all of it (yet) for publication. MANY of my previous premises & statements are now a thing of the past; up for discussion, re-evaluation, even an 180° about face!

Am I too old to build a house? Well....  Maybe I am not able to do the most physically demanding labor any more, that's true. However, building methods have evolved! 

Restoring an old ruin? Well.... Somehow maintaining and/or re-purposing that ruin might have been an option in my mind before..... like making it save & stable and use it to create a secluded patio?! I sure thought about that! And still do! 

But a place in the middle of nowhere? A small place, just for holiday purposes? NOT planning to live there (semi-)permanently? All these thoughts are now history: gone. 

For instance, I recently saw an advertisement listing an apartment for sale, that was located less than 750 meters from Arcidosso town center, less than 500 meters from 2 major supermarkets, less than 500 meters from the regional bus station, less than 1000 meters from the banks and ATM's, pharmacy, hardware shops, electronic shops etc etc....  It was sooo not what I was looking for.... yet it was sooo practical for all these reasons that I just had to consider the practicality of such a place versus "In the middle of nowhere"!

However, I have not yet decided for (or against) either choice, it just has opened my mind, broadened my search parameters! 

One thing that is - for now! - firmly set in my mind it this: I want to commission / build a new house, rather than buying and adapting / converting an old one! My firm goal is a place that is energy-neutral or even energy-positive. To achieve that with an old(er) building is way too expensive & complicated.... though not impossible, mind you!

I am a huge fan of all things bamboo; my living room floor is bamboo and I would like to invest in more bamboo stuff, but it has to be practical to do so.

Let me show you an example of the beauty of bamboo:
  

   

Alas, realistically, I cannot hope to have such a place! My plans are much more practical: 

a PopUp house!

But even if things like; 1 or 2 floors, 1, 2 or more bedrooms, size, heating method(s), budget... well, just about everything is up in the air, I DO know I want to use bamboo, where it's practical. Floors, doors, stairs if any, decks, shutters and window frames... the possibilities are there. So is the technology and, hopefully, the availability! Fortunately the PopUp people cater to individual's tastes' and wishes!

…  I just LOVE brooding on the potential, the work, the challenges, the headaches, the possible solutions, every last bit of it! 

To be continued!!