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??! )