When we planned our move to Italy we knew we wouldn’t have enough money to
renovate everything at once, but we hoped to do it in 5 years. To be able to
earn money as soon as possible we started with the guest accommodations, then
we built the outdoor kitchen and terraces for them, next phase “the wall” for
our privacy and our living room. We created a temporary bathroom and put our
bed in a small bedroom where the walls were already finished but there wasn’t even
a floor. We stumbled over the water and electricity cables to get to the
bathroom.
5 years passed faster than expected and it was clear we had no idea how we
would gather the money to finish our house. Luckily there was so much to enjoy
about life on our Italian hill and most of the time we were able to just ignore
our worries about this.
I must confess there were days I just wanted to throw the towel in the
ring, put our house up for sale and just leave, there was even a period Nicolas
started dreaming about a life on the road, in a camper… until I showed him the
inside of one ?
mde
Luckily we persevered, and in the end it was the combination of the income
from the guest accommodations and our real estate business that made us able to
finish everything, but only after 10 years instead of the 5 we had foreseen.
You can’t imagine how many times I walk around in my house, proud as a
peacock. Our patience has been tested, but maybe that’s a good thing, as
patience is a skill you need a lot in Italy
