Chris in Santa Domenica TalaoI have written much about our magical village of Santa Domenica Talao and its warm and loving people. When we arrived there we suddenly became a part of something much bigger than ourselves and our world expanded greatly.
We were now a part of this beautiful place and part of the lives of our neighbors. We love them and we feel loved very much in return.
And this creates a bit of a double edged sword personally speaking, especially when we are so far away for so much of the time.
My Beautiful Friend NunziaWhen you love someone, you feel their joys, their wonders, their loves and their losses. You feel their pain every bit as intensely as if it were your own.
I have noticed this as I have gotten closer to our neighbors in Santa Domenica Talao. This has been a very tough year for some of our closest friends.
Santa Domenica Talao in SpringtimeAnd it takes a bit to understand all that that entails. Â We now have a sense of responsibility for each one of them and for their happiness and protection. We have a responsibility to promote our beautiful village and its people. We have a responsibility to stand up for it when someone might say something mean against it. It is a part of us and we are a part of it now and forever.
And with that knowledge is the certainty that when we lose someone, we will feel it keenly and we will grieve with the families and the loved ones left behind.
That said, we want to send our special love and care to our friends in Santa Domenica who have suffered recent losses.
Our Beautiful ChurchEven when we are in California we think of you often and always wish we could be with you, especially in the rough times.
We will be back among you soon.
XO Chris
Hello Chris
I have been living vicariously through your blog for some time and thought it appropriate to reach out and thank you. What a wonderful life you and other fellow expats appear to have in Calabria, Italy. Although, it seems like such an enormous task to pull up stakes in the States and move to a country where we don’t speak the language, I’ve just about convinced my husband to look into the possibility of relocating to Italy when we retire. As such, I would appreciate if you can recommend any other sites where I can learn more about the process, and costs, etc. I enjoyed your interview with Bonnie, and watched a rerun of the HHI episode with Michelle – do you have anymore interviews on your website that I may have overlooked?
Keep up the riveting content.
Phyllis
Hi Phyllis,
Wow! This is wonderful! I have an article I wrote about buying a property in Italy without falling into a money pit. Here is the link:
https://medium.com/@chrisellis_95280/how-to-buy-property-in-italy-without-diving-into-a-money-pit-62800a239ab7
It has some helpful tips on where you can go to do your research.
I also highly recommend the book “Buying a Home in Italy” by David Hampshire. I read it cover to cover and it gives you all kinds of great information that you might not think about on your own.
Once I determined where I wanted to be I sought out and found the online forums for that area. I got so much great inside info there that was invaluable.
I think the best way start your research is to sit down and write up your ideal scene with regard to how you want life to be. Make it as detailed as possible including things like services, medical facilities, transportation, what your house will look like, what your neighbors will be like and the overall flavor of the area you want. Make sure you include everything that is important to you.
Then you can look at the areas that align most closely with your ideal scene. This way you can avoid buying something and finding out it is not right for you.
My husband and I are putting new content up on our Super Savvy Youtube channel.There are some things you might not have seen. You can go here to see them: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJegXXNSlH-jhzfi04_rrHg
In February we are doing a series of interviews with other expats, and hopefully with our village architect and our mayor. We will discuss everything that has been happening in Santa Domenica Talao and what to look forward to in the future.
Meanwhile, you have spurred me on to write a new article! Stay tuned and please write me back with any additional questions or to let me know how it is going! I love nothing more than talking about Italy and moving there! I will do anything I can to help you.
Yours,
Chris