We can’t tell you how thrilling it is to retire, sell your home and everything you own…then jump on a plane with only a suitcase of clothes, fly to Italy, and start a new life.
But, with that exhilaration also comes many challenges, not to mention culture shock…no international move is without its fair share of ups and downs…the good and the bad. We learned so many new things, but mostly we learned patience…lots of patience.
We arrived in Caramanico Terme to set up our house and get acquainted with our new surroundings. It was rainy and cold, and snow had fallen on the mountains. We arranged to stay the first 5-6 nights in a local Airbnb while we worked to get our home ready to move into.
Our newly acquired house had electricity and water but no gas. We knew when we arrived, our first obstacles would be how to stay warm, how we would cook, or have hot water for showers. The old house has always run off propane, but the propane tank out back was old and would no longer pass inspection.
After purchasing our home, we had arranged to have natural gas installed, thinking surely it would be completed by the time we arrived…silly us! Only a gas meter box had been installed outside the house, but no gas line. We were told this company was very SLOW in getting things done…It was incomprehensible that it had been over 9 months since our work order had been submitted and paid for to get gas hooked up to our house. Patience….
Thankfully, our thoughtful realtor had arranged for bottles of propane to be hooked up for us on the back terrace to run the hot water heater, the stove, and the radiators throughout the home. The problem was that each bottle lasted approximately four days at 65 euros per tank. It wasn't the best scenario, but it was the best option we had.
The fireplace in our kitchen was a huge help in keeping us warm, which we used the majority of the time to help preserve our propane. We needed firewood, but the problem was nobody had any good wood. What was being sold was green and very EXPENSIVE, thanks to the war in Ukraine. Andy did a lot of brush clearing on our land and found enough wood to keep us going for a while. He also broke up some old tables and chairs he found in the cellar to burn when one day, our neighbor came to the rescue. His nephew’s brother-in-law’s cousin, or something like that, had a firewood business. A new crop had just been cut, and they delivered it right to our door. It was somewhat still green and damp, but we laid it out all over our cantina to help speed up the drying process.
Miss Anna, who we bought the house from, knew we were coming with nothing and insisted on leaving her family’s furniture for us; therefore, our house came fully furnished straight out of the 1960s. I’m pretty sure the mattresses were from that era, too.
Consequently, our first order of business was to find a new mattress. On one of our visits to Caramanico, we stayed at the lovely Hotel Cercone and remembered sleeping really well on the bed there. We contacted the hotel owner and asked where to find that exact mattress. He put us in touch with his “hotel supply guy,” and the next day, a brand new mattress was delivered to our house…wow, what service! He even included a set of sheets and memory foam pillows!
We still needed bedding, kitchen necessities for cooking, towels for showering, and everyday necessities. It was time for an IKEA trip! We were ready to move in now. We had a cozy bed with a big comfy down blanket, a coffee maker, a somewhat functional kitchen, and a makeshift shower and towels.
Next, we made our first run to the local grocery store for cleaning supplies. We’d been to an Italian grocery before but only for snacks, drinks, or breakfast foods while on vacation. Now, it was different. So many choices, and all in Italian...and so many questions. Which dish soap is similar to Dawn, and I wonder which clothes soap and floor cleaner is best? Is there anything like 409? What about toilet or window cleansers? Google and my translator became my best friends. With a basket full of cleaners and supplies, it was time to get to work.
But first, food...one of our favorite meals from La Noce here in Caramanico is gnocchi al tartufo e arrosticini, accompanied by salad and house wine.
Room by room, we cleaned top to bottom. We accumulated bags and bags of unwanted items, trash, and 5 old mattresses. Our next hurdle was what to do with it all. In Italy, everything is recycled, and there’s no dump. You can’t just set it all out on the curb and expect it to go away like back home.
We learned that you must call and schedule a pickup appointment to get rid of bulky throw-aways. You are only allowed to discard two items at a time, and you put them outside your home the night before your scheduled appointment. We were going to need a lot of appointments.
Sounded easy enough. We put two old mattresses out in front of the house before we went to bed. The next morning, they were still there. We had to be gone most of that day running errands and thought maybe they’d still come at some point. When we returned that evening, they were still there. Then it rained…
We called to inquire why our items weren’t being picked up, and they rescheduled us again two weeks out. And again, they didn’t pick them up…wtf? We were having the same issue with our garbage pickup. Each time we set it out, it was still there the following day. The garbage guys come through at any and all hours during the night to pick up trash; therefore, it wasn’t easy to find them to say, “Hey, we live here now…please pick up our trash!”
So, Andy started setting it out on the street just above us, and low and behold, our pails were being emptied. We dragged the mattresses up there too, and they disappeared. We’re still working on this issue….patience.
We also managed to renovate part of our kitchen, experienced our first Italian Christmas, took our first hike in the Maiella National Park just outside our back door, visited some amazing wineries, and went on an amazing food tour in Pescara. We’ll share all this with you next time, as well as how exciting it is to shop in Italian grocery stores! A presto! Ciao!