Moving abroad inspired by travels

            In the 2003 film Under the Tuscan Sun, a San Francisco-based writer, depressed after a rough divorce, visits the Tuscany region of Italy and on impulse buys a villa. The movie follows Frances Mayes, played by Diane Lane, as she adjusts to life in Italy and—of course—finds new love. Filmed on location, the movie holds up well 21 years later and leaves the viewer thinking about moving to Italy, or some other inviting locale overseas. But do Americans really do something like this?

            Yes, all the time, and so do residents of other countries. CNN recently told the stories of two couples, one Australian and the other American, who have relocated to Italy after being captivated by the country’s charms (and its lower healthcare costs).

            Kelly and Jess Galloway of Australia were married for 18 years before an amicable divorce in 2013. They remained friends and sometimes traveled together. When Kelly visited Italy for the first time in 2018, she fell in love with the country. Excited about moving there, she asked Jess to come along. Within a year, she’d put her Melbourne-area home on the market and made a downpayment on a palazzo, a large Italian residence, in the village of Stimigliatto in the central region of Lazio. Over a century old, the 5400-square-foot mansion sold for $132,700. The couple-that’s-not-exactly-a-couple moved in and began renovations, doing most of the work themselves at a cost of about $50,000 to date.

            One challenge the Galloways faced in moving to Italy was the visa requirements. Non-EU citizens must get an Elective Residency Visa, which allows them to stay in the country as long as they have a passive (non-work) income of about $40,000 a year. That has proven to be more of a hitch to the American couple CNN profiled, Chris and Jennifer Tidroski from Prescott, Ariz. In search of a slower-paced and cheaper lifestyle, the couple, who are both osteopaths, bought a 1400-square-foot home in the historical district of the village of Latronico, in the southern Italian region of Basilicata, for only about $27,000. Like the Australians, the Tidroskis have put about $50,000 into renovations and they’re not done yet. They brought their 7-year-old daughter, Lidia, along.

            How did they find out about the property? They saw it listed online in 2021. The village has a website, Your House in Latronico, designed to help property owners meet prospective buyers, especially non-Italians interested in emigrating. Many Americans do so because of family history, like Chris Tidroski, whose great-grandfather grew up in a nearby village before coming to the U.S. around 1900.

            The couple is still working on obtaining visas which would allow them to permanently relocate. They don’t meet the income requirements for an ESV, which means they can stay in Italy for only 90 days within a six-month span. They’re also finding the renovations to be a slow go, as contractors and workers are hard to find. The Italian government subsidizes homeowners up to 110% for “green” upgrades, which has triggered a renovation frenzy across the country. But they’re hanging in there. Like the Galloways from Australia, the Tidroskis enjoy the laid-back, friendly atmosphere of their small Italian towns, the lower healthcare costs, and in the Americans’ case, what they see is a much calmer political atmosphere.

            The great majority of our clients are perfectly content to stay right here in the good old U.S.A., although my husband told me that if we absolutely had to move to Europe, he’d prefer the Black Forest region of southern Germany, near where he was born. My response? Wisconsin is where we are, and where we’ll stay!

            Interested in getting out there to a place that might tempt you to move? Give us a call, and we’ll help you out!