Monday, May 17, 2010

Expat Experiences: Italy - Stef and Nico

Who are you?
Stef and Nico

I am Stef (male, 50 years of age, only just), married to Nico (male, almost 60), both born in The Netherlands and a couple since 1985 (prehistoric times).


Where, when and why did you move abroad?

We moved to Italy in 2008 after staying at Pavia for half a year, for reasons of study (medieval history).
In these 6 months we found our dream villa in the unknown Oltrepo Pavese region, south of Pavia, which was perfectly suited for our plan: starting a B&B vacation rental business.


What challenges did you face during the move?

Selling our own house in Holland, surviving the Italian real estate agent and trying to avoid disasters during the buying process.


Can you tell us something about your property?

We found the property via an advertisement in one of the many free magazines that circulate in Italy. It didn’t look very attractive from the photo, but price and description made it interesting. We knew the region more or less, as we had made daytrips from Pavia to explore it. The house turned out to be perfect internally and with respect to location: the panoramic view was breathtaking. The price was very reasonable. It “just” needed some restructuring to render it even better suited to tourists/guests...

Read more at http://www.expatfocus.com/expatriate-italy-experiences-stef-and-nico

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