Sunday, January 25, 2009

A Tale of Two Homes

Just a lazy Sunday here in Italy, Sean and I are at the USO using the computers since the library is closed on Sundays here. Always closed when I need to find a good book. Isn't that the way it goes?

I did however want to update all of you on our housing tours the other day.

First up was the pink house, which in reality isn't as pink in person as the pictures make it seem. At first glance it seemed great. I mean, a whole entire house to ourselves. Just what I thought would make the perfect Italian experience.

Then we got inside.

Ok, so it wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great, it wasn't even close. For starters it's not finished. The landlords are painting, wires are sticking out of the wall, waiting for someone to finish up with that, etc.

I do love the room that it offers us. Our living room would be downstairs, where one of the bathrooms and the garage is.

Upstairs we have two larger rooms, a small area that would be great for storage and a kitchen. Boomer would even have a slip of a yard.

Then the landlords mentioned that a previous tenant had been robbed. Of course they added he never locked his doors or windows, but it gave me a bit of an uneasy feeling. I mean, reality is I'm going to be by myself for a big chunk of time while Sean is deployed and I don't want to worry about getting robbed. It's a scary thought.

So...we looked at the apartment. The rosso apartmento or red apartment. It's on the second floor, it's brand new and in a part of town where there is supposdly an excellent market. We have a locked garage, underneath our apartment building as well as a locked storage room across from it. The only thing I don't like about the place is Boomer has no yard to play in and the kitchen has nothing but a sink. Which of course the landlord said he could put in the rest of the appliances.

I think at this point we are leaning towards the apartment. We both like the house, but we think it could either turn out really great or really bad like the movie the Money Pit. Ever seen it? If not, it's a must-see.

Either way I'll be happy, there's just a lot of factors going into our decision. Personal safety is the main one for me, so in that way the apartment would be the better choice.

Oh..and in the way of travel, I'm going to stop by the ITR office on Monday to see if I can get signed up for the trip to Florence this next Sunday. It's a tour of the Ufizzi Gallery, which is supposed to be the best place in Italy to view art. I'll be uber excited if I get to go.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Moscato and Greek Yogurt made mine quite enjoyable.

13 comments:

Casey (@ Chaos and Cardboard) said...

I am glad you like the apartment. Will they show you anymore places? Don't feel like you have to settle after just two!

Florence sounds fun! You'll have to tell me all about it.

Unknown said...

I laughed so hard at the Money Pit line! :)

Good luck with your decision!

Abbie said...

If you get to Florence you have to take TONS of pictures! I hope you get to go!!

Allison said...

My biggest piece of advice...do NOT rush into your decision. We were sooo sick of living in a hotel that we basically just took the first non-awful place that we could find. A year later we ended up moving (on our own dime, of course) because we realized there were SO many WAY better places well within our OHA.

So...live in the hotel as long as you can and search high and low til you find YOUR perfect place! It's out there :)

Stephanie said...

Do not rush it!

You know we don't have a yard either. Preppy Pug gets to go to the park everyday [we can walk there], and run around for 30 minutes then walks home.

Of course I am pro-not having a yard, because I hate the idea of maintaining it :)

Good luck! There is so much fabulousness in Italy that you should take your time until you find your perfect match!

Rebecca said...

Good luck chosing your home.

Florence sounds great!

Annie said...

haha, Money Pit shout-out!

Some thing I think about in situations like this is no matter which I chose, I'll never be able to fathom what would have happened in the other place.

Personally, I'd go by whichever has a more hospitable kitchen. ;)

jlc said...

"just another lazy day here in italy" --- jealous jealous jealous!!!!!


Good luck with everything hun! Hope to hear some good news from you soon. :)

Unknown said...

personal safety is the most important factor! that's why matt and i are moving this week. if i'm going to be alone while he's deployed, i don't want to be afraid at night to walk my dog.

i hope you find a place that you like AND where you feel safe.

That Janie Girl said...

Keep posting pix on your journey to a new place to live...and like the others say, it's best to take your time.

Erin said...

"Just a lazy Sunday in Italy." I love it! The apartment sounds pretty great (with the exception of little space for boomer). I think I would definitely put personal safety first, too.

Jenny said...

Hmmm? Red or pink...mascato and Greek yogurt...ah, Italy! I hope all the housing pieces come together for you soon, so you can get settled in your new home.

Sassy Engineer said...

I hope you get to go to Florence - that sounds like so much fun!!!