We Googled ‘ cheapest house in Piedmont ’ and ended up buying it for a song ; this story has actually circulated through the valley and often gets repeated back to us .
HW : What else have you done – and is there any connection between then and now ? We bought our first house back in 1999 for 50k , and the bank manager thought I wanted the loan to buy a car . This was the first of many houses that we bought , renovated and then sold for a profit including a previous one in Italy when the kids were one and three ( we lived in Italy for two years that time before returning to Australia ).
Neither of us wanted to work a ‘ normal job ’ and renovating was in our blood ( Sam ’ s family built their own home and I grew up with a mum who loved to renovate ). Both of us had many moves as children so the idea of moving country held no worries for us .
HW : What has been the most difficult transition in your life ? How have you managed that ? Leaving a beach lifestyle in Queensland where we were easily able to renovate and sell houses to create income for an unknown future in Italy with no income was a stressful time for us . In Australia we had a network ; we had a system and a proven way for us to make money .
We left all that behind ; with the sale of our last renovation in Australia we had a limited amount as a safety net for Italy , and after that we literally had no money . This caused us to think on our feet , forcing us to create opportunities rather than waiting for them .
" We still have to think outside the box to get by . I see our time here as a long-term investment in our family and we live a very simple lifestyle ."
Our second year here we created an apartment within our property to give us a little income . We were also featured on House Hunters International and along with the readers of the blog , the viewers of the program kept us booked out .
We still have to think outside the box to get by . I see our time here as a long-term investment in our family and we live a very simple lifestyle , growing our own food and making do with what we have .
We really are living a very uncomplicated life in the mountains of Italy .
HW : What has worked for you during transition and reinvention that you can share to help others ?
My husband and I are total opposites ; he is super organised , always thinking outside the box and loves nothing better than to be cooking a big meal for friends to enjoy . I am far more relaxed and don ’ t really stress about the multitude of rules and regulations here in Italy , apart from when they impact on our children .
So having this odd balance in our relationship has worked for us – most of our friends and family never thought we ’ d last . Even through our worst times I have always known that things will work out , forgiving , creating and then recreating our life together with that end goal always in mind .
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