Before coming to Sigonella, we were told we would have to live in base housing. Base housing here is pretty nice, but also kind of small. We were told we would be given a four bedroom that is about 1500 square feet. Since we thought that was our only option, we downsized a lot and prepared our big family for some cozy living. Once we got here, though, we were told that all four bedrooms on base are full. They offered us an even smaller three bedroom until the four became available, or we could choose the opportunity to live out in town. Since we had such a great experience living out in town in Japan, Nathan and I were super excited to get the chance to do that again.
Since I'm still in quarantine, Nathan has taken the lead on looking at houses. There are a few websites we go through and pick the houses we'd like to see. Nathan is then taken to them by an agent or can meet an agent there to see the homes. I'm so jealous that he gets to do this and see the neighborhoods as well.
Luckily, there are five buses that go out in town to pick up the American kids that live off base. Sigonella base isn't in an Italian town, so the choices of homes are anywhere from 10 to 50 minutes away. We use this bus route map to see what the potential towns are we could live in.
There have been some really good options that Nathan has gone to see. He makes a video tour of each house to show me and the kids. So far, he's seen some houses that are big (3,600 sqft!), some that have a pool, some in nice neighborhoods, some with a separate in-law unit (yay for visitors!), and some with great yards. We have yet to find a house that has a few of those things happening together, so the search continues.
Some interesting things about Italian houses we have learned are that most have all tile flooring throughout, most have two kitchens with one in the basement, not many have closets in any bedrooms, and bike and kid friendly neighborhoods with parks are rare. We've also learned that there are different names for the type of housing. Apartment and duplex mean the same things as in the States, but house means that it is large but attached to another house. A stand alone house in Italy is called a villa. So, our goal is to find a nice villa to call home for the next three years.
Here are a few of the different places we have looked at.
Here is a waterfront apartment with GREAT views! It is only three bedrooms though so we think our family is a bit big for it. We could just all huddle on the patio and look at the water for three years, right?!?
This home is in a touristy town and has a pool!
This home is down south where there is not much around it, but pretty much looks like you're at a resort. We haven't seen it because the owner is waiting to rent it to see if a million euro sale comes through... good luck with that?
This home looks like a dreamy Italian villa. Nathan will go see it next week. I'm rooting for it!
I was going to add a sample of a video tour Nathan does for each home, but the file was too large. I'll look into how to get a video on here and try it again. The videos really do help me to not feel so left out of the house hunt!
Hopefully we find a great home soon - I'll update the blog if we do. Until then, it's Navy Lodge living for us!
