New house!!!

Today is the day... And I think back at last year...

One year ago, I spent three months in search for an apartment to buy in Venice city center. My wife's family house -a big, old, beautiful historical house in campo S.Margherita, with a portal of the 14th century (see picture on the right)- had just been sold for a hefty sum, and we finally had the money to buy a house of our own. We needed at least 1300 sq. feet, three bedrooms, two baths, and since in Venice you walk, it had to be not far from Piazzale Roma (where our car is parked) and the train Station, to allow for quick escapes on weekends and faster daily commutes to Padova. On the map below, the green dot is where we live now, the red dot is the location of the new house.

Prices in Venice are obnoxious. Hard to find anything for less than 650$ per square foot. So the search had to be accurate. Also, there is not much in the market with the characteristics listed above... But I did my job thoroughly, and after three months I had seen 21 apartments, and narrowed it down to four possible purchases. In the end, we got lucky, since the one we really wanted was a bit too pricey for us but we were given help by my mother-in-law. We ended up buying the most expensive one, which fulfilled all of our requests: 1500 sq.ft., four bedrooms, a nice setting on third and fourth (and last) floor, and a 300 ft. terrace thrown in to boot. The net price: 900,000 US$, to which one must add 3% taxes and 2% fees.

That figure gives me goose bumps and three main feelings. Thinking that to earn that sum with my current salary I should keep working for fifty years is just one of the sensations I get. Another is joy for the luck we had to actually have that money to throw at one of the most important purchases of one's life. The last one is rage for the incredible price housing in Venice has achieved, due to "selling out" the town to wealthy foreigners, kicking out most originary citizens to the dull periphery inland.

So, today I am getting the keys of the house. This is unfortunately not the end of the story: although it is in almost perfect conditions, we decided we will remodel it. It came in steps: at first there was this corridor Mariarosa did not like. Then we realized it would be nice to have an open-space livingroom, which could be achieved by taking down a part of a wall. Then the main bathroom seemed a bit smallish... In the end, little will be left standing as it was! A friend of mine made blueprints for the new main floor (the upper floor will luckily need no remodeling!). So we are looking at 6 more months of pain and some 130,000 US$ more!

But today is the day no less. After ten months spent dealing with the seller, who gave us quite some trouble and procrastinated his leave, we finally can set foot on our new property!   

Comments

[Elizabeth Clements]

Have you ever seen Mr. Blandings Builds His Dreamhouse? It's this classic Carey Grant movie from the 50s. It is the perfect movie to watch whenever you move into a new house and especially when you do any kind of remodeling.

Elizabeth

[Tommaso Dorigo]

I am afraid I haven't... Should I ? If I read between the lines of your comment, maybe I shouldn't! All kinds of scary things may happen when you take down walls and dig floors. Especially in old houses (well, mine is a building built in the twenties).
T.

[Jeff Booth]

Ciao Tommaso,

I just discovered your blog while watching the Beyond einstein live webcast and really wish I'd found your blog a year a go when it started! I lived in Venice for most of the last few years (I'm American, married to an Italian who teaches at Ca'Foscari) and spetn an inordinate amount of time at Cafe Rosso in C.S. Margherita. Would have really enjoyed meeting another physicist in the neighborhood. PLUS -- I had a visiting researcher position with CISAS through the Astronomy department in Padova, so was there very frequently! I can't believe we didn't meet in a way... Anyway, now we split time between Los Angeles and Venice these days. I'll be back in Venice visiting my wife every few weeks starting in January again (I know, I know... classic 2-Body problem...) Anyway, if you get this message.. forse ci incontriamo per un ombra? ciao