Been a while, been busy and distracted but also looking for something to write about.
I have a new, possible project.
I took a package from the company at which I worked and I had all these Big Plans for what I was going to do. I’m good at plans but not always at follow through. Now it’s months later and I might have a new regular job, which means that my “work from home” that I was trying to build so that I could work from anywhere will not happen. I don’t know what I was doing since July but I frittered that time away pretty badly.
One of the things on which I’ve been wasting my times is videos of real estate for rich people. You know the ones on YouTube: apartments in billionaires’ row, upscale townhomes, etc. This was balanced by videos of houses local to me so I could see the inside of the homes I see when I go for a walk. Then, because I was recently in Rome, I started watching Italian real estate videos and Suddenly Realized, “Hey, normal people also need to buy homes,” and then I remembered the €1 homes in Italy. I thought, hey, I have €1 as well as a certain amount of money from the buyout. If I’m working full time, I can use that buyout to pay for renovations on one of the €1 houses!
I’d read an article a while back about very inexpensive old buildings that the Italian government was selling for development into tourist areas to try to alleviate the pressure on the main locations like Rome and Venice. I saw an old monastery and thought that would be interesting to turn into a meditation retreat. Monks’ cells would be perfect for those who are seeking a space where they can be alone and meditate. There would also be larger areas if people wanted to meditate with others. I figured turning off the wifi for a few hours every day would be the thing to do. I don’t remember anymore where I saw it so I am sorry if I am taking someone’s saying but it stuck with me: The internet used to be an escape from reality. Now reality is an escape from the internet. Personally I am able to waste a lot of time reading about terrible relatives and “karens” on Reddit and would like to stop. Anyhoo, those places offered by the Italian government were more like leases because after 10 years (for most) or 90 (I think, for some), the property would go back to Italy. Anyone who is going to invest in creating a tourism property probably wants to keep it for more than 10 years. So, I put that aside.
The other €1 places are not lease types but do have some restrictions to prevent people from just buying a building and leaving it empty. There are apparently millions of abandoned homes in Italy due to a stagnant economy. Apparently, young white collar workers make around €1000/month and that’s not enough to live on. I met an Italian who had recently moved to Canada and I asked him why he moved because, honestly, not a lot of Europeans migrating to North America these days. He said Italy is a great place to retire but not to work so his plan is to work in Canada and then retire back to Italy. So basically, the only people who can afford to live in Italy now are those who can afford not to work. That’s why there are all these abandoned houses.
So, I thought, hey, I could buy one of these €1 houses and renovate it. I thought about where I’d want it and my favourite part of Italy is Sardinia. If you don’t know, it’s an island directly south of Corsica, west of Sicily. I went there by accident on a cruise that was rerouted as the original destination was in North Africa the day after the Benghazi incident. For some reason, I had always wanted to visit, ever since I was a kid – maybe because I liked sardines?
My thinking was that, if I was working full time, I could use the buyout to pay for renovations, but then I wouldn’t be able to be there for the renovations. My mom is retired and when she needs to understand things or get things done, she Will Not Let Things Go. Sometimes that’s annoying, but for renovations, this behaviour would work in my favour. I asked her if, all things being equal and on the up and up, etc., would she be willing to go to Sardinia and stay in a place while it is being renovated. It took some conversation about how things could go wrong, followed up by my repeating “all things being equal and on the up and up” and she agreed. She’s even excited!
Another place where I have wasted significant time (and by “waste” I mean there were other things I could have been doing but I did enjoy the time wasters) was watch HGTV. I love the House Hunters and renovation shows. I even like Tiny Living but more for storage ideas because I have too much stuff I do not want to lose so would likely never live tiny. I know that some of the shows like a little conflict, usually between the purchasers, and particularly the House Hunters one. I thought they might like a show about a middle aged woman and her senior mother renovating €1 houses. I’m sure we could muster up some conflict!
I went to the HGTV site. Apparently, they do not take proposals from individuals, only producers or production companies.
I wrote to a friend I met in Thailand who is now a producer on kind of a Big Name TV show but he was not interested nor did he know anyone who might be.
I wrote to just about everyone I know, not just the Entertainment Types because you never know who might know someone. A couple of friends said they’d reach out to Some People but it’s the holiday season so I’m leaving it for a few days.
Not sure how this will pan out, but I’m going to take it as far as I can.
GoldenRationalism 