21 March 2009

Life is good...Living is hard

In the next few days we will be leaving the Cilento area as the vacation house we have been staying in will be having some repair work done inside in preparation for the first guests in April. We are grateful to our friends who have allowed us to stay here since the end of January as it has given us the opportunity to see many new places in this area. My sister and her husband will be arriving in Rome and we will be doing some touring with them for two weeks. After that…boh!

It was three years ago in May that we arrived in Italy after more than a year of planning, selling our house, quitting my job of sixteen years and struggling with the Italian consulates. That process required a lot of perseverance, and prayer as there were times we did not know if we would be able to obtain our visas. Now, after three years of meeting wonderful new people, seeing interesting places and tasting wonderful foods we will need to leave Italy, temporally. Our ability to generate enough income in this financial environment to support ourselves has been unsuccessful, il nostro sacco di soldi รจ vuoto, our sack of money is empty.

We fully enjoy Italy; life is good here and fits the type of lifestyle we seek. Small family operated shops to buy your everyday needs, beautiful architecture, deep history, friendly people, a slower pace of life and the cuisine. However, living in Italy can be hard since obtaining the proper work permits for working here is very difficult, the business environment for entrepreneurs can be restrictive and the bureaucracy is daunting at times. We realize the financial situation in the US is much different than when we left in 2006 but there are more opportunities with our citizenship and past work experience.

We view leaving Italy as a temporary situation. Our desire is to return here for more than just visits. We now know a lot more about life in Italy and what we need to live here permanently. When we left the US our plan had been to come here for one year and see what it was like to live in Italy, we extended that to three years and enjoyed it immensely.

In a few months we will be off to America and a new adventure!

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow-I thought you might be heading back to Ascoli Piceno. It must have been a big decision, but it sounds like you'll be back in Italy again. Will you go back to NM? Best of luck!

Barbara said...

Of course we understand your mixed feelings completely! I'm so glad that you've been able to extend your intial one year into three, and know that you WILL be back - not as tourists, but as people who know and love Italy intimately. Best of luck, and keep us posted.

Anonymous said...

Bryan and Valerie, reading between the lines over the last few months, I've been anticipating that you might have to face this difficult decision. I'm so sorry that you can't continue your adventure in Italy at this time, but who knows what the future might bring? The economy is bad everywhere, and difficult choices have to be made. Perhaps you can transform all your Italian experiences and language skills into some sort of travel-related occupation. Whatever the case may be, I have enjoyed both of your blogs, (as well as Valerie's columns in Gazzetta Italiana), and read them faithfully every week. I feel like you are people that I would enjoy meeting, and hope you will continue to keep us posted as your enter the next phase of your adventures.

Anonymous said...

Oh, Valerie and Bryan, I am sorry to hear this but you have certainly done so much with your dream. I know how hard it will be at first readjusting to living here. Although we were just gone a year, it was tough when our hearts longed for "there." But...there are good things here that you will enjoy and appreciate and remember here. How can we forget when we were planning our moves at the same time and lived through that frustrating process together?

I do think you will be happy to have a church congregation to call home and being able to have corporate worship again. That will be good. And now you will be able to attend some of the great ST GTG's.

Will you be returning to NM?

We'll be praying for you as you make your move and adjustments.

Texas Espresso said...

aww man - I am so sorry to hear that! I am glad to know that you haven't totally given up on Italy. We haven't either. even with an Italian national - it is hard to make a living. We've been struggling with the decision for awhile now and as of today the US will have to keep up for a bit longer.
Best of luck to you both. I look forward to reading about your adventures in the US!

Bryan said...

Thank you all...this has been a tough decision and one we have lamented over for several weeks. We hoped some business opportunities would develop while we were here in the Cilento, ma niente.

There will be more as we are still developing our plans for the next few months and once we return to the US.

Anonymous said...

You actually got to live the dream! Not just yours but that of so many others. So many people say I would love to go live in (insert country name) but you two actually did it. Kudos to you both!

erin said...

wow! this is big news! I wish you guys the best in whatever is next...and I'm sure you'll make it back to Italy again.

Bryan said...

Steve - Many people said that before we arrived and since we have been here, we will cherish this experience.

An experience we plan to continue.

Italian lover said...

Your life has changed forever!I have enjoyed reading your blog and following your ventures. God will be with you. You'll be back. We keep coming back- it is a draw I can't explain, an itch I can't reach!

Bryan said...

I enjoy knowing that others have found our experience helpful in their desire to move to Italy or just to know what life in Italy is really like for an expat.