Moving In

Happy 6 month Birthday to Finn!  This was a photo shoot we had 4 days before we left!  He wasn't a fan...

We've lived in Bologna for 11 days.  And several friends have asked how it feels!  Well, honestly, to me, it feels like we've moved home, to a place that's just been waiting for us.

We don't have a home yet.  We don't know the language.  We're just making friends.  But truly, the Lord was preparing our hearts for here long before we knew it.  I'm not anticipating endless days of rosiness, but there is an overwhelming comfort in being content in the Lord and not a situation.

Ann Bennett Photography did an awesome job for us!  She typically does Senior Portraits if you're in the market.

On the apartment front, we maaaay have an apartment.  And its wonderful in every way.  But I'm hiding all the details for our mini episode of House Hunter International we'll be filming for you!  I can't allude to our choice!  Enjoy the suspense....

Apartment hunting in Bologna is a treacherous road.  We were warned before our arrival of the difficulties in finding a place and nailing down the details.

For those unfamiliar with overseas living, particularly in Italy, apartments are usually owned by a landlord.  There aren't complexes or areas of apartments, because for the most part everyone lives in an apartment.  And sometimes a landlord will own the building, or several buildings.  But many times, the landlord may just own the apartment that you're looking at, and your neighbors could actually own the apartment that they're living in.  To handle all the sticky details of the apartment, landlords hire agencies to conduct the renting process, interact with renters, and manage the property.

So in order to see an apartment, you get in touch with an agent. And then in order to rent the apartment, you negotiate a contract and then work to pay all of the 'closing costs'.  Most landlords wants 1-3 or even up to 6 months deposit on the apartment.  The agents want 10% of the years rent, and the government then wants 21% of that figure for themselves.  The government also wants a percentage of the deposit.  And then there are condominium fees that the residents of each building pay for stair cleaning and hallway lights, and potentially communal heat.  For the pretty penny it costs to actually move into a place, you would expect upstanding management.  But its normal here for the renter to pay for repairs and upkeep of the apartment, not the landlord.

This is quite a change from our housing costs in Tulsa, historically one of the most inexpensive places to live in the US...

Ah, but God provides.  And its neat to be front row during the process.  From what we've heard, its rather remarkable that we even found a potential place within 6 days of arriving.

We've been so grateful to have been hosted by 2 families for the past 2.5 months, but we're rather excited to get back to our own space.

Here's a preview of our mini HHI episode.  These are pics from several apartments we've seen...