House hunting

The merits of living in town are clear: access to public transportation, restaurants, shopping, and social activities. All of these mean more opportunity for immersion in our new country; more opportunity to learn Italian. So we initially focused our search around Lerici, which is a charming seaside community where we have rented a temporary apartment. We looked at numerous places on the Internet before we came here and in person after we arrived.

Here was the list of requirements I gave to the real estate agents: Minimum 80 square meters (800 square feet); preferred 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom; garden for the dogs; view of sea or countryside; high-speed Internet capable; mostly unfurnished; and full of Italian character. I'm sure the last requirement made the agents smile.

A number of factors made it difficult to find a long-term rental in Lerici. First of all, it's summer, and locals are renting their places as vacation rentals, not as long-term rentals. Second, most properties are apartments, so it's hard to find privacy and peace. Also, properties here are typically fully furnished, which is a problem since most of our household is scheduled to arrive in Italy July 13.

Even overlooking these obstacles, there's Bella and Boomer (aka Bruno). They've adapted quite well to apartment living, probably better than Jim and I. They love to hang out on the balcony and watch whatever is going on in the street. When the neighborhood dogs start howling, Bella and Boomer join in. Bella sniffs her way through town looking for dropped bits of ice cream cone or bread, and Boomer doesn't miss an opportunity to mark a strategic building corner, garbage can, or car tire. We walk with Bella and Boomer in town two or three times a day. This is not a relaxing stroll since we're constantly on alert for approaching dogs and possible altercations. (Most dogs are not neutered or spayed.) We're pulling Boomer away from things he shouldn't pee on, like store vendors' goods that are displayed in the street, and pulling Bella away from everything that has a scent, which to Bella's nose is everything. Despite the constraints of living in Lerici, the dogs are in great spirits. However, it's exhausting for Jim and me to manage them so tightly.

A few of the places in Lerici had small gardens where the dogs could have a bit of green space, but we never found anything that we could afford and that met all of our requirements, including the requirement for "Italian character," so we decided to expand our search.