I pay $1,850 a month for my 3-bedroom apartment in Italy—take a look inside

In 2003, I spent a semester in L’Aquila, Italy and fell in love with the country. That experience in studies abroad changed the trajectory of my life.

Two years later, I was looking for my mastery in marketing and communications management at Bocconi University in Milan. The fashion and fast pace was kilometers from the drowsiness and neighbor L’Aquila, and the city’s nightlife actually reminded me of my hometown or Miami.

After finishing school, I knew I wanted to stay. It was the beginning of a two -decades lung, and counting, the love story with Italy. I moved here permanently in 2012 after marrying my Italian husband, Diego.

Today we live in Milan with our six -year -old son, Lorenzo. I run a company called Doing Italy to help other Americans do a home here.

We run a 3 bedroom apartment and 2 bathrooms of 1,227 square feet for approximately $ 1,850 per month. We have lived here for about three years.

We found this place when Lorenzo was three years old. The apartment had changed a lot in the last 40 years, so we put ourselves in renewal to feel more current and more like us.

In the United States, doing significant job a rent could be frowned upon. But in Italy, there are government incentives, such as tax credits, for people who renew their homes, even rolas. Our owner also gave us eight months of free rent to renew the apartment.

The renovations cost us around $ 41,000, but among government reimbursements and rental pause, we save approximately $ 33,400.

The bathroom

This bathroom is one of my favorite rooms, but requests a lot of work. We destroy it completely, change the taps and add the hexagonal mosaics, which I love. We obtained the mosaics of an adorable, friendly and familiar company in La Toscana.

The kitchen

When we got here, the kitchen had not been renewed in about 40 years, so I needed a lot of work. Real made our engines brought not only our cooking products from the old apartment, but also the appliances.

We scratch the sink and stove of our old apartment, and install them in the new place. It was a memorable transition. We also add some new cabinets and a new countertop.

We demolished the existing wall tiles, but we kept the ones on the floor. We also closed two lateral dozen that used to open in the kitchen, to give us more countertop space.

The living room

To open the habitable space, we demolish an entire wall. The living room has natural wood floors that we sand and add a lighter stain.

Since the floor in that corridor space was tiles, we got some wooden floor to better combine with the rest of the room.

The shelves, the gray sofa and the lighting accessory are some fun focal points of space.

My son’s room

The favorite part of my son of my son is the giant map that we place on one side of the wall. He loves pointing out the entire different location. I love it because it helps to unite all our worlds in one place.

Our room

One of the most important additions we did in the apartment was the air conditioning in our room. I grew up in Miami and my family is from the Caribbean, so I can handle some heat. My husband, on the other hand, not so much.

I also love our dressing table, which was handmade by my husband’s great -grandfather in the nineteenth century. I needed a little work to return it to life, so we restored it.

When we go to the market, there are many quality ingredients to choose from. Fresh and delicious products are relatively easy and accessible here. We were articles such as grass -rank eggs, milk and butter, be it farms that are just outside the city, or from the farmers market in the city.

Free time is also a serious business in Italy. A perfect example of this is the afternoon ritual and the tradition of the aperito.

As soon as the working day ends, people will stop in a coffee for a glass of wine and food for one or two hours. He is deeply deeply rooted, so much that we leave the park after school, my son says “Facciaamo a” peritive “” – Althegh does not pronounce the “A”.

We will go to a neighborhood place with our friends. Children get their own table with juice and fried potatoes, the adult will sit at our table with our adult drinks, and nobody looks at us as if we were a theme of discomfort.

I love raising my son in Milan. Having children here does not mean that you finish your social life. There are a lot of parks, galleries and museums, and a wide variety or family activities.

On average, the Italians have four to six weeks of vacations paid every year, already a difference from the US, people really use their vacation time. From Milan, we can get to Lake as O Genova, on the coast, in less than two hours, and those are just the one -day excursions.

I grew up in a family of middle class immigrants. The fact that he can now vacation regularly in places like Italian dolomites and spend on weekends in Vienna is not something I take for granted. I feel incredible, and I couldn’t be happier to be here.

Thea Duncan Prando is the founder of Doing Italy. She lives in Milan with her husband and son. To learn more about your life in Italy, follow @Doingall

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