Ofena
Ofena from afar
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Ofena from afar
Ice cream, olives and a lager, take a dip
Quite possibly the best restaurant in Abruzzo
Not as scary as you sound
One on top of the other
cup of tea ?
Is that how all our ceilings are made ?
One bedroom .. that leads to another bedroom !
It's not a good idea to blow up your chimney within the first week
No, it's the other staircase !
Typical arched ceilings, not so typical tiles !
And probably some wall staples, a new roof, ...
No loch-ness monster in sight
Breakfast... without end
Can someone convince the maire to create a beach at Capo D'aqua ?
Ofena from afar
Aim of the blog
The aim of this blog is to share information and experiences between those wanting to, or having bought a house in Abruzzo, and especially in the area near to Ofena. Where are the nice villages to buy ? What is the process ? What are the pitfalls ? How much does it cost ? What happens next ? Where to find people to help do up your house ? Meeting up with others that have come to the area ... where to find the best "agritourismos" ?
Pescara, Roma-plage
Ice cream, olives and a lager, take a dip
Abruzzo
Abruzzo is a less-well-known part of Italy Pescara Pescara UK Pescara Europe , I think I would choose Malaga
Taking the nice new motorway out of Pescara towards the mountains, the suburbs give way to rolling green hills, and further-in, to reasonably-high, snow-capped mountains. This is the abandoned beautiful region, and to the left, the Gran Sasso area of Aquilla province. Here is where you'll find broken-down but beautiful half-empty villages, where the elderly look-on hoping for some action, and where tourism hasn't quite realised what it's all about. If you know where to look you can stumble across magnificient restaurants (or agrotourismos), breath-taking valleys and empty stretches of vast open plateaus.
Taking the nice new motorway out of Pescara towards the mountains, the suburbs give way to rolling green hills, and further-in, to reasonably-high, snow-capped mountains. This is the abandoned beautiful region, and to the left, the Gran Sasso area of Aquilla province. Here is where you'll find broken-down but beautiful half-empty villages, where the elderly look-on hoping for some action, and where tourism hasn't quite realised what it's all about. If you know where to look you can stumble across magnificient restaurants (or agrotourismos), breath-taking valleys and empty stretches of vast open plateaus.
Aufinium
Quite possibly the best restaurant in Abruzzo
Noisy ... but
Not as scary as you sound
Typical street
One on top of the other
Where to find your "bonheur"
Like a typical Brit, I wanted to get my foot on a fast moving property ladder. Having contemplated the whole of eastern Europe through Internet sites, I realised, much to my disbelief that in Italy it was still possible to buy a house for as little as 15K Euros (especially in Sicily - in Abruzzo it starts at about 30K unless you want a pile of rubble). The other factor that attracted me.. even though I'm not sure if its true, is the lack of capital gains tax. So, like a typical naive customer, having never bought any property abroad before, I packed my bags and invited my mother over to Pescara
Only two hours before my flight and .. no house. I had only chosen the village. Ofena is known as the "furnace of Abruzzo" and being from coldEngland Paris
Only two hours before my flight and .. no house. I had only chosen the village. Ofena is known as the "furnace of Abruzzo" and being from cold
Our house
cup of tea ?
Which house ?
We arrived in the village with 30 minutes to go before we had to leave for the airport.
The house the estate agent had in mind wasn't anything like what I wanted. I thought it was all over, until he suggested another rather big house that makes part of the village wall.
We visited the house in 15 minutes. Not even being able to remember how many bedrooms it had we shook hands. It is definitely the best deal compared to all of the other houses we had seen (although maybe not the best deal if you look more seriously) : It has a roof that doesn't appear to have leaked since we bought it, solid walls (we didn't notice the cracks at the time but the house is still standing), natural original clay tiles in most rooms, arched ceilings throughout, two fire places, two kitchens and a large cellar : about 150 square metres for 42K euros... totally over my budget !
The house the estate agent had in mind wasn't anything like what I wanted. I thought it was all over, until he suggested another rather big house that makes part of the village wall.
We visited the house in 15 minutes. Not even being able to remember how many bedrooms it had we shook hands. It is definitely the best deal compared to all of the other houses we had seen (although maybe not the best deal if you look more seriously) : It has a roof that doesn't appear to have leaked since we bought it, solid walls (we didn't notice the cracks at the time but the house is still standing), natural original clay tiles in most rooms, arched ceilings throughout, two fire places, two kitchens and a large cellar : about 150 square metres for 42K euros... totally over my budget !
The cellar
Is that how all our ceilings are made ?
Strange Italian planning
One bedroom .. that leads to another bedroom !
A word of advice
It's not a good idea to blow up your chimney within the first week
It's a cupboard ?
No, it's the other staircase !
The pink room
Typical arched ceilings, not so typical tiles !
The friendly estate agent takes the stress out of buying a house ?
Most of my friends and family were concerned that I would get ripped-off or attacked by the mafia if I bought a house in Italy Italy
Needs some paint
And probably some wall staples, a new roof, ...
Are you sure they are parallel ?
Once we had bought our house we started to invite various builders from the area to have a look. (The geometra report that we had asked for from the estate agent only seemed to talk about the nice view!) If you buy an old house (ours is about 150 years old) take some valium before inviting builders to have a look at it. After visits from certain builders we were too afraid to touch the wall in case it fell down. However, my boyfriend's father came over and was more reassuring, pointing our that the walls are half a meter thick and lean inwards and not outwards... even if there are parallel cracks that run down the front of the building. Either you are minted and can pay for all of the repairs straight away, or you aren't ... and in that case it is probably best to do nothing for the first year or two in order to be sure about what is essential and what can wait.... whether we want to keep the house long-term or sell it after five years and find a house with a garden, nearer to a lake, etc. We are pretty useless at DIY - so it might be better to buy a small house with little repairs to do.
Great for swimming
No loch-ness monster in sight
The best place to stay in Abruzzo
Breakfast... without end
Things to do
One of the aims of this blog is to share ideas about things to do near Ofena and in the rest of Abruzzo. So far we have discovered two lakes which are great for swimming and snorkeling, the local agritourismo on the hill-side which has the most outstanding bed and breakfast and restaurant perched on a terrace with swinging garden chairs, the Ofena restaurant, which although just looks like a local bar from the outside, has a fabulous menu, Sulmona and its summer cat walk show, the scary snake festival, ski-walking on the mountain, roller-blading along the Pescara promenade, and the Chinese restaurant on the beach.
Archives du blog
Our view
Can someone convince the maire to create a beach at Capo D'aqua ?
Qui êtes-vous ?
- House in Italy
- English from Worthing, BSc Biochemistry and MSc IT at uni in London (UCL), MSc IT Security (Royal Holloway), taught English in Nanjing (1998 to 2000) and now work as manager in audit at Deloitte, Paris .. specialist in data analysis for the detection of fraud, etc, would like to emigrate.
14 commentaires:
Hey, love the blog. Thanks for pointing me to it with your comment on my "buyingahouseinItaly" blog.
I'm near Sulmona, but pass nearish Ofena every few weeks. Look forward to meeting up and sharing notes next time you're over!
Hey, thanks for the message. Next time we are over I'll get in touch ... should be in May.
Hello! Really enjoyed reading about your house. We bought a house in Ofena last year and would love to get in contact. Not sure how these blogs work - is it possible to e-mail?
Look forward to hearing from you
Beth
Hi my husband and I have also bought a house in ofena and will be visiting again 3rd June for one week. We would both like to meet up with any ex pats that are living in the community
Hi there, great to here that there are some new people in Ofena !! I live in Paris and come to Ofena occassionaly. We'll be there in the summer.
We can also communicate by e-mail, my e-mail is cworledge@deloitte.fr
It would be great to meet up in the summer !
We'll be over from 21st June for a week if anyone is around during that time? My e-mail is beth_ebay@hotmail.com It's great to hear that there are others with properties in the area.
Hi! Great page, Claire ! :-)
To faciliate the fast communication for expats in the Abruzzo area, I'm planning to start a mailing list.
This would be for expats especially in the area near Capestrano & Ofena where my sister & I have our places.
For the moment, we do not wish to limit the area too much, so whole Abruzzo is OK for us, I’m sure we would have interests in common :-)
In the future, we're planning to organize activities (e.g. picnics / trekking walks / lunch meetings in the area) with other expats. Let me know if you wish to join!
Info about the event, date & location would be sent to you via email. Idea is to exchange good tips about the services in the area and simply have a good time over a glass of Italian wine ! :-)
You can send me your email address to:
miajolas@yahoo.com
Greetings,
Mia Jolas, Finland
PS: I'll be next time in Abruzzo second week of October.
We are planning a cooking class (price about 15-20e/participant) in Ofena, let me know if you’re interested :-)
Hey Mia,
We are thinking of going out on the 30th of October.. so we might miss each other.
An e-mailing list sounds like a great idea. You can definately count us in.
Cooking also sounds fun, let us know how it goes.
Claire
Hi Everyone
We will be going out to Ofena again 20th November for a few days.
Is anybody going to be around then?
Judy
Hi
We'll be out from 15th-22nd Nov. Judy - I'll e-mail you about meeting up, might just catch each other this time! Is anyone else around?
Mia, I'll send you my e-mail for your mailing list. Great idea!
Beth x
If anyone is on Facebook, join the "Who loves Ofena Group"
Salut Claire! Will be in Ofena & Capestrano second week of April 2009, hope to see you then! Greetings, Mia from Finland
(Lauras sister, Ofena)
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
What are the good down hill skiing places called again near Ofena? Wondering if Feb in Ofena would be possible.. Remember that there is one nearby Santa Luciano/to that direction, but what is it called ? Only know Rocaraso, and that's a bit far. What is the closest one to Ofena & how are the slopes ? Possible to rent equipement and also OK with kids ? Thanks for tips in advance ! - Mia
Hello,
My name is Khusbu and I work on a popular American TV show about people who have recently relocated abroad. For our upcoming season, we are hoping to find people who have relocated to Italy. In my research, I came across your blog and am reaching out to you in hopes you might be able to help me find participants for our show.
House Hunters International tells the story of an individual, couple or family who has bought property outside of their native country. Being on our show is a lot of fun for our participants and a great way for them to document their exciting search for a home and new life abroad. It's also a very positive show which offers a wonderful opportunity to inform our viewers about interesting countries and cultures worldwide.
We’re currently looking to cast people who have recently relocated and have bought a home abroad. If you fit this qualification or know anyone who does, I would love to tell you more about the project. Here's a link to a show we've done in the past in Barcelona: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reYI3L3lC-c
You can contact me at Khusbu.Joshi@leopardfilms.com.
Thank you in advance for your help.
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