There's a program on Sky tv called "Cercando Casa Disperatamente" (desperately seeking a house). It's pushed me to do a quick post this evening. Arrgghh. It's kind of an Italian version of "Location Location Location". Main difference is, on the UK version there's a bit of a challenge - ie find the right house in the right location for 150,000 pounds - singles, couples, those wanting to buy to rent etc. On this other version it's almost always a couple, occasionally with children, and the lowest budget I've seen so far has been 600,000 euro. This is what's on now and they're looking for a house in Naples coincidentally.
Now, if you have 600,000 euro, you shouldn't need to call up a tv program to find your self a 2 bedroomed house in Naples. There's lots of these on offer. They might be "da ristruttuare", not all done up like they show on this program, but you'll find them. Other recent episodes have had budgets of 700, 800,000 euro. I don't know where they find these people from considering the masses of people in Italy making 1000 euro a month.
I imagine not many people watch this program who are reading, but I just wanted to mini-rant.
Benvenuti/welcome!
A few tales and insights about my daily life and adventures in Naples. Enjoy! ... All words and photos Copyright© 'Delinissima' 2007-2008
10 comments:
I've seen it in the listings on Sky but never watched. Now I really won't! Who has that kind of money!?
If you earn an average Italian salary and never spent one cent of it you'd never live long enough to buy those houses.
My wife & daughter watch a similar show here in the US where the houses are priced far above what most peope can afford.
Despite the low salaries here, I know a lot of people here who own their own apartments outright and/or have way bigger house buying budgets than us (and we both earn more than the average 1000 euros a month!) These people don't earn much (if they work at all) - The secret is that they inherited one of their numerous family apartments (it seems to be a tradition to buy each of your kids an apt here) which they can then sell for 400,000 up and not even have to take out a mortgage.
Jealous? Moi? :)
I don't think that the whole idea of young people casting out on your own and trying to make ends meet without family help/financial backing is part of the culture/zeitgeist here. So that UK TV program just wouldn't work here. This is because many young people (even ones who aren't rich but only middle class) seem to get a lot of financial help from their parents and never really aspire to independence either financial or otherwise, unlike in most other European countries, the US etc.
I think the same thing when I look through home improvement type magazines here that always show all this SPACE inside the homes. . . .
Imagine having that kind of money to buy a place. However I think that having 600,000 is NORMAL considering the prices here. If you had children and wanted to buy a place in the city then you need lots of cash. Here in Rome you can buy a car park space for 55,000 euro...How about a 60 square metre monolocale for 320,000...and I dare not think how much my abusivo apartment would sell for.
I agree with kataroma... many Italians have homes that are passed down and also old money. I have many Italian friends that don't earn much but have "family money"
Jessica, it is a bit depressing to watch, though I've got a feeling it's acted out rather than done by real people.
Gil, it makes it very difficult to get onto the property ladder.
Kataroma, I wonder why more people seem to have inherited property here compared to other countries. Perhaps elsewhere they tend to sell the property rather than keep it. Here there's more of a tendency to stay around the area you grew up in. So the family houses are close together. I mean, if my long lost relative were kind enough to leave me a house in his far flung village in England I don't think I'd keep it. But then if it were next to my parents, I don't think it would be much use to me either as I don't live there anymore and they have enough bedrooms to put me up when I go over.
Bleeding espresso, don't get me started about space. 50-60 m2 apartments are the norm here.
Leanne, so true! When I look at the property ads, the only things that seem affordable in the city are "boxes" ahahah
Joe, I don't know if I consider these people lucky or not. I've been brought up to work for my money. It's unjust that having a good job, working hard and making decent money doesn't allow you to buy a comfortable home. :(
Huh, with budgets like that, I don't understand their alleged 'desperation.'
The low salaries in Naples were a shock to me, but as my fiance told me, 'Now you know why I moved to the states.' (We're here now because of the free medical care, basically. Even with a great job, he would be disqualified for care in the states, but that's another story!)
I know a housekeeper here who makes the same as another person with a computer drafting degree.
But when I'm out walking, I see all these expensively dressed people and I wonder, 'How does all this work?'
I haven't seen that show, but I think there is one similiar in America, too.
That is funny. 700,000 euro and you are right - most of the people I know make around 1,100 euros a month! Insane, I tell you. Insane!
The other thing that you'll notice about that show (if you bother with it again!) is that, unlike its British counterparts, the agents involved don't seem to be on the side of the house-hunters. They blatantly attempt to "sell" the property, coming out with the classic sales pitches which most people I know wouldn't even fall far if they were three years old... It makes for much less interesting viewing - you can see those kinds of attitudes in every store in Milan ("Go on, buy this product! I know it sucks but I want the commission!")
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