Ciao! We are Gaby, Sam and Stefan. In summer 2022 we didn’t book summer holidays due to uncertainty around Corona restrictions. Then, we decided to pick the cheapest flight to the south, wherever that would be. Hello Perugia! ♥️ Up to then, we probably never considered Umbria, but that’s where Ryanair decided to fly us cheap. And: we were instantly in love. First, by the direct environment of Perugia – a week later by a tiny little village called Doglio near Todi, where we fell in love with Stille Di Bacco (white wine) and the lovely sisters at Sorrelle Biologique. Back home, back in the treadmill of office hours and deadlines, we decided that we needed to disconnect and slow down. Since we already liked pizza and sun, we decided to pursue slow(er) living in Italy.
In 2023, we rented a small campervan on a mission to find our new home. With the www at our fingertips we selected some locations in Umbria that did (on paper) meet our demands… to end up in Doglio again. The sisters own a dream house, at that time in need for urgent restoration. In October 2023 we returned to finish the last bottle of Stille Di Bacco and soon we would talk about buying the farm house.. which we never did.
Enter Summer 2024. Bigger campervan, more holidays and a looooooot of properties to visit. (Thank you, idealista.it.) From Milan to Lecce. That moment, we found a very nice location in Grotte di Stefano, Lazio. Soon we would discuss details, too. Details about buying farm land.. Which we never did.
This piece of text is written in 2025: yes, we succeeded. It took us three trips in Winter / Spring 2025 and over 50 locations across Lazio, Toscane.. We returned to the direct environment of Doglio and Grotte Santo Stefano (where we found some great places) and ended up flying at Ancona airport, to get to know the other side of the Sybilli Mountains.
From Summer 2025, we are proud owners of a nice hill in the town of Ripatransone. The moment we landed in “Ripa”, in the countryside but with close proximity to the sea, we just knew this would be our new home.
Our plan is to permanently move to around 2030. Until that moment we will dedicate our spare time to studying Italian, building our little gem and keeping you posted right here, at homesteadhill.eu.
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