It Started With A Dream

When: April 2024
Where: Crossing Australia’s “Red Center” on The Ghan

It was the third day of our train journey from Darwin to Adelaide, and we were about to explore the opal mining town of Coober Pedy. We were enjoying breakfast as The Ghan chugged along to the Manguri rail siding, where we’d be detraining for a couple of hours for our excursion.

Mui, sipping his coffee — iced as usual to avoid burning his mouth — started sharing a dream he’d had the night before—or maybe it was in the early morning hours. “I was walking the hallways of the FAO headquarters in Rome,” he said, “on my way to a meeting.”

FAO, the Food and Agricultural Organization — a specialized agency of the United Nations — was where his father had worked in the early 60s … when Mui was just a kid. That assignment had taken the family to Rome for three years, sparking Mui’s lifelong love affair with Italy.

There was more to the dream, but let’s skip ahead.

We chatted about the possibility of moving to Italy to live there as expats for a year or two, or maybe even longer. If he had a job, our expenses would be covered. Maybe the dream was an omen. So, Mui started looking into job opportunities with the FAO, found one he was well-suited for, and submitted his application. Then the waiting began … while we went about life as usual. Eight months later, he got a letter saying the position was canceled because of funding issues.

In the meantime, we were thinking about other options. We could use the 90/180 Schengen rule to spend shorter spurts of time in Italy. Or, we could apply for an elective residence visa (ERV) for a longer stay.

We started focusing on these two ideas.

We talked back and forth about what to do. Then, our travels took us to Northern Italy as part of our summer 2025 road trip. Spending a week in Orta and Verbania sealed the deal … we decided to apply for the ERV and see where it would take us.

But there was a challenge we had to overcome first.

Our residence being in Colorado, we would have to wait to apply for the ERV after we returned home at the end of December. But we could use the time until then to make plans … figure out where we wanted to base ourselves and maybe even squeeze in a recon trip … find out what the tax implications of the move might be … research the nitty-gritty of the requirements for the ERV … get advice from a friend who lives in Bologna when he is not on a ship somewhere around the world … etc, etc.

Decision made. The real work started.Læs mere