​Weathering the Storm with the WP#214

Spring has sprung, April showers bring May flowers and tax season, at least in America, has from a date standpoint, come and gone. I had to pay in this year, not much, but enough to take a chunk out. This was due human error, my trusted accountant, but then, we are all human and we make mistakes. At first it was in line with what I was expecting, about $500.00 and then it shot up to about 4 times that amount. Apparently, a particular form, one in regard to health care, changed the equation. Fortunately, the money is there and financially, am in good shape, so it like most of the unknown of the past year, a bump in the road, another one perhaps and there will always be the bumps, but I am prepared. Also, starting this tax year, I will need to do both Italian and US taxes for the year 2025, so not necessarily looking forward to that. The Italian tax system starts in July, and in the US, of course, April. ​

This also is the week, supposedly that my worldly possessions hit the shores of Italy, this weekend in fact and then sometime, supposedly, they will be delivered to my home here in Rome. I suspect later next week, so we are preparing the house for the delivery. The exception is the vehicle and if I had known then, what I know now, that would never have been shipped, but sold for whatever I could get for it back in the states and started fresh here. As it is about the hit the Italian shores, it is too late, and a lesson learned and there is so much more to bringing in a vehicle that simply paying the taxes and moving forward. That would be too easy and nothing to date, has been. Again, another bumps or in the case, many cobblestones in the road. ​

I don’t have regrets about this decision and as Rosa said the other day, it is just money. It was a mutual decision and there was some sticker shock. In the end, I still believe that having the vehicle, if it even starts after not having been driven in, well, by then, over a year, by the time I get it and get behind the wheel, will most likely be the last one I will have bought. And Rosa can learn to drive an automatic. Yes, I can drive her manual transmission, but with the limited driving I do anyway, the vehicle will last at least a decade, given it only has 40K (Miles) or 60K KM. In any case, the sticker shock, just to get the license plates, 1600 Euro, and I will have to replace all the glass as the standards in Europe are different (I did not say better or worse), just different than in America. ​

This means that until I have all of this is done, the plates purchased, and I have insurance, another story in itself, I may not be behind the wheel until September, but hopefully sooner. We were told that to get the Italian plates alone could take up to two months and that means, once again, I have to pay for storage of the vehicle, as it could not be legally driven without them. Nothing like the bureaucracy, but unlike last year, when trying to get my residency, I have become numb to the fact that this is the way it is and it was my decision to do it, with a little influence of my beautiful bride. Oh, and did I mention about the insurance? I need to provide a 10-year driving record history to the insurance company here, Rosa’s company.

I contacted my old insurance company in America, Allstate for the record, and this was almost 2 months ago, now, I still have not gotten what I requested from them. I guess it is a good thing I may not be able to drive my vehicle until September. So much for the summer driving trips in the countryside 😊. We always have Rosa’s little Ford Ka, which is the size of a sardine can. Actually, it is fine, but as an American and even now, very used to public transportation, and using the rail, having that “freedom” to pick up and go does not have the same meaning here. I don’t want to drive in Rome if I don’t have to. That is fine, but to get out once in a while, that was and still is the goal. A long weekend here, a long weekend there. And it will happen, but not a soon, so should have I have expected to happen sooner rather than later, so I simply move forward in the ways I have learned, living here. ​

There is also the issue of the driver’s license and another obligation to fulfill this year. In order to get the driver's license here, as there is no reciprocity between Italy and the US in terms of simply exchanging one license for another, I have to actually take driving lessons and in the controlled cars here in Rome, unless I can find something outside the city. Apparently, 8 to 10 lessons are mandatory and then there is the test. I suppose, yes, the driving test, but there is the written test. It is 30 questions and must be done in 20 minutes and you must score 90% or higher. And, it is only given in Italian, so it is now time to buckle down and learn the language more fluently along with teaching English, having the travel business, and having a wife. ​

More costs and I know in the end, more happy returns, but the task in front of me, while daunting, is not something I will dismiss and give up, but I have heard even the Italians have difficulty on the written test, and it is in their native tongue, but watching their driving skills, especially those on motorcycles and vespas and scooters, there are no rules, at least none they follow. Not signaling, not stopping at stop signs, on their mobile phones while driving, having a cigarette or whatever else they are doing with distracted driving. Of course, I have played Russian roulette with the Romans here as a pedestrian and most don’t follow the rules, especially with the handheld devices. This is even the case with people walking with their devices and not paying attention, but I seem to recall this issue in America too. 
The good news on the horizon if there is in all of the bureaucratic rubbish, is that I found out, that as I am married to an Italian, I only have to wait two years to apply for citizenship, so, technically, if I want after our second anniversary in February, I can start that process, if I want. The restriction is that I have to be at a B1 level in Italian, so come this summer, I will start my Italian lessons in earnest, not just for this, but to obtain my Italian drivers license, so a lot of motivation in the end. That also leads to Italian taxes, but if I do opt this route, I will end up being a dual national, so for now, as always one step at a time. Whereas a few months ago, I really did not know what lay ahead, and now having a better grasp of the situation, Rosa and I will take things one day a time. Looking back now, and what she and I have been through, where others have failed, we will succeed, slowly but surely. 
As always, thank you for your support of our ever changing and ever crazy little world here in Rome. It is truly appreciated in every way. We want to be happy in our life and all of the outside forces seem to want to challenge us at every turn. I know that if someone or some entity says I can’t do it, I will find a way to prove them wrong and Rosa is following my lead now. She and I have learned so much over the past year or so, and we will make it. For all those celebrating Passover and Easter, Happy Holidays to you and your families. Stay healthy, safe and most importantly, happy, throughout all the world is throwing at us right now.