Should you bring your POV?

Sorry I haven't blogged in so long! I've gotten into a workout routine and trying to spend time with all of the people I've met here.

I can't believe 8 months have flown by already. I've survived the end of summer, all of fall, made it through a freddo (cold) winter, and here we are. Primavera!!

The Cherry Trees have gorgeous pink blossoms blooming, the temperatures are rising, and the markets are stocking up on sandals, wedges, and short sleeve shirts!

With Primavera comes pollen right? I'm sure we will see it and the car wash will be packed, not like the smog settling on the cars isn't reason enough to wash your vehicles.

Speaking of vehicles, when PCSing everyone runs into the question "Should we bring one of our cars?" Most American families have 2 cars, but the military will only ship one for free. So what to do? Should we sell both cars? Do we ship the husbands car, or the wifes'? Which will be better on the tighter streets? Which car are we ok with if it gets a "Naples Kiss"? Do we want to have both cars shipped and pay for one out of pocket?

All very important questions before a PCS to Naples. I just want to share my opinion on the driving here, the size of the vehicles, and more.

First, contact your insurance company and find out which vehicle will be cheaper for insurance. Insurance is crazy expensive here, and if you're under 25, it's even more expensive (I just turned 25 and loved seeing my insurance drop in price!) There are only two insurance comapnies you can go through here unless you plan to work with an Italian Insurance company. USAA and GEICO. Do your research and figure out which is best for you and your family.

Marito wanted to take his Jetta and leave behind my RAV4 (which we had just bought before orders) mostly because of size. But I wasn't ready to sell my SUV and lose money on it, or pay for it to be in storage for three years as well as make car payments on a car im not driving. We bought it because we wanted a family car, and that was that. We plan to start a family here so why would we sell the family car? I am relieved that there are plenty of Italians driving Rav4 SUVs around here, so My American car doesn't look too out of place like a Ford F350 Truck (for example).

Road Tax. Your primary vehicle you do no pay road taxes on. The car with the larger engine should be your primary vehicle because the road tax is based off of engine size, and so is your Gas Coupon rations. If you drive a V6 or V8 you will get 400 liters in gas coupons a month, but because my SUV is a 4 cylinder we only get 300 liters a month. 300 liters last marito and I through the entire month just perfectly.

Limiting yourself to one vehicle is a lifestyle change. If the Sponsor drives it to work, it leaves the spouse (and kids) behind without a vehicle. What happens if there is an emergency? Having friends with two cars plays an important role in that scenario. A lot of families decide that they will live close to work, either have thier spouse drop them off daily, or they will bike to work leaving the spouse at home with the vehicle. A bunch of people utilize the base shuttle system to get back and forth.

You have options!

I'm not going to lie. I was nervous about bringing a larger vehicle to Europe. I have squeezed through tight alley ways in downtown Naples (glad my mirrors fold in), survived hairpin turns on the Amalfi Coast with a tour bus coming in the opposite direction, and even drove down Christmas Alley crammed with hundreds of people shopping. For the reccord, after having been here 8 months, I have ZERO DAMAGE TO MY CAR. Well I do have knicks and bumps, but they were all accidentally self inflicted- I didn't mean to back up into a lemon tree on purpose!

On there other hand, a friend of mine was driving his Ford Ka- which is almost the size of a Smart Car, went to go make a left hand turn and some idiot passed him on the left, running into him and left the scene. Hit and Run. So I'm not going to say that you won't mess up your car, but it isn't always the size of your car you need to worry about.

The interstates here are practically the same size lanes as back in the States, and the traffic isn't ridiculous on them. It's actually pretty smooth driving with the exception of pot holes. Downtown Naples can be pretty packed during the day, and you have to learn to just go. If you hesitate, you lose your turn! I have to refer it to leaving a parking lot after a NASCAR race, if you don't push your nose infront of a car, you will be sitting there forever, waiting for a spot to open up. Then the people behind you will start to honk!

Back to how many cars you can own. You can register three cars max, while you tour here (unless your vehicles get totaled). This is how they control the bennefits of tax free and other military bennefits. I'm not too sure what the max is for motorcycles and scooters. But if you want to learn how to ride one, they offer motorcycle classes here!

You can also look into buying a "Naples Beater" here, or even two! Plenty of people PCSing are trying to get rid of their vehicles, and most of them are priced to sell. You can keep an eye on them on the Naples Facebook Pages. There are also bulletin boards on base and in the parking garages with people posting flyers selling their car. Keep in mind that you might not find gold when you purchase a $2,000 car. The reverse went out on my husbands Alfa Romeo just 3 weeks after we bought it. So he Fred Flintstones it into parking spaces because we just dont have the money to get it repaired at the time being. A lot of people are willing to negotiate but be a human being and don't low ball them! Offer a reasonable price, You don't want karma to get you when you PCS out.

Plenty of people have vans and SUVs here. Just be aware that by the time you leave, it' could have a couple of Naples Kisses on it, and you need to be ok with that. I have contacted my insurance company, and for every bump or bruise I claim, I can get it fixed when I move back to the states- just be forewarned that you will have to pay the deductible for each claim!

Living in a hotel room for 63 days, the best day was when my car arrived. I got my independence back while marito was at work. I was able to go to the markets, and take a few friends, or go to base to workout whenever I wanted. If we were a one car family, I would probably be going insane, or I would be blogging every day and boring you all to tears!

Talk with your spouse and research what will be best for you! Can you live as a one car family? Does the convience of two vehicles out weight the downside of higher insurance? Think it through.

Until next time,

Ciao!