The Celtic Tiger has been good to the Murphys - so now they're selling their €1.85m home by the sea in Greystones, Co Wicklow, to move to a farmhouse in Umbria. Fiona Tyrrell reports.
The fantasy of living the dolce vita in the Italian countryside is a nice way to idle away April blues, but it's about to become a reality for a Greystones family who plan to capitalise on the Celtic Tiger and get out of Ireland while the going is good.
The fear that life was passing them by has prompted Ken and Danica Murphy to throw in their high-powered jobs, sell their charming "forever" house and head to the sleepy green hills of Umbria.
With their home, St Philomena's on Trafalgar Road in Greystones going on the market today, flights booked for June 27th and the "brutal process of culling" their possessions in train, the Murphys have not wasted much time since last February, when they announced their decision to relocate to their extended family.
Ken, a finance director originally from Rathfarnham in Dublin, and Danica, an executive coach originally from California, met when they both worked for the same accountancy firm in the United States. Ken lured Danica back to Ireland on the "promise of a farm and horses" in Wicklow.
However the rustic dream didn't pan out as planned. After spending two heartbreaking years trying to secure planning permission to build a new home on a 30-acre farm in Avoca, the Murphys sold up and purchased a former presbytery in the heart of Greystones village with views over the Irish Sea in 1999.
The detached five-bedroom house is now on the market with an advised minimum value (AMV) of €1.85 million prior to auction with Sherry FitzGerald on May 11th.
"The Celtic Tiger has been absolutely great for us. We were both given great opportunities, great experience and great salaries.
"Our home has appreciated in value and we are now just trying to step outside before life passes us by," Ken explains.
The couple don't need to work for a period of time, according to Ken and with decent investments they'll "be ok for a long time".
For the last 10 years, Ken and Danica have been playing the executive work game. This involved lots of travel for both and some serious scheduling to ensure proper care for their three daughters - Tehya (4), Makayla (7) and Sierra (8). Now it's time for a slower pace of life.
The family's big Italian adventure has its roots in a decision to purchase a holiday home to share with Danica's parents who intended to retire to Italy.
After a disappointing search for property in Tuscany, where Danica's mother is originally from, they found an ideal property in Umbria in 2003.
A derelict farmhouse on two acres overlooking Lake Trasimeno on the border between Tuscany and Umbria has been transformed into a four-bedroom home with adjoining gate lodge.
Restoration work on the property and an adjoining gate lodge is near completion and Danica's father, William, who was widowed shortly after the property was purchased, has been living there for some time.
All was going to plan until Danica spent an eight-week holiday in Italy with her girls last summer and the "doors opened".
"It was bliss. I realised that you can't delegate everything. You can't delegate conversation about right and wrong with your kids to someone else."
Then three months ago, Danica's father fell ill and she really began to consider other options.
"I stood back and took stock. It made me realise that nothing was forever." The final clincher was a chance encounter in a queue at Pisa Airport with an Irish family who had relocated to Tuscany in 2003.
Although they didn't even get around to swapping names, the Irish family's tale of being "immensely happy" with their move and "having space and time to think", prompted Ken and Danica to give serious consideration to a move to Italy.
"We spoke about it for hours one night and by the second bottle of wine we could see it really happening. Waking up the next morning we realised if we don't do it now we will always wonder if it could have worked out," she explains.
With the girls at an ideal age for relocation and "no real reasons not to do it" the Murphys decided they wouldn't be true to themselves if they didn't give it a go.
"We decided to just pretend for four days that we had decided to go and thought through all eventualities.
"By the end of four days the decision was still yes and we had come up with loads of 'ands' but no 'buts'," she says.
The goal for the first year is to make sure the children have settled in school, to learn some Italian and to slow down.
After the last few years and the speedy move to Italy, both Ken and Danica admit that slowing down to the Italian pace of life is likely to be their biggest challenge.
For a virtual tour of this property, click on nicemove.ie
