Bettina and Sammy regularly visit their apartment in Lucca
Image courtesy of Bettina and Sammy Karcher
Bettina and Sammy Karcher from New Jersey, USA, own a twobedroom apartment in the ancient walled city of Lucca in northern Tuscany. They enjoy visits there once or twice a year, and offer holiday rentals at all other times.
What drew them to Tuscany? “We took a European cruise about twelve years ago”, Bettina explains. “It was the first time either of us had been to places like Greece and Italy, and obviously we were completely wowed. Afterwards, we couldn’t get Italy out of our heads, and started taking vacations there every couple of years. Tuscany soon became one of our favourite places in the world, and then we got this crazy idea to buy an apartment there and rent it out to tourists. Turns out it wasn’t such a crazy idea after all, because now we have this great place to stay and the tourist rentals help cover many of our costs. It’s a win-win for us.