Rep ese tative
Image
As
d eami g
adults
i
this
wo ld,
o
matte
what
you
believe
a d
how
much
you
ea ,
o e
of
the
most
impo ta t
pa ts
of
eve yo e’s
bucket
lists
is
ow i g
a
home.
A
place
that
eflects
thei
ide tity
a d
is
just
thei
ow .
But
what
happe s
whe
you
fi ally
have
the
abode,
o ly
to
ealise
that
you
do ‘t
wa t
it
a ymo e?I
2020,
Sia
a d
Mikael
Lilja
bought
a
small
piece
of
la d
about
15
mi utes
outside
Malmö
i
Swede .
The
couple
who
had
bee
togethe
fo
twelve
yea s
a d
ma ied
fo
fou ,
decided
to
make
it
thei
d eam
home.
They
we e
pla i g
fo
thei
lo g-te m
futu e,
havi g
kids
a d
stayi g
close
to
family.By
the
e d
of
2023,
they
moved
i
a d
while
they
we e
still
e ovati g
the
home,
they
decided
to
give
it
time
si ce
it
was
the
biggest
p oject
of
thei
life.
But
soo ,
thei
pla s
bega
to
cha ge.
They
had
joi ed
a
waiti g
list
fo
IVF
i
2021,
but
the
p ocess
was
delayed
due
to
the
pa demic.
“We
had
a
lot
of
ha d
co ve satio s
about
the
futu e
we’d
imagi ed
fo
ou selves.
By
the
time
it
was
fi ally
ou
tu
to
begi
IVF,
we’d
al eady
decided
it
was ‘t
the
path
we
wa ted,”
the
couple
sha ed
with
Busi ess
I side .The ,
the
house
felt
too
big
fo
just
them
a d
thei
dog.
They
bega
thi ki g
about
what
else
could
be
do e.
Fi di g
the
ight
pla
I
2019,
the
couple
had
spe t
six
mo ths
t avelli g
a ou d
Asia
a d
“fell
i
love”
with
the
egio .
“We’d
always
imagi ed
that
if
we
eve
moved
ab oad,
it
would
be
somewhe e
like
Bali
o
South
Ko ea.
Howeve ,
as
we
looked
i to
both
places
mo e
se iously,
eithe
felt
quite
ight,”
they
said.As
they
bega
explo i g
oppo tu ities,
they
came
ac oss
a
podcast
about
buyi g
a
house
i
Japa .
Si ce
they
had
bee
waiti g
to
visit
the
cou t y
fo
yea s,
they
booked
a
t ip
a ou d
the
e d
of
2025.
“Eve
though
we’d
eve
set
foot
i
Japa ,
it
al eady
felt
like
the
ight
place
to
begi
ou
ext
chapte .
Befo e
ou
t ip,
we
sta ted
b owsi g
Japa ese
p ope ty
listi gs
o li e
a d
bega
selli g
ou
home
i
Swede .”By
the
time
they
a ived
i
Japa
fo
a
th ee-week
t ip
i
Novembe
2025,
thei
house
i
Swede
had
al eady
bee
sold.
Ove
the
ext
weeks,
they
explo ed
diffe e t
pa ts
of
the
cou t y,
i cludi g
the
Ka sai
egio
whe e
they
decided
they
wa ted
to
settle.
Eve tually,
they
a owed
it
dow
to
places
withi
a
90-mi ute
d ive
f om
Kyoto.Upo
thei
etu
to
Swede ,
they
amped
up
the
house
hu t.
“We
hi ed
a
buye ‘s
age t
a d
set
up
ale ts
fo
akiya
—
old,
vaca t
homes
—
that
matched
ou
c ite ia,”
they
said.
Fi ally,
i
Ja ua y
2026,
they
fou d
what
they
had
bee
looki g
fo .
“Ou
age t
quickly
a a ged
a
viewi g.
Si ce
we
we e
still
i
Swede ,
he
walked
us
th ough
the
house
ove
a
video
call.
Whe
we
saw
it,
we
k ew
it
was
exactly
what
we
we e
looki g
fo ,
so
we
made
a
offe
immediately,”
they
evealed.Thei
offe
was
accepted
a d
the
pu chase
p ice
was
8
millio
ye ,
o
about
$49,000,
befo e
taxes
a d
othe
fees.
Life
i
Japa
“We
decided
to
look
at
this
time
as
a
gap
yea
fo
adults,
so
we
both
left
ou
jobs.
With
that,
we
tu ed
ou
atte tio
to
w appi g
up
ou
lives
i
Swede .
I
May
2026,
we
ha ded
ove
the
keys
a d
flew
to
Japa ,”
they
said.
The
house
they
sha ed,
was
well-mai tai ed
a d
thei
eighbou s,
mostly
olde
Japa ese
eside ts,
we e
ext emely
welcomi g.
“Ou
house
sits
o
the
edge
of
a
small
village
su ou ded
by
fields
a d
bamboo
fo est,
a d
they’ve
al eady
show
us
how
to
weed
the
p ope ty
a d
look
afte
the
bamboo
shoots.”While
they
we t
back
to
Eu ope
fo
a
few
mo ths,
visiti g
family
a d
fi alisi g
thei
dog’s
vacci atio
pape wo k,
they
a e
pla i g
to
officially
move
to
Japa
i
Septembe .
“O ce
we’ e
back,
we’ll
sta t
e ovati g.
U like
ou
house
i
Swede ,
we
do ‘t
wa t
this
p oject
to
take
ove
ou
whole
lives.
I stead,
we
wa t
to
t avel
a ou d
Japa
a d
e ovate
the
house
little
by
little.
The e
a e
ple ty
of
places
we’d
like
to
visit
with
ou
dog.
We’ e
looki g
fo wa d
to
sta ti g
this
ew
chapte ,”
said
the
couple.
