Hi All
I am a new member of this forum as of today and would appreciate any tips on living in Italy. My husband and I hope to take early retirement and either buy or rent property in Italy so we can either move there permanently or live there for a few months of the year. We have holidayed often to Italy and love the way of life and are going on a viewing trip to Calabria in September. Not sure if this is where we would like to live though but any tips would be welcome.

Hi Eileen,
am from Genoa (north west of italy on the coast) and live in edinburgh! I would suggest you spent a few months in italy before moving there, it can be quite different from the uk and from a holiday there, dont know calabria well sorry but I would suggest you look for something along the coast as inland can be very very hot during summer. Besides the sea is absolutely beautiful there!
good luck
simona

Hi Simona
Thank you for your reply. We have visited Italy often and I agree that we would probably find it very hot in high summer. We would like to stay in Italy in the cooler months and come back to Scotland perhaps for June July and August that would be ideal if we can afford it!! We are visiting Calabria in September so that will give us an idea if we like the area. We like the north as well and have been to Bergamo a few times, Lake Garda Verona, Venice etc so we will see.
Best Wishes
Eileen

I have just moved to Lecco on Lake Como. It is supposed to be cooler towards the north. I have struggled with the heat this summer, it was a bit of a shock to the system at first but is nice to have the lake to dip my toes in! Also here there are cheap flights from Bergamo as you will probably know and the lakes are beautiful so I can definately recommend it!

Hello there:
I too am looking to retire next year and have been looking at the Liguria province - Northwest of Italy - close to France... the little provinces I have been checking out are quite amazing, it is Imperia -Ventimiglia or Bordighera - I am not sure which one yet.

My name is Sally and I live in the States (New Mexico).. because I speak fluent Italian (also French and Arabic) it will be a little better than some but still a challenge to learn what all I have to do (paperwork etc...) to get there... But check it out and see if it is something that you might consider. The beaches and palm trees (yes palm trees - bought from the Arabs in the 1400 in the Bordighera area) were Claude Monet's favorite.... let me know if you need more info, I will be happy to share what I know.

Thank you for and looking forward to making many new friends SOON!!!
Sally

Sally,

I was wondering how this story ends - did you move and how do you find it?
We are looking at the Liguria area, never been there, no Italian whatsover ...
We are planning to spend 2 weeks looking around this August. Would love to hear your views.
nadia

Welcome to the forum! I suppose you are from the UK and don't have to worry about residency and such.

__________________
My Travel Blog

Hi Synthia,

Thanks! Was that addressed to me? (sorry, a bit inexperienced with forums ).
No, actually we are from australia, but then again I also have a bulgarian citizenship (i think that simplifies things to some extent?), and we currently live in singapore ... It is confusing even for us at times
We checked with the Italian embassy a few days back and they took our documents for a long stay visa (i guess) - they were a bit unsure themselves as in singapore they would normally see singaporeans going on a holiday.
We are very excited about the move, the only worry we have is the kids - they were easier to drag into a new place when they were younger, now, at 13 and 15, I am just not sure how they will fit in, with no italian at all...
Any thoughts appreciated!
thanks

Hi Nadia:

Thanks for your email. Yes, I am in the process of doing that. I went to Liguria, Imperia Province, Ventimiglia is the place I chose to land to check out and I fell in love with it. Spent 2 weeks this past February.. It is not fancy but very charming... the proximity to France/Nice Airport is very attractive to me, you can be in France in 45 minutes... the train takes you everywhere... I am not sure how that would work for you with children... but you can land there and check out the surroundings, everything is close by - you might like Bordighera which is the next town up...

Let me know if you need any information. I have been researching this for a whole year, so I have lots to share. I highly recommend the hotel I stayed in (made friends with the owners) absolutely delightful place called "Hotel Seagull" check it out --- prices are reasonable and all the amenities (beautiful balcony overlooking the sea) including breakfast are included.

Well, Nadia, looking forward to help you further with any questions you may have... I plan to be there next year, have to sell everything here in the States first, and it is not an easy task due to the economy right now, but as they say "no wine is served before its time"... I will get there soon!!!!

Ciao
Sally

Do watch out as property purchase by Australians is not straightforward. I see you have considered the north and the south of Italy but for me it's the centre which holds true fascination. Tuscany and Umbria are still hard to beat and there is pretty good infrastructure. (SNIP)