Cost of living?

[highlander]

Hello, I'm new to this forum and was hoping to ask some questions on Italy and living there from people that are already there.
I have seen a few houses in Italy, I am very tempted to make an offer on one, although I was very surprised to find that Piedmont gets so much snow.
After the recent fall in the value of the pound I am starting to wonder what the real cost of living there would be. Someone mentioned to me that the cost of heating fuel was very high, they were suggesting that heating oil was as costly as road fuel.
Any adivce?

[Nardini]

Originally Posted by highlander

I was very surprised to find that Piedmont gets so much snow.

It is a winter sports centre - Torino (Turin to foreigners) was the site of the last Winter Olympic Games, if you recall.

Originally Posted by highlander

After the recent fall in the value of the pound I am starting to wonder what the real cost of living there would be.

The real cost of living here is the cost of living in Italy. It has no relationship to the value of the British pound at any time. With the decline in value of the £, it would seem to someone from Britain that the cost has increased recently. It has not, of course, as it is just the decline of the £ that creates that impression.

Originally Posted by highlander

Someone mentioned to me that the cost of heating fuel was very high, they were suggesting that heating oil was as costly as road fuel.

They were misinformed.

Originally Posted by highlander

Any adivce?

If you are serious about wishing to live in Italy, you have to also want to become fully engaged with the Italian way of life. If you desire to remain British, but have nicer weather, I would suggest Cornwall.

[k98_man]

Originally Posted by Nardini

If you are serious about wishing to live in Italy, you have to also want to become fully engaged with the Italian way of life. If you desire to remain British, but have nicer weather, I would suggest Cornwall.

A true statement through and through.

[Genzana]

Hi highlander,
It sounds like you're going to be lviing off a sterling income in Italy. You're right to think about affordability before making such a big step. Life has got more difficult for our friends who have an income coming from the UK since the change in the exchange rate.
Heating is a major cost for our household. We put a brand new efficient gas central heating system in our old house. Our first six months of heating from Dec-Jun cost E1500. That works out at about a third of the average salary over here, and we didn't have the place at hot all the time! I'm hoping it will be less this year, now that the house is lived in, and we have internal doors, etc.
The choices that work in the UK for heating wouldn't be the same here, so you can't - as I did - rely on the same research about cost effectiveness of heating systems. We're in the process of putting in a wood burning stove. Wood is cheap here. You can also consider sansa (olive waste made into pellets) and wood pellets for greater flexibility (e.g. setting a stove to light itself before you wake up). And then there are the eco techs - I've been given a ballpark quote of E3000 for hot water solar panels for a 5-person house. The government is incentivising electric solar panels with a scheme where they loan you the cost of the installation, then a yearly incentive pays off the loan without you shelling out a cent.
So there are ways to avoid the huge costs of traditional fuels if your situation allows.
Feel free to ask for more detail if it helps.