Moving to Ofena

[flawed]

hi maisie, my name is Lynda, I'm Australian and 51 yrs old. My husband and I travelled to Italy in June to view some poroperties in Abruzzo with Houses around Italy.

We also found one we liked in Ofena.

We are still waiting to hear if our offer is sucessful. The house is owned by a widow who now lives Oseas.

We are keeping our fingers crossed it comes off.

I would like to find out more about the area, and would be interested in hearing any of your experiences

[Elisa]

Originally Posted by flawed

hi maisie, my name is Lynda, I'm Australian and 51 yrs old. My husband and I travelled to Italy in June to view some poroperties in Abruzzo with Houses around Italy.

We also found one we liked in Ofena.

We are still waiting to hear if our offer is sucessful. The house is owned by a widow who now lives Oseas.

We are keeping our fingers crossed it comes off.

I would like to find out more about the area, and would be interested in hearing any of your experiences

Ofena is very beautiful, my father was born there and we have several homes in town. In the winter it gets a little cold but in the summer it is nice..

It is nice because you are close to the beach, in 45 minutes you can be in Pescara and also close to other beautiful cities like Aquila, Sulmona and Popoli. If you don't have a car you can take the Coriera (bus) from Ofena to Pescara, L'Aquila or even Rome.

[Elisa]

Originally Posted by maisie21

Hi Elisa
No, we are not in the heart of the village.
Our house is in a small Frazione on Via Delle AIE.
Judy.

My father explained where you are,,

[maisie21]

Hi Lynda
Are you planning to re locate to Italy.
Abruzzo is very beautiful and unspoiled, with three major grand national parks of Majella, Gran Sasso and Sirente plus numerous conservation areas which means that the areas within these parks are protected and in consequence the villages retain their originality.
Ofena is situated in a south facing valley and has been called the 'oven' of Abruzzo because it can get very hot there in the summer.
It snowed in December, but apparently it does not settle for long.We have been there twice in February and the temperature has reached 20c at times.Ofena is a quiet village with lots of history and friendly people.L'Aquila is the capital of Abruzzo and about 30 mins drive away from Ofena, it has a very good open market there and some wonderful architecture.
Pescara is more of a financial area but has some excellent shops, restaurants and a beautiful sandy beach that stretches for miles.There is also a little shop on one of the side streets that makes their own chocolate on site and is delicious.There are ski slopes about 30-40 minutes away and apparently there is quite a large ex pat community in Castel Del Monte because of the skiing.
Hope that this helps you.
Where in Ofena is the property that you viewed?
Judy.

[dario]

Originally Posted by TAO

Hi Barry,
Looks like Ofena will have a lot of anglophones there. Everyone seems to have their heart set in that cute part of Abruzzo. It's kind of fun!
I love Abruzzo and still am looking in that province. Maybe a small vineyard!??Will see...!
In small villages, you were right, it's better to use propane tank. It's convenient and cheap. That is what i use in my farm in France. On the other hand, personally, I think it is important to have a spa -like modern bathroom!
I probably will be back in Abruzzo at the end of September to look around a bit more.
Cheers!

Hi Tao,


looking for a house in Abruzzo? I'm lawyer here with contacts with real estate agents, especially north of Pescara. Seems your interested near the coast. If in need contact me, either newly built or to rebuild. Depends on what you want and how much you want to spend. Personally I do quite a lot of real estate work for foreign purchasers.
dipietropaolodario@tin.it

[Elisa]

[Elisa]

Some great pictures of Ofena

[Elisa]

[flawed]

Thanks for the lovely pics of Ofena. I didn't have any distant views, only the houses we looked. We were shown around by Gianni for Houses around Italy. We also met Maurizio.

We have our eye on a place on the main Road but it is not a done deal yet.I am waiting to hear the fate of our offer this week.

I absolutely love Italy. I came first in 2005, to San Remo, Venice, Piza Florence, Sienna and then Rome. Next time we went down the Amalfi Coast, and then the next trip was to Umbria, which was lovely. We went to Spello, and Montefalco, Assisi, Gubbio . Stayed in a lovely villa. Was scary foggy though!

I saw a few cheap farmhouses to the north, and that started me looking for property on the net.

After much searching on the net we went to Abruzzo in June this year.
I was not sure if I would like it but it was amazing, breathtaking. I absolutely loved the area around Stiffe, it is in a picturesque valley filled with red poppies and yellow flowers. Sadly we didn't get to the caves but it was too nice a day to go underground!
Ofena is a lot more Mountainous, with rocky dry slopes. I got sick winding over the mountain from LAquila. The town was nice and the valley pretty also. We found we could come along the valley from the Bussi exit(closer to Sulmona) which took a little longer but was less windy.
We loved the region, from mountains to hills and seashore it has it all. We spent two nights in Stiffe, and three in Pescara, at an inexpensive beach front hotel. We dined at one of the many restaurants on the waterfront, and marvelled at the number of deckchairs. Kilometres of beach front with Umbrellas huts and chairs. The traffic was pretty awful in Pescara, but it certainly was a lively well serviced little town. All about having fun, not dully modern and bland.
The pavement was amazing along the beach, and we couldn't believe the number of scooters. We drank plenty of the local cheap trebbiano, which has a light spritzing.
We looked at lots of properties, and though the hill towns are charming, I don't want a place I can't drive to and at least unload the car.
I absolutely fell in love with the house in Ofena, it is not habitable, as the roof needs work and their are no services. It is a major project, and not at all what I was looking for, but it sure has potential.
If it doesn't come off though, I am going to look again around Stiffe and San Agnelo fossa etc

I would love to know the name of a good builder though or a good agent to manage the work. We live in Australia but my husband works in Dubai. We will be limited as to how much time we can spend there initially, but it would be fun to retire too. I'm 51 my husband is 48 this year.Gianni said he is assisting other recent purchasers with their renovations. I would like some feedback if anyone has dealt with him.I have tried to read up about Ofena, I read about the oven thing, how is the rainfall? do they have water restrictions? Are bushfires a problem?
If the purchase comes off, I'd like to get back there before Christmas. The place has been unoccupied for years and needs a good clean. There is a room with 4inches of bird poo on the floor, and heaps of rubbish to remove. The place is generally sound though, and once it has had a good clean and services connected we could probably camp out.

I noticed a little bed and breakfast on the way into town, would anyone know the name of it? it is on the right hand side near a street to the right.It would be handy to have somewhere to stay initially.

Thanks everyone, I will keep reading the thread.

[maisie21]

Hi
We bought our house through HAI, they have a 'Girl Friday' Francesca Palmy who liaises with builders and engineers and oversees any renovation projects as well as multiple other roles.She is a lovely young lady and very conscientious.
Francesca introduced us to a builder, who is also called Gianni, who is currently drawing up plans for a new internal staircase for us.
He is very good and enthusiastic about retaining any original features that your property might have.I can give you Francesca's contact details if you wish.
When we visited in June we had heavy rain and thunderstorms almost every day for a week but it was still very warm and sunny between the rain showers.
Apparently last year was a very dry year which affected the olive crop.
The bed and breakfast in ofena is called the Aufinium and has its own website.
We have eaten there and the food is lovely.
Good luck with your purchase.
Judy.