Moving to Ofena

[juliet1]

Originally Posted by maisie21

Hi Barry
No resident in L'Aquila, or any of the 49 surrounding towns and villages that were affected by the earthquake, have to pay their taxes this year. This was confirmed by Vincenzo at the commune and also our accountant.
Ryannair is ok but their charges are now quite high for checked in baggage and the last time that we used them they changed our flight schedule three times but they are the only ones that fly to Pescara from the UK so we are stuck with them.
Judy.

We have had conflicting info regarding the taxes for this year. We were told that we did have to pay them but they have extended they payment time until the end of the year.
Julie

[Barry]

I'll phone the deputy mayor in Villa and see what he says. , but I'am not going to worry about it until we go in September.
How are you claiming for earthquake damage? I was told compensation was only payed on the house if it was your primary residence.
I usually travel with just a carry on bag when travelling (lots of clothes in our house)
so those charges on Ryan Air aren't a concern. It's the 5 pounds to print your boarding pass or the 40 pounds if they do it at the airport that bothers me.
We rent a car so driving for an hour and a half from Rome is no trouble and I really like the drive. Nice scenery and it gives us a chance to relax as well as stop at Ikea on the way. Easyjet seem more laid back than Ryan Air plus they fly out of Gatwick so we don't have to change airports. We also have the option of flying direct to Pescara from Toronto but it is a lot longer and more expensive for us.

Barry

[maisie21]

Originally Posted by Barry

I'll phone the deputy mayor in Villa and see what he says. , but I'am not going to worry about it until we go in September.
How are you claiming for earthquake damage? I was told compensation was only payed on the house if it was your primary residence.
I usually travel with just a carry on bag when travelling (lots of clothes in our house)
so those charges on Ryan Air aren't a concern. It's the 5 pounds to print your boarding pass or the 40 pounds if they do it at the airport that bothers me.
We rent a car so driving for an hour and a half from Rome is no trouble and I really like the drive. Nice scenery and it gives us a chance to relax as well as stop at Ikea on the way. Easyjet seem more laid back than Ryan Air plus they fly out of Gatwick so we don't have to change airports. We also have the option of flying direct to Pescara from Toronto but it is a lot longer and more expensive for us.

Barry

Hi Barry
When we went in May we had arranged to pay our taxes then through our accountant, but we were sent back to the commune after he had spoken to them personally, when he was doing the calculations for us and they told him that no taxes were being charged this year and depending on how things go it may be extended into 2010/11..
We have also left clothes at our house and we have done the journey from Ciampino to Ofena before as we also have a rental car when we are over there, I don't get to see much of the view as I am always driving. As we live in the middle of England though, we either have a two hour journey over here or in Italy and as we generally stop at either the Auchan or Ipercoop on the way to the house we generally travel from Stansted.
Judy

[juliet1]

Originally Posted by maisie21

Hi Barry
When we went in May we had arranged to pay our taxes then through our accountant, but we were sent back to the commune after he had spoken to them personally, when he was doing the calculations for us and they told him that no taxes were being charged this year and depending on how things go it may be extended into 2010/11..
We have also left clothes at our house and we have done the journey from Ciampino to Ofena before as we also have a rental car when we are over there, I don't get to see much of the view as I am always driving. As we live in the middle of England though, we either have a two hour journey over here or in Italy and as we generally stop at either the Auchan or Ipercoop on the way to the house we generally travel from Stansted.
Judy

Well if you have spoken to your account and Barry has had confirmation from the Mayor, I think we'll go with that rather than info Gianni gave us. If we get chased for the tax then we shall pay but otherwise it does look as if it's not payable this year.

[maisie21]

Originally Posted by juliet1

Well if you have spoken to your account and Barry has had confirmation from the Mayor, I think we'll go with that rather than info Gianni gave us. If we get chased for the tax then we shall pay but otherwise it does look as if it's not payable this year.

Hi Julie
We went to our accountant fully expecting to pay the taxes for this year, but when we got to the meeting he had been told by the Commune that no one needs to pay this year. He had spoken to them to double check the information and they confirmed what I had mentioned before although he advised us to go back to the Commune for our peace of mind and they confirmed it for us. One of our neighbours said the same thing as well and our accountant has not emailed me to say that anything has changed.We are planning to go back towards the end of September so if anything has changed I am sure that he will let us know so that we can arrange for him to make the payment for us.
Judy.

[Barry]

I just read on the Villa web site they had 3 more small earthquakes this morning. 3.1 to 4.5 felt as far away as Rome and Pescara! The people have abandoned their houses again!

Barry

[maisie21]

Originally Posted by Barry

I just read on the Villa web site they had 3 more small earthquakes this morning. 3.1 to 4.5 felt as far away as Rome and Pescara! The people have abandoned their houses again!

Barry

How awful.
We had read about the terrible storms that Italy had been having but not about any more earthquakes. The people of Abruzzo must feel that this is never going to end for them.
Did it mention whether anyone had been injured? I sincerely hope not.
Judy

[Barry]

I phoned Carrufo and talked to Gus Marini and he said it wasn't that bad. They have a portable building set up in the main square in Villa in case you are afraid to stay in your house. He said they still haven't passed the bill releasing the money for reconstruction although they are spending to fix up the conference area for the G8 meeting. The houses are still being inspected and nothing has changed as to allowing people back in their homes.
I see Auchan has tents on sale so I guess we will have to stop on our way in september and buy one!

Barry

[maisie21]

Originally Posted by Barry

I phoned Carrufo and talked to Gus Marini and he said it wasn't that bad. They have a portable building set up in the main square in Villa in case you are afraid to stay in your house. He said they still haven't passed the bill releasing the money for reconstruction although they are spending to fix up the conference area for the G8 meeting. The houses are still being inspected and nothing has changed as to allowing people back in their homes.
I see Auchan has tents on sale so I guess we will have to stop on our way in september and buy one!

Barry

We are also hoping to make it across at the end of September, as we need to turn the water off before winter sets in. I don't know where we will stay yet, it may be a B&B that we have used in Pescara on a previous visit although John would still prefer to stay at the house if at all possible(we could sleep downstairs on our inflatable bed).
Judy

[flawed]

Originally Posted by Barry

I just read on the Villa web site they had 3 more small earthquakes this morning. 3.1 to 4.5 felt as far away as Rome and Pescara! The people have abandoned their houses again!

Barry

Hi Barry,

That is disturbing news. Would you mind posting a link to this website as I think you have mentioned it before for weather reports as well.

We are heading over July 10, we already had some damage to the ceiling, hope it is not worse ! After seeing Giannis fallen ceiling I am a lot less excited about bricks overhead, Gyprock is so much lighter ....

Lynda