Moving to Ofena

[maisie21]

Hi
My husband and I have bought a house in Ofena and are planning to retire there in 2 years time.
We would be very interested in meeting any other expats in the area to discuss the benefits of moving to Italy.
We bought our house through The House Around Italy team.They have all been very helpful especially their 'Girl Friday' but beware of any builders that the agents recommend the standard of work from the builders we used was very poor and cost a lot of money.
We will be back in Ofena 3rd June for a week if anyone wants to meet up. Our house is on Via Delle AIE.

[Gill & Guy]

Hi Maisie

We have paid a deposit for a house in Ofena through HAI and will be visiting in three weeks time, staying in a hotel by the sea. As you have used them yourselves did they take you through the process happily. We have just found out our very small house in the old town doesnt have a "title deed"!

[maisie21]

Hi
Yes we bought our house through HAI and the girls themselves were very good but please be careful with the agents that they sometimes use as they are not all trustworthy as we have found out to our cost.
They have a ' Girl Friday' who is very good and we are now dealing primarily with her. I can always provide you with more info via email if you would like.
We will be going back again 29th July for 2 weeks.Our house is at the far end of the village overlooking the valley.

[Barry]

Hello All
We have a house in Carrufo, just above Ofena. In fact my grandmother was born in Ofena. The local club has just bought a bar in Ofena and are planning on operating it as a club. I got a message saying it will be 10 euro to become a member and they hope to get it set up with internet access as well as a meeting place for younger people.
There are a number of english speaking Italians as well as Canadians in Carrufo if you need someone to talk to about the local builders etc.

Barry

[TAO]

Hi Barry and all,
Just back from Italy and France where I spent more than a month working on the house with the trade people.
Had visited pretty much everywhere in Abruzzo. Your 3rd cousin has shown me your house Barry. Nice place! Love Ofena and carufo areas. However they are too much in the hills and mountains for me. Need to be closer to the coast. Still looking yet!
Cheers!

[Barry]

Hi Yvonne
Sounds like you had a good time. Gianni did say you didn't see anything you liked. I was born and raised here in Calgary so the country around Carrufo feels just like home. If you want something closer to the sea and warmer just go over the mountain from Carrufo. It's only 5 Km from Carrufo but the climate is completely different. They get more rain and they actually have soil so there are a lot of small farms.

Barry

[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!

[Barry]

Yvonne,
You sound like my wife. She wants to turn one of the spare rooms into a huge bathroom with the whole works. I'am quite happy with the tiny shower and half a tub we have now! The only advantage would be to move the washing machine from the kitchen to the bathroom and get it out of the way.
I forgot to ask when you go to France do you fly direct to Paris? Wondering what Charles DeGaule airport is like. We have been going through Gatwick the last couple of years but it is a very unpleasant place so were thinking maybe Frankfurt or Paris.

Barry

[TAO]

You can go directly from Calgary to Rome via Heathrow or charles de Gaulle but it's expensive. I usually fly Calgary - Heathrow - Toulouse or Calgary- C.D.Gaulle - toulouse where my village is near.
It was my first trip to Abruzzo and I wanted to drive everywhere so I flew to Frankfurt with Air Canada, bought a cheap ticket from Ryanair to Pescara then rented a car and drove in Abruzzo, down to Rome, along the coast mediterraneen up to Genoa, returned the car there (they don't allow you to return a rented car in another country unless you pay a really high fee). I then took the train to Nice, rented another car and drove all the French riviera up to Toulouse then to my village which is an hour west of Toulouse.
When flying with Easyjet or Ryanair you always have to go to secondary airports(ie. Gatwick, Orly in Paris, Frankfurt Hann in Frankfurt) so you have to change airport, sometimes sleep overnight in hotel if your flight is not on the same day. At the end I don't know if it is cheaper! and they limit you to one suitcase only under 17kg and one carry-on.
If you fly Calgary/France, you will land in Charles de Gaulle, you have to transfer to Orly to fly to Rome on Easyjet. But if you want a couple days to enjoy Paris before going to Rome then that's the way to go.
Hope this will help.
Yvonne

[Barry]

Thanks Yvonne,
Sounds like you have found the same problem we have. The local flights in Europe do not fly out of the major transatlantic airports. We flew to Gatwick once then took Ryan Air to Pescara but British customs held us up so we missed the bus and had to take a taxis to Stanstead. The ride was 125 pounds and our air fare was 100 pounds!
We have settled on Canadian Affair to Gatwick then Easy Jet to Rome. It isn't the best as we get into Gatwick at 7 AM and the morning flight to Rome leaves at 8 which means we always miss it. We have to wait around for 8 hours and catch the aftrenoon flight. We only have small carryons now as everything we need is in the house in Carrufo so baggage is no problem.
Easy Jet seems more pleasant than Ryan Air as well. Checkin is no problem and they page us on our cell phones when the plane is ready to board so we have taken the time to explore a bit.
Barry