montyw

I have had the dream for several years to live in Italy for 6 months to get the feel of life in another country - I am just curious where you might want to live if you had the choice.

I have thought of the costal area of Toscana or possible around Lago de Garda...

I won't have to work and I do want a place with the city life close, but still to be near or in the countryside.

Patrick

Having been to most parts of Italy a number of times and this summer finally renting apartments in Venice, Rome, and Montepulciano each for a week, my mind is now made up. While I loved it all -- for a full 6 months it would have to be Rome. I'd get bored silly after a few weeks in any small town or in the countryside, no matter how beautiful. And while I love Venice and Milan too, there's just no comparison to all the ways I'd spend my time in Rome.

Betsy

Two months in Rome, two months in Pienza, two months in Venice. I'd leap at the chance!

Patrick

Betsy, you're cheating. I didn't know we could break up the whole 6 months. That deserves a whole new answer too complicated for here.

KS452

Rome, for the exact same reasons given by Patrick. No doubt about it.

artlover

Venice because it's SO ROMANTIC and is a work of art in and by itself.

BoulderCO

Santa Margherita - the water, a town large enough to stay busy, easy day trips to Cinque Terre.

Statia

It would be Venice for me, too. Although I grew up in a raging metropolitan city, I now prefer the quieter areas, near the water if I can swing it.

platzman

Rome:an apartment near the Vatican or Trastevere or the Aventine Hill. I would feel a need to spend lots of time in churches, and I'd try to visit all of them once and the 4 major basilicas many times. And I'd still be able to take an occasional daytrip to perhaps Florence, Orvieto, Assisi, Frascati, Naples.

mkdiebold

I agree with platzman...would love to "spend quality time" with the art of Rome...with side trips to Florence just to sit amidst her artistic beauty. My 6 months would be from September to February because of fewer tourists.

Jocelyn_P

For me it would depend on the time of year. I agree about Rome, but I wouldn't want to deal with the summer crowds and heat. So, if it included a summer, I'd probably choose Vicenza. It's on the main train line between Venice and Milan so you'd have easy access to some exciting places. Vicenza is a gorgeous, wealthy small city filled with Palladian palaces and lots of green space. DH and I walked around the city in awe, saying to each other, "I could live here."

Verona would be very livable, too.

About Lago de Garda...we fell in love with Riva at the north end, but it was VERY windy, and that's apparently the norm. I'm not sure about the other towns around the lake.

Let us know what you decide.

skatterfly

For me it would be probably be a tuscan village... I could easily access Florence and the Chianti wine country and other parts of Italy for visits... the pace would be what my new little family would need... and I just love the way the sunlight hits those hills. Takes my breath away.

Initially I also thought Positano... but I would definitely get bored out of my mind after oh, maybe 3 or 4 months of that.

~kat

kismetchimera

Give me Rome anytime..

bobthenavigator

Probably Siena as a centro travel hub to all of Tuscany and much of Umbria.

RufusTFirefly

No contest for me--Venice.

Jocelyn_P

ttt

nanb

As I have lived in a very rural area for over 30 yrs I could use a change.

ROME!!!!!! ROME!!!!!! ROME!!!!!!!!

with long weekends on Procida
(and someplace I have yet to be to )deep in Umbria

BlueSwimmer

Bologna! The food, the beauty, the university...

amy_zena

Let me first say that I live in Italy (on the outskirts of Genoa in Nervi on the Italian Riviera, near Camogli & Santa Margherita), and I would not want to live anywhere else at this moment.

HOWEVER, I have found that living in Italy and visiting as a tourist are way different.

First, the salary that I live off of in Italy is tiny (and its normal here in Italy), therefore not a lot of money to enjoy the things I used to enjoy as a tourist here.

Second, the frustrations of Italy can sometimes be, well, VERY frustrating (to me as an American but also to the Italians). These are same frustrations that I had heard about, that I used to find charming about Italy when I visited as a tourist....thinking "ah Italy, che un bel casino..."

Transportation and General strikes seem to always happen at the worst times.

Trying to get business taken care of (ie. banking, ALL the paperwork I must keep updated in order to stay in Italy and be covered under the Italian national healthcare, and many more things...) are difficult to complete here for a couple reasons -- 1) because of (the very minimal) operating hours of these businesses and government offices and 2) because of the lengthy procedure and paperwork that must be completed and processed (sooo slowly) for everything here.

I actually found myself a bit jealous of my father visiting here as a tourist last month. I miss the days of not worrying about if a bar is going to charge me 3 times the price of a coffee if I choose to sit down at one of their tables, or having to look at menus to see if I can really afford to eat at this restaurant, or hopping in cabs when I want, etc. I missed the days of viewing Italy as a tourist, in awe and charmed by the stereotypical faults Italy has.

But I must say, when my father left 10 days later from Malpensa, I was glad that I was not the one getting on the plane leaving Italy. I was happy to return to my flat overlooking the Mediterranean. With or without money, with or without the daily life frustrations that Italy can present.

If you ever have the opportunity to live here for 6 months, 1 year, or the rest of your life then jump at it. Especially if you can do it the way the original poster described (not working and not having to worry about money). The joke of "Italy would be a great country if it weren't for the Italians" is not the case. "Italy would NOT be a great country if it weren't for the Italians" should be said. They are wonderful...there's nothing like Italian hospitality! They make everyone feel welcome!

Now that the stores (that are not closed for august holiday) are opening back up now from their 1:00 - 4:00 siesta, I must go do my grocery shopping!

montyw

So my thinking is this.
Just at 6 months is the amount of time you can "visit" with a normal passport.

I prefer hot/warmer weather so I would probably choose April-October. Plus I am a cyclist - so most of the good riding and also races I would like to see are during this period - even a gran fondo or two.

A small apartment with reasonable rent is important.

Rome so far seems to be the winner - and Roma is my favorite large city in the whole world...And my wife can't stop talking about it. Hmmm I don't like big cities - but it is for only 6 months.

Santa Margherita is a nice city, though I am not sure I could live in a tourist dominated town on the beach as I already live in Santa Cruz, CA.