Lugano is in Switzerland but is only an hour or so from Milan by car or train. We really liked it. Much Italian is spoken there, but also French and German.

My oh my, how this discussion has gotten off the rails! To put it back on track, allow me to quote the salient excerpt from the apparently long-forgotten ORIGINAL post, with my CAPITALIZATION (since Fodors has no italization mode):

"...We want toRENT somewhere FOR A FEW MONTHS in this part of ITALY, a few months in another part, a few months in AUSTRIA, etc. I'm looking for a PRACTICAL GUIDE for someone who wants to live abroad for an extended period, but NOT PERMANENTLY..."

NOT permament (goodbye Costa Rica retirement advocate), A FEW MONTHS here and there (goodbye advocates of immigration, legal or otherwise), RENTING (goodbye advocates of real-estate acquisition) - can we get back to the original question if someone has anything to add?

DahlaiLlama: "<i>NOT permament (goodbye Costa Rica retirement advocate), A FEW MONTHS here and there (goodbye advocates of immigration, legal or otherwise), RENTING (goodbye advocates of real-estate acquisition) - can we get back to the original question if someone has anything to add?</i>"

I think you missed the point. Two years based in various places might as well be permanent. Unless they leave Schengen for 3 or more months over and over and over again

The discussion is entirely relevant.

(The real-estate acquisition side discussion that so upsets you was in answer to a specific question posed by sarge56 so doesn't apply to the OP)

Janisj - I was the first to reply, detailing the Schengen aspect - I'm neither missing the point nor am I upset.

Let's get back on track and honor the OP's question such as it was succinctly put is all I'm asking.

We ARE 'honoring' the OPs question. They want to settle in Europe for 2 or so years.

Yes, I would love to see the original request addressed, since many of us here in N.A. dream of doing something like this (i.e., spending a <I>few months</I> here and there in Europe). Yes there are italics (you have to use HTML tags.)

Despite my previous post about getting back on topic, just a question--the U.K. is not part of Schengen, right? So presumably you could spend time in Britain in between. (Canadians and Americans, I see, can spend up to 6 months in the U.K. without a visa.)

Right, that gets us back, thank you.

Not "settling", but temporarily renting for three months here and there, and the rules of the Schengen treaty are the thing to watch, as outlined earlier.

Begin by reading this website:

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_p.../cis_4361.html

If you can plan on a stay of up to three months in any or several of these countries:

• Austria
• Belgium
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Italy
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Slovak Republic
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland

and alternate that with a three-month stay in any country NOT ON THE ABOVE LIST (sorry, don't know how to do italics), then you can abide by the "90-days in / 90-days out" Schengen rule.

Great contenders to meaningfully spend the "out-of-Schengen" months in my book would be, for various lengths of time, Croatia, the UK, Russia (St. Petersburg for one), Cyprus...

Even though the Schengen agreement can be seen as a hindrance, it must be a great feeling to have all that variety at your disposal!

During these temporary stays you'll have ample occasion to make contacts locally and gather information on your chances of making a stay more permanent, should you - in the long run - desire to do so.

Hope this helps once again.

This is terrific info - thanks so much DalaiLlama! I'll be pringint this out.

to do italics, you would write it like this, with no spaces:

< i > word(s) to be italized < /i >

<i>words to be italicized</i>

the "i" can be replaced with a "b" for <b>bolding</b>, a "u" for <u>underlining</u> or a color name (such as "<red>red</red>") to put in color. And you can comine them so you can have <b><u><i><u><purple>bold</purple> <red>italic</red> <green>underlined</green> <blue>colorful</blue><orange> words. :D

Thanks, cynstalker, or I should type <i>Un Grand Merci</i> and <red/>Tante Grazie</red> and hope it will come out OK.

BTW - do you know of a way to get back into one's own post after hitting SUBMIT to make corrections?

Smiles - I wish! Then I could be "printing" out this post instead of "pringint" it.

Used to be able to hit the browser back key a few times and get into your original post, but a couple of Fodors upgrades ago that ability went away. I haven't heard of any new way to edit.

Sorry to get off topic, Lady. I really am interested in the suggestions being made here!

Re insurance...

I don't know if this would work for you in the US, but here in the UK there is such a thing as a Gap Year policy which covers the applicant for up to one year's travelling (and it is renewable). I've bought good policies through American Express for both my daughters. Could be worth a try if things work out for you.

Good luck!

Don't always have time to be here every day, but LOVE all the replies. (Sorry, don't have the patience for all that stuff to do italics. Caps is soooooo much faster!)

Languages--we're working on it. I'm into Italian. DH seems to have an ear for German. Part of what we'd like to do--in addition to just immersing ourselves in the culture-- is language classes in country. It really might work out to do 3 months in Italy, 3 in one of the E. European countries, etc. Seen some great scenery in travel shows there, the cities look interesting.

Would absolutely love to do England, too, but, ouch--the pound is a killer! Maybe we can do a little there. Tips for doing it on the cheap would be greatly appreciated :)

DH is a foodie and into the wines and I'm into history/art/architecture, hence the special interest in Italy. We have had incredible times on our visits there and have friends in Florence and in Austria.

Investigating all the websites given here and loving reading all the opinions. Keep 'em coming!!

"<i>but, ouch--the pound is a killer!</i>"

What makes you say that? Some confuse the £ being @ $1.55 vs the € @ $1.31 to mean that the dollar goes farther in the euro zone. It doesn't work that way. For that to compute the € and £ would have to be at par to each other (which they aren't)

In fact, in real terms at this moment -- the £ is a slightly better deal for US travelers than is the €.

That is not to say some € countries don't have a lower cost of living - but it isn't because of the € or £ exchange rate.

(And both currencies are much lower against the US$ than last year at this time.)

Maybe not the pound as a killer but the cost of living in the UK is very much a killer from a tourist point of view especially as far as London is concerned. I live in Italy and hotels and restaurants are more expensive not to mention train fares. More than once I have paid more for my train fare from Stansted to Liverpool Street than I have for my flight from Italy!
And of course how about the price of coffee where you pay more for a caffè (espresso) lungo than you do for a regular one. They make you pay for just a little more hot water!

One way to do the UK cheaper (or anywhere for that matter) is to cut out the cost of accommodation by house swapping or house sitting. There are numerous websites for both. Try Housecarers, Gumtree and Home Exchange for a start.

Also if you plan to rent you could look at areas that are not as popular in the hope rents will be lower. London will of course be expensive but somewhere in the midlands or north could be cheaper.

Kay

Yeh I guess for a 3 month stay a home exchange might work very well! Good idea that I'll remember for the future.

"<i>Maybe not the pound as a killer but the cost of living in the UK is very much a killer from a tourist point of view especially as far as London is concerned.</i>"

OK -- then compare the hundreds of <u>free</u> museums in the UK vs the very expensive museums/galleries in Italy. Day to day expenses will average about about the same in Rome or Venice and London. But Rome, Venice and London are the most expensive cities in each country. Out in the countryside -- IME rural English cottage rentals run cheaper than comparable Italian villas.

Retirees can apply for a residency visa, provided they can demonstrate retirement income or assets:

"Any retired foreigner may apply for a residence visa to live in Italy for a period longer than 90 days. A retired foreigner must be able to demonstrate that they will have an adequate income (e.g. pension) or financial resources for residency within the country without any form of employment. Sufficient financial resources are approximately equivalent to $11,500 (USD) per year, per person. The individual must also obtain private health insurance."

http://www.retire-abroad.org/blog/20...irement-today/

Is this a current article? Seems to contradict the treaty--OR--this visa is all about the red tape and headaches referred to above. Anyone know which?