Hey, I want to come to your B&B in San G. too! I know your B&B wont have cooties, but I have stayed at some places that looked cootyish.

Cooties were and I guess still are little germies. If you are playing tag with someone you touch them and say they have cooties, then run like heck, before they can give them back to you.

Hi Kate. Can't say I've thought about owning/running a B&B in Italy, but I'd sure love to live in Italy for some period of time -- say six months to a year -- before the grim reaper comes a'calling.

I don't have the URL at my fingertips but I recently came across a farmhouse in southwest France, near Albi, that an American couple (as I recall) bought, restored, and are now runnning as a guesthouse. If I can find the URL, I'll post it here; you could always email them and ask them about their experience, even though it's not in Italy.

Good luck with your dream! And if you could some help for six months to a year... :)

nocinonut.

No cooties at my place. Left all those little critters back in London. Perhaps you can do the PR for our little place and stay whenever you like?

OK, it's a deal, when do I start?

What will be the name, Casa Calamari?

In approx 25 years or so.

No. That will be the name of the rest home. Gallo Nero will be the restaurant and Songi d'Oro (Sweet Dreams) will be the B&B.

ok, contact me in 2027, egads, and we'll plan the opening guest list, including, of course, local dignitaries and various VIP's.
Gee, I feel like Samantha in Sex & City!

lol
OK thanks!

Calamari,
You will definitely want music (some opera, some Zucchero, maybe a string quartet?) at this grand opening; contact me in 2026 and I'll set it up for you!

Kate, are you watching No Going Back, A Year in Tuscany on Channel 4 on Thursdays? If so it will give you a little bit of an idea. As I tell people all the time, living here is not like vacationing here. I almost opened an agriturismo a couple of years ago but soon realized that I like my life too much to end up being On Call 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

Kate,

I didn't do it to "escape"... well, maybe the weather in Brussels, but I do run a B&B here in Provence. I enjoy it immensely, but if I did it to earn my living I would probably enjoy it much less. It IS hard work, but the guests I've had make it worthwhile.

And before anyone jumps on me...No, this is NOT an advertisement, but Kate asked.

Patricia

Hi Patricia,

May your B&B prosper and thrive.

Kate:
I hate to rain on your parade, but:
I doubt anyone in corporate life knows the meaning of the word "stress" if they've never run a small business whose survival depends on your getting cash into a bank account by next Friday. Only you won't because the guests who were going to pay you have just cancelled. Or they won't pay you because the plumbing's just broken down, and you can't get a plumber in your piece of Umbrian paradise, because every plumber in Umbria has gone somewhere they can be sure of year-round income.

Nor does anyone stuck on the tube on a hot day try comparing the certain knowledge you'll get home with what happens when your car breaks down just as you're coming back from the market town of San Siestando with provisions - knowing you have to be home by 15.00 to meet the new guests. And they're American, so they don't understand how mobile phones work, so you can't phone them to explain.

You're living in a city that's full of foreigners who've arrived and developed successful small businesses. Have you thought there might be a reason practically no foreigners make a go of running a small business in Italy?

All the reasons rural businesses struggle in England? True in spades in Italy.

Now being a consultant in your bit of corporate expertise, based in Devon or the Lake District...Or even based in whatever bit of the Dordogne or Tuscany Ryanair is allowed to keep flying to. Different matter altogether.

Calamari -
Wew! YOU are the generous one. Likewise, when I get my kids in college (in a couple of years) I will have my traveling shoes on! I don't mind paying my way or earning my keep to soften those harsh realities mentioned that you must surely have to bear. Sweeping the floor could be fun in the company of a fellow Fodorite! :)

The very first place we stayed on our first visit to Italy was a lovely B&B in Chiusi. We were there 3 nights and the owner confided that she while she liked her current place (she'd grown up there) she was buying another out in the countryside so her daughter could have a big yard to play in, etc. We simply ADORED that wonderful Residencia Re Porsenna (I think that was the name) in the charming centro historica of Chiusi, so of course as soon as we got home from our trip all I could imagine was buying her place in town. Or maybe a flat overlooking the Alto Adige in Verona in a certain yellow building with dark green awnings...but after our trip to France, gosh, there's that pretty little town in Dordogne...OH DARN YOU KATE!!! I don't think I can ever get back to work this afternoon...

Flanneruk

You bring up some very valid points. Fortunately, I have run a business in Italy before (it was my American partner who ran away with the money), we already own property, my husband is from there, we know many talented people who will be able to help...albeit 25 years from now. Who knows. We speak the language, God willing with our proper planning "getting to the bank by Friday" won't be an issue, although I do know what that is like. Awful! There are many, many small businesses run by foreigners in Tuscany. I can only speak of the region I am most familiar with. Granted, almost always alongside an Italian.

Sounds like you are dealing with too much reality. You will be welcome to enjoy Vin Santo and fresh biscotti with us on the terrace as we watch the sunset light up the sky over the little town and all the American tourists go by.

Calamerie -
Does your property in Italy trace to your DH's family? Is so, all the better! How cool that would be. What type of business did you run there? What type of businesses do most of the Americans have or run there? Owning operating a business is not for the weak. Been there, done that. I would do it again, but ONLY a business I was passionate about. That's what makes it work. I can't imagine it working or anyone enjoying it otherwise. My DH says if I can spend this must time on here, I need a job. I don't want a career now, but probably should have a part-time job. It would have to be one where I can have fun and like the product, environment, and/or the people.

RLA - Yes, three of the properties have been passed down through my husband's side of the family.

Since you asked, I started a company while I lived in Florence right out of college. I designed and over saw the manufacturing of high end leather goods while my partner here in America over saw our team of sales reps and stole all of the money and ran off with her attorney.

Let's see, the foreigners in Tuscany that I know who run small businesses and larger do the following:
One married the Sesto Meucci shoe family
A few run agro tourismi in Siena, Florence, Poggibonsi, Fiesole, Pontesieve and Rada.

A few own clothing boutiques in the center of Florence. Two handbags, belts, jackets and the other very high end clothing. Many own bars and restaurants. The husbands are often the chefs while the wives chat up the clientel. A few others are import/exporters, one runs a newspaper and social group for business women abroad and one is a tour guide.

Oh my goodness, Calamari, you are Too Kind!
Pup and I would be happy to be guests of yours or to have you as our guests, anytime!
Hopefully, that time won't be far off, we can all get together in some nice villa in Tuscany and have lengthy discussions on how we plan to spend our retirements~
Kate, I have a friend who is an artist, she lives in Maine. Her dream is to buy a house with cottages and have an artists camp. People can rent the cottages, there will be breakfast in the main house and they can be artistic without interruption. And she will teach.
Or the lady that bought a house in Italy and teaches cooking classes, those sound more do-able than running an actual B&B or hotel.
It is a lovely idea though~ I wish you luck if you really decide to do it :)

I dream of living there, but in my dream I am rich and don't have to work.

gb
I bought my Calif. State Lottery Ticket today. You just never know. It was a quick pick.