katvg

no, living in a small italian town is not boring! of course having a car to get around is a necessity as some of the smaller towns don't have the best transportation. dealing with the phone company, plumbers/electricians, the business hours -- yes it does get frustrating. of course for a fantasy of 6 months living in italy let's assume we aren't worrying about money or any of those things; you'd need a good cafe, gelateria & not much more

montyw

Since my wife an I are actually planning for this in the next few years it is quite good to see my post back in action.

We are planning on 6 months living in 1 place or possibly 2 places. We would rent a small apartment with good services and go from there. Money is not a question as we are saving now for the stay.

I would prefer as I stated above a small town with some services, but with easy access to a nice metro area - by train or car, say 1 hour away. I like the sea coast - and have thought about a place like Sestri Levante (close to Genoa), or Porto Ercole in Tuscany close to Roma.

Something that gets us close to all sorts of culture, relaxing at the ocean or in the countryside...Plus since we are in our Mid 30's we should still be able to adventure around quite a bit

chepar

>Since my wife an I are actually planning for this in the next few years it is quite good to see my post back in action.<

I am envious, your plan sounds wonderful.

For me, it would have to be Rome.

Brahmama

This is one of those threads that can't have a wrong answer. I enjoyed reading the different responses - many were quite thoughtful.

My opinion? I'd think strongly about getting a flat in the Castelli Romano hills south of Rome about 15 miles. The little towns are right on the bus and train lines and I'd enjoy having a quiet peaceful base, but being able to get to Rome in about 30 minutes.

I love London too, but Rome would be the place that I could visit forever and never see it all. As a matter of fact, we are trying this out - just for a week - staying out in the suburbs of Rome - this May! If it works well for us, we will come back for 12 days in October.

We're retired and wouldn't be able to stay a full 6 months anywhere but at home, but I wish you the best!

Good on you for planning for your dreams. Keep us posted on your progress.

39Steps

Given your criteria, which would be similar to our own, I would stay in a small village in the countryside of Tuscany. You would be close enough to Florence and Siena for your city pleasures and still have reasonable coastal access. Even Rome wouldn't be too far away by train. We are considering doing something like this in a few years ourselves, but would probably start in Provence. But Tuscany wouldn't be a bad alternative.

Kavey

I'd go for Bologna.

LoveItaly

A question, are some of you from the US? I ask because we in the US can only visit Europe for 90 days. Those in Europe of course do not have this restriction.

Or is there a way for a US citizen to live in Italy (or other places in Europe) for six months that I do not know about? Just curious.

How I would love to be in Italy for six months, sigh.

Jackie_in_Italy

I think there are certain visas you can get as a US citizen to come over to Italy and live for a while: some work visas, some visas that require that you don't work, some student visas, etc.. Sometimes they are complicated to get, but I'm assuming that's how many people come over to live. I know that I first came on a student visa, which is one of the easiest ones to get.