IMDonehere

We enjoyed Bologna when we visited but it sounds too cold during the winter.

Thanks all for sound advice and cordial responses.

nochblad

Rather than taking the train from Pescara to Rome most take the dedicated bus service. There are numerous trips each day and the stopping point is Roma Tiburtina train station where there is also a metro stop. There are also a number of trips which go on to Fiumicino airport.

sparkchaser

<i>If we do this we will contact House Hunters International. My wife and I intend to stage a fist fight and not tell the producers or real estate agent.
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And I will watch it.

A coworker and his wife were on an episode of HHI. Scripted beyond belief.

IMDonehere

I am sure it is scripted. That is why going off script would either make it funny or get sued.

TDudette

DH and I got bitten badly by Bella Italia and endlessly discussed where we would like to have a little place.

But where? We couldn't settle on a favorite. We did, however, decide that we wanted a place large enough to support a supermercato. The lovely local markets that charmed us as visitors, could turn into pitas over time.

Orvieto popped up in my brain immediately, IMDonehere. Its big draws were in one place and the rest of the town could go about its business. It is also on a plateau--daily life wouldn't include scaling high streets which was a factor for asthmatic me.

We also enjoyed towns with colleges. Perugia, albeit hilly, was a great favorite.

We visited and loved Gubbio but went there by bus as train wasn't convenient.

What calls to you, IMDonehere?

IMDonehere

The towns in Umbria are certainly appealing. We keep on vacillating from an apartment in a town center to a renovated farm a few kilometers from the town. But I have unpaid parking tickets from 30 years ago, before CCTV and computers, from Perugia and Bologna, so I will have use someone's name on this board to buy a car.

If the summers were not so brutal, Cefalu would be my first choice.

swandav2000

My own thought is -- a small house on the outskirts of town. Close enough for transport to shops, etc, and close enough for taxi to the train station. But still possible to find a place with something of a country view.

s

August2015

Just out of curiosity, what does one do for a visa to stay in Italy beyond the Schengen restrictions? Thank you!

willit

I love the idea of living in Italy, and Cefalú is one of my favourite places there, but I agree about the summers. For that reason, I would probably discount my immediate though of the Cilento region (I like Castallabate probably as much as Cefalú)

Siena would be my ideal, but the house prices are stupidly expensive. The area of Northern Tuscany, near the Ligurean border has some appeal, although I don't know it well.

IMDonehere

There are all sorts of requirements to bypass the Schengen

Italy will let you in if you can afford it and promise not to work. You’ll need the following documents to apply:

A long-term visa application filled in and signed at the consulate. You must appear in person.
One passport-style photo
Your passport, which has to be valid three months over the planned stay in Italy. The passport will be kept during the application process.
Documented and detailed guarantee of steady income. Proof of financial means, such as letters from the bank indicating the status of your account, including the amount of money in the account.
Proof of lodging in Italy
A letter specifying the reason for your stay in Italy, length of stay, and where you plan to reside
A notarized background check

This visa is issued solely to those who are planning to move to Italy and not work.

IMDonehere

And in Siena you could get trampled by horses twice a summer.

swandav2000

IMDonehere -- what about medical insurance? Germany requires proof of health/medical insurance. Doesn't Italy have something similar?

s

mnag

Following although no interest to retire in Italy specifically. Love HHI...scripted and all.

Bedar

You should retire to Spain. You speak Spanish, as does your wife, and know the country well enough to make an informed decision as to where. From there you can visit Italy if you get the urge for some pasta.

IMDonehere

If we were going to live in Europe it would Italy, even though Spain would be easier in many respects. One of the reasons we chose Italy is we have only been there three times as opposed to Spain. And we returning to Spain this September, My wife's sisters who have also spent considerable time in Spain, prefer Italy.

If we were to purchase, we would chose a few towns and visit them and try to understand which would be best for us.

StCirq

Well, only 3 times isn't a whole lot before committing to buy a property. I forget, but I think I made at least 20 visits before buying. That's probably overkill, but it wasn't for me. One thing I would advise you to do is visit for a few weeks in every season. You can't imagine, particularly if you choose to live outside a town, and even if you choose in town, what a vast difference there can be between life in January and life in July. HUGE!

Fact is, it takes a lot of time and patience and money just to get to the point where you're comfortable with the idea of owning property in Europe. That said, you can probably buy a nice place for less than the 250,000 euros you've proposed. You could buy a very grand property around here for that, and we're in a place more popular and well-known that some little town in Umbria.

Once here you have a boatload of paperwork and other hassles to deal with, but it can be well worth it.

August2015

@mnag, I love HHI and HHI Renovations! It is my escapism pill.

bvlenci

I love Bologna, but it has a rather extreme climate. The heat and humidity in the summer would bother me more than the cold in the winter. We have relatives in Bologna, who come to Le Marche to escape the heat.

I agree with StCirq that you should visit multiple times before deciding to move to a town. I knew a German couple who bought a house in my town, but were totally unprepared for the cold, damp winters. They had only visited in the summer, when the warm sunny weather, along with a few palm trees, must have made them think it was semi-tropical here. It doesn't go much below freezing here, but Hawaii it's not.

IMDonehere

Well, only 3 times isn't a whole lot before committing to buy a property. I forget, but I think I made at least 20 visits before buying.
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The problem is we do like to visit other places and if I waited another 17 visits, I could forego the renovated country house and go directly to a cemetery plot.

Besides the people, the food, the climate, the topography, the history, and the art, I see no reason to move to Italy.

StCirq

August, HHi is total fantasy. Escapism is the total opposite from actually buying and living here. You can't imagine the paperwork and the hassles. Worth it, if you're TRULY committed. Otherwise, no way. Paperwork in Europe is legendary for a reason It keeps all those fonctionnaires alive and working towrd their pensions.

You can't esape it.,