mariacallas

Yep, just putting everything in storage, renting out the house, and moving there for at least a year. Ready for a change.

If you could move (with a couple of teenagers) to anywhere in Europe, where would you go. I'd like to move somewhere rather economical but relatively close to some big cultural centers and transportation hubs.

So far I'm thinking of Austria and Spain (probably Barcelona), but I'm very open to ideas. I speak French so I could probably pick up other languages fairly easily.

If you make a recommendation, please tell me if you lived there before and why you recommend it.

Thank you so much.

ira

Hi maria,

Wonderful for you.

>I'd like to move somewhere rather economical but relatively close to some big cultural centers and transportation hubs.<

I suggest Florence or Bologna, Italy

ira

Ooops,

I meant a place in the vicinity of

mamc

I assume for some reason you have decided against France. As you speak the language that seems the easiest transition.

Patrick

I'd move to London. I could hang out from time to time and get cheap tickets to theatre -- including the really good cheap Fringe stuff.

I already know a lot of good places to eat and tons of free things to do.

It would take at least a year to explore the whole city even half as thoroughly as I'd like to.

I'd hop on Easy Jet or other cheap carriers and go off for weekend or week long excursions almost anywhere in Europe without spending much of anything to get there!

111op

Callas died in Paris, I think.

Just don't lose your voice. I think that it's a great thing -- what you did for art and for love. It's too bad Scarpia had to die.

yk

111op- I was going to make a similar comment, but you beat me to it!

SuzieC

I dream of moving to France...perhaps the outskirts of Paris? Nuilly? At least until I got my "bearings" then I'd pick up a house to renovate in Burgundy...

Where is my Lottery ticket?

bettyk

All I can say is I never think of Austria as economical. Of course, we lived in Vienna so it was probably much more expensive than somewhere in the countryside. In the early 80's, our apartment cost around $1700 per month. It was new, but not luxurious and it certainly wasn't that large. (NO closets, you had to buy wardrobes for storage.)

There are a number of small towns outside of Vienna that are served by train, many of them are little farming communities.

Jocelyn_P

With a couple of teenagers? Are they still in school? You say you speak French, but what about the kids? I'm assuming you've prepared them and they're excited about it, too.

WillTravel

I doubt this would be a good thing to do to teenagers, 9 times out of 10.

BTilke

In the Austrian village of Seckau (www.seckau.at) in the beautiful Steiermark, you can rent a small furnished apartment for about 700 euros a month. It's a charming place and the monastery runs one of the top private schools in Austria.
But I would suggest you pick a French speaking base. The city of Angers has moderately priced housing, offers a wonderful lifestyle, has a good university with lots of things for young people to do, easy access to the coast or Paris.
Do your teenagers speak foreign languages well enough to fit into their appropriate grade at school? If not, you'd have to enroll them in an international/British/American school which means big $$$ for tuition and being near a major urban setting.

mariacallas

Just checking in. I like what I'm hearing. Makes for a good adrenalin rush.

suze

Will you need employment during this year? I know some countries are more strict or liberal about how long you can stay, if you can work, and what kind of paperwork is necessary.

I have friends who have managed Switzerland but the residency permit, work permit, etc. were quite stringent.

mariacallas

Hmm. Hadn't really thought about the language barrier for the kids (who speak only English). They're both taking Spanish, so Spain maybe? Talk about immersion! Thanks for your good insight. Wonder what English speaking schools cost?

BTilke

Tuition at the international schools in Brussels runs about $12,000 per kid per year, last time I talked to somebody about it.

ira

Hi maria,

If you are going to do this, I suggest that you move as soon as the kids are out of school here, so that they can pick up some of the language and culture before starting school there.

I see no point in taking them to a foreign country for a year and then putting them in an English speaking school.

TexasAggie

Even switching high schools in the same town is very traumatic for teenagers. I cannot imagine removing them from their friends and support network and throwing them into a situation where they cannot even communicate with other teenagers their age... might you consider waiting until they are in college and going on your own instead of uprooting them? I graduated high school in 1998 so the memories and emotions are still relatively fresh... I know I would have been devastated if my parents had pulled me out of school and all my extracurricular activites and moved me across the ocean.

BTilke

If the teenagers are in high school (and I assume they are), their Spanish would have to be very, very good to manage at their grade level in a regular Spanish school. IOW, a lot better than the level they would be at taking ordinary Spanish lessons in a typical U.S. high school.
My Italian boss grew up in France and the UK and though she spoke some (pretty good) Italian, when she moved back to Italy with her family at the age of 16, her Italian language skills simply weren't good enough to keep pace with her same age classmates, nor did she know enough Italian history, literature, etc., to fit right in. She had to be placed back a year, not a happy experience for a bright teenager. I doubt your kids would be happy in a similar situation. Either be willing to put them in an international school (assuming budget allows) or postpone your dream until they're out of high school.

ira

With all due respect, I must disagree with the previous posters.

I have two daughters who once were teenagers. If I had let them do what they wanted to do they would have ended up unmarried, single mothers with serious drug problems, if they were still alive.

A parent's responsibility is to the adults their children will one day become, not to the kids that they are.

A year in a foreign country, even if they will have a hard time in school, is a wonderful gift.

Leave the cell phones, the gameboys and all the other junk at home. Let them learn to broaden their horizons and their minds.

Also, they will learn how food is supposed to taste.