Statia

Venice for me....hands down. Just as long as I wasn't on the ground floor with acqua alta.

panecott

I would love to live in Sicily. Bellagio would be nice too.

franco

Rome in winter, Bevagna in summer; but for Bevagna (Umbria), a car is indispensable. Nevertheless, I'd continue to be in Venice frequently, but rather as a visitor than as a regular inhabitant. Have you ever carried mineral water bottles home in Venice? I do it quite often...

vetralla

Take a look at the www.expatsinitaly.com website to see where a lot of lucky people live. To see my front door and terrace view check www.elegantetruria.com

Shanna

Wow!! Thanks to all - I've wondered too about Sicily and Le Marche. And off Sardinia would not be a bad thing. When I interviewed for job there with the Navy, I did a lot of research on the island - expensive. We're just hoping to live without the accoutrements of the modern world - TV, stuff, beautiful shoes (me), Imus (her), more stuff. We are both able to rough it and improvise (I live in So Fla, she's in NH in an old Victorian with a broken furnace and a leaky roof). We're hoping to finish some of the things we're writing. I'm on the verge of being published - AT LAST! - and she's just starting to put her children's stories onto paper. I know it sounds fantastic but we want to go try it, do it - or fail to do it, and I guess if we have to, we'll come back to the States and live with Mom (whom we love dearly). I know we could rent a cabin in North Carolina or Maine but first it would be a short trip to the mall, then wow, look at this neat stuff, then phones, then cable then HGTV then we'd be doomed. Being some place where we can't be pointlessly distracted is what we need. I will check out the expat sites - and I'm thinking TOEFL and maybe a little seamstressing on the side. Thanks for all your thoughts - and while I can't pay your way, if it works out - hopefully in the next year or so - maybe we could host something? Would that be fun or WHAT?!!!

Eloise

I just found this Web site that you might want to have a look at to see what prices are like:

www.casa.it

It's in Italian, but all you have to know is that "comune" means town, "provincia" means province (the subdivisions of regions such as Tuscany), and that you want to "affitto" (or rent). It then gives you a variety of choices, including "appartamento", "villa", "loft", etc. You can probably figure out the ones that you are interested in.

Carta_Pisana

I'm with Nessundorma - Liguria, somewhere between Genoa and Chiavari, along the coast. Maybe Camogli, Nervi or Sestri Levante. The fact that Liguria is further north than NYC and palm trees abound is good enough for me to deal without a car (which I've been doing for the past 16 years)

risab

An apartment in Rome (Trastevere) that had enough electricity to sustain an airconditioner in the summer months and a terrace to hang laundry with room for a table for sitting outside would make me very happy. (Visited a friend's place in Rome that was actually built on a roof top of a large building- and the majority of the roof was his entire outdoor area.) Then I also have a dream of living in Tuscany or Umbria and eating outside under a tree on a big old wooden table with lots of wine, cheeses, fruits, olives, and really amazing olive oil-
I want to go to Sicily next year so maybe I'll want to live there, too.