philat98

Someone should recommend Thus Spake Bellavista to your "Destination expert" Anthony Peregrine. He might look on Naples folk more kindly.

ononno

Never realized it had been published in English! The film in Neapolitan was also hilarious. De Crescenzio's books on philosophy are also worth a read.

MrsTeapot

No I haven't - but I have now! Thanks for that - I'll look into it.

nicktonight

Hi Freddy Bee
Just to encourage you in your venture. You have chosen the best area of Sicily which in my opinion is close to paradise and your budget is quite sufficient. I rented for 5 years with 4x4 contracts, changing without any difficulty several times. I first got a holiday rent in Ortigia Island to give me time to look around so perhaps you should wait until September when short-term rents start to fall. You will easily be able to find a small furnished place for a few months to allow you to look around. Concerning dogs, a friend of mine picked up a stray a few years ago with a broken leg and he takes it everywhere - restaurants and even the most expensive ones and of course to the beach. If you need any help or advice don-t hesitate to drop me a line

Sancho

ononno

Thanks for that.Will help me entertain 'a nonna.

FreddyBee

An update for all of those who have given me ideas and advice. I just returned from an eight-day visit to Sicily. I discovered that the niece of one of my closest friends lives in Enna: she kindly hosted me, drove me all over the south-eastern part of the island, and introduced me to a friend of hers who is a lawyer in Siracusa. We visited many towns and I came to a list of three possibilities for my retirement: Ortigia, Noto and Scicli. My plan now is to return in January and take a one- or two-month let while I look for a long-term rental. From my contact with estate agencies, it is clear that I can afford a home -- and that the home will be larger in Noto or Scicli, while social amenities may be better in Siracusa. That's the plan.

modicasa

Ortigia is lovely to visit, but not a place to iive. It is damp, too damp - after 3months your bones will ache and you will be driven mad by trippers. Plus you need to go elsewhere to buy anything.
Noto is nice, most people want to buy in the country around the town, but the town itsself is getting better, more amenities and so on, but any shopping will mean you will go to Avola.
Scicli is lovely- a proper little market town with its problems and its advantages. Everything depends what you mean by social amenities.

FreddyBee

I should add, if anyone has any advice to offer, comparing Siracusa, Noto and Scicli as places to live, please do send it to me here. I'm collecting all the information and insight I can. Thanks.

Trasnadonnta

Hi Freddybee.

I spent about six weeks touring Sicily about six years ago with a view to finding a retirement home. I travelled on public transport (trains & Busses). My experience of real estate agents was not very positive. I put a deposit on a small house in the mountains (population of 3,000) but the buyer pulled out. Instead of the buyer paying me double the deposit back (which is the rule supposedly) the estate agent charged me approx Euro 600.- for admin costs. That was in the region of Agrigento. On a later trip to Modica and Ragusa, estate agents 1) didn't turn up for viewings 2) viewings turned out to be totally different to agency online photos. In one house I viewed, there were several dead animals rotting! Generally speaking, I was very disillusioned.
That said, I found the people to be very pleasant, moreso North of the island than South. It seemed to me that the Northerners are more open, friendly, welcoming, interested in the foreigner. The Southerners are very different,a bit suspicious. I don't know if you would have a similar experience in trying to rent. The country itself didn't fail to impress, and if you are interested in history and culture go for it. I think it would be easier to 'fit in' in the North. The people on the West coast and North Coast are absolutely charming, even in big towns like Palermo. I travelled alone and never felt insecure about my surroundings. I have to tell you of a lovely story in Castellamare del Golfo. I stayed in an apartment for three days. Every day I came home there was a hot meal, or fruit outside my door. How's that for hospitality?? I'm sure you'll love Sicily and the Sicilians. By the way, I'm in my sixties, so it wasn't because I was a 'Spring chicken' that they were nice to me. It's just their nature!

Trasnadonnta

Hi FreddyBee,

I agree with what Modicasa says about Ortiglia.

Trasnadonnta

Hi FreddyBee,

Me again. Just to say that I found public transport very good in Sicily, I travelled in comfort and while trains will take you to cities you can get busses to almost anywhere.

modicasa

Stramge that you say the northerners are more open than the southerners. Most people think its the total opposite - with people from Ragusa being the most 'Unsicilian' of the lot.
Sorry to hear you had such a bad time wiht estate agents - but you are right - there are still quote a few agents who do not put up true photos of the properties, and the approach can be very amateurish. If you had a contract with the agent where you put down a deposit, then you had rights. You owed the agent nothing - and that is the golden rule - if you dont know what you are signing its null, if you sign nothing you owe nothing.

FreddyBee

The consensus here is that I would be happier in Scicli or Noto than in Ortigia. I obviously couldn't visit every town while I was there. Is there another location that you think I might prefer even to these? I plan to take a short-term 2 month rental Jan-Feb, while looking for my long-term home.

Sancho

I haven't been to Scicli, but I liked Palazzolo Acreide more than any of the other places you mention. Not too big, not too small (ca. 10000 I think), quite high up (ca. 600m m, I think), which means it's less likely to be unbearably hot in the summer, although I suppose it may sometimes be cool in winter), above all friendly people. Breathtaking baroque churches (they're not as concentrated as in Noto, so the town doesn't seem so like a stage), and superb pears. There's plenty of cultural life too (ask the librarian at the town library), with a little ancient Greek theatre that gets productions from Siracusa INDA. Far, far less tourists (especially foreign tourists) than Siracusa or Noto. Not too far from Siracusa or Catania if you need a bigger place for some reason.

Here's a film. The church at the top of the huge flight of steps is S. Paolo. The one with the twisted "Solomonic" pillars in front is the Annunziata.