Emmis

We are probably moving to Pisa in a couple of months. After years of trying to move out to Italy (long before children were on the scene) my husband is close to closing a deal for work out there. I'm half Italian and bilingual but spend most holiday time in Rome, seeing friends there. We both love Italy, my 3 year old understands Italian as I only speak to her in Italian, but I don't really know what the reality of raising kids in Italy would be like. We also have a little 4 month old baby. I'd love to meet other expats as even though I speak the lingo and do have family and friends in Italy I probably still think like a Brit and would love recommendations etc especially regarding the little ones. Anyone out there living in Pisa? Any recommendations from other parents living in Italy? To me it's always seemed like the dream country to raise children and as a child I always hated going back to the UK after holidays visiting family in Italy...but I'd love to know what it's like through the eyes of British parents.

nixpix

Hi - we have been in Milan for just over a year now and have 2 kids - we visit Lucca as often as we can as we have a little place there - Italy is the best country for the way they naturally love kids - even in Milan so i have no regrets there.

Emmis

Thank you so much for the reply nixpix. We've been to Italy lots with our daughter but staying somewhere for a week and actually living there is so different. We feel that it's the right move for us... for both the children and for us... but it's great to know you and hopefully others can confirm we're not making a ridiculous mistake! Thank you again!

piedmontproperty

Although I dont have kids I really get the impression that the the enviroment is better here, different drinking culture, higher family values etc. The kids will aways work when they are older with the two languages behind them.

Emmis

We're starting to get very excited about the move. The house is full of boxes and we're are frantically packing. Only 2 and a bit weeks to go!!
Cannot wait. Thanks for the other message. We are really feeling more and more positive about doing this but it's great to hear it from other people!

nixpix

hey - we will be near Lucca over half term week- February 11th- do you want to meet up?

Sarah Clarke

Hi Nixpix,

How come your children get a half term?? Mine would be very envious if they found out, they are counting the days until Easter!! So am I actually as I still can't get used to 6 days a week at school.

Where abouts is your place in Lucca? Is it within the walls? Have you met any other English speaking families in Lucca? I am trying to find a different school for my 5 year old to go to as she is very unhappy at her current school. A scuola materna or even a mum's group with young kids... We are not here permanently so I am not going to push the Italian school thing with her.

Ciao, Sarah

Emmis

Hi Sarah and Nixpix
We'll be in Pisa from 1st February. We're looking at houses in and around Lucca so will definitely be there during weekends if you're planning on meeting up. Have you been to the English Bookstore in Borgo Giannotti, just north of the city walls? Apparently it's the source of all things English speaking if you're desperate. Hope things aren't as bad as they sound Sarah . You should definitely change schools if your daughter is still unhappy. The public scuole materne have a great rep but there is the Westminster International school in Pisa if you're desperate and don't want to do the italian thing. Maybe we could do some school hunting, when we finally settle in Lucca, together!
Hope to catch up soon.
Ems xxx

Sarah Clarke

Hi Emma,

Yes, funny you should mention the English Bookshop as I was supposed to be going there this evening with a couple of other girls for their book club but it was cancelled. Book clubs aren't really my thing but I was looking forward to meeting some other english-speaking people!

The school thing is a worry. Ella is back tomorrow having had a couple of days off with a really bad chesty cough and temperature so I know it will be hard! She is finishing at the end of April as we are going back for 6 weeks and then she will be starting at San Colombano elementare with her brothers so it probably isn't worth changing, unless there are some english girls somewhere aged 5!

Did you get the details of Mary the letting agent I sent you? I have called her to say you might be calling, she is really nice and knows the area very well.

Good luck with the move - brings back memories !! Send me an e-mail when you land and we'll get together. If you need any (free) accommodation near Lucca, call me too as we have a self-contained 3 bed apartment downstairs which is empty for Feb apart from the 1st - 4th.

Ciao for now, Sarah x

Emmis

Phew. I wouldn't worry too much then if she's got a place in your boys' school. We have been through some hellish creche experiences here in Amsterdam and it was made harder as we don't speak Dutch. We finally sent her to the International school where she's really happy. With Italy at least Gaia's got the Italian behind her but my worry is that as we're arriving at such an odd time it'll be nigh on impossible to find a place for her... I imagine all the nicer schools are full. If we get together Gaia could help Ella with the Italian! She usually speaks English and I speak to her in Italian but it might be nice for Ella to watch some Pimpa dvds (a very odd Italian rabbit type creature that Gaia loves) and play with Gaia... Gaia's a bit younger but you never know!
I hope other than Ella's school experience, which could happen anywhere, in any country, you're loving Italy. I can't remember what brings you guys to the the Bel Paese... let us know!
How's the pregnancy going? Have you sorted out the medical side of things? My chum said it's ridiculous that no-one will help you as usually they help anyone even tramps on the streets!
As soon as we land I'll get in touch with Mary. We've also found a lovely estate agent in Lucca called Riccardo who's really pulled his finger out to help us. So different from past experiences with don't-give-a-toss agents in other countries. We're just so excited. Packing is mad, the house is chaotic and the move is the most expensive thing ever but we're finally realising our dream!
Love Emma

Sarah Clarke

Yes, we THOUGHT she had a place but just been approached by one of the teachers and unless they have 10 enrolled for September, there won't be a classe prima! At the moment, there are 2 including Ella!

We are here just for fun and for the cultural experience and weather. My husband runs his UK coaching business from here and I am hoping to take up my photography again but the kids are always home!! School only in mornings etc. So, spend all my time washing, cooking, shopping and cleaning and collecting whilst my husband has discovered cycling and does a lot of running and coffee drinking!! I need to find my 'niche'...and it's not being a casalinga!!

Medical side of pregnancy going well, it's just that I don't understand the system and have become really frustrated with forms and red tape. We have also had quite a bit of bad luck with past pregnancies and I will feel much better about going back so that I can be understood etc. I am classed as high risk and want things to be as simple as possible. Also, the Italians here that we've spoken to don't even rate the hospitals and have all said I'm doing the right thing.

Italian with Ella and Gaia would be a great idea, perhaps you could teach me some too!!!

Look forward to hearing from you soon, Sarah

ardua

Hello to all...I,m currently pregnant with my first child.My husband and I visit Lucca often(palazzo alexander) We have decided to start staying in lucca for longer periods to 'test the water' and would be grateful for any information about moving to the area..thanks...Anh.

Emmis

I think we should start up a mothers/fathers/kiddies group thing in Lucca !!! Lucca seems like a really lovely place and I can't wait to start househunting but Italian women really miss out on the mother/toddler group thing that goes on in the UK, the States and Down Under. I spoke to a super lovely mum from Liguria when we were visiting Pinocchio (!!) and she said that she wished when she first had her little boy there had been a meeting place for mums... just to talk about breastfeeding, kids' sleeping stuff etc... and for the kids to play. I've got a 5 month old and you're both having a babies Sarah and Anh... and I bet Italian mummys would love somewhere to go to too. Even if it's just a pipe dream of mine we must catch up! Anh, I'm landing in Italy in just under 2 weeks (yes, I'm counting the days!) so if you want someone to test the water with then I'm game. I've got the citizenship and language behind me but husband's got to tackle the bureaucracy side of things. With regard to having babies there, I think it's like having a baby anywhere away from your home town... it's odd without the language to help and an environment that's alien to you. However having had a baby here in Holland with lots of Italian friends, they all complain about the Dutch way of doing things and say how fab it is in Italy and are constantly bringing over fab homeopathic remedies, going on about their fab doctors back home etc. Every experience is personal. I had a great birth in the UK whereas some friends of mine thought it was hell there. I think you're definitely doing the right thing having the baby in the UK Sarah... not coz of the hospitals in Italy which I've never found worse or better than the ones I've seen in the UK... but because you'll feel so much more secure I reckon... and high risk needs that... crikey I'm waffling on and on and on and on... sorry !! Can't wait to meet up! I promise not to talk too much or make I out I know anything.. as I'm totally clueless really!

Sarah Clarke

Kids group would be a great idea! Maybe even a babysitting circle too?! Congratulations Anh on your pregnancy - how many weeks are you? I am 23, due on 20th May. We don't know what we are having but have the answer in a sealed envelope to open soon!

Lucca is a lovely place to live. I love the surrounding area and the city as it is so small but with lots to see and do. I like the idea that you can wander about and never get lost as long as you don't leave the walls! It has taken me a while (we've been here for 5 months) to settle and I am still in the process of doing so. It is mainly due to feeling like an alien and having to sort everything out from scratch ie, schools, house, insurance, internet, mobile phones, bank accounts, buying a car, carta d'identita etc etc. I WISH I spoke good Italian which is a definite setback but we haven't done too bad considering our lack of Italian. I can recommend a really good language school within the walls. I'm trying...!

We definitely made the right decision with Lucca and I now need to find some time to explore and do some cultural things so I can enjoy it!

How's the packing going Emma?!

Emmis

Hey girls! Packing is fun for the first time ever! Only because we're hopefully gonna finally settle down. Years of travelling around, knowing the work was always temporary (Nick's been an IT consultant for 10 years) doesn't make packing fun as you always know within a year or even less you'll probably be doing it all again. I really hope this works for us in Italy. I'm hopelessly nervous as I feel it'll be all my fault if it fails (being the Italian connection!) so I'm crossing every toe and finger. A chum has just written to tell me about the hospital scandal in Rome... unbelievable...and I thought it was bad in the UK with the MRSA stuff. She's Roman and knows how much I adore it there, having always wanted to live there, and is convincing me how living in Tuscany is sooooo much better! I hope so, and just hope it's gonna be fun. A part of my heart will always be in Rome but I really cannot complain about the chance to live in one of the world's most sought after locations now can I?!
Sarah, I think being a foreigner anywhere is crazy... form filling is a Dutch passtime. Bureaucracy is bad in the UK for foreigners too... my bestest (is that a word? )Italian friend (the one who's a doctor...sure I've waffled on about him before! ) is living in Oxford for the year and can't believe how much of a hassle it is for him to get anything done... we argue constantly about where there is more bureaucracy, Italy or the UK... I think if you're not a native it's hell in both places probably!
I really should go back to screwing up paper and wrapping ornaments!
Love Ems x