Re: Which aspects of living here make you happy and which ones drive you potty?
 

Ops, for water and gas it should have read 'per quarter!

Re: Which aspects of living here make you happy and which ones drive you potty?
 

that is pretty good:thumbup:
what area are you in? im looking at properties (online) near Sestola at the moment. looks like theres loads of bargains needing TLC;)

Re: Which aspects of living here make you happy and which ones drive you potty?
 

aha! :eek: that is a better figure.
what kind of heating do you have to cost that much?

Re: Which aspects of living here make you happy and which ones drive you potty?
 

Mains gas here is the biggest expense for heating - I pay around €4k+ a year just for the gas. It heats my water and I have a gas stove top, but it is from now until the end of March that kills it, around €2700 is just this period!! I don't have it on at night and on low or off during the day if I'm in and out.:thumbdown:

Re: Which aspects of living here make you happy and which ones drive you potty?
 

yes I concur with this. We pay about €3000 a year and that is for central heating, gas stove top and hot water. It is the winter that kills you AND we are very frugal. You have to be wrapped up like an eskimo before I will contemplate putting the heating on here!!!

Re: Which aspects of living here make you happy and which ones drive you potty?
 

Italian heating.:D Teleriscaldamento. Our heating is supplied by a main generator which serves several thousand families. There are several in Verona. It is one of the most cost effective ways of heating, but of course, only available in towns.

Re: Which aspects of living here make you happy and which ones drive you potty?
 

teleriscaldamento? that sounds as painfullas the cost:rofl:
my dad lives in cornwall in a flat in between floors with flats on either side,
lucky sod doesn't spend a penny on heating cos all the neighbours are 70+ (actually so is he!! :D) and have their heating on full.
every time i go there even in the winter it's really hot and he has the window open.

Re: Which aspects of living here make you happy and which ones drive you potty?
 

Sorry all I have not posted since my first post. I had to go for some retail therapy in the UK.
Anyway, the things that annoy me here:
the lack of curtesy when driving and disrespect of driving laws.
I had someone tell me off( blow their horn at me today) for letting a pedestrian cross on a zebra crossing. The idiot was driving close behind me and did not like to stop.
The other day a mother with a car full of standing kids was in a wrong lane( they all do it to beat the traffic) and started pushing in front of me to go straight. I refused to let her go and she was saying-what am I supposed to do?Well, for a start drive in the correct lane like many of us silly cow and how about belting your brats?
And how many times you let someone in from a side road and they just drive with a smug /arrogant look on their face without saying thank you. I now do not expect anyone to thank me.
Expensive builders/electricians, etc.
Having a house and doing it up is a nightmare.
I will also add expensive electricity bills ( 250/300 euro per 2 mts, 2000 e a year per gas with frugal usage, 400 e. water, etc)
We did invest in a termocamino last year, so now we have a lot warmer house plus hot water and we spend around 1,200 E per year on wood.
Will post again with the things that make me happy.

Isacat

Re: Which aspects of living here make you happy and which ones drive you potty?
 

The things that make me happy:

-sitting on a sunlounger in the garden with a good book
-taking the train into Rome and exploring one of the most beautiful cities in the world
-a good meal in the local restaurant where the kids are spoiled by the waiters and get a free icecream
-the way they fuss over children
-my kind and helpful Italian neighbours
-a great day sledging in Campo Felice
-the fact that I can walk at any time in the night in our town and not fear being mugged/attacked

Regards:)

Isacat

Re: Which aspects of living here make you happy and which ones drive you potty?
 

I agree with most of those points but I've never tried to do up a house here. The stress and the expense would probably kill me.

Though there are drawbacks to living in a small village, one of the plus points is that I can go to the little shop around the corner without a cent in my pocket, get what I need and pay for it the next time I go in.

I've seen some old ladies keep a monthly tab there and only pay up once a month.

Re: Which aspects of living here make you happy and which ones drive you potty?
 

Yeah, true. My fave bread shop often do this for people and I have been told that if i need to they will do this for me too, although they have no idea where I actually live and could dissapear at any given moment! I can go in there, the kids are made a total fuss of, never leave without a little something to eat and I often get a hug.... the family is from Naples and have always been very welcoming of us. I think they suffered (and still do sometimes) for having the audacity to move here a generation ago and open a bread shop and so they know what it can be like being 'stranieri'!

Re: Which aspects of living here make you happy and which ones drive you potty?
 

Bad points?
Bad eating habits, biscuits for breakfast, lunch of pasta around 1pm (absolutely starved), dinner (pasta) around 8pm (absolutely starved)...
Silly women who think yer kid will get pnuemonia if ye let him/her go out with wet hair...

Good points?
T-shirt today...
Cheap rent...
Bartering system...

There is more...But I gotto go and eat now...

Re: Which aspects of living here make you happy and which ones drive you potty?
 

eat ???? eat what ??? pasta ??? :rofl:

Re: Which aspects of living here make you happy and which ones drive you potty?
 

Well,

I am not sure all Italians eat just buiscuits for breakfast and pasta is one of the quickest and most delicious meals.
I can eat it everyday for lunch( different sauce, etc), it fills you up and the carbs give you energy.
I believe for dinner they have it as a primo instead of bread and then have meat and vegetables?
I read a study sometime ago that said going out with wet hair, underdressed, etc does not give you a cold, however, if your body is exposed to lower temperatures, your immune system is more succeptible to bacteria and viruses.Who knows, it might be true?
Cheap rent? Not around where I live.

Isacat;)

Re: Which aspects of living here make you happy and which ones drive you potty?
 

This drives me potty :
driving along and thinking ...is my back bumper magnetic cos that twit behind is actually stuck to the back of my car :frown::frown:
They wouldnt know the words 'safety distance' if it fell out the ruddy sky :eek:
One day I will get into trouble cos the urge to slam on my brakes is just so tempting.