Breaking all the rules (as usual!)
 

Hi everyone :)
I'm so sorry, I know its not the 'done thing' to barge into a forum asking questions without first reading and referencing past posts, but I hope you will forgive me.
I have 4 small children (5, 2, & 2x7 months) and I will trawl through everything on this forum in due course, but as you might imagine my free time is a little limited right now and I really need your help.
My husband and I would like to move to Italy in a year or two. At the moment this is as far as we have got. And so I am asking you if you can give us some ideas about where we might look at in terms of regions.
We would like to live in the outskirts of a small town. but within 30-40 mins driving distance of a city. I would prefer less heat, certainly less humidity, so maybe north?
We are at the very start of our research so all opinions/advice are welcome. My husband will need to find work in logistics/transportation but I'm leaving that to him!
We are planning on renting for a year or two before buying somewhere.
Any pointers appreciated.
Thanks, Rebecca

Re: Breaking all the rules (as usual!)
 

Hello and welcome to the forum.

Heat and humidity are awful at the moment, even as far North as I am. Weather warnings today say that temperatures will reach 36°C today and in the next few days. I'm packing a beach bag tonight and first thing tomorrow morning, I'm heading off up to the mountain lake with my kids.
It's not even 10am yet and I'm already hot and bothered just sitting here and typing.

Verona is a nice Northern city.

Re: Breaking all the rules (as usual!)
 

Hello and welcome. Work will be your main issue and will probaly dictate where you live. What line is your OH in? Start learning Italian now.:D

Re: Breaking all the rules (as usual!)
 

:)Hello and welcome from me too. May I ask why Italy?? Your reasons may influence what advice we can give.
ciao for now,
'o nonno

Re: Breaking all the rules (as usual!)
 

Hello and welcome!

I'm in the north, in the middle of the triangle made of Milan, Turin and Genoa. Beach and mountains both easily accessible.... but hot summers and very cold winters - best of both worlds in my opinion, but like what's been said before, work will probably influence where you settle. Jobs here are probably harder to find than in the UK, particularly if you don't speak the language. As regards to your children, the younger the better to cope with the change so don't wait too long!!! Good luck! :thumbsup:

Re: Breaking all the rules (as usual!)
 

Since your husband will need to work, would it not be logical to find work first and then decide if, with regards whether you like the area where the work is, you want to move there?

Seems little point in finding out all the facts about less heat, less humidity if the ideal place for that has no work available for your husband.

...... and of course you will need to speak fluent Italian to work in logistics/transportation I should think.

Re: Breaking all the rules (as usual!)
 

Forget it .. move to somewhere else nice in the UK instead ...
..or Germany .. :cool:

Re: Breaking all the rules (as usual!)
 

Hi and welcome :)

I'm up north near Turin (& the mountains) and today the humidity is really unbearable.
I have to agree with the others in that the first thing to look for is definitely work and then you should base it all around that. Italy has very high unemployment and things dont look too good at the moment.

As you say - have a good trawl through the forum - especially the education thread seeing as you have children - unfortunately it might just put you off though - italian schools are very different to UK schools.

Re: Breaking all the rules (as usual!)
 

Sorry for the absence, minutes merge into hours, into weeks etc.

Reasons for moving:
1: I fancy a change of scenery, culture, a new challenge (apparently 4 kids and my own business is not enough :/).
2: In the UK I can only afford to live in a nice house if its in an overcrowded burb, I don't really want my babies hanging out with the local kids too much round here. I know we can afford something similar in Italy but with much better views and neighbours not in our laps.
3: Youth culture has got so poisonous in the UK I want to give my kids a better chance, I know Italy has similar problems with binge drinking etc, but pehaps not so widespread. Of course my babes are tiny so that'd be a big gamble, things might improve here and get worse there :/
4: I've loved Italy on previous visits, sun, pasta, pizza, who could ask for more?
I'm sure I have a lot to learn..

Errr, would you care to elaborate on that? :)


Anything specific you are alluding to? off to have a quick look now :)

Thanks x

Re: Breaking all the rules (as usual!)
 

exactly .. .make as many visits as you want . .but there's much more to Italy than sun, pasta and pizza. Stock up during your visits.

Sorry to be the wet-blanket sceptic but that's me.

Anyway just as a guideline, given your criteria, you might like to try the Bologna area..perhaps in the hills..but then folks in the Veneto and so on will probabaly suggest nice places too, although it seems that it's pretty hard to escape "heat and humidity" anywhere in Italy these days.
Yes to work in logistics/transport your OH will need good Italian - his fluent English (and maybe another language?) will put him in good stead, even though it's tough these days to find a job anywhere., but you're looking a few years ahead so maybe things will have improved.
Yes, youth culture going down here too .. binge drinking, violence, crime and so on going up.
Don't come with thidea that houses and so on are 'cheap' . .again, prices are going up all the time, plus as usual the market is a bit of a 'jungle' and you'll need to be on your toes all the time.
As far as kids, schools and so on are concerned you will get good advice from other people here, plus already existing threads ..

Good luck.:starsmile:

Re: Breaking all the rules (as usual!)
 

All I can say is have a really good read of the education thread. The italian education system is slowly going down the pan . There is no equivalent of Ofsted here, no school inspectors and being a teacher is a job for life. Each school does not have its own headmaster/mistress - at my sons school the headmaster was in charge of 7 schools and so we never saw him. Teachers can be good or they can be bad but nothing gets done about it. The lessons are based a lot on rote learning and things like Art, PE, music, drama and IT are not given a lot of importance in most state schools, lack of funds also being a reason. We parents supply the photocopy paper and sometimes even the toilet rolls.

Re: Breaking all the rules (as usual!)
 

Good Luck with your research Rebecca. Hats off to you for wanting to try something completely different, I totally admire your spirit.

I lived in Italy before and we have just recently returned here again. I have got a good family and friends network here and my OH is Italian, despite that we are both jobless, well my OH soon will be as he is back in the UK until end of Sept. I have put a few feelers out but no definite offers as yet. Pretty scary stuff but I am sure we will get there! So far no regrets....(it has only been afew weeks mind!).


It is very daunting moving abroad everyone on here has experienced that at some point, so lots of brains to pick when you come unstuck.:)

All the best.

Re: Breaking all the rules (as usual!)
 

[ I know Italy has similar problems with binge drinking etc, ]

what makes you say that? I only see binge drinking in the UK. On the contrary it is frowned upon here, especially for women.

Re: Breaking all the rules (as usual!)
 

After going the whole morning without drinking, I had 3 beers at lunchtime yesterday.

Re: Breaking all the rules (as usual!)
 

There is less humidity in the south than the north - obviously getting away from being at sea level or in a large valley will help with humidity. Im in Sicily, where its hot, but very low humidity - probably 4 or 5 sticky days a year. This wont help you though seeing you want work, education and other things which dont exist here!

Re: Breaking all the rules (as usual!)
 

Ahh a whole morning ? so thats how you earned the 2 chocolate medals ! I am proud to say that after a WHOLE day without drinking I had 3 glasses of red wine with my dinner and then did the ironing ( not very well )

Re: Breaking all the rules (as usual!)
 

:ohmy:In this hot weather it is extremely dangerous to go all day without drinking. You could suffer from dehydration, and become all floppy and brainless.Especially if you're anywhere near my age.
ciao for now,
'o nonno

Re: Breaking all the rules (as usual!)
 

I am proud to say that after a WHOLE day without drinking I had 3 glasses of red wine with my dinner and then did the ironing ( not very well )

Wow, I think you deserve a medal. I would have been in no state to iron after dinner and 3 glasses of wine! If I give you a case of wine, do you fancy coming to do my ironing - I have been saving it up since June!

Re: Breaking all the rules (as usual!)
 

I like living in Bergamo. Several daily flights to the UK and rest of Europe. Rich of cultural events. It gets hot sometimes during the summer, but you can escape to the nearby mountains. 45 min by train or car to Milan. 3h to Venice, Bologna and Turin. Close to lakes. A little expensive but prices have changed a lot in the last years. It is also a major industrial and logistics area, so there might be more chances to find work. A little provincial for some aspects and more Middle-Europe than mediterranean, they speak a dialect that sounds a little German and French . Recently they opened an international school, but if I had kids I'd send them to local schools. Brescia, Como, Verbania, Ferrara, Padova, Parma, Novara, Bra, are other nice mid sized northern towns that come to my mind. Good luck.
H&G

Re: Breaking all the rules (as usual!)
 

Sounds a great place! . .I might move up .. :o

Re: Breaking all the rules (as usual!)
 

Hi,

I really appreciate your plan, but I can not really understand it!:eek:

I agree with MarkRD when he affirm to be sceptic.

Ok about the culture, the good food and the nice weather... but.... what about the society, the government, the rights...???

Anyway I don't want to discourage you, and I really appreciate it. So welcome to Italy! (the ex 'dolce vita' country) :thumbsup:

Re: Breaking all the rules (as usual!)
 

What's wrong with Italian society and what rights are you referring to?

Re: Breaking all the rules (as usual!)
 

gay rights?

Re: Breaking all the rules (as usual!)
 

Maybe womens' rights? Just watch some Italian TV.

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and common law cohabiting couples.

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..and the artificial conception thing .. even though the European Cort just overcame Italian law . .hurrah!
:thumbsup:

Re: Breaking all the rules (as usual!)
 

and workers rights .......I've been 'precaria' for 8 years now :thumbdown:

Re: Breaking all the rules (as usual!)
 

..but that's pretty much the same all over isn't it? ..even in the UK? I suppose it depends on individual cases ..
..or are you in (public) teaching Patty?

Re: Breaking all the rules (as usual!)
 

None of my friends in the UK are precaria Mark - but that might be cos the Channel Islands have a particular job market.
I teach in a private school.

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right to freedom of speech?

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Only 8! A dear friend and brillant teacher just got to the top of the list after over 15yrs.:( Just in time too if the proposed 'concorso' goes through.

Re: Breaking all the rules (as usual!)
 

Well that's no surprise then, even though it's still terrible.

Friends I graduated with have already become headteachers in the UK .. in fact has already retired. (not even 50..).

Re: Breaking all the rules (as usual!)
 

My wife is in the same position (7 years )

Re: Breaking all the rules (as usual!)
 

Hi 37100,

I googled an article on the new concorso and it said (if I understood it correctly) That it is only for new teachers, and teachers like Mrs Sensible will not be eligible. She has been teaching for the past 7 years but I think she was already on the list.

Re: Breaking all the rules (as usual!)
 

True, that is what they've said, but (always a but) they haven't said what the position of the 'old' teachers will be as they have said that there will be a time limit. The new concorso afaik is for the number of vacancies available. So what's the point of it? There are no places after the old ones have filled the vacancies.:confused: Am I the only one who can remember the last concorso (1998?) was supposed to be the last ever. :( If I see any thing, I'll pm it to you.:)

Re: Breaking all the rules (as usual!)
 

Hi 37100,

Thanks, please if you hear anything let me know.

Mrs sensible said half the places will go to new teachers and half to existing teachers. Whichever way they do it, it is unfair. Teachers should be employed by ability not because they have points gained by teaching. She also said the exam will be the same regardless of the school, ie infants, junior, middle etc. Typical Italian stupidity.

Re: Breaking all the rules (as usual!)
 

Quite normal. We're talking about 'posti', not 'una carriera' or 'un lavoro'.

Re: Breaking all the rules (as usual!)
 

Hi, I have just found your post and wondered if you might have advice - I am considering teaching in your area (school in Brescia) and wondered if you have any wisdom to impart as I will be bringing my thirteen year old initially and am wavering for my fifteen year old - both girls - as I would like them to attend local schools. Both have Italian as they attend a Catholic school where they are taught by Italian nationals. I have picked up some language along the way as well (we also have French and I have basic German)...thank you for any consideration...

Re: Breaking all the rules (as usual!)
 

My daughter moved out here 7 years ago with a 6month old , 3 year, 7 year and 10 year. As said some of the education is not the best we live on the boarder of umbria/ tuscany. The education in Tuscany is far better than umbria. All the kids are doing ok they all speak english and Italian perfectly and can translate very quickly. We so far have not found humidity a problem to date, and you do aclimatise to some degree, i remember my son in law coming home from work and laying flat out on the stone tiles asleep to tired to eat. but he seems to cope now.

Re: Breaking all the rules (as usual!)
 

Just a couple of thoughts : there is no NHS out here and the farmacia can be very expensive.
Yes, doctors write prescriptions, but they are not all necessarily "free" ones.