The East coast is not so developed for the holiday maker, although developments are beginning to appear along the coast. It really depends on what you are looking for. We did not go along the developer route and bought in a village. www.gelsomini.eu Are you from the US? We have a few in the village, relocating and vacation home, see also This Italian Dream website which will help you and will answer some questions.
One problem if you are thinking of relocating and buy in a development is that you do not gain a residency buying there, it is zoned for tourism only and if you buy on a tourist development there are charges for the upkeep pool, security etc. So it can work out more expensive long term. Quite a few people are hoping to rent out their flats etc., to tourists but with the weak £/$ those are going to fall?
The best thing to do is rent in Sciliy or Calabria for a while and have a good look around. There are bargins still around, Calabria is great as you have the mountains cool in the summer, sking in the winter, porcini, lemoncella, pork, seafood and fantastic beaches as a result of the conservation areas. Happy hunting and if you want further info. let me know. I know a man who does things!

Sunnylady seems to be highly informed and gives very sensible advice.

thank you,

Hi, Andy,
My name is MaryAnn and my husband and I will be visiting Calabria in July for 2 weeks to see if this is the region for us to live in. Within a year, I think we will either purchase or rent. Tell me, what made you choose the west coast? Is there an advantage to either coast? We will be coming to Amantea for 3 days to look around. It is one of the towns on our list. Could you tell me a reason you chose Amantea?

The type of village I would love to live in is one where the houses are not too far apart; I love the homes with the peaked terra cotta roofs.

I honestly would just like to get the thing done with just buying, but am wondering if I should rent. We need to be economical and do not want to spend a lot on a modern looking townhouse as we have here in the states.
I would like something looking like the culture of the beautiful country.

Are you happy there? Also, I am concerned with the elevation of the towns. Can't live somewhere where it is a long curvy road to get down by car.

My email is <snip, contact can be made by clicking on usernames as it is not a good idea to post email address`s on an open forum. As you haven`t noticed me doing it before two or three times I will highlight it in red> It would be great to hear from you.
Thank you very much.
MaryAnn

HI, Mozza,
My husband and I are visiting Calabria for 2 weeks in July and I can't wait! Our purpose is to decide if this is the region for us to buy or rent. The next one is Abruzzo, which we loved, however, it appears tha tCalabria has the sea and mountains.
Tell me, how long have you lived there? We live in the states and I am wondering what the cheapest way would be to ship our items. If it is worth it, I would like to ship my Hyundai Tiburon. May be costly.

We are coming to Amantea for 3 days. Did you choose Amantea for a reason and is there an advantage to one coast over the other? How about the worry of earthquakes?

I am a mathematics teacher here in New York State and my maternal and paternal grandparents were born in Sicily. I knew Italian before knowing English, and although, the conjugations are wrong sometimes and the tenses, the Italians understood me. I feel so lucky that my husband is willing and ok with moving there. Tough part is leaving my 25 year old daughter.

Would love to hear from you. Any tips on the realtors to stay away from? Do you think renting is a hassle and then hulnting for a house while you are renting, to buy?

Thank you so much.
MaryAnn

If you are looking for a traditional home you will have to look at the hill top towns or isolated farmhouse type. Depending on the village the drive can be easy or hair raising, they are improving the roads to the villages but slowly. The reason the towns/villages are on the hills is the problem of piracy and malaria, both now gone, so after the 2nd war people began to build on the coast using the new road and rail link, hence the vast majority of properties on the coast are modern. There is a slow return to the hill top villages, it is cooler, away from the bustle of the roads and train. The west coast as far as I have seen does not appear to have the coastal plain the east does, hence it seems to be more hilly, both for the modern and traditional home seeker. Prices, vary, it depends on the standard of accommodation you want or need and the location. You will need air conditioning in the summer if you are not used to heat. Go to both east and west and travel up and down the coast, dropping into the hill top towns, avoiding the tourist traps, Tropea, Gerace as these will have more expensive rentals? July is the start of the tourist season and I would advise starting to book hotels now so you are not disappointed or bedless! August is very busy and expensive.
Hope this helps.

Dear Sunnylady:
You are wonderful. You honestly answer everyone's questions and I think people appreciate it very much. I do. We have our whole itinerary planned:west coast
Scalea (Have you been there?), Amantea, Bagnara Calabra, east coast Guardavalle, Ciro Marina,m Spezzano Albanese, Amantea, go home.

Would you be able to tell me the names of any coast towns that may have the traditional Italian home? What i mean is like the typical villages with arched doorways, orange terracotta roofs, etc? Lower level to live on? I will travel to them. The towns above are where the hotels are that I booked already. It is fine if you do not know of any specific, but it is easier to ask now, in English. When I say modern, what i do not prefer is a flattish roof, grayish, and it is the way the Itlians build modern buildings. Do you know what I mean?
I thank you. Have a great day. Appreciate anything else you can tell me.
Oh, do you think it is better to bring my Hyundai Tiburon over there or just sell it? It is a 2.7 engine. I know there may be restrictions.
MaryAnn<snip, contact can be made by clicking on usernames as it is not a good idea to post email address`s on an open forum. As you haven`t noticed me doing it before two or three times I will highlight it in red>

Car, if you are moving to the country it is advisable to buy a small car rather than a large 4x4, the streets are narrow in the traditional towns!
I see you are only going down the west coast, you should also go to the east, less developed at the moment, a bit cheaper. Soverato down, to Reggio will give you new tourist developments off plan as well, but you do not get residency, if you want that as I understand it you should buy a house or exisiting development not tourist. Check with the local council before buying or your lawyer must. Pick a town and enjoy. I would spend a week west coast and a week east, do a circle! La mezia down to Reggio, up to Catonazaro and across, a day trip up to La Castello and area if time.

Hello, thank you for the reply. Our itinerary has been planned and hotels booked, the least expensive I could find. We styart in Scalea, then Amantea, Bagnara Calabra,all on west, then on east Guardavalle, Ciro Marina, Spezzano Albanese, Amantea. We will travel from those towns to see others. I could not locate La Castello on the map quickly, but will do a mapquest. You had suggested it. Thanks for clearing up the residency issue. I just love my red car, my Hyundai Tiburon, but is it a big hassle to keep it there? costly, right? Yes, I see what you mean, roads are narrow.
I am from the US, yes. Are you from Britain? What village do you live in?
Take care, thanks, again.
MaryAn

Hi MaryAnn,

My wife and I chose Amantea as it is a lovely little town (with lots of terracotta roof tops) which seemed to have everything going on (traditional town without being too busy) and is only 300m from the beach.
I did look at various other areas along the west coast but liked Amantea the most, plus my Aunt has purchased the one next door to ours

I did look in to buying a trulli house in Puglia about 2-3 years ago, but didn't havew the commitment I do now & ended up letting it get away. I am gutted actually because it would be worth 3x what I paid for it now!!!

You will certainly have to choose for yourself where you want to live, while its good to get advise from other members each area has its own offering and style which caters to individual tastes.
Good luck with the search.

Andy

Hi, Andy,
How are you today? Pardon me, but I know you bought a home in Amantea. I cannot recall if you permanently live there with your wife? One thing that I seem to have in my mind is that I did not want to be too far south. Maybe I will feel diffeently after being there. My family is from Sicily. All grandparents born there. My aunt's brother lives in Giarre, Sicily. Online housing seemed very high. I have visited Sicily in 2003, but one reason I feel I do not want to live there is becaue I feel isolated from all the happening places, the urban areas that I would want to visit comfortably, such as Rome, Isle of Capri, Sorrento, all of which I have been to. So, since I discovered the chance of Calabria, I keep saying to mayself that if I move too far south it will be more money and difficult to just go to Rome. Am I thinking correctly? It takes money. During the planning of my trip in March, I saw photos of Amantea and fell in love with it. For someone on a budget, is it feasible every few months to go to Rome? See, here in America, we are an hour and a half from NY City. Not that we go there a lot, but we do go there now and then, a few times a year. I love it. Is there a train to Rome convenient from Amantea?
Is it better for travel to be on the east coast? I wanted to bve near a larger city, not necessarily large like Rome, but a place with lots to do, entertainment, shopping (not that I go nuts with that.) What large city do you go to?
We will be staying at Hotel Mirablu in Amantea and I am excited. It is for 3 nights (because I saw those terra cotta roofs in the photos!
Would love to hear from you. Say hello to your lucky wife, who has a place in Italy.
MaryAnn

Hi MaryAnn

I don't normally read this thread as we live further north and I normally find and share input on other subjects but I was having a quick look today and noted that the places you are interested are near to where my hubby's grandfather's family come from - Maratea - which is just over the 'border' from Calabria, and he said to tell you to visit Tropea and see what you think, apparently it's a very pretty village on a cliff. And Amantea would indeed be a good choice for beach life!

Hi, Sands,
It is so nice to get a message from someone you have not yet spoken to. Thank you very much. Do you live permanently in LaSpezia? How far north is that? Do you see any problems with living in Calabria? Maratea was my starting point for visiting Calabria. We ended up with Scalea as the first stop from LaMezia Airport. Something in m
e keeps thinking it might be better to live in the northern end of Calabria on the west coast. I do not want it to be a big expensive project to visit Rome and I guess the farther south one lives, the more costly with gas and time. We will have to wathc our money in Italy-the falling dollar,lyouknow and I really do not see it being cheaper than the U.S. We live in New York State and we have compared prices, homes' cost, etc. It is about the same there and here for homes.
So, Sands, do you see an advantage to the more northern part of Calabria versus more south? one coast over the other? I do know I do not want to live in a high elevation where it is hard to drive down a narrow curvy road. OUr permanent home is one in whch we will grow old. I have to prepare for when we will not drive anymore. I am 58 and I was not picturing one house now to buy there and then later selling it and getting another. Guess I was thinking just to settle and be done.
Have you been to Maratea? I saw photos online and it looks lovely. I just love the villages with the peaked roofs and the roofs are terra cotta. Love it.
So, are you from England? Which threads are truly helpful?
I hope to hear from you. Thanks for the note. I really do appreciate it.
MaryAnn

hi MaryAnn

thanks for the reply - I'm going to feel a bit guilty now cos I don't have any other useful info for you regarding the area you're aiming for, so sorry! The reason I added my bit was through my hubby peering over my shoulder en passant and making a comment about Maratea. I am way up north in Tuscany where there are lots of lovely towns and villages but not so wonderful ones too, and the best thing for you to do is post a question on this site - as you can see there are a lot of helpful folk out there! Another good site for practical questions is through Italy Magazines Forums. I know this has nothing to do with things but I noticed with interest you mentioned being near NYC. I lived in Plandome, Long Island for a while in the 80s, then moved over to Berkeley, Calif till 1990. If you're ever up this way please let me know and we can give you a tour of what's around, which is mostly villages but quite pretty! I'm contactable thru this site and you can send me a PM with your email address anytime. Good luck, let us know how you go

Hi, Sands,
It was soo nice hearing from you. Oh, please, never anything to feel guilty about when you write. Isn't it really a small world? You lived probably 2 hours south of us. We live near New Paltz, NY, near Newburgh, NY. I will go t Itlay Magazines Forum. I also have lately written to a few people in the incalabria forum. What I find, though, is people not like yourself, who do not actually live in Italy. They have purchased vacation homes. So, it is nice to find an individual who actually lives there.
So, Sands, is Italy what you wanted it to be? Did you mve there because your hubby's family is from there?
I really have this craving, this calling, to go back to the country of my heritage. I spoke Italian before I learned English, but was raised speaking English. Parents born here, grandparents, all of them, born in Sicily. I lost both parents within 5 months (Oct. 2005, Mar. 2006), and being the only child, little cousins, I feel that I want to be in Italy for good. Hard part is leaving my daughter, 25, third year medical student. That is why I am always curious if people feel satisfied with the Italian dream. I feel I will be and am lucky my husband wants to move there.

Tell me, Sands, I was originally planning to buy a small home when we find the area. I was thinking how it would be to build a small one. I keep reading how they are not finished. Does that often happen, have you heard?

It means a lot to see other human beings open the door to a total stranger; I am referring to your invitation. Very sweet and I appreciate it. I will definitely keep that in mind.

Take care of yourselves; if you get a minute, would love to hear from you. Oh, what thread are you usually on? I could go to that if it is easier for you on this site.
MaryAnna <Snip I can`t believe you posted your email address again>