Hi. I've not posted for some time as after many months on the market our house was not going to sell, however a cash buyer has cropped up and we will be on our way to near Pescara at the end of April!!!

So - I do have a few questions. Is is easy to find doctor/dentist/optician? Do I need health insurance before I can register with any of these and how would I go about getting that? Would it be a good idea to have eyes/teeth etc completly up to date before leaving? What about contraception? I am on the Depo jab - is this available in Italy and if not would it be worth me having the implants so I don't need to worry for years rather than months?

House and contents insurance - how do I go about getting them (are they100% necessary?) What about the vehicle? It was bought in Italy but has become English?

Finally are there any English groups in the Pescara area - I do want to mix with the locals and learn the language but feel that a bit of support would be great to begin with (and we'll bring out some cheddar if you want!)

Many thanks to anyone who can answer or point me in the right direction to websites/links etc

Hello,

Cash buyer eh. Great - no horrible house chains to be stuck in.

Anyway, here are some answers to some of your questions.

To sign on at the "comune" council town hall as a resident, you will have to show them proof of funds and private health insurance. Proof of funds could just be a few bank statements. They will want to see an insurance policy as well. This is to prove that you will not be burdening the Italian system.

If you are working here with a regular contract though and paying taxes out of your salary - you'll automatically be able to sign on to the Italian NHS system.


Dentists are nearly all private so you could make an appointment here with any of them - without needing any health cards, EU cards, insurance whatever BUT they are all horribly expensive. Average price for a child's filling is 80 euro. An adult check up and clean and polish could be anything from 100 to 150 euro.

You could probably walk into any optician on the street and book an eye test. Not sure how much they are because I always get my eyes checked back in the UK. I buy my glasses there as well as my kind of lens are horribly expensive here. You can get some lovely cheap frames and sunglasses here as there are plenty of outlets about - but I find that my lens cost so much more here.

Not sure about the Dr's. You'll probably have to pay for a visit to a Dr's surgery but if your insurance covers this then I don't know how it works. Even those of us on the NHS system here still have to pay for prescriptions though and specialist visits at the hospitals. All Italians pay for medicines but unlike the UK where you pay a fixed prescription price, here you pay the price of the medicine. This means that one day you could be paying as little as 3 euro and another time it might be 27 euro depending on what you need. Things vary for people on life saving medication etc. but this how it generally works.
Even over the counter meds like Neurofen or Aspirin can be very dear here so stock up on all the cheap paracetamols and ibuprofen and Beechams etc. before you get here.

Contraception is way behind the times. That jab you have doesn't exist here. At least it didn't last time I spoke to my gyno. As for that micro-chip implant - forget it. My sister uses that and I know she had it in one arm for three years before they removed it and put a new one in her other arm. I think she had quite a few check ups after the initial fitting though so you might not have time to have it done between now and April.

Any insurance company will probably insure your house and contents so you can shop around for quotes. I know that there is some kind of insurance included in my mortgage but that's for the bank and not for me. They'd get their investment back and I'd be left homeless and penniless .... so I have my own insurance for fire, theft etc. This also includes 3rd party damage that my kids might do to somebody else's property. I'm not paying as much for this as I am for the car insurance.

Can't help with the car I'm afraid but somebody else probably can.

Think that's about it for now - so good luck and buon viaggio.

Hi,

I live near Pescara (and have 3 kids) and there are quire a few Brits dotted around. Getting a doctor, dentist etc is relatively easy, medical insurance maybe a little trickier, but initially with your EHIC card and maybe an E106, if this is still applicable you will be okay. Contraception....I have no idea, fingers crossed or maybe something else !!

We insure our house through a UK company, but these are proving expensive now, so an alternative needs to be found.

If you need any more info at all drop me a private message.

Good luck

yes there is a english forum in Pescara it is called Abruzzolutely forum

hi take this advise and you will get a lot of local advise freely given ive been a member of this forum and get good advise , local knowlege is verry important in italy , the site menshioned could not be more local to pescara , i should allso say you will get good advise of british expats ,com

Car insurance is obligatory - I'm not sure how it works if you car is 'English' ie. UK registration plates. It will always be handy to have car documents andi nsurance on hand though (ie. carry with you in the car) as if the police or carabinieri stop you at will then they will ask to see these. Ditto licence.

For medicines and health care you will need to register at the local USL and choose a doctor - obviously if you don't know any or none have been recommended then it's just pot luck. Some may have waiting lists so you'll have to go for one who has free places.
Health care and medicines are now divided into three groups depending on income and you will have to fill out a form sating which one you are in. Luckily thi is an 'autodichiarazione' so you won't need to produce any evidence, just be honest! On the basis of which fascia you're in you will pay X, Y or Z for treatment and medicines. Of course you can do anything privately if you can afford it.

Good luck!

Thanks to all of you for your replies. It is all still a lot to take in especially as I am cancelling direct debits/memberships/etc here at the moment!!

Yep - it's a big step .... but we're here to help anyway we can.

Not forgetting the all important 'codice fiscale' which they will ask you for everywhere.