Jake.White

Hi there,

As Pica says, it's all really down to the sum of ones experiences how you end up perceiving your chosen country. I wouldn't necessarily say Italy is a bad place to live or to have a second home, indeed many people simply love it and can't get enough of it. Personally I like my little house and garden there and I have a pleasant enough time working my land and caring for my olive trees whenever I'm there, but that's about the extent of my love for the place. The downside of it for me has been highlighted to an extent on a number of previous posts on different threads, which, if you can be bothered to you can feel free to have a scroll through to read about of some of my past experiences. For now however, rather than repeating myself, suffice it to say that from day one I have found Italy to be corrupt, dishonest, backward, overly bureaucratic to an almost cartoon-like level and generally just a very difficult place to be in just about every way. But that's just me however, and as I said at the beginning, my perception of the place is entirely due to the sum of my experiences, most of which have been one big hassle. Some people go there and never look back and love every minute of it and I suspect I'm probably the exception rather than the rule....

Geordieborn

I agree with both of the last 2 posts!

tooboocoo

Thanks for the response, Jake. I think I understand what you mean and have taken it on board in the context in which you gave it.
Cheers.

leandra21

I understand.There are pros and cons everywhere.NZ and Oz will be less bureaucratic and generally cleaner than some Countries in Europe. But as beautiful as they are they can be a bit bland compared to Europe. We are also thinking to widen the research to Portugal and Malta...plenty of homework to do!