Italy or New Zealand?
#1
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Joined: Oct 2006
Location: Originally UK, Australia, Oman
Posts: 79
Italy or New Zealand?
Has anyone got and idea on where is the best place to live? We have travelled extensively, lived in UK, Ireland, Holland, Cyprus, Oman, South Africa and now living in Australia, and visited the States on nemerous occasions. What we would like to do now is find somewhere to put downs roots and call our permanent home. We are torn between NZ and Italy for various reasons, but we love to be surrounded by countryside and trees and warm weather. we are draw to NZ for this but Italy as it is nearer our families. Any feedback on life in either place would be greatly appreciated and I really do look forward to hearing from you.
#2
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Joined: Jan 2006
Location: Godzone, utopia, Paradise Island under the sun.
Posts: 1,177
Re: Italy or New Zealand?
Originally Posted by Awineor2
Has anyone got and idea on where is the best place to live? We have travelled extensively, lived in UK, Ireland, Holland, Cyprus, Oman, South Africa and now living in Australia, and visited the States on nemerous occasions. What we would like to do now is find somewhere to put downs roots and call our permanent home. We are torn between NZ and Italy for various reasons, but we love to be surrounded by countryside and trees and warm weather. we are draw to NZ for this but Italy as it is nearer our families. Any feedback on life in either place would be greatly appreciated and I really do look forward to hearing from you.
#3
Miles away from home
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Joined: Oct 2006
Location: Originally UK, Australia, Oman
Posts: 79
Re: Italy or New Zealand?
Originally Posted by Lord Pom Percy
Does'nt OZ where your currently living have plenty of nice countryside, trees and warm weather.
#4
Re: Italy or New Zealand?
I suppose where you choose would depend on your desire to learn a new language and culture, although from your extensive list of places you have lived I am sure you are used to that
I have lived in Italy for 3 1/2 months now and really am starting to love it here. The north of Italy is a little cooler than the south of the country but I came from Yorkshire, Northern England, so this is great weather for me!
I have started Italian lessons and feel I am understanding more every day, which helps to feel happy somewhere.
The people in the Veneto region (where I live) are said to be a little more reserved than in the more southern regions (I have not travelled around Italy yet so have no experience of this) but I have not found anyone to be unfriendly.
The landscapes are stunning and we have a view of the Dolomite mountain range from our house up in the hills. There are many interesting places to visit around the country - we have made a small dent in our to visit list since we have been here. The landscapes and scenes are so diverse - mountains, lakes (Garda etc), the Venice lagooons, the vineyards and olive groves, the quiant Italian back streets and the magnificent churches, the new developed and modern high streets - for me Italy has it all, and great food as well
Don't get me wrong - this is not paradise and living here is not easy. Red tape (and tons of it) is an everyday occurance in everything, and it takes some getting used to the odd working hours and opening times of shops etc but when you can go with the flow it all becomes easier.
Good luck with whatever you chose to do.
I have lived in Italy for 3 1/2 months now and really am starting to love it here. The north of Italy is a little cooler than the south of the country but I came from Yorkshire, Northern England, so this is great weather for me!
I have started Italian lessons and feel I am understanding more every day, which helps to feel happy somewhere.
The people in the Veneto region (where I live) are said to be a little more reserved than in the more southern regions (I have not travelled around Italy yet so have no experience of this) but I have not found anyone to be unfriendly.
The landscapes are stunning and we have a view of the Dolomite mountain range from our house up in the hills. There are many interesting places to visit around the country - we have made a small dent in our to visit list since we have been here. The landscapes and scenes are so diverse - mountains, lakes (Garda etc), the Venice lagooons, the vineyards and olive groves, the quiant Italian back streets and the magnificent churches, the new developed and modern high streets - for me Italy has it all, and great food as well
Don't get me wrong - this is not paradise and living here is not easy. Red tape (and tons of it) is an everyday occurance in everything, and it takes some getting used to the odd working hours and opening times of shops etc but when you can go with the flow it all becomes easier.
Good luck with whatever you chose to do.
#5
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Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 1,585
Re: Italy or New Zealand?
Originally Posted by Awineor2
Has anyone got and idea on where is the best place to live? We have travelled extensively, lived in UK, Ireland, Holland, Cyprus, Oman, South Africa and now living in Australia, and visited the States on nemerous occasions. What we would like to do now is find somewhere to put downs roots and call our permanent home. We are torn between NZ and Italy for various reasons, but we love to be surrounded by countryside and trees and warm weather. we are draw to NZ for this but Italy as it is nearer our families. Any feedback on life in either place would be greatly appreciated and I really do look forward to hearing from you.
#6
Miles away from home
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Joined: Oct 2006
Location: Originally UK, Australia, Oman
Posts: 79
Re: Italy or New Zealand?
Originally Posted by mazi
I have lived in both places - I lived in NZ for 3 years and have been in Italy for 7 months - I much prefer Italy, but it depends what you want. One of the big things for me is culture and I found little of that in NZ (by culture, I mean cultural pursuits, clearly NZ has a culture). If you are bothered by isolation you may not like NZ - boy is it isolated! if you like travelling, NZ may also not be the place for you as it is difficult (in terms of money and length of time involved in travelling) to get away. NZers are very proud of having many of the things in their country that you can see in lots of different countries, but i think that is the point - to see the different things in the different countries. there is plenty of countryside in Italy and being nearer your families will be a big plus.
I really appreciated you taking time out to write, thank you and also for your honesty and information, having read what you wrote and looking into things further I think that I go with Italy for the reasons that you mentioned. we are looking at Umbria area at the moment, have you any feed back on that. we love culture, architecture, travelling but would love to live a village life style in the hills. I really look forward to hearing from you again. Many thanks
#7
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Posts: 1,585
Re: Italy or New Zealand?
Originally Posted by Awineor2
Mazi
I really appreciated you taking time out to write, thank you and also for your honesty and information, having read what you wrote and looking into things further I think that I go with Italy for the reasons that you mentioned. we are looking at Umbria area at the moment, have you any feed back on that. we love culture, architecture, travelling but would love to live a village life style in the hills. I really look forward to hearing from you again. Many thanks
I really appreciated you taking time out to write, thank you and also for your honesty and information, having read what you wrote and looking into things further I think that I go with Italy for the reasons that you mentioned. we are looking at Umbria area at the moment, have you any feed back on that. we love culture, architecture, travelling but would love to live a village life style in the hills. I really look forward to hearing from you again. Many thanks
Good luck, I hope you enjoy Italy as much as I do - and if not, well it's very easy (jet) to get home! Let me know how things progress.
#8
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Joined: Oct 2006
Location: Originally UK, Australia, Oman
Posts: 79
Re: Italy or New Zealand?
Originally Posted by mazi
Well I live in the Veneto and my knowledge of Umbria is not great but I understand the landscape there is beautiful (more so than the veneto), as is the food. It's supposed to be the poorer cousin of Tuscany, but i don't know about that. That may be a rumour put about by a proud Tuscan! I haven't visited Umbria and therefore don't know what the cultural pursuits are like, but it's Italy - they can't be bad! I do know that a hilly village lifestyle is very easy to come by though.
Good luck, I hope you enjoy Italy as much as I do - and if not, well it's very easy (jet) to get home! Let me know how things progress.
Good luck, I hope you enjoy Italy as much as I do - and if not, well it's very easy (jet) to get home! Let me know how things progress.
#9
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Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 1,585
Re: Italy or New Zealand?
Originally Posted by Awineor2
Thanks for your reply Mazi, I am really looking forward to getting over there next year, it just seems such a long time off at the moment, but all your info has been useful and appreciated. Many thanks
#10
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Location: Originally UK, Australia, Oman
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Re: Italy or New Zealand?
Originally Posted by mazi
No problem at all - good luck. When next year?
Hi Mazi
Should be next June, but at this moment in time that may be brought forward due to work commitments, so at the moment not sure exactly, but we are really looking forward to it.
#11
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Re: Italy or New Zealand?
Originally Posted by Awineor2
Hi Mazi
Should be next June, but at this moment in time that may be brought forward due to work commitments, so at the moment not sure exactly, but we are really looking forward to it.
Should be next June, but at this moment in time that may be brought forward due to work commitments, so at the moment not sure exactly, but we are really looking forward to it.
#12
Just Joined
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 27
Re: Italy or New Zealand?
Originally Posted by Awineor2
Has anyone got and idea on where is the best place to live? We have travelled extensively, lived in UK, Ireland, Holland, Cyprus, Oman, South Africa and now living in Australia, and visited the States on nemerous occasions. What we would like to do now is find somewhere to put downs roots and call our permanent home. We are torn between NZ and Italy for various reasons, but we love to be surrounded by countryside and trees and warm weather. we are draw to NZ for this but Italy as it is nearer our families. Any feedback on life in either place would be greatly appreciated and I really do look forward to hearing from you.
Try the Piemonte region. Property prices are good here when compared to the Uk and the people are pretty friendly. Getting a job here without the language is tricky unless you want to teach English and there is a big demand for it here. There is more of a social scene here for example you see all the family on a Sunday night eating. The emphasis is on family values in this country and I feel that this contributes greatly to the wonderful atmosphere here in Piemonte.. I hope this helps.
#13
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Joined: Oct 2006
Location: Originally UK, Australia, Oman
Posts: 79
Re: Italy or New Zealand?
Originally Posted by piedmontproperty
Hi there
Try the Piemonte region. Property prices are good here when compared to the Uk and the people are pretty friendly. Getting a job here without the language is tricky unless you want to teach English and there is a big demand for it here. There is more of a social scene here for example you see all the family on a Sunday night eating. The emphasis is on family values in this country and I feel that this contributes greatly to the wonderful atmosphere here in Piemonte.. I hope this helps.
Try the Piemonte region. Property prices are good here when compared to the Uk and the people are pretty friendly. Getting a job here without the language is tricky unless you want to teach English and there is a big demand for it here. There is more of a social scene here for example you see all the family on a Sunday night eating. The emphasis is on family values in this country and I feel that this contributes greatly to the wonderful atmosphere here in Piemonte.. I hope this helps.
Hi and thank you for your reply, these are the type of responses that I really appreciate as they are informative, so thank you so much for taking the time to write, I appreciate it. As you said in your email, I am looking for somewhere that still holds values, especially family values. Sad to say but this is not easy to come by nowadays.
#14
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Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 27
Re: Italy or New Zealand?
Originally Posted by Awineor2
Hi and thank you for your reply, these are the type of responses that I really appreciate as they are informative, so thank you so much for taking the time to write, I appreciate it. As you said in your email, I am looking for somewhere that still holds values, especially family values. Sad to say but this is not easy to come by nowadays.
#15
Just Joined
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 14
Re: Italy or New Zealand?
Has anyone got and idea on where is the best place to live? We have travelled extensively, lived in UK, Ireland, Holland, Cyprus, Oman, South Africa and now living in Australia, and visited the States on nemerous occasions. What we would like to do now is find somewhere to put downs roots and call our permanent home. We are torn between NZ and Italy for various reasons, but we love to be surrounded by countryside and trees and warm weather. we are draw to NZ for this but Italy as it is nearer our families. Any feedback on life in either place would be greatly appreciated and I really do look forward to hearing from you.