rkw

hey K4TY jsut notice in your post that you say you have sorted a school/creche for your kids. Thats something I'm also working on. My son is 3 and half was trying for a place at the International school but no luck. If you have any tips on how best to apporach this probelm I'd be very grateful. I too speak very limited Italian but have colleagues who can help. Thanks again.

zaoui

Hi there and good luck with your move it's not easy at all, patience and humour are the keys. Can you post more info about yourself etc...in order to see how we can help you. Where are you moving from? Is it for work, study, trailing partner, family ? Have you any italian at all? etc...

talk to you

K4TY2

Hi there,

Yes, we moved over Christmas and are now doing the paperchase! We assume you're coming over to work in Parma?

Our son has just started in the pre-school section at the European School and the first day seemed to have gone okay... Are you coming to work for EFSA? If so, they're obliged to take your son.

If not and you specifically want an English school/creche, I'm not sure there are other options. With regard to Italian ones, I've heard good reports about Mary Poppins and their website is quite good (and partly in English).

As for estate agents, it's been a bit of a nightmare and ends up being a bit 'luck of the draw'. Maybe if you drop a private email with a few more details about what you're looking for, we can see if we can help! I need to see the agency who found us our place in the coming days so can see what they have available.

rkw

Hi,

Thanks for your replies (K4TY and Zaoui) its good to be in contact with people with experience of the same issues!

I tried to send a private message but I need to have posted three messages to the main board before I can do that, this is my third post so I will follow this up with a private message.

Tanks for your suggestion re the Scuola L'Europa K4TY, I have been trying to get my son a place there but as I'm coming to work at the university we aren't guaranteed anything.

I also tried the Mary Poppins Club but they are full. I think I can probably get a place for my son at the Scuola L'Europa from September but I want to find something for him in the mean time at least so he starts learning the language and making friends.

Our situation is that we (me + partner + son) are coming to Parma because I have a two year research fellowship at the university.

None of us speaks Italian (yet) which is a pain but people do seem very willing to help with the language problem which is a big help!

I'll try to send a private message to each of you today and thanks again for getting back to me.

K4TY2

Yes, I'm having the three post problem too

K4TY2

One more and should be able to view private message!

zaoui

Have'nt receive any private message yet..what's the story with these 3 posts I wonder ....

jdr

Its to put off one post spammers.

Andem

Hello,

We are moving to Parma with our three kids (aged 4, 2 and 6 months) over the summer. We are hoping to travel down for a few days at the end of May and are in desparate need of some advice re. accommodation!!!

Ideally we are looking to rent somewhere with 4 bedrooms (as we expect we will have a fair few visitors!) and a garden for the kids to play in. We are happy to live outside the city as long as it's commutable to the centre/European school.

We don't know anything about contracts, etc., and don't speak much Italian. Any help at all would be very much appreciated!

rkw

Hi

We moved over in Feb (with little Italian) and things went pretty smoothly. I can tell you that four bed properties are not so easy to find (but they do exist!) and generally gardens are in short supply. Might be better for you to look outside the centre (though Parma is pretty small so that is not a major disadvantage).

Public transport is good and pretty cheap, most people travel by bicycle.

There are quite a few agencies with websites, well worth having a look at whats on offer that way to get a feel for the market. Get in touch with any that seem promising as soon as you get here and try to make as many appointments to view as you can because properties are taken up pretty fast.

As for Parma life, this is one of the most relaxed cities I have ever lived in and the food, cultural life, attitude to kids are all wonderful. People are very helpful as a rule but bureaucracy is fairly taxing - patience is required!

Hope that helps, do post more specific questions if you need, I no expert but happy to help.

rkw

K4TY2

Hi! Sent you a private message on this!

Andem

Many thanks to you both for this. We can't access the private message yet due to the three post rule but will do so as soon as possible!

I am hoping to travel to Parma for a few days at the end of May to find somewhere that we can move in to ideally on 1 August. Do you think this is realistic?

Also, are there any specific websites or areas out of the centre that you might be able to recommend?

Thanks again!

Andem

Third post...

rkw

I think your schedule is tight but manageable, when I came over the three main agencies I dealt with had at least 3 or 4 properties to show me (but we were after a smaller place).

Properties do tend to move quite fast so you may make a load of appointments to view before you arrive and then find some have gone before you get to see them.

Its also useful to know that agencies here charge you a fee equivalent to a month's rent or even more for their services. They act as facilitator between you and the landlord so they can/should negotiate for you re rent/ improvements prior to the formal exchange of contracts.

I found the flat I wanted quite fast but it could have seen quite a few more, most were available to move in within a month or so.

Obvious areas to try would include Citadella and around Emilla Est (a main road leading out of Parma towards Bologna). These are both still within very easy reach of the city centre by bike or bus.

I googled "affitto parma" to find agencies and also used "pagine gialle parma" (ie yellow pages parma) and then searched under "affitto", if the agency has a webpage there will be a www link (in red) in the listing.

I used the agency Superchi (they just happened to have a flat I really liked) but it was very helpful to look at things on the web beforehand to get some idea of what might be available.

K4TY2 also gave me a great deal of very valuable help and information (thanks again K4TY2!) so I think you will find that message very useful.

Good luck with your search!

italyexpat

Hers a site that will help you with all the little things that can trip you up. On renting you'll need to put down a three month deposit and agencies charge you a heafty fee if you sign a contract through them.
You should aim to come and spend 6 months as a local, before commiting entirely to one area. There are lots of adjustments to be made,especially with children and schooling
send me a message on PMB if I can help.