Hello all, I have just been offered a teaching job in Padova and am wondering if you can give my any information on the area, cost of living etc...
Heard some stories about working in Italy but I'd love to try something new, just a little worried now!

Thanks in advance!!

Alicia x

Hi and welcome

I'm not in that area but I'm sure someone will come along sooner or later with some advice and tips. Its just that July and August is holiday time for everyone here in Italy.

Padova - lovely - university town, buzzy but refined.
Cost of Living - High - probably among the highest in Italy.
Gets foggy!

my neighbours son who lives in vicenza was talking to me yesterday and used padova as an example of a terrible place, high unemployment especially amongst the young and crime, he could be biased though as he only lives in the north because he was transferred

Don't let anybody put you off. Padova is a lovely city. Like anywhere in the flatlands of the North, it gets very hot in summer; cold and foggy in winter.
Like anywhere in Italy, living is not cheap. Like any city in Europe, there are also dodgy areas and crime; that you keep away from so aren't really qualified to comment.
ciao for now,
'o nonno

Padova's a nice little city and a good base for exploring further afield: Verona, Venice, Bassano, Cortina.
You'll also find people easily who'd want to speak to you in English. A couple of nice Indian restaurants there too!

i went to padova on holiday for 3 days in april and it is a lovely city with really nice people it is also a very good base to explore the area more(verona,venice)

I have a teaching job here too and start in September so excited! what school?

Hi,

As per my post in the other recent Padova thread, I can't recommend it highly enough,

Its a beautiful city with good transport links, lovely bars and fantastic architecture. I havent yet met many non native English speakers, but im sure when the university Students are back he place will be filled with them, which schools are you both at / will be ?

Been there a few times , loved it !
Great grub , too .
Perfect it ain't , like nowhere else - but it's not a bad place , if you have a decent ( paying ) job ;
if I were given a choce of working there , or in Guildford Surrey ? Hey , no doubt which one I'd choose !

Hello again! Thank you everyone for you help and information! I have now moved out and the center is beautiful!!
I am slightly concerned though as we have been placed in the industrial zone not far from the Centro Giotto, can anyone give me any information on this area and whether it is safe or not??

Thank you,

Alicia :-)

Centro Giotto area is the main out of town shopping district in that part, you should be quite safe definitely during the day, you might prefer to go out in the centre if you are alone at night not really wandering around that area, its not particularly bad (like certain areas near the station) but industrial estates tend to attract people late at night as all around the world. Are you working in the British Institute then ? thats over that way.

I'm thinking about Padova when I move to Italy next spring.

It seems to have a lot going for it from what I've read: a beautiful city centre, plenty to do and by all accounts a good 'buzz' to it, not to mention how well situated it is for exploring the northeast and the rest of Italy. Some people seem to dislike it with a passion but the majority of opinions I've seen from people living there are positive.

I haven't visited yet but will take a trip over in the new year to with to explore. I've been to Italy before but priorities are different as a visitor.

Of all the 'livable' cities I could base myself in Padova is top of the list of places to check out. Bologna is on the list too (too big maybe), along with Verona (too many tourists perhaps), Treviso, Brescia, and a few more I'm trying to compile information on.

I'll be working for clients in North America so as long as I can get a good internet connection I can go anywhere. I'm a keen photographer and the landscape of the northeast, from the Euganei hills south of Padova to the Dolomites to the north are inspiring. Not to mention cities like Venice nearby.

The fact that Padova has a couple of decent Indian restaurants might be what pushes it over the top

I need to try these Indian restaurants, all the ones I've seen look really run down and tatty, having said that, most of the good ones in England weren't the most aesthetically pleasing.

Anyone got any recommendations ?

In terms of Chinese, I can highly recommend the Wok Sushi chain, theres 3 in and around Padova, very similar to the buffet style Chinese you get in England, but a much heavier focus on the fish, which is great for me

I heard from a couple of people who had passed through Padova that there are two "good" Indian restaurants, that actually got me pretty excited

I remember a decent Chinese restaurant in the centre of Florence but that's the extent of my "foreign" food in Italy experience.