JohnSmith24

Hi all,

Thanks to anyone taking the time to read this and offer opinions!
I'm looking to move to Italy with my girlfriend - we want to buy a plot of land in a fairly rural area (near a village/town) with mountainous views, and build a small home there. We like greenery, but will be looking to escape the rain and dark winters that England offers, so sunny weather (not too hot) would be ideal.

We will spend September-April in Italy, and probably come back to the UK for the summer, so good winter weather is a must.
Bearing in mind we are aiming to buy land in the mountains for the views, and the lower prices compared to coastal land.

Our top needs are:

1. Quiet, nature filled location with nice views
2. Warm winter weather
3. (Bonus - near the sea!)

Would be super grateful for any advice you guys can offer!

Accetturese

Mountains/warm winter weather?
I live in the mountains of Basilicata, in the south of Italy, it can get cold in winter - like a metre of snow cold!

Geordieborn

I would have said, had Accetturese not got in first, that we live in Abruzzo, so you need to be as far south of here as possible as we have had nearer 2m of snow here other years and -9c this year! But we have also experienced lovely sunny warm days here in winter, they just are not very long. Peak warmth (20c+) is perhaps from 10 - 13:00 in winter. Also the months on the edge of your range i.e. Sep-Oct and Mar-Apr are (for us) wonderful months here.
Our place fits all you other criteria, just look at the map for Abruzzo, surrounded by mountains in like a “C” shape towards the sea. Classic is to say “I can ski in the morning and sunbathe in the afternoon in April”. This is probably true and idyllic, being a bit like your requirements. Please don’t be put off, but do your homework (as you are here). Think about/look into the tax side of things… you are Sep-Apr in Italy – tax resident here, transport while in the UK/Italy, looking after the land in Italy when away in the UK. In reality these are major and I’ve likely missed out several others…

modicasa

But mainly, dont assume you can buy a piece of land and build. You can't. Land is zoned, and many places now are no build zones, or have a minimum acreage necessary, or you have to be a registered farmer to build. ENEL has no obligation to bring you electricity, so in the middle of the mountains plan for offgrid. Same for water - there is no obligation for the comune to bring you water. If you do find a piece of buildable land, you cannot build yourself - you must use professionals, and pay their rates, with all the permissions that implies.

Rosemary

You have posted the same thread in five different country forums. I would suggest that initially you take holidays in the various countries in order to discover which one would suit you the most then start on the research of different areas within the chosen country. Spreading yourself over the whole of Europe is not advisable.

Rosemary

Paprikagirl

Have you considered going way down south? The coastline in Calabria is mountainous with great coastlines...and it rarely gets cold in winter. The advice to go on vacation to check out areas is strongly recommended, but maybe think of areas like Tropea or around Scilla.