scrubbedexpat121

Hello everyone
We are visiting Lucca in 3 weeks time, we will be travelling around the area looking for locations to buy a property, we have 2 regions in mind Lucca area and later in the year will be visiting the Pescara area. Would be great to hear views on areas around Lucca from everyone

Thank you in advance

Ruth & Mark

philat98

Here is a web page for comparing towns in Italy. Both Pescara and Lucca are low down the list.
https://lab24.ilsole24ore.com/qualita-della-vita/

C.2s

That's an interesting link, but I guess that the rankings list of cities is based upon a set of criteria/categories that are decided by the people who compile the list, rather than what Ruth and Mark are looking for. That's not to say that the list isn't useful, but rather that it's useful to a certain extent. For example it might rate the possibility of finding a job, or access to sporting facilities, or the number of schools...or probably a combination of all these things... but these things might not be that important for Ruth and Mark. And then sometimes these sort of lists can be a bit misleading: for example it might indicate a high crime rate but that might be extremely localised in one small part of the city, or might relate to one particularly bad year or even one really bad incident.

In fact, what people probably need from Ruth and Mark in order to give good advice. is a bit more info about what's important to them. For example do they mean in the city, or in a smaller town nearby, or a village, or in the countryside?

It seems to me, at first glance, that Lucca and Pescara are quite different... Ruth and Mark, can I ask you why these two places?

Geordieborn

Ha! I never read they were interested in Pescara, but saw it as the equivalent of going the Pisa to see/visit Lucca or the Lucca area ! So yes, perhaps we need more info.

philat98

The environment and services is quite a useful indicator. Even if you have an isolated country villa you are still impacted by the level of services in your region. It surprised me that services are better in Pescara than Lucca while the folks in Lucca are a lot richer.May be Lucca took a bigger hit from the loss of tourism in the pandemic.

scrubbedexpat121

Good morning all and thank you for your replies. Sorry for being vague so let me elaborate. When we say Lucca and Pescara. These are our starting points. We are looking for somewhere Rural not in the city, in regards to Pescara, Abruzzo is more of a question, rural again not too far from the coast (50k ish) we are looking for a property that possibly has an additional property on it to let, what is important is that it has land, maybe a couple of hectares. We know Tuscany quite well, been many times and were married there in 2015 but not the Lucca area. And we have never been to Abruzzo. So when we say Lucca and Pescara i was somewhat vague. Lucca and surrounding areas Eastern Abruzzo. Whilst the link may be useful to some degree, as C.2s indicated be aren't so much interested in how the ranking is calculated. Iceland is ranked 4th best place in the world to live but we wouldn't consider living there based on it. What would be an advantage in both locations would be a ex-pat community

Thank you for your time in replying

Ruth & Mark

Geordieborn

I guess a lot is the same for both places even though they are very different, which we have found to be the case for all the regions of Italy we have visited. Nearest we have been to Lucca is to go past it on a local train on our way to Fivizzano further north. A local train which past through some stunning countryside and charming little stations. We looked online for property in this area, but went for Abruzzo on the basis of price, accessibility and what we thought (and still do) even more beautiful scenery, but then again we love the sight of the mountains with snow on them. Both places have lots of charming hilltop towns, hills are often awkward to access and difficult to manage land. They also can cause issues with land slipping , utilities and simply getting in or out in winter. I kid you not, we had 2m of snow one year and missed a flight back to the UK. Abruzzo we do know a little more about having lived there for a number of years. Biased we prefer where we lived, but in practical terms of the 4 provinces I would suggest ours (Teramo) and Chieti are the only 2 I would look at for a house to live. The biggest advantage (and only one from my point of view) the latter has is cheaper property. To me the views were simply no where near as good there, but the hint of water shortages was enough to put us off. I do however also think the first you visit is where you end up if you like it on that first visit. From what you have said I would draw a line or “C” shape from Roseto on the coast in the north down through Castilenti to Penne and down to Loreto Aprutino on over the motorway south into Chieti. Keep your distance within your requirements, but don’t forget the airport location/distance if you intend having visitors and/or travelling. Of the places we know; Castilenti, Penne (in particular) and Loreto have a number of English living there. We avoided Penne (as nice as it is) for that very reason!

scrubbedexpat121

Thank you Ripple, and very interesting. We have been researching property in both locations and we see a lot of properties in Chieti. What does appeal to us about the area is that it has everything, mountains, the coast and national park areas. We are driving to Lucca and did look at driving across to Abruzzo but its a hike, so hence looking around Abruzzo later in the year, maybe September. What is also very important is very good internet as my Husbands company have ok'd him working from home when we move. Thank you again Ripple.

heritagestanley

We are in the Serchio valley about 45 minutes drive north from Lucca, and love it deeply. It's quite unlike the stereoype of Tuscany. Lucca itself is great, but sits on a plain and so is very hot in summer. But all round it there are attractive hills and valleys, wihere wealthy Lucchese had their summer retreats eg the Vorno and Compitese valleys to the south and above Marlia to the north. Obviously in general the further out you go the more you'll get for your money, including solitude and natural beauty. If having done your reconnaissance the area appeals and you'd like to talk, feel free to DM. Good luck!

scrubbedexpat121

Thank you so much for your reply, we will take a drive around the area you are and ask estate agents in Lucca for properties around that area, 45 -60 minutes from Lucca is fine for us

Thank you

Ruth & Mark

Geordieborn

Ruth & Mark you have looked at properties online? We used Rightmove to ID agents, looked them up online and used their websites and Rightmove information to find out exactly where they were located. Most we could find on Google Streetview and used it to virtually drive around the place. Of course there is nothing to beat being there in person.

scrubbedexpat121

Thank you Ripple, we have had a look on Rightmove, lots and lots of properties

Geordieborn

That in itself should tell you something. We looked for almost 2 years before we bought back in 2011 and kept details of the houses, some of the first were still on sale when we bought. But more to the point some of them are STILL for sale now!

scrubbedexpat121

So as a rule of thumb, obviously dependent on area, if a property is 300k Euros would would generally be a starting point offer ?

Geordieborn

Not only the area, but down to the person selling, some want what they are asking for (regardless!) , some you can insult by offering too little and some just try it on and will sell for a lot, lot less. Think UK and double or treble the % for the latter, but be cautious if you really like the place and want it as some if insulted might just never sell to you...