350 Calabria anyone?

Hi,
I envy you, as my dream is to spend more time in Calabria. I had a fantastic time there as an au-pair in my youth... (Pizzo Calabro, near Vibo Valentia) and on return occasional visits have not been disappointed. The reason I don't go there more often is that it is darned difficult to get to! (ages on the train, expensive and long-winded by plane). It has a reputation for being the 'wild' south, and this is always fuelled by tales of kidnapping, extortion,drugdealing, polluted waters (thru' illegal dumpiing of chemicals in the sea... etc) These are the reasons a director of a major British tour company gave to me of why it is avoided by the mainstream.
Ryanniar flew there for a short time, then pulled out.
I have heard that building control is on the relaxed side, so concrete buildings may not be of the most resilient...
However, it is the most beautiful and authentic part of Italy - please do keep the forum updated with your progress...

Hi Lesley and Brian

This is my second attempt to post a reply (seems my first attempt did not work!). Anyway, my wife and I have lived in Calabria for two years and have recently bought a house. We are very happy here and quite honestly, I would suggest coming and checking the place out rather than being put off by crime stories. Food climate sea and mountains are all big positives but for us the biggest is the warmth and friendliness of the people.

Let me know if I can help you in any way.

Tim & Judi

Hi Tim and Judi,

Can I ask whereabouts in Calabria you are?
We are hoping to buy near Diamante.
I think we may have a few questions in the next weeks and any advice you could give us would be very much appreciated!
Did you have a local Italian Solicitor to deal with your purchase?
And did you need an interpreter at the rogito?
(Just a couple of queries already.... :confused: )

Great to hear from you,
best wishes,
Lesley & Brian

[QUOTE=Sharon]Hi,
I envy you, as my dream is to spend more time in Calabria. ..[/QUOTE]

Hi Sharon,
Thanks for your reply. (Tried to reply earlier but my message seems to have disappeared in the ether).
We are hoping to buy just a little South of Diamante, so a bit further North than your old stamping ground but not a million miles away.
It is interesting to read why the South of Italy is not so well visited. (Maybe if that's the preception then it will stay unspoiled - can't be a bad thing ;) )

I know what you mean about the difficulty in getting there. We flew into Rome and it was a 4 hour drive (although we had expected it to take longer) but once we left the main road (I think we joined the 585 heading towards the coast) the scenery was breathtaking.

The friendliness of the Italians we came across was wonderful and we are hooked.
Will keep you posted,
very best wishes, Lesley

Hi

I live in the north of Tuscany but have been to Diamante a couple of times cos my boyfriend's from there and his family are all still there (or at least in the hills above Diamante, closer to Maierà). It is a beautiful area - the only downside I've noticed is that the buildings are not quite as "pretty" as in the north, which does give the impression of it being a poorer area. Having said that the countryside is stunning - mountains coming right down to the sea.

So far I've only been in late autumn and winter - both times the weather was mixed - beautiful and then a bit cooler but still definitely warmer than the north (they did get a lot of snow this year but apparently that was the first time in about 10 years). Apparently in the summer (August especially) Diamante is absolutely packed - I'll be experiencing it myself for the first time this year!

Obviously I can vouch for the people! ;)

As I said I don't know it very well but if I can help (via my boyfriend) I'll be glad to.

Hi Nicola!

Good to hear from you.
I agree with you about the countryside - and the mountains coming down to the sea was the thing that amazed us - quite unexpected.

I was interested to hear about the weather in autumn and winter as that would be when we are likely to be there mostly.
Whilst we are not expecting it to be like summer weather we are hoping for warmer than winter here (which wouldn't be difficult!).
I have heard that the coast there is where Italians from further North (mainly Naples?) come for their summer holidays and so August is rather unbelievable for people and traffic (difficult to imagine after our time there last month when it was sleepy quiet) and I'd be interested to hear what you think once you have experienced it.

Thanks for the offer of help, no doubt I will think of lots of questions in the next few weeks and months

:)
Ci vediamo
Lesley & Brian

The only part of Calabria I know is the Albanian village of Cosenza(minor correction - the village I was doing research in was up in the mountains - Rota Greca). Started my family history research there. As has been noted - the people were very warm and friendly. Scenery is to die for as well. This region is perhaps the last 'best kept secret' in Italy.

[QUOTE=Sano]The only part of Calabria I know is the Albanian village of Cosenza....This region is perhaps the last 'best kept secret' in Italy.[/QUOTE]

...or it WAS the 'best kept secret' in Italy until you let the cat out of the bag!

Yes...ssshhhh... don't tell everyone!

Audie - thanks for your message but we are hoping to complete soon on a villa between Diamante and Belvedere.

Lesley & Brian

congrats les.. and bria .. i think you are going to love it there ... a great life

Diamante is a nice area - in my opinion the nicest place in that area is a little village called San Nicola Arcella. Beautiful and smaller and quieter than Diamante. Belvedere is quieter too. We have a house in Fiummefreddo (near Paola, Amantea) deffo not the most village on the coast!Calabria is great though - the food is fantastic and cheap and we have very, very few foreign tourists. If Lamezia Terme airport ever gets Ryanair, Easyjet, BMI then the region could take off - until then it remains pretty much undiscovered by non-Italians.

Best of luck buying your property.

Stu

calabria has to be the most underated province in all of italy .. cheap food ,warm people,peopleless beaches.. i think next to sicily the best beachs in all of italy.. perfect weather mountain and sea... the word 'undiscovered' is an understatement.

hey stuart .. how is the real estate in that area .. if i were to build a home would i be able to sell it .. and for a good price .. give me some example .. i have some property in the area i would like to sell some of it to build my dream home .. what are my chances.
tarsi

Hi Lesley Brian
We have spent the last three years in Capo Vaticano. First year for two months Jan/Feb. Next year Jan/Feb/March, this year Jan/Feb/March/April next year who knows how long! There are beautiful days in Jan, Feb is quite wet and in march it is similar to June here. April is lovely! We had no snow this year although higher up (near Cosenza) the autostrada was closed for a few days! You will definatly benefit from spending your winters there, only problem is the more time you spend there the less time you want to spend in Britain. As others have said the scenery is breathtaking and the people lovely. As most visitors here are german the locals love to meet the few British people. In August everywhere is overun with noisy Italians but the rest of the time it is lovely. I am sure you will be very happy there.
Jenny & Tony

Jenny & Tony,
where do you stay for extended trips? do you own a property or rent one?
Best Regards,
Sharon

Hi all,
Well we left Italy this morning with me giving big sighs all the way to the airport (and since that was from Scalea to Naples that entailed lots of big sighs).
Truth be known, and I think we will be 'amongst friends' here should I admit it, I wept buckets last night because I had to leave.
Obviously the copious vino consumed on our last night made it more likely to happen but the emotional pull was tangible.
How could anyone buy a house in Italy and then leave it??

Our best forward-planning tells me we can hope to get back in September so that's the plan!
If anyone is thinking of looking for something in or around Scalea, Calabria (best kept secret in Italy) let me know and I will put you in touch with the best in the area.
I have just now managed to touch base on getting home but will post further in the next days/weeks - watch this space!
I am still somewhat speechless about the fact that what needed to happen did happen, when it needed to happen and we now have a villa in Italy.
The best feeling in the world!
Need to get back there as soon as possible!
Best wishes, Lesley & Brian

[QUOTE=Stuart Jones]Diamante is a nice area - in my opinion the nicest place in that area is a little village called San Nicola Arcella. Beautiful and smaller and quieter than Diamante. Stu[/QUOTE]
Happily, we bought a house in San Nicola last year. Everything Stu says about it is true, but we would say that. Mind you, Diamante is a nice place .. to visit!
We bought through an agency run by a woman who has become a friend, Annie: whose website is at [url]www.andiamo-homes.com[/url]. I'm sure there are lots of other good folk handling property in Calabria (and probably a few not so good ones) but Annie has been wonderful to us, introducing us to local people and easing our way through bureaucracy (which really isn't all that different to the UK, except that we have found that people there believe very strongly in behaving honourably, and our relationship with everyone in built on trust and respect).
Also, nobody speaks much English in San Nicola, which means incomers must make an effort.
Good luck with your house hunt
EddieB

Hi Will,
We have only been to Calabria twice and really have only seen a very small part of it (mainly the coast from San Nicola Arcella to Belvedere Marrittimo) so our enthusiasm is based on fairly limited (but incredibly positive) experience.
We went for the first time in April 'just for a look' and discovered that it was very different from other parts of Italy that we had visited previously. As we were travelling along the A3 southwards my husband remarked that it was 'just like the Lake district' as we were in amongst the green hills.
Then we took the 585 down towards the coast and found ourselves with the hills on one side and the sea on the other and some wonderful views of each.
On our first visit we had arranged accommodation and to view properties with Tony and David of Scalea Property Services, you might like to take a look at their website - ([url]http://www.scalea-property.com/)[/url].
We were amazed at the breadth of choice of properties available (from ruins to new-builds - in the country and by the sea) and we were sold on the area and the people so we made an offer on a villa on that first trip.
We have just returned from the second trip when we managed to finalise everything and we now have the keys and a yearning to get back there asap.
As Tony and David of Scalea Property Services are Italian speakers and we don't (yet) speak Italian they were invaluable in helping us in an area where most Italians don't speak English.
I was amazed at just how much time and effort they spent making sure we managed to achieve everything we set out to do, as well as having very good local knowledge which was invaluable.
As we had lots to do during both trips (bank, codice fiscale, ordering a kitchen and furniture etc., aided by Tony and David) we haven't yet had a lot of time to explore but very obviously the coastal resorts are mainly populated in July and August by Italians. There are not many English visitors to the area yet and outside of the height of summer it is quiet (but I'm told it is a bit manic on the beach etc. in August).
We have chosen a villa about 2km from the beach which is on a hillside surrounded by orto and has fabulous views towards the hills to the east and the sea to the west.
It 'ticked all the boxes' for us but as far as properties go there appears to be something for everyone in the area.
Obviously there is a lot more to Calabria than the small part we have seen but I hope this snippet of information is a help.
Best wishes, Lesley & Brian

[FONT=Arial]Arial[/FONT]
Hi Lesley & Brian,

I have just logged on to this site and an very pleased to make contact with you.. My husband is Italian and we have been to many parts of the country, including Tuscany. We have friends there and it is indeed a beautiful region. However, we think that the further south you go, the better it gets. Two years ago we holidayed in Calabria, (Scalea) and found it to be truly wonderful. In fact we ended up buying a rustic building which has been transformed into a wonderful house. Now we are hoping to move to Calabria next year all being well.

The scenery is beautiful, we are close to the sea yet surrouded by mountains. The locals are friendly, helpful and extremely generous. Our project manager Antonio has delivered the goods so to speak!!

We woould love to hear from you

Jo & Franco

[QUOTE=iwanttobeinitaly]I'm a recent newbie to the forum and am a avid reader of all the posts.
We are hoping to buy in Calabria (looking to spend the winters in Italy so have gone South).
Most postings seem to be from folk who have bought in the North (can understand the reasoning there as it is very beautiful!) but is there anyone out there that is in Calabria?

Would love to hear from you.

Lesley & Brian[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=joantoncino][FONT=Arial]Arial[/FONT]
However, we think that the further south you go, the better it gets. QUOTE]

Great to hear from you!

You will find that those who have discovered how wonderful the area is also would like to keep it a secret - in order to keep it just as it is :D

Having said that, it's impossible not to wax lyrical.

There are a lot of Italy Mag forum members in Calabria (or who have connections with Calabaria).

And they are all 'in the know' .... nod, nod, wink,wink ;)

So keep in touch!
Where in England are you?
We are Northumberland/Cumbria/Scottish Borders.
Lesley & Brian.

Have read all of this thread over the last couple of weeks. Its been great. We've just bought in Urbino e' Pesaro in Le Marche - but so looking forward to discovering Italy. Thankyou to all the contributors to this thread.

Ian and Sandra