In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
It also depends on how you think you will get in to the city? Trains are quite quick, but very busy at rush hour and the houses around the stations fetch a premium. Monterotondo and Mentana are very expensive, but a bit further out, past Passo corese is very good. But here you need a car and getting in to Rome will take quite a while.
Expats are a bit slim on the ground here and personally I would not think of living by the sea, as it is murder on a sunny weekend.
Mark
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
If you can afford it Sacrofano and surrounds is lovely.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
The only suggestion I would make is to check areas outwith Rome that easily reachable by train, and then the metro, as the traffic in Roma is murder, and it wouldn't be nice to be stuck on the raccordo anulare for hours trying to go to work....
Paola
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Thank you all for your help, I really appreciate you taking the time to reply to me with your suggestions.
We'll we were planning to commute into Rome by car - but the traffic does sound bad. I thought we might be lucky and skip it, as it's not central, central if you know what I mean, but more north, north east central!
I will have a look at all of the places you have suggested in the meantime.
Thank you,
Elle :D
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Very brave, Elle!!!
Be prepared for mad drivers, lots of noise, honking horns & shouting... oh and 5 cars squeezed into 2 lanes around the roundabouts ... :D
Buona fortuna!!!
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
[QUOTE=Elle]We'll we were planning to commute into Rome by car - but the traffic does sound bad. I thought we might be lucky and skip it, as it's not central, central if you know what I mean, but more north, north east [/QUOTE]
Try down the Flamina then, Sano is right that all around Sacrofano is nice, though expensive to my mind. You should get alot more choice for your money from Morlupo on and it is only about 45 minutes from Rome(without traffic). There is also a train into Rome in most of the villages, but the times are not that useful for anything other than work.
Whatever you do, avoid the Cassia, which is tarmac hell.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
I'd also avoid the Tiburtina which can get easily clogged up. I remember a number of 45 minute traffic jams to escape Rome on a Friday evening.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
And buy a Smart car nice and small to park oh,and you can change the panels very quickly!!
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
I lived in Rome as a kid in the 1960's, and the traffic was bad then. Commuting into the centre by car now would be a mistake, I imagine! I think my dad deserves a posthumous medal for 7 years in Rome without a scrape!!
We lived in EUR with a convenient Metro line (the only one then) close by, and although that can be crowded too, I think trains/metro will ultimately be the best bet in a city situation - and an ancient city too, where, thank goodness, they haven't built loads of flyovers and dual-carriageways.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
I moaned about Roman drivers when I lived in Rome - how they'd cut in without warning, drive cm from you, create a myriad of lanes when two would have been adequate etc etc. Now living in Le Marche I think the driving is actually worse here. People drifting around in the middle of the road, suddenly turning off without indicating; others practically asleep at the wheel - being the only explanation for their "driving". At least drivers in Rome are awake.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
If you do not mind a train commute, then take a look at Viterbo /Vetralla areas. Just over an hour on the train into Roma. [url]www.tren.italia[/url] may be worth looking at so you can pinpoint a station near your workplace?
good Luck with the move and if you want more info on this area do not hesitate to send us a pm. Always happy to try and answer questions and direct you to someone else who can!
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
[QUOTE=English teacher]I moaned about Roman drivers when I lived in Rome - how they'd cut in without warning, drive cm from you, create a myriad of lanes when two would have been adequate etc etc. Now living in Le Marche I think the driving is actually worse here. People drifting around in the middle of the road, suddenly turning off without indicating; others practically asleep at the wheel - being the only explanation for their "driving". At least drivers in Rome are awake.[/QUOTE]
I think you may have been stuck behind me!!! Lose all sense of co-ordination, road sense and perception to space and distance when i get behind the wheel of a left hand drive car.
Andy
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
[url]http://www.trenitalia.com[/url]
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
[QUOTE=widow twanky]I think you may have been stuck behind me!!! Lose all sense of co-ordination, road sense and perception to space and distance when i get behind the wheel of a left hand drive car.
Andy[/QUOTE]
Do you wear a hat Andy? This seems to be the most reliable indicator of a half-asleep driver up ahead... Especially if driving either an ancient fiat or an "ape". (For those of you not here in the countryside I can see minds boggling...)
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
[QUOTE=English teacher]Do you wear a hat Andy? This seems to be the most reliable indicator of a half-asleep driver up ahead... Especially if driving either an ancient fiat or an "ape". (For those of you not here in the countryside I can see minds boggling...)[/QUOTE]
Hat and sandals with white socks!!! (Mainly to wind up the kids, but it is rather comfortable too!!).
Andy
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
[QUOTE=English teacher]I moaned about Roman drivers when I lived in Rome - how they'd cut in without warning, drive cm from you, create a myriad of lanes when two would have been adequate etc etc. Now living in Le Marche I think the driving is actually worse here. People drifting around in the middle of the road, suddenly turning off without indicating; others practically asleep at the wheel - being the only explanation for their "driving". At least drivers in Rome are awake.[/QUOTE]
This happened a lot when we were over this last time - usually though when people where drifting across lanes, or driving fast, then slow, then fast, etc they were on mobile phones or texting...
Another habit that we found startling was the speed with which they propel themselves onto the motorway from slipways - can be quite alarming to have these mini rockets appear next to you from behind a bush (slipways largely seemed to be planted up).
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
as someone who lives in the Colli -avoid driving at all costs the train will get you from Velletri ( still the old Italy few expats- actually I've never heard of a single one) to Termini within an hour - sounds a lot but it's not far it's just the train goes at the speed of a bus. Albano is also good and if you're renting these towns are on the wrong side of the hill to be expensive i.e we haven't got views of Rome. When we first came out here we stayed 3 years at the coast - grotty but very Italian- pm me if you need more info by the way I agree with English Teacher - Roman drivers take some getting used to but when you understand the way they drived, they're a damn sight better than the Belgians
Outside of Rome is a lot cheaper than central Rome, but you have to go quite a way before you get affordable places with gardens etc. (Though I suppose that these things are relative.)
North / north east of Rome you could try Tivoli (about an hour by train as I remember) or Monterotondo - an increasingly popular place for young couples and families and a bit closer in.
South of Rome you have the castelli romani - a nice area with some lovely towns such as Frascati. Quite expensive though.
North and north east you have the coast, and can still find some decently priced places. In particular, Santa Marinella is nice, but count on an hour's train ride - and limited trains in winter and at night.
I know of some people that live pretty much in Umbria - around the Orvieto / Bolsena lake area (sp?). Up near Viterbo (if you're as vague as I am regarding geography) you get a lot of "bang for your buck" but you are some distance from Rome. I personally wouldn't commute that far ever day.
Hope it works out for you!