Hi Ianj,Just came across your posting about wanting to rent your property in Cannelli near Asti? I am not replying to the post as someone who can help you manage this, but someone who may want to rent it next year in early summer for about 6 months and wonder if it may be available and how much the rent would be.Hope it is okay to ask you this on this posting, if not I can send you my personal email address. Many thanksAntonietta
Hi Natasha,Firstly thank you for all the information you offered. Love the story about the air ambulance! Whilst researching I did read on many different sites that Italy is ranked very highly in terms of it's healthcare provision, so that highlights it.I looked on the map to see where Merana is, as curious to see if we had been close to it and funny enough we did, we went to Cortemilia which was quite a nice town and there seems to be some affordable properties around there, from what I could see in my searches.We did get to go to Acqui Terme, but I am sure we missed a lot of it out, as when we went was on a Sunday and there was not many people around, we completely missed a big chunk of it where the terme are, so it is probably worth another visit. We loved Alba and Asti and drove through Cannelli and agree have a lot to offer.In answer to your questions I do have children, or should I say a child of 8 years old, who can speak Italian but just needs to practice it more at home. My expectations of a school are difficult to define, as I do not know what the school system has to offer in Italia. I want my daughter to have a good all round knowledge of the essential things, learn new skills and most importantly have a good network of friends that she gets on with and include her in things. Some british children are not very inclusive and we seem to come across issues constantly about this, whereas I noticed when my daughter played in Italy with many different children, they were really inclusive and encouraged her to go and play with them, even she said she preferred the children over in Italy! We also noticed how advanced and worldly wise the children we met were, not sure if this is a generlisation, but just in our brief 2 week experience that is what we noticed. I am assuming you asked this question as you may have experience of the school system? If so any information would be greatly appreciated.We are planning to come over in June/July next year for 6 months to live and see how we find it and make our decision based on this experience. The reason we have decided on this is because although England has a lot to offer in terms of opportunities, it also is becoming quite an unsafe place to live in. I work in the prison service and see this every day and my husband is a policeman so we probably get a one sided view! It is also very expensive, I know Italy is as well at the moment, but there is the quality of life that you do not get in England and the way people relate and integrate which I miss over here, people are just too busy to live and enjoy eachother. It came to me one day, I thought it was important to explore the future and my daughter's future and examine if there would be a better life for us all. We are both Italian and understand some aspects of the culture, mainly southern and want to learn more about the good and bad parts of living in Italy compared to England.Hope that answers some of your questions? I was curious to know, when you say you were a psychologist in Belgium, what area of psychology? Is that something you are going to continue to do in Italy? What made you move from Belgium to Italy?Best wishesAntonietta
Thank you for your posting, always really helpful to get other views and experiences.When you say you live in one of the warmest places in southern Piemonte whereabouts are you located? I am familiar with a bit of it as we did a lot of travelling on our holiday 3 weeks ago. What is your general perception of Piemonte as a region? Which part of South Piemonte has more to offer, in terms of services etc. What is it like in your opinion to be self employed in Italy? The winters are another of my concern, more in terms of driving around on ice and snow, when you say even though it was hard, are you referring to cold temperatures? or renovating in winter, which must of been horrendous anyway, especially having to go outside to use the essentials! I also heard that Piemonte had their worst winter in over 15 years. When you say you ate out Christmas eve, was it warm enough in the sun?Sorry for my list of questions, just really useful info that have not been able to research so far.Antonietta
Hi Sebastiano, I realise the question I posed is a difficult one to answer. After just exploring Piemonte in August this year and reading information about how affluent the region of emilia romania is and workforce etc, it seemed to imply that Emilia Romania had a lot more to offer. I appreciate it is always difficult to research these things without getting first hand expeience of them and this is what prompted me to put out the post. I am at the stage where I need as much input as possible from those that know the areas well as I have not had the opportunity to explore enough of Piemonte yet to decide which part I absolutely want to live in, there are also so many other areas to consider such as which region employs better healthcare, schools, opportunities for work and another area of concern for me is the earthquake regions which I have been reading a lot about, which tend to be if my information is correct nearer to toscany/emilia romania borders. In other words, I am exploring every possible avenue as it is such a massive step for me and my family.When you say differing climatic conditions in Emilia Romania and Piemonte, which areas have the worst winter and snowfall, as far as I have been led to believe from locals of where we were staying in Piemonte, most of it has harsh winters that last from Nov-Feb. I am assuming that you live in Italy? If so what part?The area that stood out for me in terms of having a lot to offer was the area of Monferratto and Langhe areas. We were close to the towns of Ovada and Gavi, only issue was lots of altitude, which is fine in the summer. We are ideally looking to be close to a large town or city, but on the outskirts in a semi-rural location, but not one that is so remote and isolated, which we found parts of Alexandria close to Tortona to be, not sure if you are familiar with the area? Emilia Romania is an area I have not physically been to see as of yet, any views or tips that fit this large criteria, would be really helpful and much appreciated.Myself and my husband are not wanting to go into the Italian professional market, we are aspiring to have a better quality of life and try and be, if ever possible, mortgage free! He is happy to find work in a bar/restauraunt, in other words non professional work and I am hoping to continue my online counselling/psychology bussiness which I am hoping can offer easy access for expats living in italy or in other countries. my website for reference is www.mapcounselling.com.Lastly myself and my husband are Italian, but from the south, although we have been exposed to a very rich Italian upbringing, there is a lot of difference between the Italian culture in England and that in Italy, so I feel I have so much still to learn!Thanks again for your post and viewpoints which are very much appreciated and I would welcome any further views.Arriverderci Antonietta
Hi Paola,That's a co-incidence! Thank you for taking the time out to send me the links. I really appreciate it. We are doing one week around Tortona Casasco (self catering) and another week in Parodi Ligure, think that is near Novi ligure self catering again.Monferratto is somewhere I would like to explore as from what I have read on different posts sounds interesting. I can't wait!!Antonietta
Hi Montana,I am not sure if I have read your PM, will need to look back and check? I think I missed your first one and then picked it up so really sorry if that has happened again. I know Haywards Heath, I am not far from East Grinstead area.Yes that is a co-incidence. What has been your experience of Piemonte in terms integration and red tape?We are due to come to Piemonte next Friday so will be trying to explore every part of it as possible!
Hi Paola,Good luck with your PHD, sounds like you have a lot of hard work ahead of you!Yes we are going to Piemonte next Friday for 2 weeks so will be great to get a feel for this particular region, especially as I come from the campania region in Italy so not sure what to expect.Can't wait but also apprehensive about what I will discover and whether I will get a good enough picture in such a short time.
Hi Andrew,Was really interested in your post and your experiences of North East Italy. Have you had any encounters in North West of Italy or have any knowledge of the Piemonte areas?It sounds like Le Marche is an area that suits you better, not an area I know very much about, still trying to find an area that encompasses a lot of things myself and my family are looking for, still keep coming up with this part of Italy but not sure If I am missing some other areas that might be better suited. Thanks for your info, every bit helps!Antonietta
Hi Heiko, Sorry taken so long to get back to you. Thank you for replying to my question. Co-incidently I too live in Surrey. I just wanted to say your honesty really touched me and it sounds like you have had a welcoming and supportive experience in Italy, which must of been so important for you and your wife when you intially immigrated from Surrey. When you say well below the poverty line, I take it finding work is difficult over there? Is that more to do with being foreign or more to do with lack of employment opportunities? I am hoping, as I currently offer an internet and face to face counselling service, www.mapcounselling.com, that this is something I can continue and expand on in Italy. We are looking at moving to South of Piemonte, where the weather is suppossed to be not as cold in the winter months? You mentioned that the health service is considerably different to that in UK, In what way, in expertise or in competence? Are you able to access any health care in Switzerland even though not a resident, as I have read they have an amazing healthcare system but not too sure as to whether you can acccess it from outside? Good luck, I really hope you manage to find the correct type of support for your wife and thank you once again for taking the time out to reply.I will take a look at your website.All the best Antonietta
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Hi Ianj,Just came across your posting about wanting to rent your property in Cannelli near Asti? I am not replying to the post as someone who can help you manage this, but someone who may want to rent it next year in early summer for about 6 months and wonder if it may be available and how much the rent would be.Hope it is okay to ask you this on this posting, if not I can send you my personal email address. Many thanksAntonietta
Hi Natasha,Firstly thank you for all the information you offered. Love the story about the air ambulance! Whilst researching I did read on many different sites that Italy is ranked very highly in terms of it's healthcare provision, so that highlights it.I looked on the map to see where Merana is, as curious to see if we had been close to it and funny enough we did, we went to Cortemilia which was quite a nice town and there seems to be some affordable properties around there, from what I could see in my searches.We did get to go to Acqui Terme, but I am sure we missed a lot of it out, as when we went was on a Sunday and there was not many people around, we completely missed a big chunk of it where the terme are, so it is probably worth another visit. We loved Alba and Asti and drove through Cannelli and agree have a lot to offer.In answer to your questions I do have children, or should I say a child of 8 years old, who can speak Italian but just needs to practice it more at home. My expectations of a school are difficult to define, as I do not know what the school system has to offer in Italia. I want my daughter to have a good all round knowledge of the essential things, learn new skills and most importantly have a good network of friends that she gets on with and include her in things. Some british children are not very inclusive and we seem to come across issues constantly about this, whereas I noticed when my daughter played in Italy with many different children, they were really inclusive and encouraged her to go and play with them, even she said she preferred the children over in Italy! We also noticed how advanced and worldly wise the children we met were, not sure if this is a generlisation, but just in our brief 2 week experience that is what we noticed. I am assuming you asked this question as you may have experience of the school system? If so any information would be greatly appreciated.We are planning to come over in June/July next year for 6 months to live and see how we find it and make our decision based on this experience. The reason we have decided on this is because although England has a lot to offer in terms of opportunities, it also is becoming quite an unsafe place to live in. I work in the prison service and see this every day and my husband is a policeman so we probably get a one sided view! It is also very expensive, I know Italy is as well at the moment, but there is the quality of life that you do not get in England and the way people relate and integrate which I miss over here, people are just too busy to live and enjoy eachother. It came to me one day, I thought it was important to explore the future and my daughter's future and examine if there would be a better life for us all. We are both Italian and understand some aspects of the culture, mainly southern and want to learn more about the good and bad parts of living in Italy compared to England.Hope that answers some of your questions? I was curious to know, when you say you were a psychologist in Belgium, what area of psychology? Is that something you are going to continue to do in Italy? What made you move from Belgium to Italy?Best wishesAntonietta
Thank you for your posting, always really helpful to get other views and experiences.When you say you live in one of the warmest places in southern Piemonte whereabouts are you located? I am familiar with a bit of it as we did a lot of travelling on our holiday 3 weeks ago. What is your general perception of Piemonte as a region? Which part of South Piemonte has more to offer, in terms of services etc. What is it like in your opinion to be self employed in Italy? The winters are another of my concern, more in terms of driving around on ice and snow, when you say even though it was hard, are you referring to cold temperatures? or renovating in winter, which must of been horrendous anyway, especially having to go outside to use the essentials! I also heard that Piemonte had their worst winter in over 15 years. When you say you ate out Christmas eve, was it warm enough in the sun?Sorry for my list of questions, just really useful info that have not been able to research so far.Antonietta
Hi Sebastiano, I realise the question I posed is a difficult one to answer. After just exploring Piemonte in August this year and reading information about how affluent the region of emilia romania is and workforce etc, it seemed to imply that Emilia Romania had a lot more to offer. I appreciate it is always difficult to research these things without getting first hand expeience of them and this is what prompted me to put out the post. I am at the stage where I need as much input as possible from those that know the areas well as I have not had the opportunity to explore enough of Piemonte yet to decide which part I absolutely want to live in, there are also so many other areas to consider such as which region employs better healthcare, schools, opportunities for work and another area of concern for me is the earthquake regions which I have been reading a lot about, which tend to be if my information is correct nearer to toscany/emilia romania borders. In other words, I am exploring every possible avenue as it is such a massive step for me and my family.When you say differing climatic conditions in Emilia Romania and Piemonte, which areas have the worst winter and snowfall, as far as I have been led to believe from locals of where we were staying in Piemonte, most of it has harsh winters that last from Nov-Feb. I am assuming that you live in Italy? If so what part?The area that stood out for me in terms of having a lot to offer was the area of Monferratto and Langhe areas. We were close to the towns of Ovada and Gavi, only issue was lots of altitude, which is fine in the summer. We are ideally looking to be close to a large town or city, but on the outskirts in a semi-rural location, but not one that is so remote and isolated, which we found parts of Alexandria close to Tortona to be, not sure if you are familiar with the area? Emilia Romania is an area I have not physically been to see as of yet, any views or tips that fit this large criteria, would be really helpful and much appreciated.Myself and my husband are not wanting to go into the Italian professional market, we are aspiring to have a better quality of life and try and be, if ever possible, mortgage free! He is happy to find work in a bar/restauraunt, in other words non professional work and I am hoping to continue my online counselling/psychology bussiness which I am hoping can offer easy access for expats living in italy or in other countries. my website for reference is www.mapcounselling.com.Lastly myself and my husband are Italian, but from the south, although we have been exposed to a very rich Italian upbringing, there is a lot of difference between the Italian culture in England and that in Italy, so I feel I have so much still to learn!Thanks again for your post and viewpoints which are very much appreciated and I would welcome any further views.Arriverderci Antonietta
Hi Paola,That's a co-incidence! Thank you for taking the time out to send me the links. I really appreciate it. We are doing one week around Tortona Casasco (self catering) and another week in Parodi Ligure, think that is near Novi ligure self catering again.Monferratto is somewhere I would like to explore as from what I have read on different posts sounds interesting. I can't wait!!Antonietta
Hi Montana,I am not sure if I have read your PM, will need to look back and check? I think I missed your first one and then picked it up so really sorry if that has happened again. I know Haywards Heath, I am not far from East Grinstead area.Yes that is a co-incidence. What has been your experience of Piemonte in terms integration and red tape?We are due to come to Piemonte next Friday so will be trying to explore every part of it as possible!
Hi Paola,Good luck with your PHD, sounds like you have a lot of hard work ahead of you!Yes we are going to Piemonte next Friday for 2 weeks so will be great to get a feel for this particular region, especially as I come from the campania region in Italy so not sure what to expect.Can't wait but also apprehensive about what I will discover and whether I will get a good enough picture in such a short time.
Hi Andrew,Was really interested in your post and your experiences of North East Italy. Have you had any encounters in North West of Italy or have any knowledge of the Piemonte areas?It sounds like Le Marche is an area that suits you better, not an area I know very much about, still trying to find an area that encompasses a lot of things myself and my family are looking for, still keep coming up with this part of Italy but not sure If I am missing some other areas that might be better suited. Thanks for your info, every bit helps!Antonietta
Hi Heiko, Sorry taken so long to get back to you. Thank you for replying to my question. Co-incidently I too live in Surrey. I just wanted to say your honesty really touched me and it sounds like you have had a welcoming and supportive experience in Italy, which must of been so important for you and your wife when you intially immigrated from Surrey. When you say well below the poverty line, I take it finding work is difficult over there? Is that more to do with being foreign or more to do with lack of employment opportunities? I am hoping, as I currently offer an internet and face to face counselling service, www.mapcounselling.com, that this is something I can continue and expand on in Italy. We are looking at moving to South of Piemonte, where the weather is suppossed to be not as cold in the winter months? You mentioned that the health service is considerably different to that in UK, In what way, in expertise or in competence? Are you able to access any health care in Switzerland even though not a resident, as I have read they have an amazing healthcare system but not too sure as to whether you can acccess it from outside? Good luck, I really hope you manage to find the correct type of support for your wife and thank you once again for taking the time out to reply.I will take a look at your website.All the best Antonietta
Hi Nickbass, Sounds idyllic! Good luck with your move and thankyou for giving me some info on the climate and area.