If like me, one of the few things you miss in Italy is a decent department store, in particular John Lewis, you may be interested to know that they now offer international delivery for £7-50.
Does anyone have a phone number for Telecom Italia that can be used from UK? We started trying to cancel our landline/ADSL contract with them last October - following their instructions to the letter.
After 10 years in Italy, the last 7 of which have been in Le Marche (Macerata province) for family reasons we now have to return to UK for at least a year.
They are supposedly much easier to put on but as Alan has mentioned, the legal side of things seems unclear - it has come up before on the forum, but not sure if a final answer re legality in Italy has been established. Also, not sure how long they would last on any rough, or even not so rough white country roads!
As many of the expats in Rome/Milan etc work for large organisations and are based there for a few years, often they have no choice in the actual school as many of the organisations pay the fees and have contracts with set schools. Or, the expat is in accomodation tied to their particular job so the school is chosen for convenience to school bus routes. All the international schools provide a fairly extensive school bus service for their part of Rome and you find clusters of expats living along these school bus routes and within easy reach of the stops as crossing Rome in rush hour traffic is to be avoided! I don't think any of the schools had a bad reputation, but the only way to gauge atmosphere etc is to visit - not so easy when overseas. As there is a huge expat support network in Rome, I don't think many participate in this fourm as their questions are answered locally.
Often the most up to date and current sites are the embassy of your country in the one you want to go to, or vice versa. So, in your case I would suggest you try the USA embassy in Rome site, or alternatively the Italian embassy in Washington DC. Good luck
When we lived in Rome it had an excellent reputation and was considered the best of the British schools in Rome. Unfortunately, we lived too far away for it to be feasible to consider sending our 3 yo (can't actually remember if they offered a nursery) but many of the pupils at the school she attended (Southlands) went onto St Georges. We did live in Rome 10 years ago but its reputation was well established so I doubt it has changed much. As with any school, arrange a visit, as you will be well aware, what is right for one child is not right for another, but we only heard good things.
It does seem to be an excellent price you have been given but I would urge anyone using the site to check the policy they take out really is like for like and double check the small print! Many Italian insurance companies tie you in for a fixed period, often as many as 10 years and to leave early you have to pay a high penalty fee. If you are taking out a policy for the first time in Italy, most companies give no regard to the 5 years NCB from UK or wherever, so you start in the enormous premium group as if you have never been insured before. Also, not all companies basic insurance policies cover all occupants of the car! Perhaps I am just too cynical in my old age, but when something seems to be too good to be true, it all too often is, but I hope not in this case! Even so, best to do all the checks beforehand.
http://db.englishyellowpages.it/4daction/Eyp_cercaCat This is the link to the English Speaking yellow pages published by a group based in Rome and the 'Schools - nursery to high' section. At a quick glance it looks as if most of the main international schools are listed with the exception of Sir James Henderson in Milan and the European School in Varese. I know there is another in Verona but can't remember its name, something like Aliero Alieri. The other option is the international schools sited on NATO bases, there is one near Naples who employ internationally and various American bases notably Vicenza (who only employ USA teachers). You are 100% right to follow the jobs rather than arrive and then start the job hunt - good luck!
If you are hoping to teach then I would suggest you restrict your search to where the international schools are to be found - a search on google will bring up the organisations to which most of the schools affiliate themselves and provide details of all their websites. As you would suspect they are mainly situated in the major cities, so Rome and Milan but there are others, including the European school in Varese. The international schools tend to employ mother tongue speakers and those who trained in the appropriate country, ie the British schools employ UK trained teachers, the American schools, USA trained etc etc, whereas the state schools do not, our son learnt English at school but with an Italian pronunciation! Also, as there is a major shake up currently taking place in the state sector, with threatened job loses as the number of teaching posts is being drastically reduced, it is extremely hard and in some areas nigh on imposible for an Italian trained teacher to get a job never mind a 'straniera'. As to the other points raised, I would totally agree with the other posts. We lived in Italian cities (Rome, Verona and Varese) for a number of years when our children were young before heading to rural Le Marche. Lovely though the countryside is, and the children loved and benefited from the freedom, from a parents point of view, life with young children was so much easier in the city. If you are teaching it may not matter, but one other consideration if you are having to find work (pretty impossible in rural areas as has been said), school hours do vary from region to region and even town to town, the total annual hours are the same, but how they are organised varies. Many schools still operate on a 0800 to 1300 basis with Sat am - this means that unless you have available child care, work opportunities are again limited as there is practically nothing in the way of part time work, jobs are full time and due to the amount of competition the employers do not have to offer flexibility to attract applicants so you play by their rules or don't play at all! Good luck!
Comments posted
They are supposedly much easier to put on but as Alan has mentioned, the legal side of things seems unclear - it has come up before on the forum, but not sure if a final answer re legality in Italy has been established. Also, not sure how long they would last on any rough, or even not so rough white country roads!
As many of the expats in Rome/Milan etc work for large organisations and are based there for a few years, often they have no choice in the actual school as many of the organisations pay the fees and have contracts with set schools. Or, the expat is in accomodation tied to their particular job so the school is chosen for convenience to school bus routes. All the international schools provide a fairly extensive school bus service for their part of Rome and you find clusters of expats living along these school bus routes and within easy reach of the stops as crossing Rome in rush hour traffic is to be avoided! I don't think any of the schools had a bad reputation, but the only way to gauge atmosphere etc is to visit - not so easy when overseas. As there is a huge expat support network in Rome, I don't think many participate in this fourm as their questions are answered locally.
Often the most up to date and current sites are the embassy of your country in the one you want to go to, or vice versa. So, in your case I would suggest you try the USA embassy in Rome site, or alternatively the Italian embassy in Washington DC. Good luck
When we lived in Rome it had an excellent reputation and was considered the best of the British schools in Rome. Unfortunately, we lived too far away for it to be feasible to consider sending our 3 yo (can't actually remember if they offered a nursery) but many of the pupils at the school she attended (Southlands) went onto St Georges. We did live in Rome 10 years ago but its reputation was well established so I doubt it has changed much. As with any school, arrange a visit, as you will be well aware, what is right for one child is not right for another, but we only heard good things.
It does seem to be an excellent price you have been given but I would urge anyone using the site to check the policy they take out really is like for like and double check the small print! Many Italian insurance companies tie you in for a fixed period, often as many as 10 years and to leave early you have to pay a high penalty fee. If you are taking out a policy for the first time in Italy, most companies give no regard to the 5 years NCB from UK or wherever, so you start in the enormous premium group as if you have never been insured before. Also, not all companies basic insurance policies cover all occupants of the car! Perhaps I am just too cynical in my old age, but when something seems to be too good to be true, it all too often is, but I hope not in this case! Even so, best to do all the checks beforehand.
Carrefour petrol stations are open 24 hours, they operate the self service pay at the pump system 'out of hours'. Here is the link to the Auchan petrol stations, I assume they are open 24 hours as well: http://www.auchan.it/Servizi/Benzine/Pagine/Distributori-carburante-auchan.aspx Have a good trip!
Carrefour petrol stations are open 24 hours, they operate the self service pay at the pump system 'out of hours'. Here is the link to the Auchan petrol stations, I assume they are open 24 hours as well: http://www.auchan.it/Servizi/Benzine/Pagine/Distributori-carburante-auchan.aspx Have a good trip!
The Carrefour at Camerano near Ancona (maybe too close to start/finish point) is usually very cheap for both diesel and petrol, not sure if there are any others as you travel north which are near to the motorway but I'm sure a look at their site would list all branches. http://www.carrefour.it/servizi/utilities/prezzo-benzina-e-diesel-costo-e-convenienza-su-benzine-diesel-confronta-i-prezzi_1274791141634.html Not sure if any are on your route!
http://db.englishyellowpages.it/4daction/Eyp_cercaCat This is the link to the English Speaking yellow pages published by a group based in Rome and the 'Schools - nursery to high' section. At a quick glance it looks as if most of the main international schools are listed with the exception of Sir James Henderson in Milan and the European School in Varese. I know there is another in Verona but can't remember its name, something like Aliero Alieri. The other option is the international schools sited on NATO bases, there is one near Naples who employ internationally and various American bases notably Vicenza (who only employ USA teachers). You are 100% right to follow the jobs rather than arrive and then start the job hunt - good luck!
If you are hoping to teach then I would suggest you restrict your search to where the international schools are to be found - a search on google will bring up the organisations to which most of the schools affiliate themselves and provide details of all their websites. As you would suspect they are mainly situated in the major cities, so Rome and Milan but there are others, including the European school in Varese. The international schools tend to employ mother tongue speakers and those who trained in the appropriate country, ie the British schools employ UK trained teachers, the American schools, USA trained etc etc, whereas the state schools do not, our son learnt English at school but with an Italian pronunciation! Also, as there is a major shake up currently taking place in the state sector, with threatened job loses as the number of teaching posts is being drastically reduced, it is extremely hard and in some areas nigh on imposible for an Italian trained teacher to get a job never mind a 'straniera'. As to the other points raised, I would totally agree with the other posts. We lived in Italian cities (Rome, Verona and Varese) for a number of years when our children were young before heading to rural Le Marche. Lovely though the countryside is, and the children loved and benefited from the freedom, from a parents point of view, life with young children was so much easier in the city. If you are teaching it may not matter, but one other consideration if you are having to find work (pretty impossible in rural areas as has been said), school hours do vary from region to region and even town to town, the total annual hours are the same, but how they are organised varies. Many schools still operate on a 0800 to 1300 basis with Sat am - this means that unless you have available child care, work opportunities are again limited as there is practically nothing in the way of part time work, jobs are full time and due to the amount of competition the employers do not have to offer flexibility to attract applicants so you play by their rules or don't play at all! Good luck!