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.
As Stribs says, the moon plays a huge role, according to many, as to what you should plant and when. There are many books around but also a monthly gardening magazine, sorry can't remember its name off hand, but easily available in any edicola, which has a monthly calendar literally telling you what to plant on each day for that month. Our neighbours used to stop their cars, just to tell us we had planted something on the wrong day and no matter how good the crops, they would apparently have been even better had we planted on the correct day!!!!!! Well, we'll never know!
We have friends who live overseas but whose UK house which they rent out is now owned by a 'company' ie themselves for tax reasons, but by being a company it apparently has many advantages - I've no idea what! I wholeheartedly agree with Penny and would suggest you speak with a tax consultant who knows about cross border taxation and who should hopefully give you up to date and accurate advice. Both UK and Italy are tightening up on tax collecting and changing the rules so I would seek expert advice sooner rather than later.
This may be a useful start point - if you scroll down, some clubs are listed in the left hand column - http://www.crickitalia.org/HomeEnglish.htm they may be able to put you in touch with the right people. I like the sound of The Idle Cricket Club!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Good luck!
The website for the Italian stores is www.leroymerlin.it but for some bizare reason they do not show everything they sell - in fact it shows very little of use! They do list the branches, there are none in Le Marche, the nearest are probably Rimini or Perugia. If you ever fly into Ciampino there is one pretty much next door to the airport or there are loads in the north if you drive down. We have bought from Leroy Merlin in the past and the quality, price and choice has always been good. Good luck with the hunt.
We went for a striped version of the type you find on a beach, with the head shade, and have been very pleased with them and they do look quite smart - although this may be what you are replacing. We chose this type to avoid the need for cushions as we had stayed in so many places where the cushions had previously been left out overnight or in the rain resulting in them having some fairly offputting looking water staining. If you are on site and can rush out to rescue the cushions then ok, but if not, unfortunately you cannot rely upon all guests to bring in the cushions overnight or if it starts to rain and they soon start to look shabby and not at all stylish!
Absolutely agree with Ram - we bought our washing machine for just over 100E - that was nearly 10 years ago, it has dealt with regular washing for a family of 4 and is still going strong so when it does finally give up the ghost, we would definitely do the same again! Not sure if you can find dishwashers as cheaply but if they are around, I would certainly never rule out getting one.
Can't help re driving in Sicily - sorry, but series 1 of Montalbano is also available on DVD from Amazon (in Italian but with subtitles) with series 2 due out in September. Couldn't believe it when, by chance, we found it on BBC4 - I just love his house right on the beach, so fascinated to learn you can stay there!
no you do not need to carry them all year round, the exact dates when it is obligatory to do so varies from region to region here is a link, from a previous post (thanks Penny) which tells you what is required, where and when - http://poliziadistato.it/articolo/21073/
Certainly the quality of life in Italy is extremely good but then we are fortunate and also enjoy a good quality of life in the UK. To us, the children enjoying school and achieving their optimum is vital - I don't mean accademically, I mean as well formed and informed, all round characters who are in a position of being able to make a choice with their futures from a wide range of options rather than from a limited range. We did not want doors to be closed to them and we had a fear that that is what would happen if they entered into the Italian secondary system where at age 14 choices are made for life - ie do they go on to the liceo classico / scientifico / linguistico etc etc or to a more vocational school. If the wrong choice is made, from what we have been told it is nigh on impossible to change. Now, if they choose to do so, they can still go to university in Italy, but could equally choose to go elswehere. We simply did not feel that the constraints and focus of the Italian secondary system was right for our children - we were lucky and had a choice, which we made and do not regret. Yes, they are both bilingual.
We lived in Italy for 10 years, moving out when our children were a few weeks old and 3. Both completed all their nursery and primary education in Italy. Overall we were happy with the standard of education they received at this level, especially with the older child. Unfortunately the younger one had teachers who were not of the same quality and the school had a policy of the same teachers following the child throughout their primary education. One area where we did have major concerns was the lack of flexibility in the system - there is a lot of learning by heart and little variation in the style or variety of teaching - very much rote learning. With our eldest this was not an issue, but with the younger, he certainly struggled to memorise things and learn them off by heart so lost a lot of confidence. Although we did look at them going on to secondary schooling in Italy we decided against. We looked around the local media school, the teachers were well meaning but the facilities were extremely limited and they focussed purely on the academic subjects. Art, music, PE did feature but only for about 1/2 an hour a week and on a very limited basis, ie no specialist teachers and no sports facilities at all. DT, FT and drama simply did not exist. As a result we moved back to the UK so the children could follow a UK curriculum offering a far more, all inclusive, all round education. We do still visit Italy and from when they meet up with their friends and compare notes it is clear that they are both far ahead of their Italian peers in all subjects in terms of work covered. When we decided to make the move, what struck us was the amount of support we received from Italian parents - all had complaints about the schooling, few had a good word and all said they would do the same if they had a choice. As for our children, when asked which system they prefer, both, without hesitation say the English one is far better. You don't say what part of Italy you are considering moving to. In all major cities there are international schools offering a variety of curricula - so if you are nearby to a major city you would certainly have more options. Hope this helps - others may have had a different experience and have made a different choice, but at the end of the day you have to do what is right for the children concerned.
Comments posted
As Stribs says, the moon plays a huge role, according to many, as to what you should plant and when. There are many books around but also a monthly gardening magazine, sorry can't remember its name off hand, but easily available in any edicola, which has a monthly calendar literally telling you what to plant on each day for that month. Our neighbours used to stop their cars, just to tell us we had planted something on the wrong day and no matter how good the crops, they would apparently have been even better had we planted on the correct day!!!!!! Well, we'll never know
!
We have friends who live overseas but whose UK house which they rent out is now owned by a 'company' ie themselves for tax reasons, but by being a company it apparently has many advantages - I've no idea what! I wholeheartedly agree with Penny and would suggest you speak with a tax consultant who knows about cross border taxation and who should hopefully give you up to date and accurate advice. Both UK and Italy are tightening up on tax collecting and changing the rules so I would seek expert advice sooner rather than later.
This may be a useful start point - if you scroll down, some clubs are listed in the left hand column - http://www.crickitalia.org/HomeEnglish.htm they may be able to put you in touch with the right people. I like the sound of The Idle Cricket Club!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Good luck!
The website for the Italian stores is www.leroymerlin.it but for some bizare reason they do not show everything they sell - in fact it shows very little of use! They do list the branches, there are none in Le Marche, the nearest are probably Rimini or Perugia. If you ever fly into Ciampino there is one pretty much next door to the airport or there are loads in the north if you drive down. We have bought from Leroy Merlin in the past and the quality, price and choice has always been good. Good luck with the hunt.
We went for a striped version of the type you find on a beach, with the head shade, and have been very pleased with them and they do look quite smart - although this may be what you are replacing. We chose this type to avoid the need for cushions as we had stayed in so many places where the cushions had previously been left out overnight or in the rain resulting in them having some fairly offputting looking water staining. If you are on site and can rush out to rescue the cushions then ok, but if not, unfortunately you cannot rely upon all guests to bring in the cushions overnight or if it starts to rain and they soon start to look shabby and not at all stylish!
Absolutely agree with Ram - we bought our washing machine for just over 100E - that was nearly 10 years ago, it has dealt with regular washing for a family of 4 and is still going strong so when it does finally give up the ghost, we would definitely do the same again! Not sure if you can find dishwashers as cheaply but if they are around, I would certainly never rule out getting one.
Can't help re driving in Sicily - sorry, but series 1 of Montalbano is also available on DVD from Amazon (in Italian but with subtitles) with series 2 due out in September. Couldn't believe it when, by chance, we found it on BBC4 - I just love his house right on the beach, so fascinated to learn you can stay there!
no you do not need to carry them all year round, the exact dates when it is obligatory to do so varies from region to region here is a link, from a previous post (thanks Penny) which tells you what is required, where and when - http://poliziadistato.it/articolo/21073/
Certainly the quality of life in Italy is extremely good but then we are fortunate and also enjoy a good quality of life in the UK. To us, the children enjoying school and achieving their optimum is vital - I don't mean accademically, I mean as well formed and informed, all round characters who are in a position of being able to make a choice with their futures from a wide range of options rather than from a limited range. We did not want doors to be closed to them and we had a fear that that is what would happen if they entered into the Italian secondary system where at age 14 choices are made for life - ie do they go on to the liceo classico / scientifico / linguistico etc etc or to a more vocational school. If the wrong choice is made, from what we have been told it is nigh on impossible to change. Now, if they choose to do so, they can still go to university in Italy, but could equally choose to go elswehere. We simply did not feel that the constraints and focus of the Italian secondary system was right for our children - we were lucky and had a choice, which we made and do not regret. Yes, they are both bilingual.
We lived in Italy for 10 years, moving out when our children were a few weeks old and 3. Both completed all their nursery and primary education in Italy. Overall we were happy with the standard of education they received at this level, especially with the older child. Unfortunately the younger one had teachers who were not of the same quality and the school had a policy of the same teachers following the child throughout their primary education. One area where we did have major concerns was the lack of flexibility in the system - there is a lot of learning by heart and little variation in the style or variety of teaching - very much rote learning. With our eldest this was not an issue, but with the younger, he certainly struggled to memorise things and learn them off by heart so lost a lot of confidence. Although we did look at them going on to secondary schooling in Italy we decided against. We looked around the local media school, the teachers were well meaning but the facilities were extremely limited and they focussed purely on the academic subjects. Art, music, PE did feature but only for about 1/2 an hour a week and on a very limited basis, ie no specialist teachers and no sports facilities at all. DT, FT and drama simply did not exist. As a result we moved back to the UK so the children could follow a UK curriculum offering a far more, all inclusive, all round education. We do still visit Italy and from when they meet up with their friends and compare notes it is clear that they are both far ahead of their Italian peers in all subjects in terms of work covered. When we decided to make the move, what struck us was the amount of support we received from Italian parents - all had complaints about the schooling, few had a good word and all said they would do the same if they had a choice. As for our children, when asked which system they prefer, both, without hesitation say the English one is far better. You don't say what part of Italy you are considering moving to. In all major cities there are international schools offering a variety of curricula - so if you are nearby to a major city you would certainly have more options. Hope this helps - others may have had a different experience and have made a different choice, but at the end of the day you have to do what is right for the children concerned.