Hi can anyone give me some advice on purchasing windows for our house in Italy. We are obviously looking for good quality at a good price. I have already been advised against using wood due to the extreme temperature changes.
Does any body know if adapters for refilling red calorgas bottles can be purchased in Italy. If so where?. We have found that we can get the small blue camping gas bottles refilled but have so far failed on the red.
WE are renovating and thinking of a new heating system we may have the chance to be connected to mains gas, I wondered if any of the community may have opinions as to the cost comparison to the pellet system etc.
my name is Julia I am new to the forum, I am interested to know if anybody has any information on building grants( for renovation) available in the piedmonte region.
Ugo you are clearly mistaken firstly my name is spelt Julia and secondly I do not have any business/company other than enjoying writing stories about my life here . Yes you may have been around and you have a business in Abruzzo. ? Which is a Vested interest , Exactly what your business is I am unsure especially as you seem so informed as to my affairs of which you are completely misguided. If you had read my blog you may have understood things a little better before making comment. I am certainly not a professional writer. Perhaps one day when we finish the renovation we may open a b and b but I do not anticipate that being in the immediate future. So actually the reason I answered the question was basically to draw the persons attention to Piemonte and suggest he reads my blog to give an insight into life here. To be honest it wouldn't matter where you are in Italy the experiences we have had which I write about in the blog would be helpful. If you note I have had many complimentary comments re the stories and I know people enjoy them. I do actually enjoy writing them. I again reiterate I do not have any gain monetary or personal.
Have you tried Piemonte,it borders with Liguria but the cost of property is more competitive. It is serviced by Torino, and Milan malpensa airports and also a smaller airport at Cuneo. All are easily accessible in fact Genova is also within 45 minutes from where we live.It is a vast area so there is quite a diverse countryside, vineyards, mountains, lakes, etc. etc.We bought here 2012 and moved 4 years ago and have not regretted a moment.Even though we have a huge renovation project. If it is of any help to you read my blog www.juliasitaliangarden.com I started it to try and help other crazy people like us to take the plunge. Julia.
Hi We travel about once a year to the UK with our little dog and have used many different routes, basically it really depends what type of vehicle you are travelling in if it is a car then I would definitely choose the motorways faster and easier. We have a large van so it is pricey on French motorways and through French tunnels.It also depends where you live in the Uk we have found it better to take the ferry dieppe Newhaven a much shorter route across France, we actually use the main roads but there is also a motorway making the route much faster and if you live on the west side of the uk. We use in France Ibis, the b and b chain and smaller private hotels. We always try to keep to a budget nothing above 60 euros and all have been very good and also welcoming the dog.In December we went upto Como Ibis hotel Grandate good value always good deals to include breakfast and welcome dogs. Into Switzerland , San Gottardo tunnel, Basel, motorway into France following route to colmar, after colmar turn off motorway head towards Nancy through toll paying tunnel cost about 9 euros for a very large van, the distance off the motorway was very short so we lost little time, then back onto motorway metz a good ibis budget hotel , Luxembourg, Lille, Dunkirk and to calais. Although there is a ferry from dunkirk. This route was mainly motorways with no tolls. On our return we went from Calais lille valenciennes, (ibis hotel) reims, dijon, beune(used a b abd b hotel ) at the side of the motorway just outside the town, chalons, chamberey (ibis budget hotel) outside chamberey going towards frejus tunnel. Hope this helps a little obviously we have not used all these stopovers this time but we never have a problem with our little dog until we reach Britain and then it is as if we have some strange infectious disease. Hotels, cafes, restaurants I think they lock the doors when they see us approaching. We try to minimise our time in the UK because our little dog does not understand she is always in our company here. The only chain of hotels in the uk that have been welcoming was Days inn. We did also stay in Travel lodge on one occasion but got the worst room that they could find. We also found the motorway route through Switzerland, Luxembourg etc very stressful the roads were frantic, lots of traffic etc. Which actually does nit help the little dog when we get anxious.That is why we returned through France were the roads are much quieter. Thankfully we live in Piemonte so there is not a long drive once we arrive in Italy. Good luck Julia
Hi I completely agree with Conor and his advice is good. We took on a massive restoration project 5 years ago and are possibly about 2 thirds complete. There are many things I learnt along the way but the most important is to find yourself a reliable geometra or architect . We have had both and if you care to read my blog www.juliasitaliangarden.com especially all the early stories you can see how we learnt by experience, we like yourselves wanted to do as much as was physically possible but there are many regulations here that must be adhered to.My other advice which you will know being in the building trade is that builders are no different here as in the uk. They must always be watched even the best We have lived on site through the whole experience and although sometimes it was exceptionally difficult. The end result more than pays for all the pain.Also being able to converse in their language opens many doors. We after some bad experiences went down the local tradesman route and have never looked back.I am aware that there is a shortage of builders in your area as my own builder is sub contracted somewhere around Lago como.Hope this is some help.julia
Hi stephen your comment has just flashed up on my computer useful things these I don't know what us expats would do without them. Where do you live or stay etc. We are all in the region of Nizza monferratto, if you are within travelling distance you are very welcome to join us.I can see that Conor has given you the details of my blog site there is another address www.juliasitaliangarden.com you can make contact with me through this and I will send you the details etc. Getting a little behind on the blog at the moment I have been somewhat busy. I set it up to try and help other expats who are considering doing something crazy like selling up everything and moving here to take on a huge renovation project on a very tight budget. We are still here 3 years later enjoying every moment of it although my other half has taken to bed this morning with a bad case of the man fluThe group meet up each week ,girls Monday guys Wednesday we are a diverse group from all over Europe with a common language English we exchange experiences,information, etc at times it can be a relief just to speak English to someone. Look forward to hearing from you. Julia
C Yes your so right, you read my blog. It was unkind to the plant to even try as it was way out of its comfort zone. It is always worth a try!!!!but we failed big time. J
Hi ConorI am glad you finally got to writing about the Monferrato, I vote for number one I love these old legends and no doubt there maybe a thread of truth in it. If we are honest it must be the the rich fertile land anybody starting to garden here will be amazed at how everything grows so well. Julia
Hi KevinThanks for your interest re expat communities unfortunately we are further south , in the wine region around Nizza Monferrato. A friend of mine had to do a teaching course in Biella last week she mentioned it took well over an hour and a half from Asti.You are quite high up there and today, I imagine under snow, as we have had at leat 10 cms this morning. Which happens to be our first snowfall this year.!!Have you read my blog you will find the address in this thread ,. I am writing it to hopefully help all new expats, it is about our experiences here and has useful information. I do try to add a new story each week however my life is pretty hectic at the moment. If there is any information or advice we can give you please ask.
Thanks to you both for your replies, Lynda, by all means we would love to meet you when you come over and you would be very welcome to come and see our work in progress. Regards Julia
Hi Lynda and AliYou both asked if you could contact me and I suggested through my blog site did you have a problem with the messaging system as Conor did say he had struggled with some cookies. ( unfortunately I am not very computer literate but would appreciate knowing if there is a problem)AliFurther to the horse question my husband has also thought it would be wise to tell you to becareful not to choose an area too close to fresh water i.e the rice fields which are in abundance in the northern part of Monferrato. We are prone to mosquitoes in Italy and they can be a problem around fresh water areas. You said you were from Northern Scotland so I guess you will have plenty of experience fighting back those midges, we worked up at Loch Lomond one summer and I was completely covered in bites. My husband said it was because I was welsh!!Regards julia.
Comments posted
Ugo you are clearly mistaken firstly my name is spelt Julia and secondly I do not have any business/company other than enjoying writing stories about my life here . Yes you may have been around and you have a business in Abruzzo. ? Which is a Vested interest , Exactly what your business is I am unsure especially as you seem so informed as to my affairs of which you are completely misguided. If you had read my blog you may have understood things a little better before making comment. I am certainly not a professional writer. Perhaps one day when we finish the renovation we may open a b and b but I do not anticipate that being in the immediate future. So actually the reason I answered the question was basically to draw the persons attention to Piemonte and suggest he reads my blog to give an insight into life here. To be honest it wouldn't matter where you are in Italy the experiences we have had which I write about in the blog would be helpful. If you note I have had many complimentary comments re the stories and I know people enjoy them. I do actually enjoy writing them. I again reiterate I do not have any gain monetary or personal.
Have you tried Piemonte,it borders with Liguria but the cost of property is more competitive. It is serviced by Torino, and Milan malpensa airports and also a smaller airport at Cuneo. All are easily accessible in fact Genova is also within 45 minutes from where we live.It is a vast area so there is quite a diverse countryside, vineyards, mountains, lakes, etc. etc.We bought here 2012 and moved 4 years ago and have not regretted a moment.Even though we have a huge renovation project. If it is of any help to you read my blog www.juliasitaliangarden.com I started it to try and help other crazy people like us to take the plunge. Julia.
Hi We travel about once a year to the UK with our little dog and have used many different routes, basically it really depends what type of vehicle you are travelling in if it is a car then I would definitely choose the motorways faster and easier. We have a large van so it is pricey on French motorways and through French tunnels.It also depends where you live in the Uk we have found it better to take the ferry dieppe Newhaven a much shorter route across France, we actually use the main roads but there is also a motorway making the route much faster and if you live on the west side of the uk. We use in France Ibis, the b and b chain and smaller private hotels. We always try to keep to a budget nothing above 60 euros and all have been very good and also welcoming the dog.In December we went upto Como Ibis hotel Grandate good value always good deals to include breakfast and welcome dogs. Into Switzerland , San Gottardo tunnel, Basel, motorway into France following route to colmar, after colmar turn off motorway head towards Nancy through toll paying tunnel cost about 9 euros for a very large van, the distance off the motorway was very short so we lost little time, then back onto motorway metz a good ibis budget hotel , Luxembourg, Lille, Dunkirk and to calais. Although there is a ferry from dunkirk. This route was mainly motorways with no tolls. On our return we went from Calais lille valenciennes, (ibis hotel) reims, dijon, beune(used a b abd b hotel ) at the side of the motorway just outside the town, chalons, chamberey (ibis budget hotel) outside chamberey going towards frejus tunnel. Hope this helps a little obviously we have not used all these stopovers this time but we never have a problem with our little dog until we reach Britain and then it is as if we have some strange infectious disease. Hotels, cafes, restaurants I think they lock the doors when they see us approaching. We try to minimise our time in the UK because our little dog does not understand she is always in our company here. The only chain of hotels in the uk that have been welcoming was Days inn. We did also stay in Travel lodge on one occasion but got the worst room that they could find. We also found the motorway route through Switzerland, Luxembourg etc very stressful the roads were frantic, lots of traffic etc. Which actually does nit help the little dog when we get anxious.That is why we returned through France were the roads are much quieter. Thankfully we live in Piemonte so there is not a long drive once we arrive in Italy. Good luck Julia
Hi I completely agree with Conor and his advice is good. We took on a massive restoration project 5 years ago and are possibly about 2 thirds complete. There are many things I learnt along the way but the most important is to find yourself a reliable geometra or architect . We have had both and if you care to read my blog www.juliasitaliangarden.com especially all the early stories you can see how we learnt by experience, we like yourselves wanted to do as much as was physically possible but there are many regulations here that must be adhered to.My other advice which you will know being in the building trade is that builders are no different here as in the uk. They must always be watched even the best We have lived on site through the whole experience and although sometimes it was exceptionally difficult. The end result more than pays for all the pain.Also being able to converse in their language opens many doors. We after some bad experiences went down the local tradesman route and have never looked back.I am aware that there is a shortage of builders in your area as my own builder is sub contracted somewhere around Lago como.Hope this is some help.julia
Hi stephen your comment has just flashed up on my computer useful things these I don't know what us expats would do without them. Where do you live or stay etc. We are all in the region of Nizza monferratto, if you are within travelling distance you are very welcome to join us.I can see that Conor has given you the details of my blog site there is another address www.juliasitaliangarden.com you can make contact with me through this and I will send you the details etc. Getting a little behind on the blog at the moment I have been somewhat busy. I set it up to try and help other expats who are considering doing something crazy like selling up everything and moving here to take on a huge renovation project on a very tight budget. We are still here 3 years later enjoying every moment of it although my other half has taken to bed this morning with a bad case of the man fluThe group meet up each week ,girls Monday guys Wednesday we are a diverse group from all over Europe with a common language English we exchange experiences,information, etc at times it can be a relief just to speak English to someone. Look forward to hearing from you. Julia
C Yes your so right, you read my blog. It was unkind to the plant to even try as it was way out of its comfort zone. It is always worth a try!!!!but we failed big time. J
Hi ConorI am glad you finally got to writing about the Monferrato, I vote for number one I love these old legends and no doubt there maybe a thread of truth in it. If we are honest it must be the the rich fertile land anybody starting to garden here will be amazed at how everything grows so well. Julia
Hi KevinThanks for your interest re expat communities unfortunately we are further south , in the wine region around Nizza Monferrato. A friend of mine had to do a teaching course in Biella last week she mentioned it took well over an hour and a half from Asti.You are quite high up there and today, I imagine under snow, as we have had at leat 10 cms this morning. Which happens to be our first snowfall this year.!!Have you read my blog you will find the address in this thread ,. I am writing it to hopefully help all new expats, it is about our experiences here and has useful information. I do try to add a new story each week however my life is pretty hectic at the moment. If there is any information or advice we can give you please ask.
Thanks to you both for your replies, Lynda, by all means we would love to meet you when you come over and you would be very welcome to come and see our work in progress. Regards Julia
Hi Lynda and AliYou both asked if you could contact me and I suggested through my blog site did you have a problem with the messaging system as Conor did say he had struggled with some cookies. ( unfortunately I am not very computer literate but would appreciate knowing if there is a problem)AliFurther to the horse question my husband has also thought it would be wise to tell you to becareful not to choose an area too close to fresh water i.e the rice fields which are in abundance in the northern part of Monferrato. We are prone to mosquitoes in Italy and they can be a problem around fresh water areas. You said you were from Northern Scotland so I guess you will have plenty of experience fighting back those midges, we worked up at Loch Lomond one summer and I was completely covered in bites. My husband said it was because I was welsh!!Regards julia.