Introducing myself

Dear all,An introduction:I am of Italian descent - my parents on both sides originate from the south, near Cassino (though both were born in the UK).I was brought up on the Isle of Wight, where my parents and sister still live.  I now live in London and, on and off for the last two years, in Umbria.  Sometimes I think I am a foreigner in the UK and a foreigner in Italy.  We didn't speak any Italian at home, so I have had to learn from scratch.  Luckily I have a lovely teacher from the Italian Instituta in London, so this is a luxury, not a hardship. My partner, Sarah, and I have four children: Dante (15), Louisa (10), Giorgio (4) and Rosa (6 months).  At the moment we are committed to our London lives - in particular the schools there - but we are also considering moving here permanently.Buying a house here was a dream for me, and of course once the dream becomes real, real bricks (or stone) and mortar, it loses its fantasy quality.  Your house becomes, like all houses, an expensive source of worry, a place in which jobs need doing, leaks need fixing, scorpions needs squashing.  So I am past the romantic stage and beginning to engage with the real Italy, and still incredibly happy to have begun this journey.  I look forward to becoming an Italian in actuality, not just in genetic inheritance.Best wishes,Dominc