Just come back from 2 weeks near Anzio. We were on the beach the day of the Valencia GP so wanted to catch it on TV, but the news didn't show it. We did eventually manage to see the result - they showed Rubens as the winner and Kimi as 3rd but d
Well. That holiday was one for the memory books. Not least because of the wonderful generosity and hospitality of Barry and Pat. From picking us up at the airport and dropping us off again, and all the other things we did, we can't thank you en
Just had my account approved. Nice place, here - although not so sure about the layout but as with all things new it'll grow on us I suppose. Different to the old forum.We're coming back to Italy for our 4th visit in August!
Sorry if I've offended anyone by the use of the term 'immigrant'. I han't put 2 and 2 together on that one! It seemed to me to be largly Asian and N Africans, but they also seemed suspicious of us and many asked if we were Russian or Ukrainian and when we said we're English they suddenly relaxed. I can only say as I found, I'm afraid. Anyway - ya never know - I may soon be one.
Lazio is far more than the tiny part on the coast that we saw in 2 weeks, and more than just Rome - I fully appreciate that. Had we a better budget we'd have hired a car and traveled around more. I did miss that - however I didn't miss the kids arguing in the back as we got lost (again) and it was my fault (again) and coming home stressed to the eyeballs as a result. We had a very enjoyable time despite the other things.
"The main clientele in the Italian market are middle-class British families, well-heeled Americans, Germans and Scandinavians"
Yeah, right! I'm well heeled. Well toed as well, but not a lot of cash!
I think the article relating to renting houses was maybe aimed at a different market to where we are, but the basics are still the same. Our gripe was that the house we saved for, sacrificed for, etc wasn't what was described or kitted out anywhere near as well as the other houses we've rented for a £200 a week less! URLs and many photos can be provided if needed! To say it was a 4-bedroom was in part true and having told the girls for months they'd have their own rooms only to find it wasn't the case was disapointing for everyone. Strictly speaking the 4th bedroom was a locked 1-bedroom appartment only accessible from the veranda and resembled a converted store room. She wasn't even going to give us the key to it initially either - she asked if we wanted both sets of keys and it was on the 2nd set. We didn't know it was a bedroom for almost a week! So WHY were we paying for 4 but only used 3? Just one of whole a string of issues. We're going to put it down to experience and move on.
It was ok, and as a base for exploring the area it's fine, provided you don't expect too much or want to stay there during the day with kids. It's just too expensive for what it is based on our experience in other areas with 4 other houses. Sorry.
But Rome was great. Way beyond our expectations, we loved it and may go back for a weeklend break without the kids. But we still prefer it a bit further north, I think.
We've been looking at what's available for next year and the mid-range stuff where we sit is pretty much fully booked all year. We love the rural setting, traditional houses. We go self-catering cos we don't really like hotels and want to experience Italy as best we can in a short period of time. Haven't been to le Marche yet. We would like to try there, and Abruzzo as well.
I understand your decisions completely. We print newspapers and have seen our ad revenues plummet. Paginations are way down print runs reduced, it's the same across the industry in all it's forms. Don't know if it's quite the same with heat-set titles but the cover price on a newspaper makes a tiny portion - if any - of the revenue. I hope that things go well for the web site, we have enjoyed being a part of the community for over 4 years and look forward to many more.
We've used Holidayrentals.co.uk for the last 4 years. Didn't use it this year and the house wasn't anywhere near as good as usual. Will be going back to using it next year! I'd highly recommend them. Many of the owners will do long-tem lets of several months to a year.
Not been to Palermo but had a couple of visits to Florence and whilst its a nice city I couldn't live there! The tourists alone would drive me mad. And I was one! The 2nd year we viited We stayed just outside the city the other side of the hills to the south in a very nice quiet village but there was a cheap regular bus service every 20-30 minutes. They were fun - I'm sure the bus drivers in Italy have to be WRC-experienced racing drivers! Dropped you at Piazza Francesco Ferrucci by the Arno and we were able to get a bus near Ponte Vecchio home. Might be worth considering?
A number of the low-fare carriers are re-thinking their routes and there have been rumours - I saw one on the BBC News website a couple of weeks ago - that RyanAir may pull out of the UK as their main base due to these stupid taxes our esteemed government has put in place. EasyJet are pulling out of Manchester next year I believe - was on the Beeb news over the weekend. EasyJet are saying that because they have not yet actually pulled out or formally announced it and are in the 90-day consultation period with staff they are legally allowed to still publish flights. And if you book one you may not get anything back.There are also concerns that other airlines may bypass the UK and go to Schipol or one of the other main European hubs rather than Heathrow as the primary European terminal. The sooner the govt ditch these taxes the better!
Some interesting comments here. We haven't yet had the pleasure of an Italian winter and I often suggest coming over for Christmas one year but get met with non-commital grunts.The weather really does make such a huge difference. When all you get, day after day, week after week is grey skies, rain, the odd sunny day and no prospect of a decent summer you simply cannot underestimate hot much good getting off a plane into 30 degrees of heat and clear blue skies does for you! We were 35 miles south of Rome near Anzio this year and it was a bit too hot for us, but it makes such a difference. Valentine - are you in any way in a rural(ish) area? Are there farmers with machinery that needs fixing? ( I may work in IT now but an a fitter/toolmaker by trade with 17 years on the shop floor and would go back to it tomorrow if I could. ) Anything like that to break the monotony of what he does? Hobbies? I do know what it's like - I have exactly the same feeling where I work at times. Also FWIW I'm looking at doing a ESL course and after a chat with Barry (Hi Barry) during our visit cos it's what he does, and a long chat with a nice lady in Barcelona (her phone bill) from the Wall Street Institue as to what qualifications are generally well recognised I was advised to do the CELTA one. Problem is it's based in Cambridge at the Anglia Ruskin Uni, and although only 27 miles down the A1 from us, it's a bit difficult when I'm in full-time employment and not cheap! Our church starts an ESOL course - tomorrow morning actually - for the many immigrants in Peterborough and I'm going to be helping there just to get some experience but there must be loads of nice people on thus very forum who could help you there.The community thing keeps coming up. We have found (apart from this year) that within a few days of staying somewhere in Italy we are chatting to people and the locals generally know there's an English family around fairly quickly. People are friendly, helpful and have a good sense of humor (apart from the carabinieri who don't EVER seem to smile). In the UK, the new people next door don't speak to anyone, and it's all gone a but isolationist where we live, which we don't like much. A few years ago we were staying near Trasimeno - currently our absolute favorite part of Italy - and the village had a week-long pizza festival. We were invited along, had a great time, lots of food, wine and fun and really felt part of it. Our kids mixed well with their kids despite the language barriers. Total contrast to here - although there's exceptions on both sides I suppose.
For us it's a question of quality or life vs quantity.We have probably a reasonably good quality of life and income here in the UK, I'm an IT manager and Carol has just left full-time teaching to go to supply teaching, so we've taken a financial cut there. We both have cars, I have a motorbike (but it's a bit ill), and we have a good sized house which we extended. However, we've just come back from our 4th visit to Italy, and each year it gets harder to leave, and it is now firmly entrenched in out hearts. Now we're not stupid, we know that a holiday is not the same as living there, and it's a higher cost of living, the taxes are ridiculous, we've seen the cost of food and general goods, the state of the roads and so on. But we love the way of life, the slower pace, the food, the way the community is so important, so many things. The kids love it, we would love to make a permanent move and are serious about doing so one day. We are seriously contemplating a holiday home to get a foot in the door, but don't know if we can afford it.The social element for us is a big one. We have lived in our curent house for nearly 8 years. I've had 3 cars broken into in the last 3 years, all sat on our drive at the time. Two more than once. My motorbike was stolen. We've had bikes stolen from the back garden. Bricks thrown at the house - one went through the lounge window 2 months ago. I won't tackle even 2 youths creating a disturbance because they may be carying knives yet in Italy onver the years, and even this year, I've seen old people very vocally reprimanding large groups of teenagers - and they appologise!! I haven't yet seen a single drunk (maybe we don't go to the right areas) and people generally seem to be happier there. If it were me, I'd stay and try to enjoy life and maybe look for an additional revenue stream. Is it better than the UK? Dunno. Frankly. Depends on what you want. But I do understand how your partner feels and I have been there a few times. In the early 90's I was unemployed for 18 months due to the collapse of engineering in this city and wondered if I would ever work again. Is there anything he can do to break the cycle? The internet means a global audience. Anything at all you can do to generate a litle more income? We're even looking at doing that here!! Anything you can do to cut down on your general outgoings? Grow your own fruit and veg? Be a bit creative. If you don't mind me asking can you tell us what he does for a living? Someone on the forum might be able to help. It's easy to be the 'expert' when it's someone elses shoes your looking at. I really do hope it works out for you all.My Opinion only, FWIW.
I struggle with Italian but my wife is pretty good and has basically used all the Michel Thomas CDs, and having just had our 4th holiday there she's much more at ease. I spent a year working in France and had the same problems. It took me 6 months of immersion in the language to really undestand it so I could hold a reasonable conversation, but also to realise that just as we chop and change our words around - so do they. So I guess the Italians do as well. But we started watching Italian TV over t'internet - you can get RAI on the web. We started by watching the Meteo broadcasts but it got too depressing!! Otherwise, we watched TV while we were over there and did manage to catch the odd word.We have found that if you try to speak to them in Italian they are often amazed that British people are taking the trouble to learn it as it's not one of the usual languages we learn.
Comments posted
Yeah - I did wonder about that. Removed it now. Had a discussion with the owner at the time.
OK - flood of comments here.
Sorry if I've offended anyone by the use of the term 'immigrant'. I han't put 2 and 2 together on that one! It seemed to me to be largly Asian and N Africans, but they also seemed suspicious of us and many asked if we were Russian or Ukrainian and when we said we're English they suddenly relaxed. I can only say as I found, I'm afraid. Anyway - ya never know - I may soon be one.
Lazio is far more than the tiny part on the coast that we saw in 2 weeks, and more than just Rome - I fully appreciate that. Had we a better budget we'd have hired a car and traveled around more. I did miss that - however I didn't miss the kids arguing in the back as we got lost (again) and it was my fault (again) and coming home stressed to the eyeballs as a result. We had a very enjoyable time despite the other things.
"The main clientele in the Italian market are middle-class British families, well-heeled Americans, Germans and Scandinavians"
Yeah, right! I'm well heeled. Well toed as well, but not a lot of cash!
I think the article relating to renting houses was maybe aimed at a different market to where we are, but the basics are still the same. Our gripe was that the house we saved for, sacrificed for, etc wasn't what was described or kitted out anywhere near as well as the other houses we've rented for a £200 a week less! URLs and many photos can be provided if needed! To say it was a 4-bedroom was in part true and having told the girls for months they'd have their own rooms only to find it wasn't the case was disapointing for everyone. Strictly speaking the 4th bedroom was a locked 1-bedroom appartment only accessible from the veranda and resembled a converted store room. She wasn't even going to give us the key to it initially either - she asked if we wanted both sets of keys and it was on the 2nd set. We didn't know it was a bedroom for almost a week! So WHY were we paying for 4 but only used 3? Just one of whole a string of issues. We're going to put it down to experience and move on.
It was ok, and as a base for exploring the area it's fine, provided you don't expect too much or want to stay there during the day with kids. It's just too expensive for what it is based on our experience in other areas with 4 other houses. Sorry.
But Rome was great. Way beyond our expectations, we loved it and may go back for a weeklend break without the kids. But we still prefer it a bit further north, I think.
We've been looking at what's available for next year and the mid-range stuff where we sit is pretty much fully booked all year. We love the rural setting, traditional houses. We go self-catering cos we don't really like hotels and want to experience Italy as best we can in a short period of time. Haven't been to le Marche yet. We would like to try there, and Abruzzo as well.
I understand your decisions completely. We print newspapers and have seen our ad revenues plummet. Paginations are way down print runs reduced, it's the same across the industry in all it's forms. Don't know if it's quite the same with heat-set titles but the cover price on a newspaper makes a tiny portion - if any - of the revenue. I hope that things go well for the web site, we have enjoyed being a part of the community for over 4 years and look forward to many more.
We've used Holidayrentals.co.uk for the last 4 years. Didn't use it this year and the house wasn't anywhere near as good as usual. Will be going back to using it next year! I'd highly recommend them. Many of the owners will do long-tem lets of several months to a year.
Not been to Palermo but had a couple of visits to Florence and whilst its a nice city I couldn't live there! The tourists alone would drive me mad. And I was one! The 2nd year we viited We stayed just outside the city the other side of the hills to the south in a very nice quiet village but there was a cheap regular bus service every 20-30 minutes. They were fun - I'm sure the bus drivers in Italy have to be WRC-experienced racing drivers! Dropped you at Piazza Francesco Ferrucci by the Arno and we were able to get a bus near Ponte Vecchio home. Might be worth considering?
A number of the low-fare carriers are re-thinking their routes and there have been rumours - I saw one on the BBC News website a couple of weeks ago - that RyanAir may pull out of the UK as their main base due to these stupid taxes our esteemed government has put in place. EasyJet are pulling out of Manchester next year I believe - was on the Beeb news over the weekend. EasyJet are saying that because they have not yet actually pulled out or formally announced it and are in the 90-day consultation period with staff they are legally allowed to still publish flights. And if you book one you may not get anything back.There are also concerns that other airlines may bypass the UK and go to Schipol or one of the other main European hubs rather than Heathrow as the primary European terminal. The sooner the govt ditch these taxes the better!
Some interesting comments here. We haven't yet had the pleasure of an Italian winter and I often suggest coming over for Christmas one year but get met with non-commital grunts.The weather really does make such a huge difference. When all you get, day after day, week after week is grey skies, rain, the odd sunny day and no prospect of a decent summer you simply cannot underestimate hot much good getting off a plane into 30 degrees of heat and clear blue skies does for you! We were 35 miles south of Rome near Anzio this year and it was a bit too hot for us, but it makes such a difference. Valentine - are you in any way in a rural(ish) area? Are there farmers with machinery that needs fixing? ( I may work in IT now but an a fitter/toolmaker by trade with 17 years on the shop floor and would go back to it tomorrow if I could. ) Anything like that to break the monotony of what he does? Hobbies? I do know what it's like - I have exactly the same feeling where I work at times. Also FWIW I'm looking at doing a ESL course and after a chat with Barry (Hi Barry) during our visit cos it's what he does, and a long chat with a nice lady in Barcelona (her phone bill) from the Wall Street Institue as to what qualifications are generally well recognised I was advised to do the CELTA one. Problem is it's based in Cambridge at the Anglia Ruskin Uni, and although only 27 miles down the A1 from us, it's a bit difficult when I'm in full-time employment and not cheap! Our church starts an ESOL course - tomorrow morning actually - for the many immigrants in Peterborough and I'm going to be helping there just to get some experience but there must be loads of nice people on thus very forum who could help you there.The community thing keeps coming up. We have found (apart from this year) that within a few days of staying somewhere in Italy we are chatting to people and the locals generally know there's an English family around fairly quickly. People are friendly, helpful and have a good sense of humor (apart from the carabinieri who don't EVER seem to smile). In the UK, the new people next door don't speak to anyone, and it's all gone a but isolationist where we live, which we don't like much. A few years ago we were staying near Trasimeno - currently our absolute favorite part of Italy - and the village had a week-long pizza festival. We were invited along, had a great time, lots of food, wine and fun and really felt part of it. Our kids mixed well with their kids despite the language barriers. Total contrast to here - although there's exceptions on both sides I suppose.
Hey - having trouble getting East Benders or Corrie in Italy? Soundls like Heaven - I'm packing me bags!!!!
For us it's a question of quality or life vs quantity.We have probably a reasonably good quality of life and income here in the UK, I'm an IT manager and Carol has just left full-time teaching to go to supply teaching, so we've taken a financial cut there. We both have cars, I have a motorbike (but it's a bit ill), and we have a good sized house which we extended. However, we've just come back from our 4th visit to Italy, and each year it gets harder to leave, and it is now firmly entrenched in out hearts. Now we're not stupid, we know that a holiday is not the same as living there, and it's a higher cost of living, the taxes are ridiculous, we've seen the cost of food and general goods, the state of the roads and so on. But we love the way of life, the slower pace, the food, the way the community is so important, so many things. The kids love it, we would love to make a permanent move and are serious about doing so one day. We are seriously contemplating a holiday home to get a foot in the door, but don't know if we can afford it.The social element for us is a big one. We have lived in our curent house for nearly 8 years. I've had 3 cars broken into in the last 3 years, all sat on our drive at the time. Two more than once. My motorbike was stolen. We've had bikes stolen from the back garden. Bricks thrown at the house - one went through the lounge window 2 months ago. I won't tackle even 2 youths creating a disturbance because they may be carying knives yet in Italy onver the years, and even this year, I've seen old people very vocally reprimanding large groups of teenagers - and they appologise!! I haven't yet seen a single drunk (maybe we don't go to the right areas) and people generally seem to be happier there. If it were me, I'd stay and try to enjoy life and maybe look for an additional revenue stream. Is it better than the UK? Dunno. Frankly. Depends on what you want. But I do understand how your partner feels and I have been there a few times. In the early 90's I was unemployed for 18 months due to the collapse of engineering in this city and wondered if I would ever work again. Is there anything he can do to break the cycle? The internet means a global audience. Anything at all you can do to generate a litle more income? We're even looking at doing that here!! Anything you can do to cut down on your general outgoings? Grow your own fruit and veg? Be a bit creative. If you don't mind me asking can you tell us what he does for a living? Someone on the forum might be able to help. It's easy to be the 'expert' when it's someone elses shoes your looking at. I really do hope it works out for you all.My Opinion only, FWIW.
I struggle with Italian but my wife is pretty good and has basically used all the Michel Thomas CDs, and having just had our 4th holiday there she's much more at ease. I spent a year working in France and had the same problems. It took me 6 months of immersion in the language to really undestand it so I could hold a reasonable conversation, but also to realise that just as we chop and change our words around - so do they. So I guess the Italians do as well. But we started watching Italian TV over t'internet - you can get RAI on the web. We started by watching the Meteo broadcasts but it got too depressing!! Otherwise, we watched TV while we were over there and did manage to catch the odd word.We have found that if you try to speak to them in Italian they are often amazed that British people are taking the trouble to learn it as it's not one of the usual languages we learn.