International Living Community

Great to hear fom you with your very interesting article on Bali. And yes, you have tried to balance your article with talking about the downsides(bad roads, no road, washed out roads). However there are many people like me who come from a snake-free environment. Maybe you should have mentioned that some of the deadliest and aggressive snakes in the world reside in places like Bali ( and Costa Rica). /CG.

I am retiring the end of July and plan to do a scouting trip to Portugal for 2 months in Feb. 2025. Also going to the Costa del Sol region of Spain, the Canary Islands, and Malta - these trips will be April through June. All trips for the purpose of making a truly informed decision that best fits me. By the way, you're not crazy. Have a back up plan so if you don't like it after 6 months to a year, you can always return to the US. That's one of my back up plans. The other is that I can try each country for a few months and then decide. Since the Shengren area has a limit on how long you can stay in any of its nations, hoping over to the UK is a great option. That way, you're still close enough to the EU to return without flying back to the US.

hi Robin, that is a great question and one that we get often. My advice is to ship as little as possible for three excellent reasons. First is that most things outside of tourist areas cost less in Italy. Second, shipping is expense and takes months. We shipped a pallet of used colthing and books. We shipped in October and it arrived in late Jan if my memory serves. The third reason is customs. They are very picky about what gets in and what does not. WE were charged a fee of $10 or so per day, and had forms in triplicate and discovered that most of what we sent was not necessary, took forever and cost us about $5,000. If I were you I would by new without question. Chip Stites, IL Italy Correspondent.

If you haven't already booked, check out La Posada Nueva.

Dennis, take a good look at the northern half of Italy. From Florence or Bologna north to a line that goes through Venice and Milan to the west. If you go farther north most of the time you will love the climate but winters in the Dolomites and north of Lake Como, Lago de Garda, and Maaggiore can be cold and snowy.

Look carefully at the Provinces of Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Lombardia, and Piemonte. Italy is so mountainous that some parts of any mountanous province can be a lot colder but I think those four provinces are a good starting place.

Jess's answer is a good one and considering that Italy taxes by "residency" or those who are there more than 183 days a year, her Idea of going back and forth may be excellent for you!
Chip Stites, Italy Correspondent, International Living Magazine.