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actually a more interesting question than it might seem (with no offence intended of course)IF one is simply looking for a place for some kind of holiday home then almost anywhere is fine if you like it.However if the intention is to relocate and live and or retire to some place then it's more complex.Personally as i don't care for the area i came from i would never choose to live there (simply for questions of origin or family presence).Of course,and i certainly FEEL this that there are places which grab one,a sort of visceral attachment in other words a place one really likes MAY be a good enough reason.if one is changing country then a lot of other issues come into the arguement.It could be a good idea to construct some kind of check list which takes in as many parameters as one wants.things like connections to the rest of the country/world ie.motorways,airports,roads.Town or country is as big a question as it would be in the UK there's a big difference between a market town in the south of england and a remote location in central wales for example.services may be an issue,like are there any /some or good if one is going to get older it's useful to know that there is an excellent hospital at least within 100km of the place.climate is more of an issue than many believe...everywhere's nice in August but many parts of Italy enjoy(or suffer) from long very cold almost continental (as opposed to mediteranean)kinds of winter with few people around snow heavy rain and high heating bills!northern toscana for example certainly gets plenty of winter rains.things like cuisine and landscape can be good or great in almost any italian region but try and find out what if any development programmes there may be for any chosen area you might not want to find yourself in a dream location with an out of the box shopping mall next door ten years down the line,most of all as you say you're a couple it might be better if you are BOTH convinced of your eventual choice as life can be difficult at times.anyway good luck it was just a few thoughts on the question.

I was saving this until the morning to answer Joy, but Sebastianos reply has covered most of what I wanted to say!. The check list is very important, you will never meet everything but its important to to know the requirements you as a couple want. Isolation with wonderful views is great for a holiday but if living here full time very difficult in the winter, when it could be an hours drive to get a pint of milk, or to meet anyone else. I think our compromise was not to live closer to the mountains, between them and the sea has proved to be much the better option. Plus whilst we are in the countryside the village with bars, a pizzaria and a small supermarket, are only 10mins walk away. I think the message has always been research your area, and see that it can provide what you realistically want, and until your �������� is better (when will that be!) perhaps an area with some ex-pats for conversation and support.

I think another big factor is if/how you need to make a living. If you still need to work then it is important to do your research and choose an area that will allow you to do that.

I'm not researching into where I might like to go. I just thought it might be an interesting topic for people to say why they chose the area they are in.

I agree with everything already said. Age group and personal finances also will influence choices. In our case, after checking several potential locations, we realised that we had fallen in love with Bagni di Lucca. Feelings have a lot to do with choices.

Maybe another topic should be started on researching where one would like to go!

There had been for me (us) a sort of family decision that a house would be bought in Italy. This was before Ryanair etc existed, and there was also a difficulty because one of us wanted a 'holiday home' (the other half saying what sort of a moron are you to commit to spending your hols in the same place?). So (as I say, this was before affordable airfares), one parameter was 'north of Rome' (driveable). Another parameter (not that any family member had health problems) was that a major teaching hospital had to be half an hour max away. This is a sort of 'cosmopolitan' signal that civilisation is close (and civilisation has 'come good' - the teaching hospital parameter means you get ADSL etc etc) - but you don't get cheap. I'm a bit distressed these days by putative wannabe ex-pats fixating on the same wrong things which I was concerned with thirty years ago - and not figuring out that the world changes, and not always the way you expect! One clear 'appeal' in Italy, many regions, is that you get a whole load more bang for your buck landwise. So - yeah, "I have an estate of three hectares" (as a minimum!) - did you farm in the UK? Did you realise that 8 acres of impossible to irrigate land is not going to be turned into a Jeckyll garden or a productive kitchen garden without massive assistance, plus financial investment? (And if you pay peanuts broadband rather than broad beans are seriously distant.) But - as I said - times change, and this post has a shelf life of maybe six months! I'm not recommending this, but following 'your heart' is quite as valid as building a spreadsheet. Gof or it - don't be too scared of getting it wrong - you can always move on.

... I hear this a lot, but is Italy expensive? Does it not depend on your life style/age and/or your preception of what costs are elsewhere as opposed to actual fact? After all if you do live in multiple places I'm sure your costs will be greater in any case... :)

I find it very expensive Steve. Some of it is the fact that I get paid in GBP so the exchange rate plummet hits us but things like kids stuff is almost always 50-100% dearer than in the UK.  Baby shoes start at €45 and go up into the stratosphere. I can truly understand why ��������s are generally one child families! That plu sthe fact you don't get your maternity pay whilst you are actually on maternity leave! I think food is about the same price as the UK and I can't comment on bills as it's been too long since I lived in the UK but generally it is not a cheap place. We don't live the high life and only eat out a couple of times a month. 2nd hand cars are much, much dearer in Italy and my husband informs me that most building materials are dearer too (except cement for some reason). We're currently in the UK for a break and can't believe how cheap things like tiles, flooring and bathroom suites are. Some of them are actually �������� and still much cheaper than they are in Italy which I always find bizarre. A bit off topic - sorry Joy. I bought in Marche because I thought it very beautiful, was bowled over by how much we got for our money (8 years ago) and wanted a quiet life. Now, after 7 years of that (and exchanging the enormous country property for a much more sensible little townhouse) I'm ready for a bit more of a cosmopolitan life. Not craving London (my home town) or the big cities but just the little things like something to do in winter and not having to drive 50km every time I want to buy someone a birthday present. Plus it's hard to make a decent living here in an area that still has relatively few tourists and is not densely populated. We both still love Marche but are moving to Liguria in the serach of the above. We'd love to keep a holiday home here but we'll have to see if finances permit. Why Liguria? Well, the climate and the proximity to large populated areas plus the beach really. Just our story :-)

As is a holiday so some what different from most people.For us Sardinia has a gerat climate,beaches the Caribbean would be proud of great food and people.Also,flights we have Ba in the summer and Ryanair and Easyjet all year round.