½ûÂþÌìÌÃ

I must agree with AnglieL - in Italy the choice between an architect or a geometra doesn't come down to price - basically they charge the same, and any half bright architect will work alongside his pet geometra in a proper sharing role. The difficulty can arise when you encounter a rather untechnical architect, or a rather overconfident geometra, and don't understand your needs as a client - possibly because you don't speak the language. It comes down (from this discussion) to the vital point that an architect can sack his client (oooh, what a pleasure this is!) on the basis that the client does not deserve the architect. I think we have a contributor to this thread who I would just delight in sacking! Somebody important (but I can't properly attribute the quote) said that a good architect will give a client what he never dreamt of. In my book, that goes for a garden wall as much as for a whole house restoration - but it is horses for courses, and there are some dreadful architects, and some pretty wonderful geometras, just as there are some terminally boring clients and some fantastic open minded inspirational (usually rich...) people for whom it is an enormous pleasure to work.

I'm really sorry - I did try to edit this post, then I thought okay, I will download another browser becayuse clearky Interbet Explorer doesn't cut it. So, Chroime gives me access denied. I'm seeuing nothing which I type: so why do I persevere? Dunno, and wLook, promises promises - are youreally goung to hang about? What is the problem with you stopeenig a group? Given up. Drupal on. Not to be deterred - I can now see what I am typing! So, danno, just set up a group (assuming you have the 'authority' to do this). Maybe if you don't have the 'authority' , someone like alanH has possibly got this 'privilege' and could do it on your behalf - but why make a 'good idea' so impossible to implement?

  I have (as an uninterested person) followed a bit of this stuff on 'satellite forums' - and I have concluded that it is not really 'Sky' (or even Sky Italia) who made 'the decision'. More culpable is the BBC. Anyway, if you are in Italy and desperate for UK TV, basta get a proxy server (which 'pretends' your computer is in the UK). A very reliable, solid, offering is available at  for £5 per month (or £50 per year). This gives you perfect access to BBC iplayer, and 4OD (plus ITV and C5, though those don't stream so well - their fault, not iportal's fault). Try it out - it works, and delivers so much more than Sky Italia ever did.

  You know, there is a publication which ponces about with the title of Intelligent Life. It is published by The Economist.   Clearly it should not be read by the contributors to this thread.

  You are stirring a non-existent pot. You didn't like (with reason) some replies to a post on another forum. Now those replies had been made within minutes, and neither the reliable Carol and Dave, nor Relaxed, had been online at that time. The advice on that forum is now absolutely considered. Consider the wide-boy responses here to the chap who asked about taking an IT reg car back to Blighty. Think about this stuff. Lament the demise of the intelligent ex Italymag site, where information was shared. To everybody's benefit. That is now all fecked. Who fecked it? Ask that question.

 be impossible for you It would be impossible for you to be as worried as I am by some of the advice being offered on this site...not to mention how impossible it is to post a properly formatted comment here! (Using IE8)

 If you are willing/qualified to work with elderly (often difficult) English patients this has been a good option for a friend of mine. He is based in an area where there are quite a few ageing Brits (maybe this isn't yet true of Le Marche), and he has been an absolute godsend to many families coping with somebody with Alzheimers or dementia. He has also helped Brits cope with hospitalisations, and general medical stuff where (because the patients don't feel confident speaking ½ûÂþÌìÌÃ) they simply prefer an English person to give them a jab! Clearly this is a bit of a 'hand to mouth' existence, and it would help if you had a knowledge of both ½ûÂþÌìÌà and the ½ûÂþÌìÌà health system; but there is an ex-pat market for general medical assistance, so try to advertise yourself in any English language newsletters in your area, for a start. Good luck. 

  A couple of biggish, internationally minded cantinas come to mind in the Perugia area. One is Goretti, in Pila, and the other is Lungarotti, in Torgiano. I'm sure they have websites, and knowing the management of both of these cantine they are quite open minded, and so long as there aren't any idiot health and safety or national insurance type insurmountable hurdles could well be interested in taking you on.   Good luck - sounds like a fun idea!

  I have a friend who exported a (four or so years old)  Nissan on ½ûÂþÌìÌà plates back to the UK about four years ago. She paid something over £3000 to get the lights, mirrors (?) speedo etc changed to UK spec by a Nissan dealer in the UK. Scary price, heh!   Get onto a UK dealer for your specific car, they should be able to give you a quote. There are things which the UK insists on (for example, how the fog lights switch) which you wouldn't have thought about - but why the mirrors needed changing defeats me.

 YyYou are very tight on budget at 90K for anything around Lake Trasimeno - (talking habitable). Maybe a (quite nice) 1 bed apartment in Castiglione, Tuoro, Passignano - but with minimal terrace/balcony space, and realistically this means no outside space. Don't imagine that you (as, I assume, a Brit) can cope without a privatish garden. Setting your plastic patio chairs out on the road front just does not cut it.  Rental - you can get for less than 500Euro per month (close to lake Trasimeno) something quite nice, with a private garden - even fenced so you could keep a dog. I would certainly recommend renting, but only if you have an open mind about where you might like to settle! Some of the best rental deals concern properties dreamingly destined as 'holiday lets' - so you might even get a pool included. Nothing is selling at the moment, and I don't see anything to persuade me that this is temporary - so if you have a huge urge to experiment with living in Italy I think that it is a complete no-brainer to rent. Do not be persuaded that renting means a four year contract - there are deals to be done, completely legally; you do not want nor need 'tenant protection' - (though this is a good thing for some people) - but as a taster for living in Italy you are in a position to become a dream tenant. Go for it! Explore not only Trasimeno (argubaly overpriced) - also the hilly bits of Lazio.