½ûÂþÌìÌÃ

Hi LyndaI perfectly understand the nerve situation I went through hell and back at the beginning. Due to the recession in the Uk it took a while for us to sell our business so we had to remain in the Uk a lot longer than we had hoped  hence I had a long time to consider the move. You will find the address of the blog on the the thread but  here it is just in case www.juliasitaliangarden.com   or www.juliasgardencom.com  both lead to the same point.You will also read on the thread that we have started a small group of expats which meet in local bars once  a week.I do understand the lonely bit and will be addressing this in the blog.I try to add at least one new story a week usually at the weekend.Have you bought in our area?Contact me through the blog .Regards and good luck,Julia 

Hi thankyou for your kind comments about my blog I am delighted to hear that people are finding it interesting. I do enjoy writing it and have many stories to tell. I had so many questions when i started out but nobody to ask  so we found our way by trial and error. I wanted to write the blog as a  story describing our adventures. I do hope it maybe be of value to others.There is one thing that i have not mentioned to date on the blog    -----there has not been a moment that i have regretted coming here, if you are prepared to embrace it, it is a beautiful and rewarding place to live.By all means, I am happy to exchange e-mail addresses contact me via the blog and possibly we can meet up when you are over here in march.  My husband wants to know more about the horses I am a fraid these days we have no more than beswick adorning the dresser. If i can be of any further help please do ask.Regards Julia

Hi  I  must thank Conor for mentioning the little expat community we have started in the area around Nizza Monferrato, We are now totalling over 15 members from all over Europe the only requirement is that you must be able to converse in English.We live in the countryside and are aware of a few stables in this area, certainly it would be a haven for trekking as much of the area is national park. My husband has a vast experience of horses having had his own livery in Scotland many years ago.  To the comments regarding the heat he says that providing you turn them out early and bring them into the shade before the sun reachs its peak you should have no problems. Basic commonsense, we also have some very good vets in this area.note that  last summer the temperatures did reach well into the 30 s for a considerable time.Where is your house?,you may find my blog site interesting it has taken me a while to get it going but I am now well on my way. www.juliasitaliangarden.com or www. juliasgardencom.com.By the way Conor finally i have remembered that woodworm treatmentSovereign chemicals limited  -   DEEP KILL. hope you find that useful.regards julia  

Hi StefanThankyou for the best wishes , yes there are many properties for sale here and we can certainly point you in the right directions. My advice is to come over and stay around Nizza, there are many agents and  private vendors here  and many of the geometras and builders know of properties for sale.. If you would like to contact me through my blog site and send a message then i will have your e-mail address and be able to send you more useful information.How about this for a coincedence a couple of days after our last message we went to a pizzeria in Nizza with a couple of friends when lo and behold we met Conor and his family who were sitting at the next table. He recognised me from my blog.I am still struggling to get wordpress working I can't download photos or documents. Once i have overcome this problem I will be posting numerous stories about our adventure. - you have chosen a very beautiful and untouched part of Italy. Cheers Stefan

Hi conorThanks for the reply you have answered all about the restaurant that is really good news for us.Ian my husband ( locally known as Gianni) will see you on wednesday evening I do hope if you can make it.regards Julia

Hi ConorI can't  boast to have an expat community here in fact we are a very small group there are three permanent couples and 4 with holiday homes but we are forever expanding and happy to meet new faces.The guys meet at Mombercelli - Bar Roma on a wednesday evening from 6.00pm - 7.30 pm .It is just a social apperitivo to exchange info, etc.Nobody is Irish but we do know of an Irish couple who live nearby but unfortunately we have not met up with them yet. One of the group does go cycling with them.I note that you are from calamandrana - is that Alto because a few yers ago we dined in a rather unusual little restaurant on the top square the people were lovely cooked several courses from a kitchen the size of a pantry - all for 15 euros per person ( with wine included) - we have returned many times but never find it to be open. Are you in that area and if so does it still exist.We live in Belveglio,  certainly we would be happy to meet up and are often in Nizza. Regards julia  

Hi stefan 5 years ago my husband and I bought a rather large run down farmhouse in a small village outside Nizza. I will  start by saying we must have been crazy as we gave up our comfortable lifestyle in the Uk to move here and set about renovating . We spoke little ½ûÂþÌìÌà even though my husband( who by the way is scottish) has ½ûÂþÌìÌà parents.Unfortunately due to the credit crunch we failed to raise the sort of funds on selling our business of which we had hoped. So we had a huge task before us on a small budget. we also had absolutely no building experience. It has been a long journey but it has been the best time of our lives and we have no regrets, we have lived in our farmhouse throughout the building stages and are a mine of information. We had very few english speaking people in this area to help us and basically we learnt most things by experience. I have to say one of the biggest pieces of advice I can give is speak the language it opens all the doors.We would like to help you. We have a little expat group which we have set up, we meet in bars and exchange info etc. I am sure you would find this interesting it is multinational. As long as they can converse in English.  I do have a blog site but it is in early beginnings as I am having a few problems with wordpress. I have hundreds of stories to share .The other bit of advice I have is look around there are plenty of houses for sale I know of quite a few good buys. We looked at 26 but bought no 24. It is amazing how your want list changes with viewing. Also watch out for any on the top of a hill or close to a hill it is an area prone to land slides when we get rain of course, which at the moment is in short supply. I am unsure how you can get in touch on this site - maybe my blog site juliasgardencom.com.By the way we have no other vested interest than to help another expat work through the minefield.  Good luck Julia 

Thanks for that I will look into it in the morning.

I must thankyou Ugo for bringing this to my attention. I was about to exchange money today to transfer into my ½ûÂþÌìÌà bank account. Before making any decisions i visited the bank. They confirmed that this new tax was about to begin but were unsure as to how it would be implemented.My husband and I are both in receipt of private pensions in the uk which we use here for living expenses. I change a lump sum every 2 months via an exchange broker. It has proved to be cheaper than using my british current account - debit card.The bank informed me that I could transfer money upto the end of this week. Friday 21st without any tax removed from the lump sum. After this date they were unable to say what would happen although they did say that we would be able to get some forms of which we would be able to sign explaining that we required the money for general every day living , electric, food etc and that it was money with uk tax removed at source.. Unfortunately they were unsure how long this would take as at this time it was too early to say how this new system will work.I exchanged money today and it will be in my account tomorrow i do hope that they are true to their word. to be honest I don't have much faith in the banks of any country I consider them a  necessary evil.I recommend to anybody else in this situation to speak to their bank just in case they are all acting differently. Mine is the Banca d'Asti.Also they did point out that this only applies to bank accounts of ½ûÂþÌìÌà and foreign residents. If you are a non resident then sigh with relief at the moment !!I look forward to hearing from anybody else in a similar situation.

No not yet still trying to get past the girl in Newcastle!! It is all crazy I am pay taxing to the Uk and also to Italy but no- one wants to be responsible for my health care. I also noted your question re the bank and agree with the answer keep your original bank account and try and use a British address. If you change it to an ½ûÂþÌìÌà address you are opening a can of worms with taxation etc.