why France and not Italy?

[Chauffour]

being one of the few Italian living in Dordogne, I'm often asked this question: why we moved from London to France and not to Italy?

the answer I give is: 'I could tell you but then I would have to kill You....'

the reality is that I like to be an expat, I hate italian TV and

I  Berlusconi...

... and here I can still make my own limoncello and pizza...

...and my lovely Tracy cooks even better than Mamma

 

and you all? why not Italy?

 

Massimo

 

 

[Lizzie15]

Mmmmm...Good question.It could have been Italy,or parts of Spain for that matter,I suppose in the end we wanted somewhere we and our friends/family could drive to in a day.I know there are plenty of flights but people do like to bring their car most of the time.They used to love taking stuff back with them but this isn't such an issue now that prices are much better in UK and the variety is good too. I suppose at the time ( 8 years ago) this was the easier option.I do love going to Spain and Italy,but usually by plane.

 

[Val_2]

Probably the language. Italian was never a language studied at secondary schools when I was there,french was and it remained in my head until we came here. No doubt if we had been allowed to do Italian things may well have been different,especially as there was a v ery large Italian population where we used to live and help with studies would have been no problem.

[Stocky]

Having lived in Milano for 2.5 years our answer is easy.  If you think Bureaucracy in France is difficult try Italy.  You visit the Commune for the slightest reason to get the Certificate of residence.

However I do miss the food

[Coco]

POssibly as Val says, it was always French in UK schools and not Italian.  Therefore, I went on a French exchange as a kid and that's when my love affair with the country started.  Perhaps if I'd learnt Italian at school, done an Italian exchange and fallen in love with my exchange student's older brother.....

Now, are you going to share that limoncello recipe with us?

[Eskenazi]

Because Italy is full of Italians...

[Chauffour]

[quote]Because Italy is full of Italians...[/quote]

... less the few lucky like me who escaped in time...

[Anton Redman]

I can cope with the language, Isabel speaks it better than French, two manifestations of the same problem :

About 25 years ago I was trying to sell off the contents of a small Italien office. The first question all three Estate Agents asked was did it have a second door. All three said that if it has a rear exit it was worth about 50 % more than an office with only a front door.

I stopped at a small very wet Italien service area with a Golf GTI about 20 years ago. I took my wallet and passport with me but did not take my jacket or sac/handbag came back in five minutes because the queues for the self service were very long. Somebody put a large screwdriver through the driver's door and took a briefcase full of papers of no inherent value.

[ChezShells]

Hi

At the time we considered moving from England I liked Italy more than France, mainly because we have been to Italy loads of times, all over, only been too France a couple of times, but the part of Italy that seemed affordable (South east) I hadn't been to and wasnt sure of that area, so we chose here (79) after the Languedoc, that reason was because of the house and not region, and I'm not sorry we chose here and not Italy, although Italy is fantastic, incl the language.

 

Lee

[Evianers]

Very seldom, but sometimes it is the other way around. South African Friends who lived here in Belgium for many years did many recces to France and almost bought in Montpelier. However, with three children and a second residence in Cape Town, they finally decided to move to Perugia simply because the tax situation - chiefly inheritance tax - was infinitely simpler than living in France. It obviously does not happen often, but there are one or two cases...............

[Kingdingaling]

so people in Africa are selfish as well, inheritence! thats all people think of these days, i dont and wouldnt want my other half to lose anything but doubt she would lose everything, all about money nowadays, i dont care, but is that cos i dont have any!

[letrangere]

Excellent question and one that comes up regularly in our household.  In fact, we spent a winter in Tuscany some years back as a trial run.  But then we tried to buy a house and that's when we changed our mind.  For not only do you have to have an excellent command of the language - and we're not bad - as another poster says, you have to be able to put up with bureaucracy that surpasses that of even a banana republic.  You also have to be prepared to play along with the corruption, which is endemic.  Now this is something we don't normally have an issue with (having in lived in banana republics) but, believe me, when coupled with the language barrier (your sixth sense just tells you you're being taken for a ride) and the bureaucracy, you do honestly wonder whether that house with the view to die for (and one of the most beautiful views on earth has to be of the Val d'Orcia on the Tuscan/Umbrian border) is really worth it.

We were back in Tuscany for a month late last year and were almost seduced again.  Once you've bought your house, cost of living is infinitely cheaper than in France, especially food.  It's far easier to get "lost" in the system (or not exist at all) so you don't pay any taxes.  With the possible exception of the Prime Minister, the people are wonderful.  The countryside arguably the most beautiful in Europe, the towns and villages (Siena, Montepulciano, Pienza, the list is endless) beat anything France has to offer hands down. 

But many British expats live in little glass bubbles unable to communicate much beyond ordering coffee or shopping in the market.  They know nothing of what's going on around them, most live in houses that are uninsured and drive cars that are unregistered.  As attractive as their life may appear on the surface, I often think of it as somewhat surrealistic.  Can't deny the beautiful surroundings though, or the amazing food and drink. 

M

 

 

[Mistral]

Chauffour, can I have your limoncello recipe, please?

Why France and not italy? Well, I suppose my reply is linked to Val's comments about Italian not being taught in many UK secondary schools. I studied  French and German and I happened to marry a frenchman. I suppose germany might have been a possibility if I had met a German instead but not Italy.

 

[Chauffour]

Mistral,

if you want i can email you the receipe, but the problem here is to find the 95% alcohol, and it is the only way to properly do it (unless you like what it was in sale last week in Leclerc... not the real thing )

i'm expecting family from italy so i should have more limoncello ready in a few weeks..

if you are around Riberac (24) i can find you a couple of bottles (of limoncello, not the alcohol!)... or if you trust the french mail i could post it...

and now i'm off to light my new pizza oven...

 

Massimo

[Mistral]

Yes, please (for the recipe.) Can't you get the 95% alcohol at the pharmacie? That's where our school nurse gets hers to make whatever her family alcohol is.

We're down to our last bottle of italian bought limoncello now and I'm not that tempted by the limoncé you see in leclerc and it's so nice with strawberries.

I'm in the wrong part of france to you, but thanks for the offer.

[Chauffour]

Mistral,

here is the recepie:

2 litres alcool

3,5 litres water

1kg sugar

12 non waxed lemons

 

peel the lemons with a vegetable peeler (only the yellow part, not the white)

put the lemon peels in the alcohol for 3 to 6 weeks in a dark and cool place.

drain the alcohol

melt the sugar in warm water, add the alcohol, filter after a few days...

 

very simple.. but you can't use any other alcohol than the one you buy in italy, it's got to be 95%... in south africa i had a go with sugar cane liquor and the result was terrible!

i have been told that 95% alcohol is not sold in the rest of europe because it's quite dangerous to transport it as it is very inflammable...

 

.. almost a good enough reason to go to live in italy... once berlusconi kicks the bucket

 

Massimo

 

[Turnip]

[quote]being one of the few Italian living in Dordogne, I'm often asked this question: why we moved from London to France and not to Italy? the answer I give is: 'I could tell you but then I would have to k...[/quote]

Read of the corruption and bureaucracy plus high prices of most things including property in Italy. Hence Italy was crossed off my list.

[letrangere]

plus high prices of most things including property in Italy

But don't despair for with the exception of property, that's simply not true.  Like everywhere else in the Eurozone, prices went up overnight with the introduction of the common currency but this only makes it easier to compare prices with neighbouring countries.  I think you'll find that Italy is generally a far cheaper place to live than France and that's before you consider your tax savings (non-payment of tax is a perfectly acceptable, widespread practice).  M