Living in Scalea

[porterspet]

Hi,We currently live on Crete and are in the process of selling our home and are thinking of moving to Scalea.So have lots of questions for anyone who lives there all year round.
How cold is the winter,it can get very cold here in Crete.
What sort of heating do most people use.
Whats Scalea like in the winter,whats open,whats not.
Whats ADSL avaiability like,what speeds and how much.
These are some of the burning questions we have,fairly sad some of them I know.
If anybody has the time and patience to answer some or all of the above we would much appreciate it.
Thanks a lot
John and Mavis

[forzascalea]

Hi John and Mavis,

The weather in winter (apart from this year which was cold) is mild averaging 14 degrees in the very coldest part at midday and 8 at night. This year has been crazy and not normal, with temperatures reaching 6 degrees on the coast!

Scalea gets more rain on average than Crete so be prepared for some wetter winters, summer rain is about the same (very little).

I don't know what the winters are like in Crete but I would imagine it is on a par. The best European winters are in Southern Spain.

The best Climate in Italy is Sicily where the winters are milder than Calabria. There are some outlying Italian islands off the coast of Tunisia which have even better climates but they are hard to get to.

There are many methods of heating used here, we have gas central heating but there are also air conditioning, underfloor heating, wood burning stoves with back boilers and more...

Either way you will need some heating for the winter if you live here full time.

Virtually the whole of Scalea is open in Winter, so no problems there, it is obviously quieter but still has everything you qwould ever need. My favourite months are June and September where the weather is very nice but there are not too many people.

If you live near a town centre then ADSL is no problem, you can get a phone line with ADSL installed and the speeds are quick enough for everyone (we have 4meg in the office). If you are in an 3G coverage area then you can get a 3G mobile internet usb adaptor where the speeds are nice and quick and costs only €19 per month.

If you have neither coverage then you can get satellite broadband which is more expensive. And lastly we have dial up or GSM which is slow but available everywhere.

I have never been to Crete but it seems are clean tidy and whitewashed, I have to say that Scalea is not at all like that and is not well presented for tourists.

But Scalea has so much to offer and has little to no crime. You can take a train anywhere in Italy so a day in Rome is no problem, and the mountains internally are spectacular.

David

[jessie]

Hi John and Mavis,
Whilst we don't live in Scalea on a permanent basis, we have owned an apartment there since March 2005. I agree with David that some parts of Scalea, i.e. a few of the apartment blocks could certainly do with a good lick of paint but in general I think Scalea has improved a good bit since we first came over. For instance, the communal rubbish bins used to be overflowing quite a bit and made the place look very messy etc., but I think a great effort has been made to improve this. You will find most people very friendly and helpful but not in a fawning kind of way. What we love about Scalea is not having burger and fast food places every few steps and we hope it stays that way. The locals are rightly proud of their own cuisine and customs etc. and I'm sure if you come for a visit you will love the place too.
Come and see for yourself

Jessie

[forzascalea]

I think I sounded a little negative when talking about Scalea, I think I just wanted to portay the fact that Scalea is real and not pristine in every way like some places you visit. I actually prefer it this way and I have never met such kind people as those in Scalea. The area is so geografically blessed that some unpainted blocks for me do not really make a big difference.

Some places have to hide behind whitewashed everything to get around the fact that there isn't much else to see.

Fortunately Scalea does not have to do this, we have beaches that can be accessed only by boat with nobody on them. We have a beautiful coastline with islands, bays, cliffs and long stretches of beach with every type of sand (black sand, stones, goldern sand).

The other thing is the mountains, we have the largest national park in Italy with mountains over 2000m just 10 minutes from Scalea. We have wolves, wild boar, snakes, eagles, falcons and others in abundance. We have ski pistes just 1 hour 40 minutes from Scalea, there are areas within 30 minutes of Scalea where is snows all winter every winter without fail (località Scorpani, Orsomarso), imagine having 2 completely different climates (different plants, animals, food, everything) within 30mins of eachother.

We have a big city Cosenza which is an hour drive which could satisfy even the keenest shopper!

Then there is the fact that Scalea lies on the main railway line, which means you can get a train to Naples in 2 hours 30 mins, Rome in 4 hours, Milan in 10 hours, Sicily in 4 hours etc...

Maybe I should work for the Calabria tourism board!!!

[forzascalea]

I think I sounded a little negative when talking about Scalea, I think I just wanted to portay the fact that Scalea is real and not pristine in every way like some places you visit. I actually prefer it this way and I have never met such kind people as those in Scalea. The area is so geografically blessed that some unpainted blocks for me do not really make a big difference.

Some places have to hide behind whitewashed everything to get around the fact that there isn't much else to see.

Fortunately Scalea does not have to do this, we have beaches that can be access only by boat with nobody on them. We have a beautiful coastline with islands, bays, cliffs and long stretches of beach with every type of sand (black sand, stones, goldern sand).

The other thing is the mountains, we have the largest national park in Italy with mountains over 2000m just 10 minutes from Scalea. We have wolves, wild boar, snakes, eagles, falcons and others in abundance. We have ski pistes just 1 hour 40 minutes from Scalea, there are areas within 30 minutes of Scalea where is snows all winter every winter without fail (località Scorpani, Orsomarso), imagine having 2 completely different climates (different plants, animals, food, everything) within 30mins of eachother.

We have a big city Cosenza which is an hour drive which could satisfy even the keenest shopper!

Then there is the fact that Scalea lies on the main railway line, which means you can get a train to Naples in 2 houes 30 mins, Rome in 4 hours, Milan in 10 hours, Sicily in 4 hours etc...

Maybe I should work for the Calabria tourism board!!!

[caoimho]

Brilliant David
That's why we're there...
Ciao
Kevin