Rhode Island to Scalea?

[Miche1227]

Ciao Tutti,

I'm Michael from Rhode Island in the USA. My grandparents were all born in Italy, in different regions: Le Marche, Lazio, Molise & Sicilia. I have my dual citizenship and have travelled to Italy about a dozen times since 1988. It has always been my intention since then, to live in Italy someday. In 2002, I spent eight months in Urbania, Le Marche studying Italian and figuring out if my dream was the real deal or if my extended stay would quell the fire inside of me. It didn't, of course. I love and am obsessed with Italia. I'm sixty years old now and hopefully, will make the move within three years. Of course, the long time delay has to do with finances than anything else.

Over the past six months, I have assembled a small but growing group of like-minded people here in RI who share the same passion as I do and want to put some kind of roots down in Italy. Some want to live permanently and others are looking for an investment so they can spend some months out of the year there. As a group, generally speaking, the south seems to make sense from both an economic standpoint as well as for the mild climate there. I plan to visit the area in Oct or Nov this year. My original plan was to spend a week in Puglia (Giovinazzo BA) and a week in Tropea. Lately however, I have been more & more intrigued with what I've been reading and seeing (in photos) of Scalea. And now I'm thinking that the 2nd week will be aimed at Scalea primarily.

I'm not sure myself if I will be part of a group purchase or will rent. I don't have a large retirement but surely enough to put a roof over my head & cover the basics of a simple life which is what I want. Then I'll have to figure out a way to supplement that with some sort of work . . . either an online business of some type or find something small through networking within the community there.

I would love to hear from members of this forum who are either already living in Scalea, have been there and/or plan to live there like myself to share ideas about the possibilities.

One question I have is - are there reasonable rents to be found in the centro storico? Any idea what the price ranges are? Is it better to live in the newer part of the town?

Also, is the influx of Italian and other tourists during the peak summer months an unwelcome intrusion if you are living there?

Being new to the forum, I still have to take the time to peruse the site and many threads of various topics. Just wanted to say hello and try and connect with folks who might be able to help down the road. Grazie molto.

Michael

[Doug]

Hi Michael,

My wife and I are pensionati of your age. I bet you'll get responses about rentals from others, especially if you want off-season times. Scalea has a population of 10,000 but has beds for 30,000. Tons of empty places most of the year and many people wanting to rent. Consider the whole area from Praia a Mare south to Belvedere for lot's of options in nice towns and miles of beaches!

Opinions from an American living here: I'm now convinced that the Cedro Riviera is the best place of Calabria if you want both beaches and mountains. We've been to Tropea cumulatively for 4 weeks (including winter) and it is nice, but very overrated with few services and not nearly the recreation opportunities of Cedro. Here, with Scalea as the business hub of numerous towns, there is so much more offered and the mountains and sea are great.

As you try things, consider time here in Dec-Feb. It's far better than the east coast of the US or the West where we came from (as far as escaping snow), but Southern Italy is not Hawaii. It can be cold and wet and most homes and buildings are not well established for winter heating. Keeping a place at 21C/70F like an American would, costs more than the locals would spend. However, compared to utility costs in America for electricity and gas, it's not bad. We did get a couple days with snow where we are 300 meters above Scalea last December. We augment gas heating with portable electric and also use dehumidifiers for the moisture that causes mold -- the thick stone buildings don't breathe.

Cost of living, we think, is reasonable. We live well but not extravagantly, on €1600 per month plus taxes, insurance etc. Americans get gouged on such things as auto insurance and home insurance. There are advantages to being an EU citizen. We're paying roughly €800/year for the car and another €800 or so for the two apartments we have.....and earthquake insurance is NOT included, or available. At least to Americans. With your citizenship, you might be better-off. The insurance guys tell us "don't worry, you are a resident and the government will take care of you". Of course, you must also remember that you'll lose about 40% of your pension to the foreign exchange rate. That is an added cost to expat living.

The month of August is the big tourist influx. "Intrusions" on your lifestyle would depend on where you lived. If in a place like downtown Scalea full of holiday apartment complexes, you would feel the effect. Slightly outside or in a neighboring town -- less so. It does require adjustments. I try to hit the Scalea grocery stores by 0800 in August. Waiting until 1000 means long queues. Traffic is more intense all over, but certainly survivable. Finding beach space can be a challenge, but we have a secret lido/restaurant that are worth a drive. Thats about all.

Send a private message or contact us thru our blog link if you want to discuss things. Sounds like your language skills are far superior, and that is a big plus in Calabria where very few know English. Best of luck. dj