Could Florence be the best option? Feedback greatly appreciated.

alice68 New member

Member since 31 December 2010

alice68New member22 January 2011 22:36:17

Hello,

some of you may have already seen a post of mine on another section of this website. My name is Alice, I am 42 yo, Franco-American and mother to a lovely 4 year old boy. We currently live in Morocco, and are looking to move back to Italy (where I grew up) ; The "obvious" choice is Rome, for its huge international community and "diversity" (?..) but I am having a very hard time adjusting to the idea of moving back to live in what I know to be complete chaos.

So, without eliminating Rome, I am looking for viable alternatives, big towns/small cities that are "human sized", somewhat dynamic and not too provincial. I hadn't really considered Florence until someone brought it up in a recent conversation and I thought : hmmm...

As a single Mother, my primary concerns are of course schooling (quality thereof, both public and private/international), but also social integration, both for my son and myself. I speak fluent Italian, and enjoy being around both Italians AND expats.

In this regards, your insight on both the schooling (extracurricular activities included), and the extent/diversity of the expat community would be greatly, greatly appreciated....

Infinite thanks,

Alice

PS: if anyone is interested in a home exchange for a few weeks this summer, please contact me. I have a lovely house in Tangiers.

Tsalgyur Member

Member since 29 October 2009

TsalgyurMember25 January 2011 08:04:18

Hi Alice,

I would like to recommend Pistoia. In our opinion one of Tuscany's best kept secrets. I am in my 40's too and English. I live with my husband and son. We live right in the Centro Storico of Pistoia which is beautiful. Much more peaceful than Florence yet has a station and is either 40mins on train to Florence or just 15 minutes on the autostrada. The schools are also good here. Our son goes to the Liceo Artistico which has a high reputation. Pistoia is also not touristic at all, yet has a wealth of fantastic restuarants and bars. As you can tell, we are very happy here. Before we moved here we also came close to moving to Lucca, another wonderful city, but in the end we went for Pistoia which we feel is by far the better option. Hope you find this helpful.

Nicola

Tsalgyur Member

Member since 29 October 2009

TsalgyurMember25 January 2011 08:09:34

Hi Alice,

Nicola here again. We might well be interested in a house exchange in the summer. As well as our large apartment in Pistoia we also have a beautifulvery large stone house in the medieval village of Popiglio, up in the Montagna Pistoiese. One hour north of Florence. Let me know if you're interested.

Bagni di Lucca New member

Member since 25 July 2010

Bagni di LuccaNew member25 January 2011 10:51:41

Have you considered Lucca? It is a beautiful city, not too big or too small. There is lots to do and it is realtively close to Florence, the coast and the mountains. We have an apartment nearby in Bagni di Lucca where we spend several months of the year. We live in Australia the rest of the year. We would be interested in a house swap at some stage. There is some information about Lucca and surrounds on my blog bagnidilucca.wordpress.com and there will be more soon as I am heading back there next week for 4 months. Debra Kolkka

alice68 New member

Member since 31 December 2010

alice68New member25 January 2011 11:41:02

Tsalgyur wrote:
Hi Alice,

Nicola here again. We might well be interested in a house exchange in the summer. As well as our large apartment in Pistoia we also have a beautiful very large stone house in the medieval village of Popiglio, up in the Montagna Pistoiese. One hour north of Florence. Let me know if you're interested.

Thank you Nicola and Debra for your feedback. I had not thought of Pistoia (nor of Lucca for that matter) -- it's a bit of a mind boggler because I have gotten many suggestions, excepting Pisa (I wonder why that is?) of larger or smaller towns... I have decided, for the sake of simplicity, to come spend about 6-8 weeks outside Florence and this way I can explore both Florence, and the various towns that were suggested to me. However, as I will be enrolling my son in a day-only summer camp in Florence during that time, I will need to be based in that area specifically and therefore, for now anyway, I can only accept exchanges close to Florence. Thank you for offering though.

On those grounds if anyone has a ground floor short term/holiday flat to rent on the outskirts of Florence, with a small garden and accepts (2, small, elderly and quiet) dogs, please let me know.

Also if anyone has additional thoughts on life in/around Florence, it's always welcome and greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Alice

nzifgre Guest

nzifgreGuest25 January 2011 14:38:07

[Partly moderated]
firenzemoms4moms.net/

alice68 New member

Member since 31 December 2010

alice68New member25 January 2011 14:44:14

Hi, I actually found that site a few days ago and thought it was great, but had the impression that I couldn't post there. It would indeed the ideal place for sourcing feedback. I will look at it again tonight and see what i missed about registering - It will hopefully also be a great way of meeting other moms, and perhaps future friends for myself and my son! :

Infinite thanks and see you soon on your great site,

Alice