Hello! I am new to this site and I'm taking this opportunity to introduce myself and my wife. We are a lesbian couple with three adopted daughters from China. We are about to be empty-nesters as all of our daughters are adults now, and are considering a new lifestyle for a lower cost of living than the one we have in America. We lived in Guatemala as a young couple for 2 1/2 years and while it was a wonderful adventure. We found it incredibly taxing. The police were very corrupt and we couldn't get good cheese anywhere! We did make friends with a lot of ex-pats and several locals but I particularly found learning a new language difficult. We learned enough to get by and I'm hoping that will be the case in Italy.
My concerns are these:
1. Loneliness. I am a very extroverted person, and my wife is very introverted. She could be happy living anywhere because she just lives inside her kitchen or on her books. She's very comfortable sitting still for days on end. I on the other hand crave community and I'm very active. I thrive in relationships and love to volunteer my time.
2. Being LGBTQ I know that it would be best if we lived in a city like Florence. But we are not city dwellers, much preferring the outskirts of cities to cities themselves. We hope to live in the countryside in the northern region. Perhaps in Piedmont area. Given that neither of us speak Italian yet we're wondering if this would be terribly isolating or maybe even difficult for an LGBTQ couple.
3. The third issue is that I am a marriage and family therapist planning to continue my practice remotely. I see clients in California USA using Internet platforms. How can I know whether or not an area we're looking at would have adequate capacity to have a reliable remote internet practice?
4. Taxes! Can anyone explain the double country tax burden to us?
5. Is living in Italy inherently a slow pace of life? Are there social groups? Generally, though I am 63, I tend to hang out with all ages of adults with common interests…I am far from being ready for a rocking chair!
6. Is it difficult to open a BNB or vacation rental out of our home? And finally,
7. Teaching English! Can non Italian speakers get jobs doing this? Thank you so very much for entertaining my may questions! Oh. I thought of one more thing!!! Where can i find rentals?
Thanks!
