Moving to Italy for 1 year - advice on school, car, apartment, etc

nicwojo wrote:

a- we are leaning toward Florence as the international school there seems a good size, but it's not as chaotic as Rome. Any thoughts on this? Our son will be going into 5th grade so I'd assume he's too old for us to consider a public school since he does not speak Italian. Any other options?

You know what people say about assumptions? He is far from being too old, kids pick up languages remarkably quickly if you can motivate him and give him the resources.  Start learning it now and there's plenty of time.  You could save a lot of money on education costs and it may be a far more enriching experience to be able to speak Italian and integrate with his local peers more instead of being stuck in some expat bubble.

b- what do we do about a car? We have family in Switzerland-- can they help us "rent" one & we use it for the year or do we need to buy something? Can we own a car even though we're only in Italy for 1 year?

If you are legally resident in Italy, you can own and register a car without problem.  The problem with your Switzerland scenario is that if the car is registered in Switzerland, once it is in Italy for more than 90 days it legally needs to be registered then in Italy by the owner.  I'm not sure what you mean by using "rent" in the manner that you did, but you should not consider any less than legal arrangements.

Romaniac
Expat.com Experts Team

It usually takes several months to get resident status, so before that you may have to rent a car. However, as said your "Swiss solution" would grant you 3 months of driving (or a little more ) and your residency might go through in that time or at least reduce your car renting period.
Janin

Welcome to the Forum

As you are going to be in the country for just 1 year, I would tend to go down the (rent) leasing a car route. You will have no bother in selling it and could return it back the day you leave.

As Romaniac says, children are very adaptable in learning, you will be surprised. In NOT sending your son to an international school you would also save €10,000 approx in schooling fees a year, then you have the uniform costs plus extras on top. Get the lad to start learning now.

Good Luck

SimCityAT
Expert Team

Hi! When I wrote "rent" in quotes I meant a long-term lease, nothing illegal or fishy. Are there places in Italy where you can rent/lease a car for a full year or do you have to go the Avis/Hertz/etc. route & pay a ton?

We have been up & down Italy & love the entire country. We are leaning toward Florence simply to have the balance of being in a city, but near Tuscany/the country. My husband, also, has an art education so there's no better place for him to marinate/explore for the year.
You all have me feeling giddy -- like Christmas  morning giddy -- about this move. I am intrigued with the idea of immersing my son in Italian language now &, hopefully, being able to put him in a public school in 2019.
Final question-- any thoughts/ideas on best places to rent an apartment or home? Should I find a good, long-term rental website or a real estate agent in Florence who can steer us in a good direction?
Grazi!!!!

Renault has a long-term lease program - new cars, zero deductible (just return the steering wheel and you're good, the rental agency said) - just return to where you pick it up and you can buy the car if you want.

This might get you started (no, I don't work for Renault) -
http://www.renaultusa.com/

Buying a car without being resident is not possible in Italy and resident status is only an issue if you count on working in Italy.
Public school is free but 5th grade is not an option. Our little one did it in second grade and he spoke English and Spanish, and still the first 6 months were hell.
In Rome there are lots of English schools and most of them really good. I don't know the situation in Florence.

Hi.

Myself, wife and 2 children moved to Italy 6 months ago and will stay for 6 more. We are from the U.K. so part of Europe and things may be different for yourself?

Our children aged 5 and 9 joined the local school. No questions asked?? Just did an application form. After 4 months in school the 9 year old is nearly fluent and reads and writes well. It's amazing!

We drove our car from U.K. and taxed, insured and safety test in U.K. Not sure if we are doing anything wrong but police have never pulled us over, yet🤔

We rent a 2 bed property for €550 per month plus €220 bills. We live near Colle de val D'Elsa an hour from Florence.

Couldn't register with a Doctor, but found a friendly one via a friend who will see the children if required.

Not sure if any of this helps?

Regards

Gary

Garyslinn wrote:

Hi.

Myself, wife and 2 children moved to Italy 6 months ago and will stay for 6 more. We are from the U.K. so part of Europe and things may be different for yourself?

Our children aged 5 and 9 joined the local school. No questions asked?? Just did an application form. After 4 months in school the 9 year old is nearly fluent and reads and writes well. It's amazing!

We drove our car from U.K. and taxed, insured and safety test in U.K. Not sure if we are doing anything wrong but police have never pulled us over, yet🤔

We rent a 2 bed property for €550 per month plus €220 bills. We live near Colle de val D'Elsa an hour from Florence.

Couldn't register with a Doctor, but found a friendly one via a friend who will see the children if required.

Not sure if any of this helps?

Regards

Gary

Hi Gary this is exactly what we want to do! We want to come in a years time so really worried about the affect Brexit will have? We are english with a 6 year old daughter

About finding a home to rent, I would suggest to check sites like "soloaffitti" (rents ony) or real estate agencies such as tecnocasa, gabetti, tempocasa and so (although they do not always have homes for rent).
The downside is they're written in Italian, but if you find a contact in a real estate agency in the area you wish to stay, it might be there is someone of the area who speaks english. I would suggest to check via email before calling.