I have just finished the first year of an Occupational Therapy degree (two more years to go). My mum is a complementary therapist (Holistic massage, Reflexology, On-Site Massage) and currently has a therapy room at home and also works in community centres in central London. She did teach English before (ESOL) but she really enjoys her job as a therapist and would prefer to continue with that if at all possible. We are aware that Italy is meant to be quite an expensive place to move to....but we really want to get there somehow...we have 2 years to sort ourselves out, make contacts and learn the language. I don't think there are Occupational therapists in Italy, I will have to find out more about what I could do to earn money when I am there. There is a lot we have to find out, but we feel excited to do what needs to be done. We were thinking of renting our house in London out, or possibly selling it at some point once we know everything is going smoothly. We need to make lots more visits to Italy and save as much money as we can. We are going to try and make friends with Italian people in London (there are many language swap websites) and maybe penpals with Italians in Italy... we have lots of ideas, but not much money unfortunately! We feel the quality of our lives will be so much richer and happier. There is something magical about Italy.... the country and language is so beautiful and the people are so warm... and the weather is not bad either! If anyone has any advice or information that might be useful to us - please reply -we would love to hear from you!

Maria (and Philomena - my mum

Ciao Maria and Philomena
Fantastic ..I have been in your shoes like so many other foriegners that I have helped in making such an important decision such as moving too Italy. Yes..one must research the area of choice and as I tell all my clients is to come for a site inspection visit..in my case they are property site inspection tours which I give my clients before making a final decision on moving or purchasing a property in Calabria. Why Calabria? That is where my family roots are in the province of Cosenza along the beautiful Calabria Riviera. I come from a small town where my land estate is located called Grimaldi. I have been building homes and selling & renting properties for the last 4 years while helping many non Italians get settled in Calabria. Next to my land estate their is a beautiful Church (San Antonio) and lovely piazza where the locals gather to socialize but most important their is a vacant medical center that was used as a old age home. Our mayor is looking for someone in the medical industry to operate the vaccant building and is open to suggestions and negotiations. The town population is about 4,000 people and yes many are in need of therapy. If you have time please go too my website The South of Italy and click on the Grimaldi website. This could be an oppurtunity to work with the township without having to invest money.

Best Regards
Franco