First excuse me for not writing in Italian. Hopefully I'll beable todothat in acouple of years.

The reason for my post is that me and the family are strongly considering moving to Italy. I've been employed by NetJets and I'll be able to have Milan or Rome as a gateway.

What are the prices of houses and the cost of living compared between living 1 hour drive from Milan vs. Rome ?

How much is a typical house in that area ?

We are moving from Scandinavia with 3 small kids; are there any other foreigners here that have made the move and wish to share their experiences?

Looking forward to hear...

I'd say Roma is cheaper than Milan but not that great difference. The prices of the houses is almost the same (1 hour driving around 200.000 Euro) but living in Rome it's less expensive than Milan

CMN please check your PM.
Cheers, Bugs Bunny

I am living near MXP for a few years, its quite nice and you can rent a house near the lake for about 800-1000€ at the size you will need with 3 kids.
In Varese there is an European School, which is quite good when your kids have to go to school.
Maybe Milan ist better for you, because the summer gets quite hot in Italy and I always have the impression that when you are not used to it 34° in Milan are better than in Rome.

Are you kidding?? You think are better 34°C with tons of moisture as in Milan or the 34°C DRY in Rome?
I've lived in both cities and I agree with most of the opinion of I-FORD less the fact that for me its much better to live in Rome. But, its only my opinion..

S75

I think we are leaning more towards the Milan area for many of the reasons above.

If anyone has any links to where I can find a villa to rent I'd be happy.
1000 eur for a large-ish villa is cheap compared to where we live now. But we wouldn't be able to pay much more, as my wife won't be working to begin with. Unless a job turns up for her out of the blue. Is it realistic to get a job without being fluent in italian ?

Thanks for the great replys so far!

she can teach english, i know pilots girlfriends doin that in the lakes area.

Top 50 cities
June 26, 2006

50 most expensive cities in the world, according to the cost of items including housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment:

1. Moscow

2. Seoul

3. Tokyo

4. Hong Kong

5. London

6. Osaka

7. Geneva

8. Copenhagen

9. Zurich

10. Oslo

10. New York

12. St Petersburg, Russia

13. Milan

14. Beijing

15. Istanbul

15. Paris

17. Singapore

18. Dublin

19. Sydney

20. Shanghai

21. Rome

21. Kiev

21. Vienna, Austria

24. Tel Aviv

25. Helsinki

25. Dubai, United Arab Emirates

27. Douala, Cameroon

28. Taipei

29. Los Angeles

30. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

31. Lagos

32. Beirut

32. Hanoi

34. Sao Paolo

34. San Francisco

36. Stockholm

37. Ho Chi Minh City

38. Chicago

39. Miami

40. Rio de Janeiro

41. Lusaka, Zambia

41. Amsterdam

43. White Plains, New York state.

44. Shenzen, China

45. Abidjan, Ivory Coast

45. Dakar, Senegal

47. Toronto

48. Jakarta.

48. Bratislava, Slovak Republic

50. Prague, Czech Republic

Being from DK I'm planning on saving a lot of money on the cost of living goin to Italy. Actually there was survey where DK came out as having the highest costs of living out of 9 european countries. The cheapest ? Italy...