During the past several years, many people have expressed a desire to acquire real estate in Italy, whether for vacations or future retirement.

Sometimes they make this decision after realizing they visit Italy regularly, sometimes they want to move there because they have relatives or friends nearby, sometimes they are looking for an investment property.

Occassionally, they will call me when they have never really been to Italy and just like the idea. My recommendation is that before you buy a property overseas, you should rent an apartment for two to three weeks (or more) in the area of your choice. In this way, you can assess whether actually living there is what you expected.