# Retirement Town Shortlist Help



## vmcgvmca (Jun 9, 2020)

Hello,

Hoping for some help developing a shortlist of towns to retire in. Most of the mainstream suggestions on the internet don’t quite work for me.

About me:

Love being in the mountains
Love hiking but not a big skier 
Uncomfortable in temperatures that are routinely above ~32C
Likely can’t afford to live in the bigger tourist towns/resorts

So, I think I’m looking for a town in northern Italy with great mountain access but not necessarily ski infrastructure. Extra points if it’s sizeable enough to have good medical care, a few restaurants and maybe some English speaking peeps.

What comes to mind for folks familiar with the area ?


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## GeordieBorn (Jul 15, 2016)

vmcgvmca said:


> Hello,
> 
> Hoping for some help developing a shortlist of towns to retire in. Most of the mainstream suggestions on the internet don’t quite work for me.
> 
> ...


You are a bit lazy..  . But what the hell... L'Aquila perhaps? Or further in land , even the ocean towns nearby ....


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## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

vmcgvmca said:


> Extra points if it’s sizeable enough to have good medical care, a few restaurants and maybe some English speaking peeps.


Those hill towns are almost by definition not going to provide that. You can look at the various provincial or regional capitals lik Aquila but the prices are no lower in general than any other bigger city.

There are countless hill towns that have almost been abandoned by the locals that are fairly cheap. But you'll need to drive to the nearest hospital and likely very few if any English speakers. 

The rule of thumb is you lose almost 1 degree C per 100 metre of elevation gain. But remember that happens during all seasons. Do you really want to retire to sub zero winters? If budget is a concern don't forget the heating bill. You'll also need to budget for a car , upkeep and snow tires. Suddenly that remote cheap property ends up costing more than a nicer home in the more expensive cities.

I think you might be thinking too general. Unless you're looking for a mountain hut to live the hermits life you should try and plan out a year. What are you hoping to do? Stay home and wander the hills? Or travel around the country? Or ?


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## GeordieBorn (Jul 15, 2016)

Try Atri, has a hospital and if fit you can walk to the ocean...


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## vmcgvmca (Jun 9, 2020)

Many thanks for the suggestions. The idea of just planning a year, renting in country and then figuring it out has appeal. Trying to do the research online and figure it out from this far away is kinda stressful.
thanks again!


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## modicasa (May 29, 2021)

There's mountains and mountains - if you like steep hills but no snow capped peaks, places like Gubbio in Umbria offer a good quality of life. It may not be far enough north for you ....


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## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

Depends what you mean by planning but you can do a lot from home.

Pick a location. Open up google maps. Hit search nearby. Where is the nearest supermarket? Pharmacy? Train station? Buses? Can you walk there? Will you need a car? If it's a large supermarket it will likely have it's weekly sales flyers online so you can even but together a budget.

Sites like ilmeteo have historic weather. Seems you're mostly worried about summer heat check a few summers over the last decade to get an idea.


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