# Mafia, prefab homes and land



## PugliaDreaming (May 27, 2020)

Hi everyone 
Me and my partner are working on a two year plan to relocate to Italy.

The areas we are looking at are Puglia, Tuscany, Umbria, and Le Marche.

We are looking to buy land and looking to build a prefab passivhaus.

We’ve been researching companies in Italy and it’s promising. Just wondering a few questions..

1. How much do expats worry about the Mafia? I’m half Italian Malaysian and my partner is British. Has anyone been targeted for self building? Is protection money something someone has had to experience?

2. Has anyone purchased land to build a home from scratch? Top tips? Even better if you’ve don’t a prefab home..

3. I speak fluent Italian but worried my partner will be isolated. She is trying to learn bit by bit but wondering if anyone has any tips or experiences they’d like to share.

Thank you for any advice and hope you’re safe during these mad times!


----------



## GeordieBorn (Jul 15, 2016)

Never heard of anyone having mafia problems.
It will be hard work getting any building past the comuni.
Different people find different methods for learning the language as what suits one does often not suit others. I and my OH both found learning from Michelle Thomas and Rosetta Stone to be good, but of late after struggling with it, we've found Duolingo good as a starter. Others we know swear by having one to one learning. I think with all methods none prepare you for the speed of someone talking to you in Italian.


----------



## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

You'd have to buy land zoned for new building. Won't be easy in the countryside. 

You seem to be mostly in the centre north. Puglia is the outsider in that group of regions.


----------



## Eliora (Apr 20, 2020)

Pimsler is the best for language learning.

Don't worryabout mafia, you are going to be known as the 'stranieri' for years to come and the mafia don't usually bother with foreigners.


----------

