# Biella or Alessandria



## mattaman25 (4 mo ago)

My first post....We have been looking for ages for a place to have as a holiday house and to then move to in a coupe of years. Biella looks good - so does Alessandria for what we can afford. Both have great public transport and enough shops and restaurants. We like outdoors sort of stuff, and of course Italian culture, food, music etc. If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions for these towns? We prefer to be around Italian speakers or else we will never improve our language skills

Thanks!


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## LeeSEA (Oct 27, 2021)

You are doing what I did: make a list of requirements and use it to screen towns. 

But I found a tourist rental last year and this year, before I make a long term commitment. The first time, here for 6 months, I was consumed by my application for recognition as an Italian citizen. This second visit is for final details (passport application) and house hunting. I hope to have my own place next year when I return. 

From my completely inexpert and statistically minuscule experience, the folks who rush to buy have more regrets than the people who sit and ponder a bit before committing to a specific town/property.

Some things I thought I would loath are now background noise. And other things I thought were quaint and exciting are now on my NO GO list. 

FWIW.


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## mattaman25 (4 mo ago)

LeeSEA said:


> You are doing what I did: make a list of requirements and use it to screen towns.
> 
> But I found a tourist rental last year and this year, before I make a long term commitment. The first time, here for 6 months, I was consumed by my application for recognition as an Italian citizen. This second visit is for final details (passport application) and house hunting. I hope to have my own place next year when I return.
> 
> ...


Thanks - really helpful.


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## BraveHorse (Jan 22, 2018)

I like Biella. It's more beautiful than Alessandria, but winter can be cold there, so I've chosen Alessandria for my second home. It's closer to the seaside, and that's another good point. I arrived there at 10 AM, I had visited 3 houses by 2PM (appointments were made in advance), made an offer on one at 3PM, offer accepted at 5PM, deal at 6PM. I had to come back 10 days later to make things formal at a notary, then 2 months after that for the final act.
You can get a very nice 3-bedroom appartment or a small but decent house for less than 100,000 €.

Note though, that Piemonte can be very foggy during winter months.


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