Living expenses in Abruzzo

[Anth08]

Thanks again to all those who replied to my original post- I'll let you know how we get on.

[Sally Donaldson]

Perhaps you could say more like the number of people, size of property, it's location (L'Aquila is the coldest place in Abruzzo in the winter), plan to grow your own fruit and vegetables and so on. Then maybe and I stress maybe someone here may be able to give you an answer.

[pamela]

this is hard to answer I have a hoilday home I use all year - well its the heating in the winter that is expensive - food if you buy the local stuff is cheap - but base your budget same as the Uk then add on extra for fuel in the winter - depending on the type of house - you should save on council tax but then you may get loads of visitors - they are expensive.

[alan h]

Originally Posted by Anth08

....... Be gentle, my future may hinge on your calculations.

It would be best to be brutally frank, as your future is important.

.

[pilchard]

It matters less where you live in Italy and more on how you live your life.
We live a very frugal life…We eat out rarely, we do not have a flashy car, we do not buy new clothes each season, we do not jet off here and there at a drop of a hat, we grow & EAT all our own food bottling & pickling & freezing any gluts, we eat very little of the expensive things i.e. fish & meats, we do favours for neighbours & friends and get paid in favours back in return, we only drink vino sfuso costing only a little over E1 a litre, direct from the cantina’s, don’t smoke, trips to the beach are arranged around the “big shop” & visiting friends, we text instead of phone when ever possible, we try & light the stove only in the evenings and wear woollies or fleeces to keep warm through the day, if we don’t need it we don’t buy it, we cruise past wheelie bins with an open eye, we have a make do and mend attitude, We do not always buy the cheapest, we did do our homework before we came and knew this is how we would have to live… What we didn’t know was IF we could till we tried.
We ran two wood burning stoves last year and the cost was E500/600 (for the year). A recent electric bill we received, and, consider our most expensive, E105 for 2 months (which was probably due to having visitors) and the use of the electric water heater being used twice a day, everyday while they were with us). For us vehicle fuel and mobile phone costs are a very large part of our monthly spend , but we do live in the country where a vehicle is essential for everything & we do not yet have a land line so have to put up with the expense of a mobile phone. Earlier this year we saved every receipt, every last Euro spent for 4 moths and calculated that our average monthly spend was less that E800 per month, this included heat & light ( averaged across the year) vehicle expenses, phone, internet access, odd meals out, hardware etc for garden & home etc…it couldn‘t include replacements of broken cookers, computers etc.
We have a very happy and fulfilled life, we love it here at the moment, we have an open attitude to life, we love each other ( this helps a lot). We live in Abruzzo where it is very hilly, steep and twisting and the roads are not always in top condition and reckon that if vehicle use is unrestrained our mileage would be double that that it had been in rural Yorkshire plus we have worn out a pair of tyres in 1 year!
Sprat

[Lorraine]

Good to know that life is still good for you Pilch. Is the tower finished yet?
Lorraine

[Noble]

I recollect Nielo, who lives in Abruzzo, posting similar details. He indicated that his house was small. I wonder what size is your house Pilchard? And what height is it please. This does make a difference to the cost of utilities no matter how careful you are.

[jan36]

Hello my friend Lizzy so here you are ! I wondered where you'd been..I was a member of this forum long before the 'other' one ! Looking forward to seeing you both soon...( Nov )
Jan

[sueflauto]

It's an impossible question to answer really. How long is a piece of string?

Pilchard has given some good pointers. But are you renting/buying, single/couple, in town/country, flat/house?? So although not in Abruzzo I rent a flat and have block expenses but no separate central heating/water costs, pay around €35 every three months for my gas bottle for cooking, around 20/25 a month for electricity; being single spend far too much on aperitivi occasionally, but generally cook from scratch at home. I run a car but can justify that as it gets me to various teaching jobs and off skiing in the winter.

So if you really do want help you'll need to give us a little more detail so we can tailor the advice.

[luciam]

Like the others have said it really depends on how you live. We are a family of four and we use the heat, electricity, car, phone etc when we need it. We are not cheap but we also do not waste. We live in Tuscany and not Abruzzo and we spend well over 800 euros a month... I have listed in my blog how much we spend for utility, food,etc. Check it out and let me know if you have specific questions. Lucia Living Italy