Moving to Europe - where?

[wobbly]

Geneva......end of

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OP didnt say money was an issue.
And some expats survive speaking a minimum of French

[wobbly]

@ PF - all good suggestions except Ajaccio. Was there for a week early July and found the roads full of trucks and jams. Good roads but not suited to cycling. Also difficult to find a safe road around the airport !
They know how to do fireworks though
Calvi would be a better choice for scenic rides

@Max - good options in there too

[Powerful Pete]

What prend said.

A few places off the top of my head (keep in mind I am an Italian, therefore there is a bias). All the places I mention would provide excellent quality of life, although the devil is in the details.

1. Tuscany - no need to explain why, I think;
2. Somewhere in the Dolomites (great riding, good economy, well organised lifestyle, access to snow sports in the winter);
3. Calvi Corsica (better than Ajaccio but with all the services you would want);
4. Nice area.

None of these places will offer easy access to international level jobs/salaries (ok Nice, if you are fluent in French and have a European passport).

[tymon_tm]

Austria - a rich country, with great infrastructure, stunning landscapes (Tirol), easy access to many cultural events (concerts, festivals etc) and very safe roads (cycling-wise). that'd be my choice

Switzerland - Austria for folks with deeper pockets

Italy - Austria on wine (lots of it), with lovely and straightforward people. not suitable for those with pedantic attitude. pure eyecandy, especially the Dolomites

France - Italy minus straightforwardness, plus bumptiousness (at least a lil bit)

Holland - errr.. too flat and windy, sorry. same goes with Belgium. besides, i find people there not entirely friendly to foreigners

Spain, Portugal - apart from the fact they're like bankrupt and have a massive unemployment issues (30%?) they're typical euro southern countries (like Italy and Greece) - hot, beautiful and with great people who know how to enjoy life

[Horze]

@ jockster,

where u from?

Africa is where its at. You will learn to work the land and maintain a diet of bush meat. As nature intended all along for man.

[tinchy]

I'd go somewhere in this area, or Munich.

This.

[ultyguy]

If you're seriously considering Geneva or surrounding areas, it can be done for more reasonable but still more expensive than Italy or Spain. You can pm if you're thinking about it.

[6to]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Gran Canaria. Best temperature in the world (22ºc average for the whole year), nice place to live with beach, and best around cycling roads with some of the most difficult mountains in Europe (search for the valley of tears and pico de las nieves).

[53x12]

Canary Islands look gorgeous as well. If only I had time and money to travel the world to places I want to see in person. One day hopefully.









I like Prend's idea of Corsica as that would be very cool. Any where in the Mediterranean region is a great place because of the weather and available terrain. Spain/France/Italy (Tuscany,Sicily, Sardinia)/Slovenia. Ultimately it comes down to language limitations and maybe food? Personally I could eat some authentic Italian food 7 days a week and be happy.

[MarkGiardini]

Back to Castel do Lama, just to the east of Rome for me.
Spent many months there living with my cousins , and the summers were spent cycling in the day, eating and then late night in the piazzas.

If the country wasn't in such a mess, and I didn't have to do compulsory military service, I'd move there tomorrow

[bricky21]

Shouldn't immigration policies be a consideration?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's my understanding that most European countries don't allow foreigners to just move in, occupy a job, and set up life as usual.

[MarkGiardini]

If you have an Italian passport there's no problems. Id assume the same is in all of Europe

[Powerful Pete]

@MarkGiardini, two points:

1. With a European passport you can live and work (and vote in local elections) just about anywhere in the EU.

2. Mandatory military service no longer exists in Italy (has been eliminated at least 4-5 years ago).

[MarkGiardini]

Pete. I know. I meant to say that at the time I was there I considered it. Now I'm married and pretty sure my wife wouldnt appreciate moving in with my cousins. Or would she...

[prendrefeu]

Shouldn't immigration policies be a consideration?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's my understanding that most European countries don't allow foreigners to just move in, occupy a job, and set up life as usual.

True, that is assuming you are not the job creator (ie, owner of a business moving the business itself).
If you are a job creator, employer, or owner of a business, you are more than welcome to set up shop in most countries... providing that you can sustain yourself financially for a period of time (rules defined by country) should your business not succeed. The incentive, however, is that you are bringing in an industry/skillset to a country and will be hiring that country's talent & labor to prevent the nation's 'brain drain' of talent to other countries.