Thanks so much!! It's such a blessing to find the place and community that works for our lives and personalities, whether it's New York or Monteleone or Portland, Oregon or San Diego. It doesn't have to make sense to anybody else-- we know it's right for us.
I moved to a tiny town of 1,200 on the outskirts of Cremona years ago, and while 1,200 feels like a booming metropolis compared to your 350, the checkboxes are exactly the same.
There is something irreplaceable about a place where everyone calls the mayor by their first name, and if a cat goes missing, its picture is all over the local Facebook group within minutes with the whole community trying to trace it back. I get to see the sun set every day.
At the end of it all, we have to start asking ourselves what is it we want out the place we live in? Shopping malls or people and sunsets?
I agree-- there's a million practical reasons to gravitate toward the bigger, mid-size cities. But there's also some very practical benefits for the people in the tiny villages. And in the end, it becomes all about what resonates with your own sensibility. I like convenience, but it doesn't inspire me or bring me joy-- which is probably why I live in big cities or tiny towns (neither of which are easy places to live). The area around Cremona (and Cremona as well) are lovely and it sounds like a wonderful community. I was a musician for many years, so that area intrigues me-- such an amazing craftsman tradition. Thanks for sharing!!
The woman who does my nails has a son who just moved from Anzio to one of the towns on Lake Garda to work for the summer. The entire family took him up north. The 2nd or third morning the head manager of the resort where he will work called him & said the bar where they had breakfast had his wallet (that he had dropped & had no idea it was missing) There is a Whatsapp group that serves as a lost and found for the area and two more people recognized the new last name and made sure to find him and make sure he got his documents back. Small towns have big benefits
Yes-- for people like myself that are constantly forgetting things or losing them, small towns have a lot to recommend them. A few years ago, I left my phone at the laundry-- the person who runs the laundry is the sister of one of our good friends. So she called her brother, told him that I had forgotten something, and he texted my wife. It takes a village (a small one) to keep me safe.
I hope you can!!! Of course, there are downsides and frustrations (especially if you need to mail a letter on a Thursday :) But it's interesting-- it's never felt like a mistake to me. I think you know internally when a place and group of people can be home for you.
Oh wow-- you're not far away at all! I'm fascinated to know more about your regeneration projects for Italian villages. These places mean so much to me and I've seen so many different ideas for how to revive them-- but don't really know what works and what doesn't. Would be great to connect somehow and hear more about it. Thanks so much for weighing in. Like you, I come from NYC, so it's not that I don't understand the advantages of a big city. But I love these small villages and the people who work so hard to keep them alive.
I think that's very true-- even the mid-size cities break into neighborhoods which function like small towns. Actually, even the small towns break up into neighborhoods, which is kind of crazy. Your relocation sounds pretty wonderful. For me, it's the community and the interactions that make the difference. Things like a post office I can work around.
I moved from a city of 6 million to a town of 24000, which is huge in comparison. However, my little quartiere is like a small village. Plus, the mayor's wife opened a bar last year and he's in there most days. A quick walk to get bread on the corner can take half an hour with all the hellos and stopping at balconies for updates. This life is not for everyone, even if we do have multiple post offices that are open every day!
It is indeed a great article and, to be honest, most critics of life in small villages are those who don’t live in them. Or just presume they can judge them according to the criteria of life in the big cities.
I am from Milan, spent the last 30 years in buzzing metropolis of the entire world (calling London ‘home’ till it wasn’t anymore).
At 51 I run several companies and regeneration projects in small Italian villages and live in each one of them. From Puglia to Marche and Tuscany.
What am I missing? Not much really. And whoever reads my newsletters knows what an harsh critic I am about the ‘dolce vita’ sales pitch and other romantic 💩.
So, yes … this piece is great as it talks about experiences, not cold data.
PS: our spot in the Marche is Montedinove (not too far from you).
Once again you have brought living in Italy alive for us! It always makes me envious… but as long as you keep up your beautiful writing, I can live vicariously through you! Gracie mille!
We chose a hamlet of 600 people in the middle of Basilicata. It has the services necessary for daily life (bakery with amazing bread, a small supermercato, fruttivendolo, 3 bars, tabaccheria) but more importantly a sense of community and acceptance, of being together and helping each other. For more than 15 years we've been to weddings, funerals, informal aperitivi in the piazza, festas, helped with harvests and making passata di pomodoro, with our friends who took us in like family. It is not anonymous but a community, which we love.
We’ve lived so many places that were great for the job (they hire you, what are you gonna do?), or for the schools (thank God that our kids are grown), and really everything but life. We found such a place six and a half years ago, when we retired and immigrated to the Andes Mountains of Ecuador. It’s a fantastic home base, but we find ourselves often drawn to Italy and the EU. But for many practical reasons (and practicality becomes even more important as you head toward the 70s 🙄), Italy must remain one of those places that we live to visit, but not love to live ❤️🇮🇹
This is a WOW ! You always make me feel like I’m with you and experiencing the same thing you’re writing about when I read your post an article articles. Doesn’t get better than that.!
Excellent. Like the lede. I’m in Spello, maybe not a small small town, but feels small. But at this point, only for a few weeks, w my wife, in Spring and Fall. Still, having lived in Moscow and DC, I see A LOT to be said for the small town experience, way of life--and you're saying it!
Thanks so much!! It's such a blessing to find the place and community that works for our lives and personalities, whether it's New York or Monteleone or Portland, Oregon or San Diego. It doesn't have to make sense to anybody else-- we know it's right for us.
I moved to a tiny town of 1,200 on the outskirts of Cremona years ago, and while 1,200 feels like a booming metropolis compared to your 350, the checkboxes are exactly the same.
There is something irreplaceable about a place where everyone calls the mayor by their first name, and if a cat goes missing, its picture is all over the local Facebook group within minutes with the whole community trying to trace it back. I get to see the sun set every day.
At the end of it all, we have to start asking ourselves what is it we want out the place we live in? Shopping malls or people and sunsets?
I agree-- there's a million practical reasons to gravitate toward the bigger, mid-size cities. But there's also some very practical benefits for the people in the tiny villages. And in the end, it becomes all about what resonates with your own sensibility. I like convenience, but it doesn't inspire me or bring me joy-- which is probably why I live in big cities or tiny towns (neither of which are easy places to live). The area around Cremona (and Cremona as well) are lovely and it sounds like a wonderful community. I was a musician for many years, so that area intrigues me-- such an amazing craftsman tradition. Thanks for sharing!!
The woman who does my nails has a son who just moved from Anzio to one of the towns on Lake Garda to work for the summer. The entire family took him up north. The 2nd or third morning the head manager of the resort where he will work called him & said the bar where they had breakfast had his wallet (that he had dropped & had no idea it was missing) There is a Whatsapp group that serves as a lost and found for the area and two more people recognized the new last name and made sure to find him and make sure he got his documents back. Small towns have big benefits
Yes-- for people like myself that are constantly forgetting things or losing them, small towns have a lot to recommend them. A few years ago, I left my phone at the laundry-- the person who runs the laundry is the sister of one of our good friends. So she called her brother, told him that I had forgotten something, and he texted my wife. It takes a village (a small one) to keep me safe.
I hope you can!!! Of course, there are downsides and frustrations (especially if you need to mail a letter on a Thursday :) But it's interesting-- it's never felt like a mistake to me. I think you know internally when a place and group of people can be home for you.
Oh wow-- you're not far away at all! I'm fascinated to know more about your regeneration projects for Italian villages. These places mean so much to me and I've seen so many different ideas for how to revive them-- but don't really know what works and what doesn't. Would be great to connect somehow and hear more about it. Thanks so much for weighing in. Like you, I come from NYC, so it's not that I don't understand the advantages of a big city. But I love these small villages and the people who work so hard to keep them alive.
I think that's very true-- even the mid-size cities break into neighborhoods which function like small towns. Actually, even the small towns break up into neighborhoods, which is kind of crazy. Your relocation sounds pretty wonderful. For me, it's the community and the interactions that make the difference. Things like a post office I can work around.
I am decidedly a city mouse, but your small town is indeed a magic one.
I moved from a city of 6 million to a town of 24000, which is huge in comparison. However, my little quartiere is like a small village. Plus, the mayor's wife opened a bar last year and he's in there most days. A quick walk to get bread on the corner can take half an hour with all the hellos and stopping at balconies for updates. This life is not for everyone, even if we do have multiple post offices that are open every day!
It is indeed a great article and, to be honest, most critics of life in small villages are those who don’t live in them. Or just presume they can judge them according to the criteria of life in the big cities.
I am from Milan, spent the last 30 years in buzzing metropolis of the entire world (calling London ‘home’ till it wasn’t anymore).
At 51 I run several companies and regeneration projects in small Italian villages and live in each one of them. From Puglia to Marche and Tuscany.
What am I missing? Not much really. And whoever reads my newsletters knows what an harsh critic I am about the ‘dolce vita’ sales pitch and other romantic 💩.
So, yes … this piece is great as it talks about experiences, not cold data.
PS: our spot in the Marche is Montedinove (not too far from you).
So Eric, what happened?! Was Marco re-elected?
Once again you have brought living in Italy alive for us! It always makes me envious… but as long as you keep up your beautiful writing, I can live vicariously through you! Gracie mille!
We chose a hamlet of 600 people in the middle of Basilicata. It has the services necessary for daily life (bakery with amazing bread, a small supermercato, fruttivendolo, 3 bars, tabaccheria) but more importantly a sense of community and acceptance, of being together and helping each other. For more than 15 years we've been to weddings, funerals, informal aperitivi in the piazza, festas, helped with harvests and making passata di pomodoro, with our friends who took us in like family. It is not anonymous but a community, which we love.
We’ve lived so many places that were great for the job (they hire you, what are you gonna do?), or for the schools (thank God that our kids are grown), and really everything but life. We found such a place six and a half years ago, when we retired and immigrated to the Andes Mountains of Ecuador. It’s a fantastic home base, but we find ourselves often drawn to Italy and the EU. But for many practical reasons (and practicality becomes even more important as you head toward the 70s 🙄), Italy must remain one of those places that we live to visit, but not love to live ❤️🇮🇹
This is wonderful.
I hope to join you in making a similar mistake one of these days!!!!!
This is a WOW ! You always make me feel like I’m with you and experiencing the same thing you’re writing about when I read your post an article articles. Doesn’t get better than that.!
Excellent. Like the lede. I’m in Spello, maybe not a small small town, but feels small. But at this point, only for a few weeks, w my wife, in Spring and Fall. Still, having lived in Moscow and DC, I see A LOT to be said for the small town experience, way of life--and you're saying it!