Hi Mark, like Marco said (a proposito Marco, di dove sei?), it ain’t all roses over here and sometimes it can be really frustrating having to deal with the ever present beaurocrats. However, I gotta tell you that the northern part of Lazio, Umbria and some parts of Tuscany (especially Maremma, near Grosseto) are really heaven (at least for me). I’m originally from here (here being the Northern tip of Lazio, right on the border with Umbria and Toscana, the town being Viterbo), but I’ve lived many many years abroad (Miami, London, Amsterdam , La Paz, Belgrade, Vienna (austria), Milan, Havana, etc…) but I really found my peace of mind returning here. Okay, I still work mostly in Roma, but I go back to Viterbo and its beautiful surroundings on every week end and every time I can. My girlfriend plays pro hoops in Orvieto, thus my life is spent basically between Lazio and Umbria and I couldn’t ask for anything better.
Life can still be simple and stress free here. People do actually care about others, culture and savoir faire are still the most important traits searched in people, at least in small communities. Food is simply awesome and with your line of work, it shouldn’t be too hard to find an occupation here, assuming you learn the language. Forget about the B&B thing though, there are way too many of them and I have a hunch that it’s really expensive to start one, unless you have roots in the town you’d eventually choose. Should you have any questions, regarding ANYTHING, feel free to PM any time.
Filippo