i will be following this thread closely, being very curious how such a numerate and socially conscious group plots the course of this enterprise.

the days of great deals have been and gone here in umbria, i bought in '93, and paid triple what i would have 2 years prior, and it's just kept going up and up, though not at that speed.

i do have connections with a property company http://www.europropertynet.com/italys.htm through which i bought this cottage, i know many satisfied customers who live in the area.

what people are paying for here that puts the price higher than other regions in italy is the proximity to cultural landmarks that are internationally known.

cortona has become all the rage since frances mayes best seller, (it's under half the tourists' arms!).

florence, siena, all the usual suspects...

next door in le marche prices are already much lower.

i'd be happy to answer any questions about the area, and if anyone seriously points to somewhere not too far, would also be willing to do some footwork and take pix.

my brother is trying to set up a community where prices are lower, in goa and bali, but what would be ET about that?

i'm following his plans closely too, and if i learn anything that might have more bearing on our needs, will be happy to pass it on.

if the prices around here are within reach, i can recommend the area for the kindness of the people and relative peace and quiet.

most properties are old tumbledown farmhouses, however it is sometimes possible sometimes to buy raw land with permission to build.

there are places in italy much more 'italian', but the downside is you might not find the wheels on your car when you come back from eating at a restaurant, here the crime rate is very low.

we're not north, and we're not south, we're central, but a bit off the main spine of italy's infrastructure, the A1 autostrada and main train line..

this is why it's stayed a bit of a backwater, though ryan air has flights from stanstead now to perugia, so we are starting to see influx of a more 'sunday times' crowd.

not too stoked about this, having lived in chiantishire for three years, and happy to leave...

occasionally i think of selling up and starting again, but the network one builds over the years is what makes me want to stick in this zone.

starting from scratch again would be ok, but there'd have to be a strong upside...like maybe what is emerging here.

i have 5 acres, mixed woods and fields, and i think it's enough if your not keeping horses, or if all the land is flat.

if there's common grazing areas, or one could move the animals around the community's fallow fields, then it would be enough.

llamas thrive here, i see a few here and there.  weaving, ceramics and carpentry have copious raw materials around, and a good plumber or electrician will have work to spare....

i wish i had more space, but i think that's the ol' human condition at work, and basically i am content and grateful to have anything at all, and especially where my stone has rolled to gather more moss!

just my 2c

good luck paul, i get the feeling you'd be a great neighbour!

ps, the yurts are still in my imagination only, but if peeps want to come camp here in the fields and use it as a jumping off point for exploration next spring/summer, i'd be into sharing facilities, in exchange for a hand with chores.

the pv system should be up and running by then.

'The history of public debt is full of irony. It rarely follows our ideas of order and justice.' Thomas Piketty