Kate Orson, 45, who is originally from Hampshire, lives in the rural town of Greve south of Florence<\/a>, in the mountainous region of Chianti in Tuscany, with her daughter, 13, and husband.<\/p>\n When the couple first moved abroad from Glasgow, they went to Vietnam<\/a> and then Switzerland before settling down in Tuscany.<\/p>\n \u201cIn Glasgow, it rains every day,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd the winters I found quite dark and depressing.<\/p>\n \u201cI had this idea in my mind to go abroad for an adventure. My husband had been living in Glasgow for a long time and he was really up for it. <\/p>\n \u201cOur thought was we\u2019d go for a year or two, just as an adventure, and then come back. But I\u2019ve just never gone back.\u201d<\/p>\n Ms Orson said her husband initially took on a teaching role in Vietnam, where the pair lived for four years before moving to Switzerland.<\/p>\n Nine years later, they moved to Chianti, where they have lived for six years. Her husband teaches on the outskirts of Florence while Ms Orson works as an author and freelance writer<\/a> focusing on health, wellbeing and spirituality.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re right on the edge [of the town], so we\u2019re surrounded by olive groves and forest,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s no other houses right next to us.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, in Italy, there is wonderful food, and there\u2019s good weather.<\/p>\n \u201cOut in the countryside, it\u2019s more of a traditional life. They have lots of little, traditional shops, family businesses. It\u2019s quite nice for a slower pace, more traditional way of living<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n But Ms Orson warned that moving to the Italian countryside, including tourist hotspots popular among British visitors, was not always as dreamy as Britons might expect.<\/p>\n She pointed out that during her time abroad she had missed the British way of life.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SEI_261246865.jpg\")
The Chianti Hills are a short mountain range straddling the provinces of Florence, Siena and Arezzo (Photo: Massimo Santi\/Getty Images\/iStockphoto)<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SEI_261252912.jpg\")
The main square of Greve in the Chianti Region of Tuscany, Italy (Photo: Avalon\/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SEI_261246720.jpg\")
Ms Orson said her home is surrounded by olive groves and forestry<\/p>\n
![\"GREVE](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SEI_261252972.jpg\")
The countryside near Greve in Chianti, Italy (Photo: Jim Dyson\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n