Chip Stites

Alfred W. “Chip” Stites After 38 years in the financial services industry Chip and his wife Shonna Kelso, retired to central Italy where they make their home in Rieti. As a Certified Financial Planner® having managed over 700 million dollars of client money for a major financial institution and working with hundreds of clients to make their retirement years comfortable, his love of making the complicated simple and the intricate easy has shifted to making the intricacies of travel, writing, photography, food, and wine…simple and easy. Both Chip and Shonna have learned through their travels that the most interesting and exciting trips are not found in major tourist attractions but in the quiet back streets, small towns, local food, wine and in the people, who present them. In Rieti Italy, they have found just such a town, where they are the only Americans they know of. Currently, they spend their time learning the language, history, and customs of their adopted country. They have two grandchildren, a daughter and son-in-law, and a dog named, Frankie.

Our Top 3 Walkable Italian Beach Towns

Our Top 3 Walkable Italian Beach Towns

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Italy has so much to offer that it's hard to find just a few towns among so many. But let's focus on walkability, relatively flat terrain, proximity to the sea, and warm weather! One of the best features of Italy is the variety of coastline, beaches, and geography available to everyone. Let's start on the Adriatic Sea… and go north along the coast to the twin towns...

Five Years in, Were we Right to Move to Italy?

Five Years in, Were we Right to Move to Italy?

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Out on the terrace, the sun dips into a velvet night. The only sounds are the wind in the trees, the birds, and the wine swishing about in my glass—the perfect end to a perfect day. My wife, Shonna, and I have been living in Rieti, Italy for five years, now. I wish we’d come earlier. Then again, plenty of people can never make up their minds to the move at all.