Skip to content
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
    • FAQs
    • Subscribe Today – Save 65%
    • Reviews and Testimonials
    • Media Center
    • Meet the IL Team
    • Advertise With Us
    • Write For IL
    • Syndication Program
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • youtube

Subscriber Login

Sign in to access your subscriptions and subscriber-only content.

Forgot Your Password

Subscribe
Subscribe
International Living
Decorative Image IL Magazine: Discover the World's Best Retirement Haven for 2022 + 24 more SUBSCRIBE NOW AND SAVE 65% about subscribing to International Living Magazine
  • Home
  • Daily Postcard
    • Retirement Calculator
  • Magazine
  • Income Overseas
  • Real Estate
    • Property Listings
  • Countries
    • Costa Rica
    • Mexico
    • Belize
    • Ecuador
    • Panama
    • Portugal
    • Colombia
    • France
    • Spain
    • More Countries
  • Topics
    • Retirement Index
    • best places
    • Ask the Experts
    • Travel Tips
    • Where to Retire
    • Income Tips
    • Video
    • Singles
    • cost of living
    • Healthcare
    • Second Passport
  • Conferences
  • Bookstore Sale
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
    • FAQs
    • Subscribe Today – Save 65%
    • Reviews and Testimonials
    • Media Center
    • Meet the IL Team
    • Advertise With Us
    • Write For IL
    • Syndication Program

Subscriber Login

Sign in to access your subscriptions and subscriber-only content.

Forgot Your Password

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • youtube
Valerie Fortney Schneider

Valerie Fortney Schneider

Valerie Fortney-Schneider, IL Italy Correspondent, returned to her roots in the southern Italy region of Basilicata where she is a freelance writer, professional genealogist, and cappuccino addict. Valerie and her husband, Bryan, decided to ditch the hamster wheel lifestyle and actually get a life, moving to a hilltop hamlet to enjoy the Italian dolce vita. When not tapping away at her keyboard, she can be found sipping cappuccino, participating in grape harvests, or shooting with breeze with her fellow paesani (villagers).

Two Beautiful Small Towns to Live in Italy

Two Beautiful Small Towns to Live in Italy

Editors Choice
By Valerie Fortney Schneider June 1, 2022

I realize that most folks don’t want the intimate village feel we’ve found, but the bulk of Italy really is populated by thousands of small towns that don’t come up short on amenities, services, or lifestyle. It’s easy to find appealing towns everywhere, but here are two that are especially high on allure and that tick a lot of boxes.

Read more: Two Beautiful Small Towns to Live in Italy
My Favorite Italian Beaches

My Favorite Italian Beaches

Editors Choice
By Valerie Fortney Schneider January 23, 2022

There is certainly no shortage of gorgeous coastline in Italy, being a boot-shaped peninsula surrounded by sea. While I certainly love a boat trip along the glittery Amalfi Coast, my favorite beaches are in towns that aren’t very well known.

Read more: My Favorite Italian Beaches
Chasing Glamour and Grit in Unforgettable Naples

Chasing Glamour and Grit in Unforgettable Naples

Editors Choice
By Valerie Fortney Schneider December 11, 2021

Glamorous and gritty, beautiful and brash, there is nothing shy about Naples. Often maligned and misunderstood, this is a city of faded splendor and unbridled enthusiasm that gets in your face with its vivacious, and often audacious, culture. In short, there is no half-way with Naples: You either love or hate it...

Read more: Chasing Glamour and Grit in Unforgettable Naples
Italian Rentals From $422-a-Month

Italian Rentals From $422-a-Month

Editors Choice
By Valerie Fortney Schneider July 11, 2021

We found a furnished apartment, just a few minutes from the main piazzas, in a 300-year old building on a quiet lane, with the best landlords we ever could have imagined. They invited us to partake of barbecues in their rustic taverna, to accompany them to their country property to pick fruit from their orchard, and helped us with the paperwork for residency.

Read more: Italian Rentals From $422-a-Month
Best Places to Live in Italy From $1,700 Per Month

Best Places to Live in Italy From $1,700 Per Month

Editors Choice
By Valerie Fortney Schneider June 10, 2021

The beauty, attractions, and history of Italy are all so alluring that visitors quickly get seduced and start dreaming of living here. What many don’t realize on those initial travels is that Italy can be an affordable place to live, too. Of course, it all comes down to lifestyle and what your overseas dream is...

Read more: Best Places to Live in Italy From $1,700 Per Month
Is Italy a Safe Place to Live?

Is Italy a Safe Place to Live?

Ask the Experts
By Valerie Fortney Schneider May 21, 2021

From my earliest trips through my years of living here in Italy, I’ve never experienced a moment of feeling unsafe. I once rode the wrong bus in Rome to an outer, densely packed and squalid area; I have wandered country roads at night, and stumbled my way through a decidedly sketchy part of Naples, but never felt I was in danger.

Read more: Is Italy a Safe Place to Live?
Comforting Autumnal Rhythms in Southern Italy

Comforting Autumnal Rhythms in Southern Italy

Daily Postcard
By Valerie Fortney Schneider December 21, 2020

I’m rooting around in one of my cantinas looking for my harvest clothes. We have three of these rock-built rooms that were essentially wine cellars. One we still use for that purpose, a just-the-right-temperature space with brick ceilings and bottle racks to hold our vino. Another, below the terrace, is our woodshed...

Read more: Comforting Autumnal Rhythms in Southern Italy
Expat Diary: What is Life Like in Italy During Lockdown?

Expat Diary: What is Life Like in Italy During Lockdown?

Ask the Experts
By Valerie Fortney Schneider May 1, 2020

Italy has been hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, as everyone has seen on the news. It arrived silently and took the country by surprise—and by storm. The information on the virus was still scarce and leaders took a wait-and-see approach at first, convinced the few cases would be contained...

Read more: Expat Diary: What is Life Like in Italy During Lockdown?
We Found Our Dream Retirement in Umbria: the “Real” Italy

We Found Our Dream Retirement in Umbria: the “Real” Italy

Daily Postcard
By Valerie Fortney Schneider November 6, 2019

Back before the internet age, Nancy Hampton eagerly anticipated her print subscriptions from International Living, so she’d clearly fostered a dream to live overseas for a long time.

Read more: We Found Our Dream Retirement in Umbria: the “Real” Italy
10 Things To Do In Italy…for that Uniquely Italian Experience

10 Things To Do In Italy…for that Uniquely Italian Experience

Editors Choice
By Valerie Fortney Schneider June 19, 2019

Italy offers endless sights and historical attractions; I could list a hundred just in Rome alone. There’s so much to see no matter where you go. But part of the pleasure of “la dolce vita” is combining sightseeing, with unique only-in-Italy experiences. Here’s my 10 things to do...

Read more: 10 Things To Do In Italy…for that Uniquely Italian Experience
12Next

Sidebar

Get Your FREE Report on the World’s Top Retirement Havens

Simply enter your e-mail below to subscribe to International Living’s free daily e-letter and we’ll immediately send your free report–The World’s Top 10 Retirement Havens

Popular Posts

tuscany

Tuscany - Italy

Read More

 

san miguel de allende

San Miguel de Allende - Mexico

Read More

 

caribbean islands

5 affordable Caribbean islands to live on and 2 to avoid

Read More

 

cities in spain

7 of the Best Cities in Spain for Your Retirement

Read More

 

roatan

Everything You Need to Know About Roatan Honduras

Read More

Upcoming Conferences

  • Fast Track Costa Rica: Lifestyle and Opportunity Conference

    Fast Track Costa Rica: Lifestyle and Opportunity Conference

    29th - 31st July, 2022
View More
subscribe to magazine

Join International Living Today and Get the 2022 Global Retirement Index—FREE with This Special Offer

Top of Page Top of PageBack to Top Click to go back to top of page

Footer

Useful Links

  • IL Magazine
  • New to IL
  • Ask the Experts
  • Media Center
  • Customer Service

Popular Categories

  • Best Places to Retire
  • Ways to Make Money
  • How to Learn Spanish
  • World Rankings
  • Cheapest Places to Live
icon

Subscribe to the Magazine Today and Save 65%

SIGN UP BELOW FOR OUR FREE DAILY POSTCARDS – AND GET FREE REPORT: WORLD’S TOP 10 RETIREMENT HAVENS

email
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • Subscribe to International Living
  • Sales Tax
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Cookie Policy
  • © 2022