I moved to Italy in 1992 and lived there on and off for 27 years. I work as a painter and it was a great place to live as an artist. The infrastructure for working artists is amazing. Great art supplies, great framers, and great shipping. The downside is that there isn't much of a market here, so I've always sold abroad. There is so much art there already.

The people are wonderful. I've had a lot of great friends over the years, very dependable and fun. I never bought a place, and I've always rented and my landlords were always easy, responsive, and honest. There is xenophobia (look at the current government), but as an Italian American I've never really felt it. I was also in Tuscany which is really left-wing.

Over the years I lived in France for a year, Holland for half a year, and Croatia for a few years. Honestly I thought they were all great.

This year we've moved to Portugal, to a small town near the Spanish border. It's too soon to tell if we love it, but so far so good.