Lucca and Tourists

I cannot speak for Lucca, but Verona is a tourist destination, and probably less seasonal than Lucca. Tourists tend to congregate in certain areas of the town, where the main attractions are, so if you are so inclined, those areas, and the tourist are easy to avoid. I previously lived in a Tuscan Hill top town where tourism completly overwelmed every element of the town, and then off season, left the place desolate, to the point that much of the infrastructure was closed as there was no one to use it, so in winter, difficult to even get a coffee. In Italy! Lucca is obviously not that small, but some of both elements may stand. Apologies for not directly answering your question, but make sure, if you haven't already, that you see your proposed destination in all seasons.

@8bucksagallon Thank you for your insights.  All very helpful. 

@Celestinoanna  Hi, we lived in Lucca in the Centro Storico, but the tourists became too much to deal with. I am sad to say that Lucca, like so many other popular tourist destinations, such as Venezia, Positano, Amalfi, etc., has lost or is losing all its authenticity. However, if you are set on Lucca, you can live outside the Mura, away from mass tourism—that is, until you go inside the walls.  I am sure some people will say it is not so bad, but compared to what?  How long have they lived there, and do they know what it was like before busloads of day-tripping tourists and Airbnb rentals descended on the town?   We recently visited one of our favorite restaurants, which always served excellent food; it had been taken over by a group of investors, the kitchen staff was all immigrants, and the food was the kind you get where they have a poster outside with photo of each dish described in 3 languages.  So disappointing.  This is inevitable, so my post is my venting over the loss of authenticity in the name of commerce.  However, I am lucky to have experienced many beautiful cities before mass tourism, social media, and YouTube. Fortunately, I found a wonderful city that has yet to be discovered by selfie-taking social media posting Rick Steve wannabes...and don't ask me where

@ItaloFox thank you for your feedback. That is exactly what I was wondering about. And not fair that you won’t share your new place lol. any other places you might suggest I look into? i dont want tondeal w a car so Imooking for some place walkable w good restaurants and a welcoming community. Maybe mid size w access to larger cities by train or bus 

I am sorry, but under the threat of having to do my own laundry, my wife made me promise never to reveal where we live today on any forum. LOL. If I were to give any advice on where to live, my first suggestion would be to avoid any place where tour groups and annoying YouTube bloggers are. If you see someone holding a red, unopened umbrella in the air with 40 Chinese ants in lockstep, move on!  Italy is a large country with plenty of smaller towns, close to rail, close to either mountains or sea or both, which are not on the tourist map.  Where we live now, we rarely hear English spoken or see Americans or Brits, which is fine with us.  That does not mean no one speaks English in a shop or post office.  Between our rudimentary Italian, an iPhone translator like Italki, and the Italian shopkeeper's rudimentary English, we have hardly ever had any problems.   I read many of these posts by people who want to be in a place with a large expat community.  We choose not to because we want to be motivated to learn to speak better Italian and integrate into the community instead of insulating ourselves from it.   Good luck. These sentiments are purely our personal choices; what makes one happy is what it is all about. 

@ItaloFox

Like yorself, I live in a  tourist destination city in a neighbourhood with no expats, never seen a tourist and English is not spoken  I’ve never understood how people can move to a foreign country and still want to be around what/who they left behind in their own countries 

As for Lucca,  people forget it mostly exists outside the walls with  all the charm and authenticity that the centro can no longer offer. It makes no sense for anyone looking to move long-term or permanently choosing to live in such an environment  It’s like moving to roam and insisting on an apartment in Piazza Navona or something like that.  That would make you a tourist,  not a resident 

OP, look for a place outside the walls  As someone who once lived in an overppriced place with views of the Eiffel tower, I can attest it gets old pretty quickly. Common rookie mistake you can use discern excited rookie travellers from experienced expats 

@Celestinoanna

This is very much what I am also looking for.  I'll be retiring in a couple of years, so each trip in the meantime is an exploration to find such a place.  Good luck and please post if you find anything.