Hello all and first, thank you for this website filled with so much valuable information.

I am from the Northeast of USA but because I was born in Italy, my folks thought “Maria” appropriate. I say this because often, folk automatically think I am of spanish or latin heritage and expect me to speak excellent spanish!

I love Spain and have visited various regions since 1995. I’ve tested intermediate level castellano but I don’t know any catal?n. I’ll be returning in April to spend at least a month to discern whether an extended stay is something that can work for me.

I love Catalonia. Will be spending time in Barcelona through Easter but then I want to head to Girona, a city I fell in love with during my last visit. But I also want to explore areas somewhere between Girona and the coast. My sense is that the coast, as lovely as it may be, might not be a good fit for year round living.

I just read a thread here in “introductions” between Claudio and Orlena and I very much appreciate Claudio’s responses because that is exactly the information I am looking for right now. 

If anyone has any suggestions, tips, etc., I welcome them all…Maria