Parma Travel Forum

I single, 31 years old and living in London. I want to live for couple of years, maybe more, in Italy. I have chosen to move to Bologna or Parma because they are genuinely Italian, attractive, sophisticated, youthful and relatively tourist free. However, ultimately I tend to judge towns by atmosphere. I have two concerns relating to the atmosphere of Bologna and Parma respectively:

1. I have always loved Bologna, however, on two recent trips I perceived the atmosphere of the city had changed slightly. It observed the centre as rather drugy and dirty in many quarters. I must admit my heart sank. Exciting things always happen to me in Bologna but maybe this is not the place to set-up a new life. Then again, maybe I am just being pathetic and seedy grit comes with culture, youth and vibrancy. I would really appreciate your opinions, especially if you either love it or hate it.

2. Parma seems like a very similar town to Bologna in many ways. However, it clearly is smaller and consequently a little more parochial. Is Parma a little bit too sleepy? I really love towns to have a buzz? I know Parma also has a big University and that brings buzz to many towns. But I just can’t get an angle on how the town ticks. I would really appreciate your opinions especially, if you either love it or hate it.

Many thanks for reading this and I look forward to your responses.

I haven't been to Parma in over 10 years. I was in Bologna three years ago. Personally I prefer Bologna and I didn't find there to be any similarity between the two. I have never lived in either place. I find Bologna to be much more lively and energetic. On the other hand Parma was about as clean a city as you are likely to find in Italy. I also like the fact that there were lots of people using bicycles as a means of transportation. I don't know if it is still that way. Since I haven't had a car in 10 years or more this appeals to me. But still if I move back to Italy, I think it would probably be to Bologna. At least I would like to give it a try.

If you haven't read Tim Park's Italian Education and Italian Neighbors, I recommend both. He is from London and lives in Verona.

If you haven't already read it, also read The Dark Heart of Italy, its author lives in Parma: http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Heart-Italy-Tobias-Jones/dp/0865477248.
Personally, for a holiday I would choose Parma but to live in indefinitely, Bologna as its airport is more convenient for travelling elsewhere.

Parma is a beautiful and sleeping town, as most of the small towns in Italy.

May I suggest to consider Verona ?

Ciao
Giorgio

Like Francesca, I haven't lived in either town (I lived in Rome), but did visit both sites as recently as 2003. Yeah, Parma is smaller, but I think that I would prefer to live there despite that fact, or even because of that fact. Then again, I'm not 31 and not single ;-). Parma definitely is a college town, which means that there are young people about and things happening. And Parma is certainly cleaner than Bologna, which, unfortunately, is starting to look grimy like Rome (I love Rome, but clean, it ain't).

I have the feeling - totally unsubstantiated by any scientific data whatsoever - that Bologna is more likely to attract less desireable people, i.e., people who like to prey on other people. In part this would be because there are a lot of people there who are not locals (because of tourism and because of the university there), and part because it's a larger place. Well, when I was in both places with my wife and her mother, I was more on guard in Bologna than in Parma - remember that I lived in Rome and was responsible for the safety of American students, so I have some experience in these matters.

Also note that either town is easily reached from the other town by train...and you can reach Milan, Piacenza, Cremona, Florence, and all sorts of places with relatively short train rides. Parma is on the old Roman road the Via Aemilia (now paralleled by an autostrada) with very good access to nearby places - you are not out in the middle of nowhere here...

Anyway, I'm rambling...but I liked Parma - precisely because I felt like it was more a place where the real locals would actually talk to you...

Bill

I just wanted to say thank you for answering my questions. Some really useful thoughts. This really is a fantastic forum, people are so thoughtful, warm and eloquent. I thinking that Parma may be best for me. What a fascinating country Italy is, I never had such strong or complex emotions about anywhere else in the world. Anyway, thanks again and hope I might answer your questions some day.