I spend 2 months in Italy every year with my kids. I love how differently children are raised there.

Marcela D'alterio is a 43-year-old mother of two children aged 7 and 5. She said Italy offers a better quality of life for children during the summer. Financially, she said it is cheaper for her to live in Italy for the summer than in New Jersey. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Marcela D'alterio. It has been edited for length and clarity. Five years ago, my husband, our two young children, and I decided to spend two months in Italy over the summer. My husband is from Italy, and his family was still living in a small town in the south of the country, in the Naples region. That summer, I quickly discovered that the quality of life in Italy was much better than in the US — and significantly cheaper. Ever since that initial visit, we've been living in Italy for two months every summer. We feel part of the community Everything in Italy is geared toward community. People live in each other's pockets, and being around other people is simply part of everyday life.

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