A Year of Cappuccino; Lifestyle sabbaticals give busy lives a whole new perspective.(Cover story)

Byline: Barbie Nadeau (With Ginny Power in Paris)

Adjacent to the picturesque Piazza Santa Maria in Rome's medieval Trastevere district, the San Calisto coffee bar is the quintessential local haunt. Marcello, the owner, serves spectacular coffee just the way the trendy neighborhood clientele expects it. For nearly two years, Donna Young and her husband, Peter Halewood, both law professors from Albany, New York, lived in Rome and counted themselves among the regulars there, sipping cappuccini at the outdoor tables while watching the world go by. "We spent more time at the San Calisto than anywhere in those two years," recalls Young, who returned to reality in the States with her family late last year. "There were no distractions there. Just bits and pieces of real life--and not ours or anything we even knew about--that were so incredibly interesting. Although we were always stranieri , we became part of the community there. It filled some need; it sort of made us feel whole."

Young and her husband, together with their two young sons, are part of a growing number of people who close up the house, pack up the kids and take a true breather from their hectic schedules. Rather than embark on long vacations, these adventurous souls actually relocate for a year or more for a lifestyle sabbatical--an extended cappuccino break, if you will. They rent apartments or sometimes buy property as investments and live like locals, totally immersed in the culture. "These types of temporary residents have increased in the last couple of years," says Carol Milligan, a relocation expert and real-estate agent around Florence, who deals mostly with foreigners. "Some are still what we call 9/11 refugees, and others are just trying to escape from America under George Bush. But increasingly, we see people who just feel they need to stop and experience something different for a while."

Unlike traditional work-related sabbaticals, which are often paid and require a certain amount of professional investment, lifestyle sabbaticals are less structured and much more self-indulgent. But they can also be daunting. For some, the idea of leaving the office behind is a major drawback. Milligan, who ended up moving to Tuscany after taking a break there from New York 30 years ago, says many of her clients telecommute from their Tuscan villas or Roman apartments. "This is one of the most positive aspects of globalization: that you can stay involved in your work and still maintain the dream," she says.

Others are hesitant about ...