Living In Italy - The Definitive Guide
For Relocating To Italy
By Shannon McGrath
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Not everyone can become
an Italian, but you can still live in Italy and learn to act like an Italian.
Q: If you live long enough in Italy can you become Marcello Mastroianni?
A:
Perhaps not, but you can wear a hat like Marcello, ride in a Lamborghini,
eat spaghetti, and learn to gesture artistically with your hands when you
talk. Italy is the source to which like salmon we all swim back to as if
to our spiritual home - - Those who doubt this have only to visit Rome
in the summertime when it seems that the entire world has swum back with
the intention of spawning on the Spanish Steps. Ah, Italy, Che bella!
If you don't want to live in Italy you're already half dead. See a doctor!
Or better yet, if you want to get well and be quickened, read this eBook
and move to Italy. It's the appropriate thing to do. |
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| This book was put together
with the sole purpose of helping expats relocate to Italy and more easily
assimilate into the Italian culture. Mostly aimed at Americans, I
try to mention regulations specific to other nationalities when helpful
without delving into too many details concerning the laws specific to each
country.
I’ve divided the book into four sections:
Introduction to Italy, Getting Started, Social Customs, and Everyday Practicalities.
The first section covers the basics of the regions of Italy, which should
help in your decision on where in Italy would be best for you. The
second is aimed at what you need to do or should expect to get into Italy,
find a home, and possibly to get work. The third part provides a
realistic idea of what it will mean to live in Italy through inside looks
at Italian life. Everyday Practicalities, the last section, gives
details on the Italian system, focusing on practical subjects such as public
transit and postal regulations. All of this is followed up with an
appendix of references and contact information for important sources such
as embassies in Italy, and online Italian classified ads.
There are many Americans living in
Italy now who have accomplished just what you are considering doing.
It is more than possible; you just need to have a strong enough desire
to wade through the country’s red tape, so that you can relish in its renowned
dolce vita. Believe me, it’s worth it. |
| Few nations are more dynamic
than Italy. It is the source to which we all swim back to as our
spiritual home - - Those who doubt this have only to visit Rome in the
summer time when it seems that the entire world has swum back with the
intention of spawning on the Spanish Steps. Ah, Italy, Che bella! |
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Italy is a country famous for art
and romance. It is a place, which reinvents beauty, from the villages
of rugged Sicilian islands to the ski resorts of the snowcapped Alps.
Heated conversations in open-air cafes to homemade meals in mamma’s kitchen,
the culture of the Italian people stands apart from that of their northern
neighbors. Everywhere you look you are reminded of a historical heritage
inclusive of Etruscans, Greeks, Normans, Arabs, and Huns, culminating in
Roman and Venetian empires, the Kingdom of Italy, and finally the Republic
of Italy. Modern day Italia is proud of this past, and modern Italian
culture is steeped in it.
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| The Italian Grocery - A place
of exotic smells and extremely delicious foods. |
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When everywhere you
look appears to be a museum, you can’t help but wonder what effect this
has on the people living there. Art is a given, and architecture
has had centuries to reinvent itself. Combined with a density unheard
of in the expanses of the New World, the end result is a credence in quality
over quantity. From fashion to home furnishings, standards are high
and tastes reflect generations of people viewing fine art everywhere they
look.
Everyday life in Italy seems to go
by at a slower pace than in the United States or other western European
countries. If you were to ask at random what someone’s goal in life
was, the most common answer would not be ‘success’, but ‘a good life.’
An emphasis on family over work or money plays a leading role in this belief.
The Italian government and many of
its stabilizing laws reflect these ideas. Laws make it difficult
for families to lose their homes; whether rented or owned. It is
also difficult for employers to fire employees. Along with a health
care system that covers all citizens, these humane regulations create a
very stabile family life that allows Italians to worry about other problems
– like what’s for dinner.
La bella vita is of course not always
so simple. Italy’s population is dropping at an alarming rate.
The current Prime Minister, Berlusconi, is also the owner of most of the
country’s media. Corruption is common in the government, and the
world famous Italian Mafia still has a strong hold on the south and a presence
throughout the country. |
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Venice - Once The Center
of the World
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Rich in art, food, wine,
fashion, and all the beauties of the Italian people, Italy is a prime destination
for expatriates wishing to get away from the rat race. The diversity
of its regions offers big cities with all their trappings, countryside
villas, small towns with big city sophistication, and villages lost in
the culture of a slower time.
If you’re considering relocating
to Italy, I congratulate you on your fine taste. As you’re doing
right now, I encourage you to learn all you can about what to expect in
your new home. This book explains aspects of daily Italian culture
to help you decide if Italy is right for you, and if so to help you make
your transit as easy as possible. Continue to expect the unexpected,
and before you go, learn all the Italian that you can. It will help
you to succeed as no other preparation can. In the end, relax and
enjoy the foibles of your adopted country. It isn’t an easy thing
to learn an entirely new culture, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t be
enjoyable. When I moved to Italy, like Proust, ‘I found that my dream
had become – incredibly but quite simply – my address.’ You can do
the same. 144 Pages - Plus color photos - |
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