Well, this is certainly timely for us: the movers arrive tomorrow to ship our edited version of our belongings to Lucca, where we are moving in 27 days. I hope we've given due consideration to all of the points you raise. We've been traveling to Italy for nearly 35 years, so lots of research and first-hand experience. We're also fortunate to have retired a bit earlier than originally planned, so we won't be working (and in fact can't work because we have elective residency visas). I'm also hoping that 33 years working in state government has given me a higher tolerance than most for bureaucracy, which I know I will need in Italy. Looking forward to a new life.
Wow! Congratulations on the move! Can't wait to hear all about it. I'm sure that after that many decades of spending time in Italy, you're more than familiar with it all (the good and the bad). Keep me updated!
The rosy tints are for those who haven't done a lot of traveling yet, or maybe it's got more to do with the type of travel... it's easy to only see a very sanitized version of a place on an escorted tour. It's also easy to perceive 'different' as 'better' if you only deal with it at one level, for 4 days. I kind of have a "Franken-country" in my head...pay taxes like Japan, eat like the Italians and French, educate like the British, etc. From the USA, I'd bring our innovation and the huge variety of geography/climate within our borders.
I feel so seen! Thank you for this article which contains great insights. Very timely for me too, I’ve been in Bologna for 2.5 years and we are moving abroad soon. I had planned to stay permanently in Italy but there’s a major character mismatch between my Southern Californian self and the way of life here. Many others are quite happy here while I remain shocked that I can’t convince myself to stay. Feeling like a husk is where I am at! Needless to say the in-laws are displeased. I now have a lot more appreciation for the good things in the US, which I always took for granted before. And not to mention a greater understanding of where I come from and what I want out of this life ❤️
Really fantastic article.
Thank you, Janet. I appreciate you so much!
Well, this is certainly timely for us: the movers arrive tomorrow to ship our edited version of our belongings to Lucca, where we are moving in 27 days. I hope we've given due consideration to all of the points you raise. We've been traveling to Italy for nearly 35 years, so lots of research and first-hand experience. We're also fortunate to have retired a bit earlier than originally planned, so we won't be working (and in fact can't work because we have elective residency visas). I'm also hoping that 33 years working in state government has given me a higher tolerance than most for bureaucracy, which I know I will need in Italy. Looking forward to a new life.
Wow! Congratulations on the move! Can't wait to hear all about it. I'm sure that after that many decades of spending time in Italy, you're more than familiar with it all (the good and the bad). Keep me updated!
The rosy tints are for those who haven't done a lot of traveling yet, or maybe it's got more to do with the type of travel... it's easy to only see a very sanitized version of a place on an escorted tour. It's also easy to perceive 'different' as 'better' if you only deal with it at one level, for 4 days. I kind of have a "Franken-country" in my head...pay taxes like Japan, eat like the Italians and French, educate like the British, etc. From the USA, I'd bring our innovation and the huge variety of geography/climate within our borders.
I would live in your Franken-Country.
🙋♀️ me too
I feel so seen! Thank you for this article which contains great insights. Very timely for me too, I’ve been in Bologna for 2.5 years and we are moving abroad soon. I had planned to stay permanently in Italy but there’s a major character mismatch between my Southern Californian self and the way of life here. Many others are quite happy here while I remain shocked that I can’t convince myself to stay. Feeling like a husk is where I am at! Needless to say the in-laws are displeased. I now have a lot more appreciation for the good things in the US, which I always took for granted before. And not to mention a greater understanding of where I come from and what I want out of this life ❤️