What I wish I knew before moving to Italy (2025 edition)

[@gypsy7152]

I’m moving to Bologna next year. Your videos have helped me so much, and I realized I’m not a Southern Italy kind of gal, but the north has my heart. The mental preparation before moving is a must, and you’ve made some great points!

[@stephaneislistening6103]

Oh... Bologna ! La città sul acqua.. There's an amazing presentation of it by Alberto Angela the son of the late and great Pierro Angela. One of my dreams is visiting some day.

[@danielaluisiburns9993]

My hometown! I hope you will love it as much as I do. Culturally very different from the south. Always busy and on the go.

[@MsBritaly]

Ah I’m so happy for you and pleased that in a way I helped. Enjoy Bologna it is a beautiful place

[@tubulardude44]

Another superior video, grazie, Claire! I’m spending 85 days in Rome, Bologna, & Florence this Spring to practice using ltalian as l continue to study. I’m retired, and plan to move from California to ltaly in 2025. I’m prepared to be lonely for a while, join groups, and take classes to meet people. Knowing myself, l believe l’m going to be happy with my new life!

[@MsBritaly]

Wonderful! You have a great mindset!

[@lindagarrido4353]

If you move to Rome I highly recommend joining AWAR (American Women’s Association of Rome). They have been a game changer for me. Otherwise it can get very lonely here, especially if you’re no longer working.

[@stephaneislistening6103]

A frenchie from Provence here.. I only listened to two of your shows. By chance. I was instantly impressed by your... voice. So clear and showing a personality, controlled and very expressive. A sheet listening pleasure. Since I only listen and do not watch, in bed in the dark, I sometimes had to guess the next subject while hearing the scratching if the pen writing. All the more fun. One thing I could do without though is the background theme which reminded me of my local Chinese restaurant. I wonder if you have such shows in Italian. It'd be fun to listen to you in this language. I did learn it listening on the phone but I'm no yet a speaker. I only visited a few times and never lived there yet. I'm impressed by your resilience and sense of observation. And not very surprised if I may say so already. You are a little gem and a rare find on this platform I wish you all the best in your life in our Italy and shall come back to listen to you again. Thank you.

[@MsBritaly]

Thank you for your feedback and for your kind words - I really appreciate it!

[@Klaudine-u1b]

Just found your channel; these experiences are always helpful for newbies. Planning to move to Puglia early next year.

[@eugeniorossi1384]

As an Italian I have to say that norhern and southern Italy are very different. People in the north are much more reserved and quite than in the south. And despite the fact that the state is the same, public services and bureaucracy also work much better. The economy is better, and unemployment is lower as well. In short, northern Italy resembles central Europe, while the south is a world apart (and this is due to the different history, the south was dominated for centuries by the Spanish Bourbon family, while the center-north was the cradle of the Renaissance and modern Europe). And generally speaking, northerners would never go to live in the south, and they don't, not even as pensioners, even though the climate is better.

[@MsBritaly]

Yes and I feel that here. In a way, it’s so sad that the country is so divided

[@lzucca66]

Thanks!

[@MsBritaly]

Thank you for the support!

[@atollmedicdiving]

Great information, thank you for sharing!

[@frankd.pallaghy4469]

👍 objective, informative 👌Grazie!

[@ipakqurti9065]

Great video, as always!

[@MsBritaly]

Thank you!

[@cosmodoc]

I used to live in Italy as a student. I am German. The best thing I did, in hindsight, was to live with Italian students in a house-share, who only spoke Italian. As hard as it is at the beginning, not to be able to use your mother-tongue, it is by far the best way to learn another language! Also, I met a cute British girl who was complaining “I don’t like Italy, nobody speaks English here”!😂

[@MsBritaly]

Ahhhh yes nothing like total immersion to really get you using the language!

[@spuvenk]

The Pizza in Napoli is definitely the best Claire. You are right…

[@MsBritaly]

Oh YES

[@bee2678]

UK feels so fake, dark and miserable, I love the warmth and honesty of a latin culture.

[@teddydavis2339]

Every single thing you said was spot on. I actually found a lot of Italians a bit fake, if I'm honest. It's easy to make acquaintances, but it's hard to cultivate true friendships. I find English people a lot more open, friendly and ginuwine. Bureaucracy to me equates to incompetence. Good luck in Salerno.

[@MsBritaly]

Thank you!

[@KerryONeill-i6v]

Really enjoy your content Claire. I usually visit the North but I am glad to be visiting Palermo for a few days soon. Sure it will be a bit warmer than the UK 😂 is there anything you need bringing over? Best wishes

[@MsBritaly]

Ah thanks so much for the kind offer - I’m ok ☺️ yes a lot milder here for sure!

[@elisabettadori9355]

Should you consider living in Florence let me know. I can suggest you cheaper places nearby Florence which are well connected with the city center. We’ve a good tramway service and we’re just creating new lines to connect other cities.

[@MsBritaly]

Thank you but I think I will forever be a south girl!

[@tic-tacdrin-drinn1505]

In general, even if an official is able to converse privately in English, it would be naive to expect him/her to give you information in a foreign language, with the risk that he/she may give you incorrect information

[@MsBritaly]

Yes there’s that too

[@italyaplacetolove]

Very Interesting Videos

[@MsBritaly]

Thank you!

[@gladysfurey2981]

I love Sicily 🌺❤️🌺

[@LucaPhotographyLondon]

Italy is following the path of eastern europe countries, low salaries, high cost of living and no or very poor public services. I think it could be a good choice if you have a decent income stream from a foreign pension or investment. Moving to work there is a kind of financial suicide. As you said, forget about online servics, forget about customer service and be prepared to have to deal with very unprofessional people, not only in the public sector but even in the private sector.

[@MsBritaly]

Yes - the sad reality

[@lvngitcouture]

Italy is one of my favourite countries, but the bureaucracy has put me off.

[@travelvideos]

I think one can rely on your work to appear more trustworthy to landlords. Like saying I work there and there. If somebody working remotely or get to retire there, would be much harder to build that trust.

[@MsBritaly]

Yes absolutely

[@AmoryLou]

How much can a native English teacher earn in Italy? I'm a Canadian living here and have been on short-term 11-month contracts for about five years. I'm considering transitioning to the education sector to secure an indeterminato contract, but I'm unsure if the earning potential would make it worthwhile. I have an Italian passport, so work visa is not an issue. Any insights?

[@MsBritaly]

It depends on whether you would be state or private school based. From the private sector it depends very much on the school and location but as a guide €1200 a month after taxes is a good average.

[@pile333]

👏

[@danielaluisiburns9993]

As an Italian I totally agree with you on BUROCRAZIA. They are slow, not everywhere, but overall it is a challenge. I live in the US and dealt with my consolate in Miami for the passport renewal. Burocracy is something that like you said can wear you down.

[@MsBritaly]

Absolutely - it’s not easy!

[@NaturaBreeze]

Do people discuss the "cost of living crisis" there?? As in, why and where has it come from? Here in Australia I discuss it regularly.....it just came out of nowhere and the entire (first world) suddenly was in "crisis" (esp rentals/housing and food) ...as a bit of a conspiracy theorist, I think it's all been manufactured, but hey...... 🙂

[@MsBritaly]

Yes a lot of people do particularly because staples such as food and drink have all been impacted

[@ViN-kr3ri]

If you look beyond the mainstream media you'll see you're absolutely correct about this all being planned, beginning with a certain worldwide event 5 years ago. The WEF playbook in action.

[@andrewdiprose]

@@MsBritaly yes and the cost of energy.... as well.

[@vassallo49]

Se guardtamo il problema della lingua è vero che negli uffici ed in generale parlino poco inglese, ma in quanti paesi all'estero parlano italiano? Non puoi pretendere che le persone parlino in inglese. Tra l'altro a scuola in Italia si insegna non solo l'inglese, ma anche il francese, il tedesco, lo spagnolo, ecc. Io personalmente ho studiato il tedesco e parlo un pò inglese come autodidatta. If we look at the language problem, it is true that in offices and in general they speak little English, but in how many countries abroad do they speak Italian? You cannot expect people to speak English. Moreover, in schools in Italy they teach not only English, but also French, German, Spanish, etc. I personally studied German and I speak a little English as a self-taught.

[@nata9832]

Of course I understand your point of view but you have to take in to consideration that English is the 1st international languages. So many other non native speaking countries specifically in Europe they study English as the second language and most of them they speak English.