After six years of living in Italy, I’ve experienced the highs and lows of life in this beautiful country. From the culture and lifestyle to the everyday challenges that expats face, I’m sharing the honest truth about what it’s really like to live in Italy as a foreigner. If you’re considering moving to Italy, or you’re curious about the pros and cons of living here as an American, Canadian, Australian, etc., this video is for you.
In this video, I discuss the realities of living in Italy that might surprise you — the cultural differences, the adjustments required, and the things I didn’t expect to be so challenging. If you’re planning on moving to Italy from the USA, Canada, or Australia, or thinking about retiring in Italy, it’s essential to know what to expect beyond the picturesque scenes.
Whether you’re interested in what it’s like living in Europe as an American, thinking about a moving to Italy, Milan lifestyle vlogs, or simply curious about expat life in Italy, subscribe for more insights on life abroad. Don’t forget to like and comment with your thoughts or questions!
50 Comments
Ok, clickbait👌🏻 Smart😂…
It's not a country for working. This for sure i agree
interesting to hear this while myself living in the south (actually lived 2 different regions in the south), and never had any of this experience. Everyone was nice and everything was ready on time, always. They always kept appointments and timelines. Yes have to wait and things take time but it worked amazingly efficient for me. So much about north italy is so advanced compared to the south 😀
lol “ next week “ honestly I’m all about Settimana prossima “ coming from the US where it’s “ settimana scorso”
Do you know why Italy is shaped like a Boot???
ITALY is shaped like a Boot because you cant fit ALL that SHIT in a shoe!!!
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
I am from Torino and now live in Miami. I can totally relate. I am surprised you learned along the way, these things are know. But you are spot on.
hi. Sorry to hear about all these problems that you run to….but let me say that all of these sound to me as the standard typical stereotypes about Italy and Italians. I am Italian and I know my country from Milano to Sicily. Please let me say that things here don't work as you said. A country as the one you described, could no't be the second or third economy in Europe. And what about Ferragosto? Do you know that according to the Italian law at least a few restaurants, bar office and other facilities MUST be open for the people that stay in the city in August? Really please, don't be so superficial speaking about a country where you live for six years already. Maybe this country gave you a lot if you have been here already so long. My wife is Chinese and she never had all the problems you spoke about. I have also a few foreign colleagues and they never spent months as you did for the same things you complained about. I wish you a pleasant stay in Italy and a better connection with our country. Sometimes it is our fault if we don't get what we want. Stereotypes….
Ciao Vlada. You make a lot of good points in this video, so don't listen to the haters. I lived and worked in Torino for two and a half years between 1982 and 1984, and I still have many friends there. We visit 3-4 times a year, and while it's changed massively since then, the bureaucracy is still a nightmare. I've lived in German speaking Switzerland since moving from Torino until my retirement 5 years ago. Switzerland has many problems, as does any country, but the infrastructure is modern and works like (sorry) a Swiss watch. We toyed with the idea of moving back to Torino, which is a lovely city, but ALL of our italian friends tell us we'd be crazy to do so.
I had a first-hand experience with the post office in Verona in May of this year, and I have to say it does not seem to have improved much since 1984. We've moved to Ticino, in southern Switzerland, and are doing our best to bring our Italian up to a good level. It seemed the best compromise for us. There are so many wonderful things to be seen and experienced in Italy, but visiting a country and living there permanently are two VERY different experiences. People need information about the bad as well as the good, and you help to fill the information vacuum. Anyone thinking of moving to northern Italy would do well to watch this video. I wish you and your fiancee all the best for the future.
I came back living in Italy 3 years ago, after 23 years spent in the US. It was a personal choice, not a matter of visas etc. I found a few things have vastly improved and others are slower to change. A lot of it depends I would imagine where you live, and where you come from. If you are a EU citizen – which I believe you aren't but I am not sure 100% – everything should be much smoother than you have described, at least for staying purpose. Furthermore, Milan is a very big and populated city in a very densely populated region, Lombardy has 10 mln people, which is 1/6 of the whole country population. Obviously this amount of people will create backlogs in the bureaucratic apparat. I live in a 20K people town (island) part of Venezia and when I returned I was able to get my residency and ID card in 4 days. That was really surprising to me too. But had I lived in Mestre for example – which has 9 times the population of where I live – it would have taken longer. But in general, compared to how things were before (I left Italy in 1998), bureaucracy is way faster than it used to be.
Regarding Ferragosto, first of all please mind that August is the biggest holiday month all over Europe, and that many cities empty out of locals, leaving behind mostlly tourists. So – yes Milan is touristy but not SO touristy as other destinations, so you may notice the emptiness of the city more. On the other hand, all the beach places where you go on vacation in the summer (including where I live) drop dead in the fall / winter, while Milan is a city that's alive 10/11 months a year. On top of it all, it's also a cultural factor, Ferragosto is what breakes the flow of vacationers in two, the people who go in the 1st part of the month, and the ones who go during the second part. So it's really the whole month of August to be affected.
Regarding the pollutions, nothing to say, Pianura Padana is very very polluted and causes thousands of deaths by tumors every year.
Regarding the cost of living, again it depends where you are. You have probably chosen to live in the most expensive city of Italy. If you were living, say in Belluno or Piacenza, you would find it a lot cheaper. But Milan draws a lot of people there because of work opportunities, and the rents stay high because there are a lot of people looking for a place to live, and probably not enough apartments for rent. But this has become a global problem in most industrialized countries and it's a market law a million years old.
Last but not least, although I found the country has improved on many things, there are others where I think it still has big problems. There are still too many unproductive strikes which affect people's lives, and I think the country is still quite behind on certain social issues, like gender issues, gay rights, light drugs, assisted suicide, immigration and others. Some things are moving, but very slowly. And the political class – particularly the one in power now but not only them – doesn't help.
I'm in Milan now, have been here for over a month.. The air pollution is soo bad, the fog, the people.. the lack of many parks.. Its boring AF
"Today is not the day we answer questions…." Classic Italy!! 🤣🤣
100% correct
Ma chi te l'ha fatto fare! 😇😇
Here in Italy, "urgent" means "within the month." I've lived in Florence since 1989, and Italy certainly has some bad sides (particularly the imfamous bureaucracy!!! Brexit gave me agonies.). My rent here has always been between 1800€ and 2500€ a month, and I'm told that this is unusually low, for foreigners; we have seven rooms on two floors. An excellent video, Vlada. Brava!!
I am an Italian, born and bread, who lives abroad (UK). I will respond to all your points one by one in order. !) Bureaucracy, Yes you are totally correct, compare to other countries in Europe bureaucracy in Italy is amongst the worse. I have to say the present government is doing something about that. 2) Different part of Italy, yes again, life in general is very different according to where you live in Italy including food. I would not live in Milan not even if they paid me. The best is to live in the country or small towns. In northern Italy, in my opinion, Veneto is the best region. 3) Holiday season, correct again I myself never understood why August has to be a month of vacation, it does not make sense.. Having said all the above, you have omitted to mention that Italy as a country is magnificent, and there is everything for everyone. Splendid coasts, superb mountains, art, historic cities, enviable cultural heritage, not to mention the cuisine, and much more. It does not matter where you live everything mentioned above is withing easy reach. It's the only country I know where it is possible to go skiing in the morning and roast on the beach in the afternoon. If you ask me how I will explain it to you. Finally, 1,800 euros a month would be the equivalent of around 1.600 pounds sterling, which is what you would earn in London, only that even outside London you would pay at least 1.100 pond a month for studio flat + utilities.
Probably you should simply consider moving elsewhere
Italy is shitty country that is getting poorer and poorer, and no one in it's right mind would want to live here. I'm italian and i cant wait to leave this cesspool of a country.
Move somewhere else asap!! From an Italian happily living abroad
Where are you from?
As a European, aren’t you allowed to live and work in Italy as it is a EU country without any permits or residency restrictions? Or are you not an EU citizen?
That was an excellent report . Where are you from ??
Burocracy is everywhere no matter where you go. It took me 2 years going back and forth to the instances to get an ID cart from my own country just because I didn’t want to give them money under the table…
Sempre domani
Im from moscow, graduated in Italy many years ago, don't like such discusting videos…for me it is like discussing for example gorgonzola – yes, I like it but don't like mold inside 🤡
All this really sounds so very third-wordly and un-european, I wouldn't last six months in a place like that, let alone six years. If Italy wasn't attached to Europe it would just be another african country.
Why don’t you go back? Why?
I arrived 34 yeats ago to Rome, and I'm still in love with this city. ❤
Milan is NOT Italy.
No more than New York is the USA.
Ho visuto a Milano x 8 anni e la prima cosa che mi manca e quella densa nebbia oscura che trasforma I parci e le strade di Milano in uno spettacolo teatrale raccapricciante…lascia stare che Milano e un'altra cosa 🙂
About negative comments:
I find myself needing to vent negativity because the whole world seems to be headed to Hell right now. I have no other outlets for my frustration. I am sorry if my negativity affects people. It is not my intention.
At this point most Eastern European countries are much better than most Western European countries
Why do Eastern Europeans even bother moving west?
She has a fiancee. Tough luck boys. Mission aborted. Try again next time
Milan is literally the worst place to live in Italy. Extremely expensive, polluted and chaotic city inhabited by noisy, unfriendly people who are also snob and lovers of gossip.
La vita è fatta di tante cose , non solamente di soldi, lavoro, trasporti, cibo ecc ecc, l'Italia non la batte nessuno , poi ognuno ha le sue opinioni.
Helpful video.. keep it up with the honest perspective
Ho imparato da più di 60 anni a dire "tutto il mondo è paese" Io l'Italia non la cambio con nessuna altra nazione al mondo con tutti i suoi difetti (pochi) e tutti i suoi pregi (molti) è questione di mentalità e abitudine. Mio figlio vive a Londra da 8 anni e da quando vado a trovarlo noto che alla fine di diverso cambia solo il paesaggio e i problemi di tutti i giorni esistono lo stesso magari diversi ma ci sono.
I was recently in Spain and Italy this past November and had an amazing experience. I’ve been considering to relocate as an expat from the US. My two biggest gripes from the standpoint of a tourist is the lack of public restrooms and drinking fountains. I don’t know how families with children or the elderly can get through a single day in public without frantic looking for a 🚾 I just retired this past March and still considering a Mediterranean country or Latin America to find a new life. Thanks for sharing your experiences 😊
I love Italy! As an American guy, I work with businesses and do work here in Italy and work a lot. I like living in Lombardy and do well because i work more and hustle. Salaries suck in too many places.
If you regret moving to Italy than go back home. As you were able to open your business in Italy you can most likely do it in your country and you won’t have problems with visas, bureaucracy and the fact that Italians take off in August because life is beautiful and you got to enjoy it!
All of you people who call yourselves "expats" – you're immigrants.
Btw living in Milan… due to the fact Milan is the world capital of Fashion and the Italian capital of finance, the city is particularly expensive.
Most of Italians, if they can, avoid to go living in that city.
Other tgan being too expensive, it's also too much stressfull.
I live confortable and happily in Friuli Venezia Giulia. One of the best regions of the country.
Everyone is leaving this shit, you came here, well, very bad decision
Thank you for your presentation. The honeymoon with Italy is definitely over for me. I moved to northern Italy in 2011 from Germany . I had a German drivers license which was for life. I did not know that in 2013 Germany put a time limit of 15 yrs on their licenses but the old licenses were still valid. I have never been a burden on Italy. Most of my savings has been spent here so I have contributed. After owning 3 cars and driving approx 220000 kilometers I was stopped for a random check. Over the years I’ve been stopped from time to t8me and my papers are always in order. These local police decided to do a little digging and they said but you have lived here and never converted your license to an Italian license. They took away my license and gave me a fine €158 and said you must get it converted. Now it’s been a month since I am stuck and I’ve just been told that the theory test will not be necessary but I must do a driving test and the waiting time for the test would be approx 2 months. I have 55yrs driving experience and now I have to do medical tests and wait. I plan on hiring a driver and fronting up at the Motorizzazione Civile to speak to the people in charge of licenses next week. The local police told me I should be given permission to drive in the meantime because I live in a remote place and cannot afford taxis. Italy is one of the most corrupt countries in the world the home of the Mafia and their senseless bureaucracy is a nightmare. I have a love hate relationship with Italians and find many of them are not kind and most are jealous that I could live a nice retirement here
Life is tough everywhere. Try $4000 a month rent in NYC
People often misunderstand ITALY it’s not just a fantasy world born from self-imagination.
1800, after taxes, per month ain't an average salary in Milan. Unfortunately 1400 euros per month is more the case
sei russa?
I’m an Italian living in the USA.
You’re spot on, although Milan is kind of its own world, like any major big city.
When you mentioned people being rude…
There are so many levels to this.
And then you have to hear from people who went there on vacation for a week saying: “Whaaat? Nooooo! Eeeevrybody was so niiice!!”
Yeah, that tends to happen when you’re a tourist and they want you to spend as much money as possible.
People in general are more rude, but what’s really appalling is when it comes to customer care. And ESPECIALLY when it comes to dealing with public administration.
It’s like they don’t realize taxpayers, the people they’re “working” for, literally pay their wages.
And cherry on top, the way they raise their hand, as you said, to tell you to be quiet while they stare at the screen… That really sends me over the top.
Here in America it’s so different. Doing anything is so much more efficient that in the end I still ask “Is that all?”
And the fact that they treat you like you’re deserving of respect, as long as you’re polite yourself.
As an Italian who has been living abroad I agree with your points. I would add that in my view Italy is not a particularly welcoming place