It’s fun watching y’all settle into your new country. So different from just traveling through a place. Culture shock is real! Wait until you actually come back to the States. The shock is worse!
Hey great channel! We're a family of 4 that moved to Reggio Emilia (mostly for the asilo nido). We've been in Italy for almost 2 years now, still very much getting used to things. We had to come to terms with the fact that being an "expat" doesn't really exist, especially in Italy. We're immigrants, and that comes with a whole host of challenges. Some Italians, (as gracious, generous, and friendly as they can be) are more than willing to take advantage of who they perceive as "rich westerners". And without the local knowledge of how things work, it can be very hard to spot who is genuine or not. The more we think we understand how things work, the more we realize that we are, and always will be, on the outside. And the more we try and integrate, the more we see just how big the gulf is between a local Italian and us. But if you're working remote jobs, your need to actually integrate into society besides going out for food is pretty minimal. The downside of that is you'll forever be viewed as a "long-term tourist". Which doesn't go a long way with locals. All that being said, we have made incredibly deep friendships (with Italians), we love the way of life, the language, the energy. We love living here and wouldn't trade the experience for anything. We wish you the best luck, and love following your adventure. Things get hard, then they get REALLY hard and then it all starts to get easier. At least that's been our experience. Stay up!
Thanks for watching and for the great advice and wisdom! And something we needed to hear, honestly. We definitely have our good days and bad days when looking at our journey to integrate as best as possible - just always trying to stay positive and remember it doesn’t happen overnight (and wine helps too 😉🍷🇮🇹)
I just reread my comment and I hope I didn’t come off as too negative! It was not my intention. It’s just been our experience. From what I can see you guys are killing it and thriving
Not at all - we are absolutely here for the real talk! And we’ve experienced all of these things as well. All part of the process of fitting in as foreigners. If we could just learn the language quicker, we’d be a LOT better off. 🇮🇹😁
Howdy!! Yes, summer was intense this year so we'll be looking to travel a bit more next summer as well. We've been eyeing some experiences in the north so it's definitely a possibility 😉 Cheers 🍻
@@boozing_abroad we go to the north but I suggest you go to the south on the sea. Sicily, for example, is truly cheap, fresher because it is less humid and an intense source of material for your videos. An ideal trip just in eastern Sicily could be a flight to Catania, the etna volcano (it's chilling on the top even in August), Taormina, Siracusa, Noto, Modica, Marzamemi, isola delle correnti and many more picturesque little towns you can explore. There's also a great interest from americans who want to buy cheap properties in Sicily for their retirement plan. Just keep an eye on Ryanair or Wizzair flights to Catania, there are many great traditional big events in the area during the first part of the year, like festa di s.giorgio in April, infiorata di noto in May, Carnival in Acireale and festa di s.agata a Catania in February. A little in the central area, festa del mandorlo in fiore in Agrigento in March, almond trees blossom, with dancers around the world gater in the beautiful temples valley
Wow! This is such great information - thank you 😁 We went to Catania back in 2020 and loved it. Did a wine tour coupled with a hike on Etna, which was awesome. Will have to go back and explore some of the other cities and towns you mentioned. Cheers!
This is my second account that I subbed to you from. I have dual citizenship thinking seriously of retiring there but thinking of staying in Italy from September through possibly March and then going somewhere maybe cooler like England during the hot season. What do you think? Also love your videos. Well made and professional and informational.
Thank you!! ❤️ We appreciate the feedback as we continue to learn more about video creation! From what we experienced this past fall, the cooler temperatures started in mid-September in Bologna. Depending on what type of weather you're wanting to experience (or avoid), it would probably be nice to get away during that time. August everyone leaves to avoid the heat too! We enjoyed summer here albeit it was very hot 🔥 🥵
It’s fun watching y’all settle into your new country. So different from just traveling through a place. Culture shock is real! Wait until you actually come back to the States. The shock is worse!
Yes! We’ve talked to some folks who have agreed that the reverse culture shock is even worse. 🤦♀️🤦🏻♂️
As always, thank you guys for watching 😁🇮🇹
Another fun video - thanks for posting.
Glad you enjoyed it - thanks for watching 😁
Hey great channel! We're a family of 4 that moved to Reggio Emilia (mostly for the asilo nido). We've been in Italy for almost 2 years now, still very much getting used to things. We had to come to terms with the fact that being an "expat" doesn't really exist, especially in Italy. We're immigrants, and that comes with a whole host of challenges. Some Italians, (as gracious, generous, and friendly as they can be) are more than willing to take advantage of who they perceive as "rich westerners". And without the local knowledge of how things work, it can be very hard to spot who is genuine or not.
The more we think we understand how things work, the more we realize that we are, and always will be, on the outside. And the more we try and integrate, the more we see just how big the gulf is between a local Italian and us.
But if you're working remote jobs, your need to actually integrate into society besides going out for food is pretty minimal. The downside of that is you'll forever be viewed as a "long-term tourist". Which doesn't go a long way with locals.
All that being said, we have made incredibly deep friendships (with Italians), we love the way of life, the language, the energy. We love living here and wouldn't trade the experience for anything.
We wish you the best luck, and love following your adventure. Things get hard, then they get REALLY hard and then it all starts to get easier. At least that's been our experience. Stay up!
Thanks for watching and for the great advice and wisdom! And something we needed to hear, honestly.
We definitely have our good days and bad days when looking at our journey to integrate as best as possible - just always trying to stay positive and remember it doesn’t happen overnight (and wine helps too 😉🍷🇮🇹)
I just reread my comment and I hope I didn’t come off as too negative! It was not my intention. It’s just been our experience. From what I can see you guys are killing it and thriving
Not at all - we are absolutely here for the real talk! And we’ve experienced all of these things as well. All part of the process of fitting in as foreigners.
If we could just learn the language quicker, we’d be a LOT better off.
🇮🇹😁
🖐️neighbours. Summer is hell here, we usually travel in northern Europe. Next summer should be Scotland, I'm a whisky cultist 😅
Howdy!! Yes, summer was intense this year so we'll be looking to travel a bit more next summer as well. We've been eyeing some experiences in the north so it's definitely a possibility 😉 Cheers 🍻
@@boozing_abroad we go to the north but I suggest you go to the south on the sea. Sicily, for example, is truly cheap, fresher because it is less humid and an intense source of material for your videos. An ideal trip just in eastern Sicily could be a flight to Catania, the etna volcano (it's chilling on the top even in August), Taormina, Siracusa, Noto, Modica, Marzamemi, isola delle correnti and many more picturesque little towns you can explore. There's also a great interest from americans who want to buy cheap properties in Sicily for their retirement plan. Just keep an eye on Ryanair or Wizzair flights to Catania, there are many great traditional big events in the area during the first part of the year, like festa di s.giorgio in April, infiorata di noto in May, Carnival in Acireale and festa di s.agata a Catania in February. A little in the central area, festa del mandorlo in fiore in Agrigento in March, almond trees blossom, with dancers around the world gater in the beautiful temples valley
Wow! This is such great information - thank you 😁
We went to Catania back in 2020 and loved it. Did a wine tour coupled with a hike on Etna, which was awesome. Will have to go back and explore some of the other cities and towns you mentioned. Cheers!
This is my second account that I subbed to you from. I have dual citizenship thinking seriously of retiring there but thinking of staying in Italy from September through possibly March and then going somewhere maybe cooler like England during the hot season. What do you think? Also love your videos. Well made and professional and informational.
Thank you!! ❤️ We appreciate the feedback as we continue to learn more about video creation!
From what we experienced this past fall, the cooler temperatures started in mid-September in Bologna. Depending on what type of weather you're wanting to experience (or avoid), it would probably be nice to get away during that time. August everyone leaves to avoid the heat too! We enjoyed summer here albeit it was very hot 🔥 🥵