Relocating to Italy - context & questions

Hello, I was glad to read your post. I am Anzhela. I am also Australian citizen (douple citizenship Russian and Australian) and I'd like to move to Italy and settle there. I have almost done my Batchelor of Languages majoring in Italian and 2022-2023 I have studied in Italy. It was a great experience and I defenately look for opportunities to move there. Currently I am doing my TEFL diploma because it is important to have if you want to work there in an education field.

I live in Gold Coast, and what about you?

@Angela1973 That's great, but I'm Austrian not Australian lol.

@Angela1973 Good evening, madam, how are you?  I hope you are fine. Speaking of your desire to go to Italy, I think that Australia is much better. There are high-paid workers such as masons, welders, plumbers, painters.. I heard someone from my country, Algeria, who lives in Sydney, said that jobs in Australia are many and varied, in addition to wages.  He gave a simple example of construction, which in Australia earns more than 50,000 $ Australian in our local currency, without forgetting other professions.  If you want to go to Italy and there are many jobs and good wages that are greater than in Australia, that is fine, but if the wages are low, then staying in Australia is better, especially the big cities such as Sydney, Canberra, Perth and others. This is just an advice and you can consult yourself better then make a decision . Best of luck

@mah1988 Good afternoon sir, how are you?

I am Mohammed from Algeria. I had the honor of knowing you. By talking about your desire to leave Austria and go to Italy. There are beautiful cities in the north like Turin, Bergamo and Verona. I think you forgot the most important city, which is the fashion city Milan. If you can adapt to living there, that is fine, through your letter I see that you have two nationalities and this is good for you. You can open up and see the nature of wages in Europe and without a visa. Only with your European residency, you can search for a place to live and work.

I suggest you go to Germany or Switzerland or the Netherlands because I think they are the best countries after your country the United Kingdom especially in wages if I am not mistaken, but on the other hand taxes and insurance may be high because of your currency which is the most high in Europe, every day I see vacancies in the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland with Excellent wages. There are also Finland, Sweden and Norway, so they have a few people and very high wages. Currently, Italy may have a relatively high temperature compared to northern countries such as Germany, the Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries. The Mediterranean countries are beautiful now for summer or tourism, but for work there are much better countries, as I mentioned earlier, especially those who have European residences. This is just an advice from me so you can consult yourself then make a decision. Best of luck sir in your professional path

@mah1988 Good afternoon sir, how are you?
I am Mohammed from Algeria. I had the honor of knowing you. By talking about your desire to leave Austria and go to Italy. There are beautiful cities in the north like Turin, Bergamo and Verona. I think you forgot the most important city, which is the fashion city Milan. If you can adapt to living there, that is fine, through your letter I see that you have two nationalities and this is good for you. You can open up and see the nature of wages in Europe and without a visa. Only with your European residency, you can search for a place to live and work.
I suggest you go to Germany or Switzerland or the Netherlands because I think they are the best countries after your country the United Kingdom especially in wages if I am not mistaken, but on the other hand taxes and insurance may be high because of your currency which is the most high in Europe, every day I see vacancies in the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland with Excellent wages. There are also Finland, Sweden and Norway, so they have a few people and very high wages. Currently, Italy may have a relatively high temperature compared to northern countries such as Germany, the Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries. The Mediterranean countries are beautiful now for summer or tourism, but for work there are much better countries, as I mentioned earlier, especially those who have European residences. This is just an advice from me so you can consult yourself then make a decision. Best of luck sir in your professional path
-@Mohammedkkhorb

Thanks. I find UK very bleak at times, so the sunshine, warm weather, quality of food, culture in Italy are much more appealing. I realise I will have to accept lower wages in Italy, but I still want to have a good quality of life and not just survive. I don't know if I'm deluded to think this is possible without the right experience or contacts in Italy, but I want to try.

Yes sir, as you say, Britain is called the capital of fog. Its weather is cloudy and its climate is tropical. Winter is almost throughout the year. On the one hand, the quality of vegetables and fruits is poor compared to the quality of vegetables and fruits in Italy. As for the warm climate, you rarely find it there in the Kingdom, unlike Italy, where you find four seasons.  Wages are low and living there is also good and cheap because of low wages.  The higher the wages, the higher the taxes, and vice versa.  I wish you a wonderful and peaceful life in Italy. You can choose Milan or Turin as an initial and experimental option, and if you do not like it, you can go to cities such as Bergamo or Verona, Firenze, and the southern inner cities.

Hi Mah, we are living right in the center of Italy, near Assisi.  We are about 25 km. from Perugia, which is a medium size city with all the amenities you may need.

We are also about 1.5 hours by car from the Adriatic coast, which is a bonus during the hot summer months.

Healthcare here is good, living costs are fairly low and the quality of life is good. 

The people are friendly and very helpful, and the food is delicious.

Winters are not too cold, (only a few days of snow) especially if you live in one of the hilltop villages, above the fog that covers the central valley for long periods, the summers are also a bit cooler up above the valley.

As far as the employment situation is concerned I cannot help you, as I never looked for work here.

Nico.

@Nicovanderm

Thanks for your reply. Not to pry, but are you retired by any chance?

Semi....work remotely at the company I founded 40 years ago.   Live 6 months a year in Italy, six months in South Africa.

@Nicovanderm

Very nice. Do you have any jobs available? Haha.

Hi everyone. I'm a 34-year-old UK-Austrian citizen looking to build a life in Italy, accompanied by my 13-year-old dog. I have a BA in English and I'm CELTA-qualified, so I suppose that limits me to teaching jobs. However, I do speak intermediate Italian. My work experience consists of teaching English and Spanish, a content writer role, and a restaurant supervisor role, but I'd rather work in content editing, translation, journalism or even just any office job.
I've been looking mostly at Turin, but also Verona, Padova, Bergamo, Brescia and Udine. This is because I imagine there will be more opportunities in these cities, but also, I believe they are less prone to earthquakes (correct me if I'm wrong?). Furthermore, I suffer from a long-term health condition, so I would need good healthcare and have read that things can be a bit iffy in the South, even though I'd also considered Bari. Nevertheless, if there is a southern city which has good healthcare and decent employment opportunities, then I would be interested (feel free to suggest).

I'd also appreciate any advice on which city in the North would best suit me. I'd like to make Italian friends, have things to see and do, and would prefer the least cold northern city in winter. Thanks a lot for reading all of this!
-@mah1988

We're in Bergamo. I'm aware of one earthquake in the last four years. No damage done, didn't last long. It's an affluent and well-run city of two halves - the lower city and the upper city which is much older and attracts lots of tourists.

I haven't had to use any of the medical services so I can't comment on those.

My Italian is B2 and won't go any higher because my listening comprehension is fairly poor. Cities can have a mix of accents and dialects. Most people here speak standard Italian with good to excellent clarity.

Some will use dialect words which happens if you appear to exude confidence (I can speak quite well so they think OK, bit odd, someone English who speaks Italian, but I'll speak to you like anyone else: and why not, this is Italy after all, it's my responsibility to learn) and occasionally I understand very little.

Winter has seen temperatures drop just below freezing but it's a 'dry' cold, not that spiteful wet coldness we get in the UK. Summer can hit 36 or higher. You might want to find somewhere with air-conditioning.

Before we moved, we watched videos on YouTube - people walking around the cities, so you get an eye-level perspective of what it all looks like.

There are English schools here in Bergamo and you might be able to get a job teaching English at one of those. One I know is always looking for people. Let me know if I can provide any more info.

@mark1121 Hey  thank you for that information. If the earthquakes aren't too bad, I can't get over that. Ideally though, I wouldn't want to be anywhere that is cold in winter and so that means going south and the problem with that is, lack of jobs. The middle of the country is probably a compromise in weather and employment but then it's the epicentre of earthquakes, right? Also, how can I find a job which isn't teaching with a b2 level of Italian

@mark1121 Hey thank you for that information. If the earthquakes aren't too bad, I can't get over that. Ideally though, I wouldn't want to be anywhere that is cold in winter and so that means going south and the problem with that is, lack of jobs. The middle of the country is probably a compromise in weather and employment but then it's the epicentre of earthquakes, right? Also, how can I find a job which isn't teaching with a b2 level of Italian
-@mah1988

The accent and grammar becomes less standard in the south and the use of dialect and tense in the language is different. I know I'd find it more difficult initially. Some Italians struggle with comprehension of the language spoken by people at the opposite end of the country. I suspect the centre of Italy might be your best compromise for the weather. However I don't know much about the earthquakes.

I'm self-employed (IT, web apps) and mostly deal with UK clients in English; I could get a job here doing something basic that doesn't involve speaking very much but it would not be well-paid. However were I to be around Italians all day every day I suspect my comprehension would improve so I could, if I wanted, apply for a better job with prospects. Or, I could be a teacher of English, the school near us doesn't allow the teachers to speak Italian. I've no idea how that works.

Another option might be working at an airport or international company which needs speakers of foreign languages (which in my case would be English).

@mark1121 I'm not too worried about changes in dialect or accent as I feel I could pick it up fairly quickly. Your suggestions aren't a bad shout. I could Google airports. Also, I have experience in a hotel, so I could look for those jobs too. I'm just concerned about earning enough to live wherever I find a job (in the centre).

Low wages are prevalent in Italy. But then, certainly compared to the UK, property is cheap to buy and rent. However taxes are quite high.

Our situation works because I can still deal with UK clients, it's a fairly specialised skillset, and I can work from home. In time - if ever my listening comprehension improves, and I'm not optimistic about that - I'd target the business at Italian clients and there's a big opportunity there. There's no point in me taking calls from people when I can only understand between 20% and 60% of what they say. I would be wasting their time. I do have several Italian clients and most communication is by email when I have time to read and respond.

The challenge is using the specialised skills you have - maybe with writing and languages - to earn enough to live where you want to live.