how we moved to italy, part two

In this multi-part blog series, we talk about how we made our way abroad to Italy. Our goal with the series is to answer the most commonly asked questions that we receive, while also giving an inside look at the sacrifices need for such a big move. This part covers our life 6 months from our move date.

At the six month mark before our move to Italy we were living in the Philadelphia area with my parents. Here's the cliff notes version of a very, very long story about how we ended up living with my parents: We owned a really cute house in Louisville, KY. When we decided to get serious about working for ourselves and moving abroad, we put the house up for sale. A few months went by and it didn't sell. So, we took it off the market. We listed it again the following January and poof! We had an offer in a week. Initially we decided to stay in Louisville until the move to Italy and we briefly rented an apartment, but had a really bad neighbor and ended up calling up my parents and saying, "Um, can we live with you guys for 6 months until we move? And, can we move-in in two weeks?"

Now, if this were the movies we would've been on a tour through Tuscany, spotted a gorgeous villa that needed fixing up and decided to buy it on the spot. Ah, la dolce vita. We, however, live in the real world.

Living with my parents ended up being, well, fun -- and also a really good way to save money and focus on the move. In fact, if you are young and dreaming about a move abroad I highly suggest freeloading on your parents in order to really prepare for the move.

From a logistical standpoint, that first month in PA was all about prioritizing what was left to be done before the big move. Here's a very valuable tip: When preparing for a move abroad fight the urge to "jump right in" and instead make a really solid gameplan. Sure, looking for apartments online is the fun part, but you really need to understand the legalities of living in a place first.

Rob and I created what we called our "Italy Survival Binder." It had checklists for everything from moving Winston abroad to shipping boxes to making sure I had everything ready for the dual citizenship. With so many details to keep straight, it was great to have everything in one place. We divided the tasks and would check in a few times each week to see how certain items were progressing.

Around this time we also started systematically going through items in storage and selling things on CraigsList. The unexpected move from Louisville to Philadelphia had helped us get rid of a lot, but we still had a long way to go. We started visiting the storage unit once every week or two and always came back with a car full of things to donate or trash.

Getting rid of your (nonvaluable, non-sentimental) crap is incredibly freeing. You learn really fast what is truly important to you.

Finally, also at the 6 month mark I started to get nervous at the speed (or lack thereof) that records I had requested in PA were arriving. I took advantage of my Pennsylvania residence and started calling up my state rep and senator to engage their constituent services. In a few cases they really helped get the records there faster.

Next week in the "5 Months from the Move Date" post I'll talk about the value of expat forums, dealing with issues regarding dual citizenship, and better understanding what would need to be done once we arrived in Florence.

how we moved to italy, part one

A few times each week we receive emails from folks interested in/dreaming about moving to Italy. We get asked for a broad range of advice and it becomes difficult to give everyone the personalized response that they deserve. So, we've decided to write one blog post each week for the next two months dedicated to how we moved abroad.

Starting next week, each post will cover one month of time. For example, next Monday we'll talk about what we were doing six months out from the move -- what we were researching and planning, as well as what was proving to be especially challenging. We're going to be really open and honest about our move in hopes of helping others. Our goal is provide enough information so that people can find the answers they need. We'll keep this series of posts easily accessible for new visitors, too.

An introduction to moving to Italy

This week's post is all about what we learned prior to those last six months about how to live legally, work and actually survive in a new country. Warning: we are going to be exceptionally honest, open and direct. If you really dream of moving to Italy, it doesn't help for us to be anything but that.

Lets begin with the most important things everyone should know about moving to Italy and life here.

1. If you have seen Under the Tuscan Sun, erase it completely from your memory.
2. Do not move here without a job thinking you will just "find one." It won't happen.
3. Working for yourself (designer, photographer, writer) is the best way to be, but you need to have a steady income before you get here. Do not assume you will immediately find work.
4. Teaching English for a living is damn hard work. 
5. Living here legally doesn't come easy. We know how ridiculously fortunate we are to qualify for dual citizenship.
6. It takes a long time to make and nourish connections with people in Italy.

These are all things we learned wayyy before we moved here. If any of those things make you uncomfortable you might want to reconsider a move to Italy. We've met enough people and read enough blogs to know that moving to Italy under just about any circumstances is totally doable, it just takes an insane amount of research, patience, time and humility.

Research: it took nearly a year of piddling around on the internet for me to discover Italian dual citizenship. It took just as long to learn about the processes and to understand how it would work applying here in Italy. I also spent a ton of time researching daily life in a handful of Italian cities -- I read expat forums, blogs, articles, etc. I wanted to pick a city that could really work for us...not one that just looked pretty in photos.

Patience: once we realized we could legally live here it took nearly 18 months of planning to actuallly make it happen. I was born a naturally impatient person, but the process of moving abroad and living in Italy has helped me become so much more laid back and understanding. Most dreams aren't realized overnight -- planning for a move to Italy definitely takes...

Time: If you are like we were -- working full-times jobs -- simply finding the time to undertake research and plan is quite difficult. It's important to carve out set time for researching your move. Make it a regular part of your routine. Even if it's just a few hours every Sunday, it's important to keep focused on your move, even if it seems very far away at the moment.

Humility: The life of an immigrant is difficult. Think for a second about how hard it is for people to come to the U.S. and live legally -- it's like that in a lot of places, Italy included. Sure, you can easily come over here and live under the radar and not have problems, but if you are truly looking to move your life over here it's not the best way to go about things. You will be put in situations over and over again where you feel helpless or out of place or out of options. Humility is so very important.

Questions, questions, questions

One of the best things you can do for yourself (and partner/friend/spouse if you are moving abroad with someone else) is to constantly ask yourself "why?" Why do you want to move to Italy? What are you hoping to get out of it? Are you attempting to live a dream you think exists because you saw it on a movie or TV show? Do you fully understand what life will be like in Italy? No place is perfect. If you are expecting Italy to solve life's bigger problems it's not going to happen.

Rob and I spent A LOT of time talking through these things. Sometimes these conversations brought up even tougher questions or discussions, but it was what needed to happen. We arrived in Italy knowing why we wanted to be here and we had realistic expectations about what our life would be. We have enjoyed our first six months immensely because we understood what to expect.