Living the GOOD LIFE for the REST OF YOUR LIFE!
BENVENUTI IN ITALIA!
Your Move to Italy
Starts Here!
As we remember the Italian men, women and children who bounded off the transport ships docking at New York’s Ellis Island in search of their fortune in the “land of golden opportunity,” it’s remarkable now that their children and grandchildren have turned their eyes back again toward the country their ancestors once left.
Perhaps it’s their age, their sense of adventure, the fact that they are young, or Baby Boomers searching for something more from life, or the fact that they’ve seen so many films touting the quality of life in Italy. But it can’t be discounted that over 169,000 Americans now call Italy home, according the Association of Americans Resident Overseas’ 2009 estimate. What do they know that we need to learn in search of our Change of Lifestyle?
For centuries the country of Italy has been romanticized by poets, authors, filmmakers, and television travelers. We’ve all driven through the hill towns in the north, stopped by a roadside stand and broken open a fleshy watermelon and buried our faces in its sweetness. We’ve reveled at the craziness of the native drivers, and stood immobilized at the seemingly endless supply of paintings, frescoes, statuary and architecture.
We’ve walked in the steps of gladiators, heard the echoes of Julius Caesar resounding off the walls of Roman antiquities, and run the dust of Michelangelo’s sculptures through our fingers -- even if we did so in the comfort of our own living rooms. We KNOW Italy. Now we want to LIVE IN ITALY!
From its Alpine peaks in the north to the sun kissed sands of the Amalfi Coast, Italy has something to offer everyone. Centrally located in the southern region of Europe, it’s only a matter of driving a few hours before crossing into another country, and a totally different culture. That alone is one of the reasons to consider Italy for your Change of Lifestyle. Life does not get stagnant in Italy.
The major Italian locales have been done. Tuscany, Florence, Venice and Umbria have priced themselves out of the market, yet are still attracting those who wish to fulfill a specific dream of living in Italy. But there are many patches of this glorious country still in search of adventurous newcomers, and we will cover them here.
We don’t discount the major urban areas and the culture, education (so many American, Canadian and British college students can’t be wrong!), and quality of life that they offer, but there is more to living in Italy than the guidebooks offer.
Sicily, sitting in the shadow of temperamental Mount Etna and off the southwestern coast of Italy seems untouched by time, if not by invaders throughout the centuries; and the Puglia region, on the Eastern edge of southern Italy, are hidden gems offering incentives to those willing to put the time and effort into restoration. Both areas have welcomed expats into their worlds, and for many, the trip back to Italy was one that only took a generation or two.
Living in Italy, as with any “foreign” country, will take an adjustment in custom. You will have to leave behind the way you live your life, especially if it’s in the “fast lane,” and adjust to the pace of a new metronome. Frustrations will rear their head, but if you stop and look out your window at the magnificent vistas in front of you, they will quickly recede. Add a glass of wine, a loaf of crusty Italian bread, and some magnificent local cheese, and you will soon question what took you so long to start your Change of Lifestyle!
Ci vediamo presto in Italia !
Our heartfelt thanks to photographer Lisa Keeney for contributing many of her remarkable photographs of Italy to our site. Lisa's work can be seen at:
http://www.lisakeeney.com