Not Your Average Globetrotter

Living in Italy was a dream come true; to have been able to experience Rovigo, Italy really is what will leave me with positive memories of living in Italy. Having made a life in Italy for myself and having left a week ago, I wanted to take a moment to sit down and reflect on my thoughts regarding my adopted Italian hometown. Living as a dual citizen expat in Italy, has truly influenced my view of the world and even after moving abroad, I find myself constantly comparing where I now live to where I used to live in Italy. In this expat podcast episode of Not Your Average Globetrotter, I wanted to respond to questions I've received during my time living in Rovigo, Italy.

I truly never thought I would ever have to make a episode like this. I’ll admit, while editing the montage section of this episode, it was quite surreal to look back on my time after moving to Italy. Living in Italy is something I always dreamed I would do, making a life in Italy for myself is a goal I can say with great joy that I’ve accomplished. Nearly 5 years ago I got Italian citizenship by descent and left everything behind to finally live out a dream to move to Italy. Expat life was nothing new to me, but to live in Italy full time is something that introduced me to the new particulars of what being a dual citizen expat in Italy means. I’m so grateful to be able to look at Italy for the rest of my life as my country. Even if I am not living there anymore, I will always in many ways think of Italy as home and always have a special place in my heart for Rovigo. Living in Rovigo Italy, as well as Merano has been quite special and I will never forget the wonderful friends I’ve made in these places. While I am saying goodbye, I should maybe correct myself... because in some ways goodbye almost seems so finite… In reality, this is see you later. Like the famous line goes… “I’ll be back…”  Arrivederci 🇮🇹😊

Expat life is simply not what so many of us build it up to be in our minds.  Many seem to think moving abroad and living abroad are life choices that guarantee a beautiful life where every moment is "Instagramable". It's important to consider that expatriation is a choice in life that will make a major impact on the day-to-day goings-on that you will live through as an expatriate. However, deciding to live in another country, as different as it can be, is still living life. Not every moment is perfect and it's important to embrace every moment for what it is so that when things are going great, you can truly appreciate how fantastic those top-notch moments are. Having spent the past 12+ years as an American expat I've without a doubt come to not only have an appreciation for how different so much of the world can be from where I grew up... but also how similar it can be as well.  

Recently we've gone over why NOT to move to Italy as well as why you SHOULD move to Italy... In this expat podcast episode of Not Your Average Globetrotter, I wanted to expand the discussion and zoom out to the rest of Europe. Regardless of where you would like to live your expat life, there is plenty to think about. Moving to Europe can present a person with plenty of wonderful things that life may have to offer but living in Europe also comes along with a few "caveat emptors" that may be worth taking into consideration. Some of these factors may not have a direct effect on an individual expat living abroad,  although for those expats moving internationally long term may see the direct and or indirect effects of some of these topics.

0:00 - Intro

1:41 - "The grass is always greener...."

2:27 - "There's no such thing as a free lunch"

5:28 - Just do it!

6:46 - All about the Benjamins.

14:56 - Bricks and Bureaucracy

17:36 - Directly Inidrect

21:12 - Let's generalize....

24:09 - The "holier than thou" expat...

Last time I spoke about what you SHOULD NOT  move to Italy, but in this expat podcast, episode of Not Your Average Globetrotter, I want to balance things out and talk about why you SHOULD in fact consider moving to Italy and only some of the reasons why I love living in Italy and in a small city. I wanted to share 9 of my favorite things about living life abroad as a dual citizen American expat in Italy. Regardless of where you are from, life as a foreigner in Italy presents so many wonderful moments that present a person with so many eye-opening experiences. As I've said so many times, even with all of the drawbacks, complications and dare I say problems that expat life in italy may present, these things are only part of the reason why I feel blessed to be able to call this country home.

To move to Italy or not to move to Italy.. that is the question. Whether you want to live in Italy or simply move abroad somewhere else, there are a multitude of factors to consider. In this episode, I wanted to speak about some of the "breaks" of the ‘make it or break it’ factors that people often overlook when they consider living abroad in Italy or just simply expat life in general. In this expat podcast episode of Not Your Average Globetrotter, I wanted to focus on 9 points to think about that I have seen make a massive difference when deciding what some people may think might actually be the best place for them to live in another country. It's worthwhile to understand the realities of expat life and both the wonderful and not so wonderful things that come along with living in Italy as an American expat.  

Chapters: 

1:18 - Part 1/ If you are an impatient person... 

2:08 - Part 2 / A delicious risk...

2:28 - Part 3 / Thing have to be done this way... 

5:53 - Part 4 / "It's Italy, that's just how things are done here" 

8:17 - Part 5 / Does the allure last? 

9:22 - Part 6 / What you call home changes your expierence... 

14:47 - Part 7 / Time to solve all your problems! 

16:52 - Part 8 / BUGS 

18:23 - Part 9 / Starting over from zero

Like many places in the world, online shopping in Italy is very much available including plenty of options from all around the country.  When shopping online in Italy,  you also have the ability to purchase from domestic sellers which opens up the possibilities of what is available to you when living in Italy. Life in Italy may move at a different pace than many places, however, you do often have fast shipping options available to you which can be quite convenient. Shopping in Italy is a subject I've received questions about for years and in this expat podcast episode of not your Average Globetrotter, I wanted to finally talk about this one aspect of expat life in Italy. Keep in mind the cost of shipping and import fees/tax if you order from abroad, but sometimes options like iHerb and Amazon can be worth looking at with prepaid import duties and taxes.

I continue to feel blessed to be living in Italy. Even before moving to Italy full time, I noticed many differences between the country I grew up in and this particularly beautiful country. Life in Italy very quickly starts presenting you some of the differences between what it's like to live in Italy vs living in The USA. There is nothing bad or wrong about the differences, it's just simply a different way of life. In this expat podcast episode of Not YourAverage Globetrotter I'll talk about how even though I left the USA more than a decade ago, there are still certain cultural norms that I haven't totally let go of, and seeing the differences still sometimes surprises me... even after almost 5 years since moving to Italy.

Life abroad has lead me on a journey I never could have imagined.  After 12 years of living abroad, I've found there are fewer and fewer things that I miss from my "old life". But then there are some aspects that I still think about or even miss. Even though moving abroad or even specifically moving to Italy can present many wonderful new things in your life, not every aspect of living in Italy or any country is perfect. I can say though that I'm grateful for what my life in Italy has put in front of me, some countries seem to get certain aspects right and others seem to have different aspects right. In this expat podcast episode of Not Your Average Globetrotter, we'll go over some of the things I miss from the US and things that I wish were the same when living abroad.