Italy is the land of good food, great wine and vibrant people. There are many other reasons why this country attracts so many expats. There are lucrative job opportunities for overseas professionals. Retirees find Italy a good place to settle down because the weather is pleasant. The rural areas are quaint and rich in tradition and the cities are modern, while still retaining an old-world charm. If you’re among the many about to relocate to Italy and live la dolce vita, here is some essential reading for you.
Move To Italy!
Author, L.J. Stone, has written this book hoping to inspire and support those who want to fulfill their own dreams of moving to Italy. Having been through the journey himself, he writes from experience.The ‘How-To’ guide is based on his first six months in Italy and is especially helpful for those who are making this transition with limited resources. It is a step-by-step guide beginning with the preparation, actual arrival and then settling into daily life in Italy. Some of the topics covered include when and where should you move, making a realistic annual budget, passport and visa requirements, what to bring with you, health insurance, house hunting, banking and EU citizenship. Topics that are useful for those still trying to navigate day-to-day life in Italy include public transport, grocery stores, food, clothing stores, utilities, healthcare, driving and culture. There’s also a section on important Italian words and phrases.
Not in a Tuscan Villa
This is an account of John and Nancy Petralia’s personal experience of living in Italy. An interesting read for those looking to spend their retirement years here. The couple moved to Italy after their retirement, hoping to begin a quiet and relaxing life. But as with most expat experiences, they soon realized that moving to a new country meant stepping out of their comfort zone. This is their account of residing in two Italian cities and all the ups and downs they faced while dealing with the healthcare system, roads and transport and even pickpockets. As the title indicates, this book is not about idyllic life of lounging in a beautiful Tuscan villa, but about real life. Never failing to capture the inherent charm of Italy, the book is an insightful memoir about moving to Italy.
Italy: 100 Locals Tell You Where to Go, What to Eat, and How to Fit In
With this guide in hand, you can experience Italy like a local. It features 100 interviews with individuals who live, work and explore all across the country. Some quirky, but interesting insights that you will find in this book include ‘directions to that pizza place that’s always packed with locals and rarely sees a tourist, names of those off-the-beaten-track towns with the best wineries in the region, tips on how to spot authentic gelato, make friends with the locals, and avoid rip-offs and pick-pockets, brutal honesty about how you should never ever order a cappuccino after lunch or wear flip-flops to a monument’, and many more.
Burnt by the Tuscan Sun – True Stories of Life in Italy
This book by Francesca Maggi, an American blogger, takes a closer look at the quality of life that is considered a hallmark of Italy. She provides a humorous insider’s account of how she learned to navigate Italian daily life as an outsider. There are details about bureaucracy in Italy, drivers on the local streets, traditions and even how the beloved La Mamma of every Italian household is always right. This book is hilariously accurate, but with an acute sensibility that comes from direct experience.
Stranieri: Life Among Italy's Tourists, Expats, and Immigrants
Stranieri is Italian for ‘stranger’ or ‘foreigner’, and this book is all about how various types of stranieri settle into Italian life and grow to love it. Author, Tristan Gans’s, book is a comprehensive and realistic look at the experience of taking up residency in a foreign country and trying to adapt to a new way of life. The book takes the form of diary-like entries describing daily life. This book is far from the tourist experience of discovering and exploring parts of a new country. It talks about the frustrations and joys that expats will instantly relate to.