Living in Italy has been a reality for Clive West and his wife, Damaris, for five years following a holiday in Umbria (which is in the dead centre of Italy – horizontally and vertically) and is known as the ‘Green Heart of Italy’. They found the Umbrian people generally friendly and the Mediterranean weather promised benefits for their various ailments.

Based on they experiences (which may be peculiar to Umbria), the main differences between living in the UK and living in Italy are as follows:

Children

Italians are very indulgent with youngsters being allowed to stay up late and adults expected to overlook tiredness tantrums. The concept of adults predating on children is largely alien to our rural community.

Pets

Many Italians consider that animals should either work or provide food or preferably both. There is a massive feral cat population (why pay for spaying?) and dogs are mostly chained up or caged.

Food

Italian food and the Mediterranean diet can be bad news. Pizzas and pasta are covered in greasy meat and cheese, the drinks are high-sugar, salt (in excess) is added to everything (except bread!) and alcohol is the preservative for cakes. Although the older Italians are remarkably healthy, many younger ones have high cholesterol that is exacerbated by virtually everyone smoking.

Prices

Generally quite a lot higher than the UK although if you have a garden, it is much easier to grow your own fruit and vegetables here in Umbria. Pork and chicken from an Italian butcher are usually of good quality.

Work

The Italians have been inundated by East Europeans and North Africans offering cheap labour. Jobs are not easy to find – even for the Umbrians themselves.

Driving

Not quite as bad as the cartoons would have you believe although if you venture south to Naples and Rome, it can be hair-raising. Although it is an offence to operate a mobile phone while driving, you won’t see Italians paying attention to it.

Entertainment

Apart from the numerous festivals (every vegetable or dish has its own ‘festa’) – we are about to have the ‘festival of the red potato’ – entertainment is what you make it. Italians gather at the many bars in the evening to argue about politics and football and to play cards.

Language

Everyone speaks Italian, the immigrant workers will speak their native tongue too but no-one speaks English except other ex-pats and the highest educated Italians.

Red tape

Italian red tape is world-famous although it is not aimed at foreigners since native Italians suffer equally. Offices will redirect you to other offices that never open or which won’t answer their phone. You always need ‘one more form’ and you are always ‘deemed to know’. For example, if a bill doesn’t arrive, you are supposed to have paid it anyway and it is your fault that the Post Office hasn’t delivered it.

Lifestyle

All that said, it is an easier-going pace of life here in central Italy. If you want to get out of the Rat Race, feel clean fresh air on your face, know that the youths stood in front of you at midnight are just waiting for ‘last orders pizzas’ and will wish you ‘Good Evening’ as you go past and that the graffiti on the wall tells the tale of a love-lorn lad and not some diatribe of obscenities and hate, then this might just be for you.

Well can we expect to see you living in Italy?

Special Thanks to Clive West and his wife, Damaris, for the article

They moved to Italy 5 years ago having sold the tuition business they ran together. They now live with their 3 dogs in a detached house set in woodland near Assisi in Umbria. You can see more about their home and the work they have done on it at http://www.italyhouse.co.uk and you can get more information about Italy at http://www.anysubject.com/italy-guide.asp

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