Moving to Italy, How to Make Your New Life Easier

Starting a new life In Italy is a thrilling opportunity but also one that requires courage and dedication. Thinking life will be one long holiday is an usual mistake. You'll need to prepare yourself for the physical, psychological and financial factors of moving, and the first step is to get out of holiday mode. The main obstacles that you have to face are the likes of loneliness, language barriers, making friends and dealing with the fact that you are always going to be a foreigner in a foreign land. However, none of these obstacles are ones that you cannot overcome. This article shows you how to find that courage and commitment to enable you to get the very most out of your brand new life.

Language Barrier: the language barrier can become a real obstacle for the ones who want to integrate well, mainly if you want to get to know the locals and more about Italy, a good understanding of Italian will be required. The only way to overcome a language barrier is through hard work and dedication. Take lessons, insist colleagues speak to you in Italian, buy fairytale and tabloid papers, children’s journals and teach yourself to read. It can and will happen for you if you just keep working at it. Don't panic, the language is not so difficult, and besides, Italians communicate with gestures and facial expressions more than with words. While other peoples learn to hide emotions, Italians express them openly. Because Italians are generally warm and open, the best way to start making social or business connections is through networking. If you join clubs and get involved in group activities, invitations should start coming your way.

Coping With Change: change is a part of life, yet curiosly, when you are in the middle of it, it feels anything but normal. Before you move to Italy try and understand how you deal with change - if you adapt easily, make friends quickly, are not addicted to your usual life then chances are you'll find moving overseas very exciting! If on the other hand you're shy, hate making the first move or need to know where everything is and which tasks you have to fulfill tomorrow you will need to prepare yourself mentally for your move. The secret is to be flexible and you can ride it out more easly. See each achievement as worthy of celebration and don't push yourself to settle in too quickly. Take each day at a time and at the end of the day look over even the smallest things you've achieved that day and give yourself a pat on the back!

Making new Friends: when you move to Italy you may well be leaving behind a strong network of family and friends on whom you know you can trust. This support network is often something we take for granted but as soon as you move you'll find you miss it too much. When you relocate, yes, you still have your friends “back home” and you keep in touch with them, but you need to konw new people. Making new friends is kind of like dating. First you need to meet people, find the courage to ask for a phone number or an e-mail address. The sooner you can get in a situation where you are meeting new people the sooner you'll be in a position to make friends. Be patient.You won't find new good friends in one afternoon. It can take a while to get to know people, so just relax and take it easy.

Affordable Italy: You don't come to Italy to live cheaply, but it's not too much expensive either. Some expats economize by not owning a car and living as locals do. In Rome, you might spend 1500 € per month for a two-bedroom apartment. You could buy a studio for about 120,000€, and would need about 3 times that for something with a balcony, a view or a more central address. Away from the cities, living costs are considerably less. A four-room apartment in the Tuscan town of Lucca was recently listed at 400€. Moreover, life in rural Italy costs less than life in the UK or other European countries.

Hang onto the familiar: Homesickness can manifest itself in many different ways, and it can affect each and every single one of us who makes the bold step of moving far away from our home country and our familiarity and comfort zones. Your new house will feel like a home when you are 100% familiar with it, your local surroundings and your neighbours. Find local shops, beautician, dentists, doctors, associations, bars and restaurants straight away. Drive round, walk round and learn where all facilities and services are in the local area.

Upsetting a Stable Life: starting a new life in Italy changes everything – this is simply something else that takes time to deal with. As you experience more about your actual life, the more times you visit the local supermarket and you eventually learn how everything works, so you will wake up one day and realise that finally, you’re at home in Italy. It does happen – and like the best things coming to those who wait, so conquering the life of an expat and making a new home in a new land is just the best thing.

Getting Stuck In: The sooner you make that first trip in the car alone the sooner you'll know your surroundings. The sooner you approach that group of strangers at the party the sooner you'll make friends. The sooner you get the bureaucracy in motion the sooner you'll be a legal resident. You've made the decision to live in Italy - so don't put your new life on hold once you make the move - get out there, get stuck in and start living and loving your new life.

Starting a new life in Italy is an incredibly challenging experience that puts up all sorts of ostacles. However, the undertaking is so positively life-changing that if you go for it you will get rewards.