Italy Forum

Cascinarenzo
Joined 2009
Posts: 27

13 years ago

My experience living in Italy for 23 year and am a native NOT an expat of Italy!!!

13 years ago

Am an Italian born and raised in Piemonte. Usually I don't make comments to this forum as I have strong opinions about Italy and prefer NOT to take part in what could turn into a too hot discussion. To me that is waste of time...we live by perception and some will only see flaws...some will only see high points of the "Bel Paese".
Well, but after a past comments on this i read a few days ago, I decided I could not continue in my silence--
I lived in Italy for close to 24 years--then went to Oregon, US for a one year baby-sitting program in1996, which after that lead me to want to study in the U.S. and long story short...I never return to Italy except for summer visits and lived in the U.S. (Oregon and then Utah) until 2007.
In 2008 I went back to Italy for a longer period of time, sort of moved back because of my father being ill.
Let me say one thing starting from the heathcare system: IF you find yuorself in a small hospital, chances are:
is not going to be equipped for serious health problems, you have to wait a long time, and YES many times you find rude and stressed out personnels. That is probably not because of inner desire to be rude...but people ARE stressed out, matybe disillusioned and frustrated as the SYSTEM is so broken in Italy that some places, especially hospitals, are at 3RD WORLD COUNTRY LEVEL OF CARE or i shall say THE LACK OF CARE.
This does happen in the South, as well as the Northern region, so is not even a matter of difference between south and north. It happens everywhere.
I would be scared to walk into one of those hospital if I were Italian, even more if I were a foreigners. It is always better off, if someone can afford it to go to paid clinic ( althoguh is not a garantee either things will work fine there...you have to do your research before going in, ideally...)
or as it always is in Italy: ASK PEOPLE AROUND, TAKE A SURVEY SO TO SPEAK OF WHAT'S PLACES ARE GOOD AND WHAT NOT, WHICH HOSPITAL AND WHAT DOCTOR ARE PROFESSIONAL AND WHO'S NOT...I quickly Re-learned when moving back to Italy temporarily that EVERYTHING OR ALMOST EVERYTHING IS BY WORD OF MOUTH overthere. You have to know what's going on by talking to people. If you are out of the loop, chances are you are gonna get some bad surprises.
Heathcare can be 3rd world country level there.
Now another point people are NOT nice on public places. YES that is ONE person opinion: MINE. Am not generalizing here. Let me just say I had 24 years of my life to support my statements.
I feel sorry for many of my friends both in the U.S. and other coutries, but especially the U.S. who still go to Italy with a very romantic notion of the country and that is ALL they believe about Italy. YES, they are right IF they go for a week or two as tourists and only travel to nice areas, staying in what I call a "protective' state of mind.
However, if they travel cheap and take normal trains for example....they will see how durty and ill kept the trains are in many cities and rural areas. They will see how UNCLEAN and VANDALIZED trains are in Italy, compared it to Swiss or German trains....
if you don't believe me, give it a try. But you will have to spend more then a week in Italy as a tourist to understand and also MORE than a few year to live there not with ALL the comfort.
Try go visit the slums of Naples and see how people struggle with unemployment, high curruption and crime. Try going to a post office in a tiny small village and deal with the ONLY employee there who is trying to juggle everything because she can't have a colleague as it is too much money that simply cannot be allocated there.
The Italian infrastructures and services are become more and more obsolete or better said, broken and malfunctioning. That is because of a lack of funding at the national, regional and community level. Where things work is because of the initiatives of individuals and communities who don't want to live like that.
In the U.S, and agree with Rachel again 100% , I have found MANY more instances of CORDIAL PEOPLE, RESPECTFUL, KIND WITH POSITIVE ATTITUDES AND WILLING TO REACH OUT OF THEIR WAY TO HELP. That counts for my almost 12 years in the U.S.
In my 23 years in Italy I had MANY example of rudness and unkindness. My friends and family havign been the exception but people that you meet everyday in offices, on the road, etc....I say without a shadow of a doubt my U.S. experience was FAR BETTER then my italian one.

Thanks!

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