Make money doing the work you believe in
Definitely an outsider’s pov but the more I research for a longterm move to Italy the more I believe there’s two kinds of Americans who move.
Expats who are besotted by the marketing of dolce vita living and dolce far niente aesthetics.
Immigrants who understand they are emigrating from the U.S. to immigrate into Italy and are doing so with the desire to integrate into “Italian culture” whatever that means per the region and community they seek to join and eventually (hopefully) give back to.
Whether someone identifies themselves as an expat or an immigrant plays a factor in shaping their capacity for the inevitable adversity that comes with building a new life in a new country.
Of course I’m speaking from my own experience as someone who navigated Spanish bureaucracy just fine when I moved there on a student visa six years ago; has done three short stints in Italy over the past four years and is currently studying for the CELI exam.
Plus, most importantly, I’m the child of Latin American immigrants in the U.S. — I remember being a fourth grader and doing study drills with my parents as they studied for their U.S. citizenship exams back in the early aughts. The way they had to study and learn so much more than any of us who are U.S. born will ever have to learn…I’ll never forget that. So all of this filters what I’m observing now as I consider emigrating for good.
I feel like, if you consider yourself an American expat, there’s an underlying expectation of ease so any inconvenience from say, the storied Italian bureaucracy will feel like the biggest challenge ever. But if you start the process understanding yourself as an immigrant, that’s a whole different story that’s about to unfold moving forward; it sets you up for a more fulfilling ROI moving forward when it comes to building a sense of place and community in a new country.
Besides with everything going on in the U.S. right now if you’re trying to leave…babe, you’re a refugee who’s balling on a USD budget😂😂😂