13 Comments

very true, I can attest. It also depends if you move here young its easier to adapt to the differences... I feel sorry for those 50-60 yr old couples who find it hard to get used to the problems they find and keep comparing .

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Yes, it’s best to move young or young at heart.

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You summarized it pretty well Antonio. Bravo.

I was born in Italy but lived for 57 years in Canada before returned back in Italy and I agree with all what you said. So what do I do ? I do 6 to 8 months in Tuscany and back in Canada for the reminder of the time. My love for the dolce vita highly surpasses the negative sides. I bike, hike, have all the arts and concerts I ever wish for. The food? Hmm 🤔 well my 15 extra pounds are a proof of the prosciutto, gelato and the Chianti. Hey, it’s ok. I’m having a good time.

Back in montreal to reset, visit my grandchildren and that makes me appreciate Canada even more. Would I set fully in one country or another? No. The split is wonderful. And I consider myself fortunate for having the opportunity to do so. Ciao

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Thank you very much, Tino. That looks like a fantastic setup.

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As someone who grew up in Canada and is now in the process of moving to Italy, this was very helpful for me to read! Thank you for being so honest about the pros and cons. Getting my Italian driver's licence is currently what I'm most worried about 😅

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Thank you, Julia. 🙏 Don't worry too much about the Italian license. It’s a bit of a pain, but if your Italian is solid and you enroll in a "scuola guida", the process becomes fairly straightforward. You can even opt for an automatic license if you’re not used to manual cars. While the whole process can be done independently, I think it might be worthwhile to go through a school. Plus, you’ll get to interact with some Italians that way (though most will be kids).

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Thank you for your insight! I will for sure be going through a school. As for the manual/automatic, I would like to push myself to be more comfortable with manual... We'll see 🙈

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Honestly the cons of Italy are the same as Canada and Canada has sucky weather on top of it as well as high crime rates (that it didn’t have before). Overall Italy sounds better than Canada.

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Having lived in both for a couple of decades, I’m afraid I must agree.

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Unfortunately there is no way I can leave the county and if I ever do it won’t be for a while. The only silver lining is that I happen to live in a low crime and better area but my worry is will it stay that way. But expensive as anything.

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It is crazy how expensive Canada has become. When I go to Costco if the bill is less than $600 I don't even flinch anymore.

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I went twice to Italy (Roma and Genoa/Liguria) and I did fell in love with the country. I still got time but my plan is to retire there !

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Awesome, it gives you plenty of time to pick up the language.

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