Girl in Florence

A Tuscan Texan immersed in Florentine life

Local I Love, meet Alexandra Korey

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We are back with yet another interview, this time by my friend Alexandra Korey. She is Canadian, an all-round communicator and an art historian. What’s her favorite drink, it may surprise you in being nature’s glory – water. I met her while working at The Florentine and we often see each other at various Yelp Firenze events.

Truth be told, If I ever need some real advice, she is the one of the first people I run to :-). She works in marketing and communications and whenever possible combines this with her old love of art history. Recently she has published a Kindle ebook (Uffizi Art History Guide) to help people get through the Uffizi Gallery without getting exhausted, for example, part of her quest to make art accessible to everyone!

Without further ado, Let’s get to know her a little better.

How long have you lived in Florence and where are you from originally?

I’m from Toronto Canada and I came to Florence to study in 1999. I was back and forth for a few years but in 2003 I moved her permanently (or at least, I think so!).

What brought you to bella Firenze and why did you decide to stay?


What brought me here was the art. I was studying art history so this was a logical place for study abroad, and later, for researching my doctoral thesis. I stayed for my husband, let’s be truthful. Otherwise I would have been one of those people who love Italy and visit it often, but live most of the year in small town Ohio or something.

You know what, there is nothing wrong with going somewhere for the one you love, thanks for being honest! What are you up to in Florence? Work, daily life, passions?

I work in communications for a fun company called Flod where I’m a project manager, specializing whenever possible in digital strategy and marketing for the arts. We also produce The Florentine newspaper in English. I guess I am pretty boring – most days it’s just work and home, and if I am lucky I go to the gym to do advanced choreographic step classes with which I am a bit obsessed (I wrote about that on my blog, actually!).

Weekends, however, we often spend in the Maremma area of Tuscany, which I guess is my real passion. After so many years, I am still struck by its beauty. I think I photograph the sunrise and sunset a few times a month… With my husband Tommaso, we enjoy exploring obscure archaeological sites, ruined castles, small towns and hiking paths in the area.

sticciano_sunset

What annoys you about Florence? Tell me the truth!

Oh, let me count the ways! As you know, my daily struggle is with ATAF (the public bus service). If it weren’t for their terrible service, I might be a happier person. I try not to let it get me down though .
On a larger level though, I find inertia frustrating, and unfortunately it is one of the characteristics of a large percentage of Italians – not the ones you and I know, but the ones I meet at the bus stop… If we want Italy to get out of this slump we need to take action ourselves, and there is still a fair-weather sensation in this country that someone, the government, will take care of everything for you. I know that’s not a Florence thing but a larger problem, however on a local level it means that, for a lot of people, “nothing happens.”

What’s absurd is that you and I know there’s so much going on in Florence, because we hang around what probably is just a small slice of the population that is active in the start-up and business networking and new social scene, so you and I see progress, where most of the old people in my area just complain. Does that make sense? Hey, I’ll send you a photo of some old people. They are probably bitching about something in this photo.

old people bitching

Those ladies do look like they have something to say… Do you think life in Italy is for everyone? Why does it work for you?

No. Most recent arrivals are struck with the “oh it is so beautiful” syndrome, and sometimes it takes a year or two to wear off. It IS so beautiful on the surface, but it has its daily and larger challenges and I think you have to have a certain attitude to embrace it and decide to live with it. One thing I think most people don’t realize is how very low the salaries are here, compared to the rest of Europe even, and certainly compared to the States. It’s impossible to save money when you see how rent comes close to being the same number as net salary.

Why does it work for me? I chose to live where my husband’s family lives. My family is small and comes to visit often. One thing I love about Italy and Florence in particular is how easy it is to get around, both around the city (especially if you drive a Vespa!) and around the whole country. We’re a lot closer to other towns and beautiful natural landscapes here than I was in Toronto, where I think it’s rare to get away as often as we do here. I am from a country in which the next major city is 8 hours’ drive away. Here, I can visit say, Siena in an hour, and pass by about a dozen worthy towns on the way. 8 hours and I’m at the bottom of the boot, on the coast of Puglia! The population density is killer but the traveler in me loves it.
me+tommy in puglia

What advice would you give a person who has just arrived?

Turn right around, if you can.
Failing that, embrace it. Explore, actively attempt to meet people, learn Italian… all the usual stuff. Try not to complain about things you miss about home that are no good here. I have my issues with Italy, but when I go (rarely) back to Canada I find myself explaining it to my husband as “they” and saying ten times a day how everything is better in Italy. I guess I have embraced it.

Three finds/places everyone should know about in Florence?

Weeellll… let me play with your question a bit. If you’re an incoming expat, three places you SHOULD know about are: the questura, the central post office, and that horrible place on via santa caterina where you get your codice fiscale!! Armed with an intimate knowledge of these and a few of the city’s offices (like the one to get residency and the one to get your ID card), you’re set for a life of bureaucracy.

HAHA, well you know what, that is what people probably should know first, Brava Alex! What’s the weirdest thing you have seen/experienced in Italy?
SORRY I HAVE NO IDEA

Well then you my friend, are lucky ;-). I see/experience ‘odd’ things daily here. What can you do here and nowhere else?

  • Eat totally salty, oily schiacciata, or, in contrast, totally unsalted bread. But rarely anything in between.
  • Walk to work passing by numerous buildings from the 13th and 14th centuries.
  • Speak Italian with additional H’s thrown in.
  • Lots of things!

How did you make friends and assimilate?

When I was here alone as a student, I didn’t make friends beyond my masters’ student group. I met my husband after I graduated, while I was taking German classes. Sad to say, but at least at first, he introduced me to his friends. Later, I made some of my own. Nowadays would be different – I am more outgoing than I was before! Both you and I have recently written articles about how to make friends in Florence, and my advice tended to regard some of the more structured activities and communities like Yelp (which Michaela Simoncini also cited in her interview), ToscanaIN, Girl Geek Dinners and the like. I also have met a few like-minded people through blogging and Twitter. I first spotted you on the insiders abroad forum around 2009, right?!
yelp friends

You certainly did! I also agree that Yelp, Girl Geek etc. are great ways to share ideas and meet like-minded friends. Favorite food? (I had to ask). 
I am a woman of simple tastes. I like flavours to be clear and food to be fresh. I like food that is in season. Right now, it’s zucca (pumpkin) time so I am excited about eating zucca risotto which is so warm and creamy, as well as crisp new apples. In the summer I go crazy for peaches, which may actually be my favourite food in the world. The food I most enjoy is whatever I can buy from the farms around our home in Maremma, where you can find cheap, seasonal ingredients.

zucca

Thanks Alexandra for answering my questions and submitting these wonderful photos. I am craving pumpkin soup as the weather gets a little cooler and another visit with you!

You can follow Alexandra’s blog here, or check her via FB or twitter.

me+smn_Photo credit Sofie Delauw
Photo credit Sofie Delauw

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0 Responses

  1. I love this post-interview! You gave me the feeling to be back in “my” Florence, thank you! I’ve lived and worked there only for 4 years, but would have loved to stay, if the job conditions would have been better. You made me smile about the first places to visit 😉 Via Santa Caterina: I may add another tip: go early in the morning, take a huge book with you and don’t expect to do things quickly, i.e. be prepared to come back several times. And the ATAF: it’s the same in all Italian cities and you really need to go with the flow. Vi mando un saluto pieno di nostalgia per la città del mio cuore…

  2. Another great post. I don’t know how you have the energy to keep generating these posts along with your beautiful pictures!

  3. I love these interviews too!

    I get this feeling that Spain and Italy are similar re: inertia. There is a lot of complaining, but not a lot of action. (I do feel this is changing, especially in a place like Madrid, though.) When unemployment covers you for two years, and when it might even be more money than you’d make at a in-between job (the one you have while you look for another), why would you choose to work? People are also reluctant to get up and move somewhere else, tending to want to stay close to home.

  4. Thank you so much for this wonderfully insightful interview Georgette! It was refreshing to read Alexandra’s comments, which while brutally honest about the state of affairs in Italy, are still beautifully positive and pragmatic …”we need to take action ourselves” is the take home message here – sound advice for anyone, anywhere. Is it actually possible in the Italian context though? – that remains to be seen!

    I only got a very brief (and I am sure quite tame) exposure to the inertia and bureaucracy mentioned here during my Florens2012 experience, but even that was enough to have me rule out any notion of permanently relocating to the city I love above all else. I don’t think I would be able to handle this “inertia”!

    Florence is *extremely* lucky to have a leaving, breathing digital innovator in its midst, one can only hope local cultural institutions will increasingly utilise her talents.

    Brava Alex! Much love from Oz, and a special thanks again to Georgette for the fab interview
    Hasan
    Xx

    1. Thanks so much Hasam, Alex is lucky to have such an awesome fan like yourself. I do agree that life here is far from easy. While I always aim to encourage dreamers, I am 100% honest with how hard day to day life can be whenever someone emails me questions via this blog. Its not the kind of country that really encourages young people to live independently from their parents and start ventures (even if I work an environment that actually breaks that mold.. I will say). The salaries are super low and at the end of the day, what matters is if you can properly support yourself.

  5. Terrific interview & wonderful shots!
    I love how she so carefully balances the beauty with the beast of Life in Italy, giving all a fair viewpoint…You go grrrllls!

    FMaggi, Author
    Burnt by the Tuscan Sun

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Georgette Jupe

Welcome to my personal blog by a curious American girl living and working between Zug, Switzerland and Florence, Italy with my husband Nico, our newborn Annabelle and Ginger the beagle. This space is primarily to share about my love for Italy (currently on a 13 year romance) with a fair amount of real talk, practical advice, travel suggestions and adjusting to a new culture (Switzerland). Find me on IG @girlinflorence @girlinzug

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