Girl in Florence

A Tuscan Texan immersed in Florentine life

The One Thing Everyone Should Know When They Move Abroad

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You are not alone. 

Without trying to see like some sort of lifestyle guru or inspirational poster, I think the simplest thought or feeling is often the most compelling. I tend to get a lot of emails from you guys wanting to change your lives and move to Italy, and it is worth thinking about why you want to in the first place. Moving to a new country, one that you don’t speak the local language or know that many people comes with a fair amount of hurdles. Ones that most people never imagined might exist. Even something as simple as paying a bill at the post office could result in tears of frustration, and well filing your taxes? We all need to throw back a shot of strong liquor and a therapist after that experience.

Something that I don’t often see on these ‘life in Italy’ or ‘I quit my job to travel abroad’ articles you often see in major newspapers and magazines, is how easy it is to fall into feeling stuck and sad as illustrated in this article by the NY Times. This can easily happen when you are on your own, looking for a job –money running out quickly, having to accept shitty work situations. Too few people to talk with who you can relate to. So many of us are very proud, independent folks who probably hate asking for help. Also some people get the ‘Peter Pan’ syndrome of never wanting to grow up and essentially party a little too much. You don’t really want to be Matthew McConaughey in Dazed and Confused if you get my drift.

Who wants to admit that maybe that impulsive choice wasn’t the best idea? That perhaps changing your life should have started at home, in a place where you understand the language and culture. Just moving somewhere isn’t enough to solve your problems, your problems are immune to any change of zip code. My friend Misty of Surviving in Italy touched on expat depression in her blog which gave plenty of really good advice, and the reason I am today is that with the increase of emails asking me for life tips, why not share what I think directly on the blog.

For those who think that us in Florence have it easy, our lives just one wine-filled event to the next, traveling every weekend. Bloggers make a ton of money right?

Well you’d be surprised.

Yes those things do happen, this year there seems to be more exciting events than ever that are fantastic excuses to meet up with friends and celebrate something spectacular, like the opening of the new Opera del Duomo museum after three years of renovations. But if I tell you all of the things that happened to this point, well that is less attractive than holding up a cocktail to a sunset view on instagram. And blogging doesn’t make as much as you might think, if at all — in fact most of us have other jobs with the blog being passion projects. A great platform to be sure, but one that takes a lot of work and time. I love it.

But rotating to the life abroad is flippen amazing conversation, I have to say there are also many hard moments as an expat abroad. Lonely moments. Which is probably why I see groups on facebook like ‘Life in Italy: When “la vita bella” isn’t so bella…’ gain popularity.

From personal experience, working as a freelancer has plenty of pitfalls — highs and lows that tend to come in waves. Clients not paying on time or at all, a byzantine tax system that ensures you need strong medication of booze to get through a visit with your commercialista. There is also the inevitable fear of the unknown and being out of work in the near/far future. I have felt these things, and I know my friends have too – just read this post. Also let’s chat about the feeling of being so overwhelmed with work, projects and deadlines that you end up working until 3am to finish it all.

That said, I feel very fortunate in that I have a career that excites me and that has proven to be a good fit. These past two years I have been in plenty of situations work-wise where I have been thrown into a mess but came out feeling like I accomplished something. Life lessons come in a variety of packages, often those really difficult to open-double-taped versions.

One interesting option for expats who feel ‘stuck’ or those who are looking to move abroad but are not sure why or what they want to do. Hire a life coach. I used to be true skeptic for these sorts of things, I envisioned some sort of Scientology-like guru telling me I had to drink less caffeine and if I ‘believe it – it will come’.

Be afraid not of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still. — Chinese Proverb

Let’s face it, while The Secret is bullshit and though I’ve envisioning winning 300 million dollars in lottery winnings, that still has yet to happen so. And I’m pretty annoyed it hasn’t. However, what I do know — is a really good friend of mine named Sophie. A Dutch girl who has lived in Florence for many years now, she’s the one who introduced me to this world of life-coaching and what it is, and more importantly what it isn’t about. Which is actually almost more important to understand.

A life coach will not tell you what to do, make your life plan happen, give unsolicited advice, or wipe your bottom. Sorry guys!

What will they do? Ask a series of questions and get to know the root of what you are looking to change in your life, and why. You would be surprised how much you already know yourself — sometimes you just need to say it out loud, in front of someone else. Which already goes a long way into making your goals much more accountable, and tangible. An excellent idea for someone who is looking to move abroad and needs to talk with someone, or a person already abroad but feeling ‘stuck’ and frustrated.

I did a half-hour session with her, just to see what it’s like and I left the meeting very intrigued and much more clear-minded. Unlike therapy, which is a different concept all-together, this isn’t about that.  This was like more like talking to yourself, through another person. My own obstacles and goals revolve mainly around career longevity, being more organized in every sort of way. I realize that there are many small changes that I could make now, that would help tremendously, but that I just have constantly been avoiding. It was just one lesson, but I want to go back for more, because we all could use a bit of self-improvement.

For those who need a few tips avoiding expat burnout from a non-expert (aka me), here are a few tips

  • Surround yourself with the right people. Be around a bunch of complaining people who hate their jobs and let everyone knows about it, well it’s bound to bring you down too. While a whinge every now and again is totally normal, pick your friends wisely. People that you admire, that are positive, fun and easy. Which is what friendship should be about in any case. In Florence? Here are a few options to meet people.
  • Don’t let one sucky situation define your week and give you a reason to have that ‘lets evaluate my life’ conversation. Often enough when we get to that bad place where life looks about as attractive as a slice of crap pie just because of a single bad encounter or situation. I’ve done it to myself and it is a slippery slope. Take a walk, see a friend, eat a fantastic meal — all will be good again soon.
  • Hate your job? Well, you aren’t married to it… I get that it is not easy to switch careers, especially in a place like Italy where actual career growth can be laughably horrible. One thing that I really think a life coach could be very useful is talking about work situations and options because often we are so scared of any sort of change and talking to someone who doesn’t know you super well is a great idea. They are more apt to ask you those questions that your friends won’t. I know people that in real life are awesome, bubble and fun to be around but become totally different at work. As cliche as it sounds, hating your work and not doing anything about it is pretty insane in the long term.
  • Travel. Seriously, I get those weeks when staring at my computer for hours on end can turn everything into a strange blur. All it takes is a hop in the car or train, get out of the city for a while to visit a small town or take a walk. It does wonders for the soul, a change of scenery is extremely necessary from time to time. Alternatively, working out and taking walks also really helps when you are very stressed. I have a beagle so she certainly keeps me active regularly as I mentally go insane planning an international wedding.
  • Give yourself time. The Beatles sang ‘all you need is love’ and though I can’t hold a tune for shit, I can say — don’t be so hard on yourself. Sometimes all we need is time. To think, to ponder, to envisage. I always sleep on important decisions and allow myself to write people back to say I need a bit more time, which was hard to do as since I often prided myself on being  quick to respond.

For those interested in contacting Sophie for a session (first one free) you can reach her via email [email protected], her website or facebookShe is available for life & business coaching in Florence and beyond. Sessions can be held either in English, Italian or Dutch, face to face, by phone or on Skype. It is also worth noting that she is ICF accredited and Acceptance and a Commitment Training professional.

 

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11 Responses

  1. Nice post! I think it is a very wise decision to consult with a life coach. But remember, you can ‘have’ it all and still feel this way-it makes us grow really….evolve:). Anyway, I think that living like an Italian can be just as worthwhile as living in Italy. Especially living life like a florentine, capturing their essence is so wonderful. Believe me reading your blog helps me do that, whereas my options of living abroad are limited I can still choose to live la Bella vita in the U.S.!

    1. Ciao Cindy! Thank you, I never knew what a life coach actually did before so this was an eye-opener! You are so right what you said, actually it mirrors my feelings as of late. I feel like I love my career and life, but I was to optimize things to make our lives easier. Which Sophie actually helped me, in just a half an hour to do! I am thankful that you like reading the blog despite living in the USA. I will actually be back in Texas pretty soon for a visit, so I am really excited to see how I feel about the USA after not having been in such a long time.

  2. The thing I would add to the list of of things to make life abroad easier is: to have a general plan of things/what you are going to do. For example, “talk to someone in Italian every day”, or “set up bank account” “put an ad out for someone for Italian conversation” — you get the picture. If you are just getting ready to move, “look at apartment rents/charges” would be appropriate. Even if you deviate from the plan, you will have a road map to place one foot in front of the other — to feel a sense of accomplishment. I bring my plan out from time to time, when I am “lost” — which is inevitable.

    1. Ciao Laurie, you are spot on with your comment. I’ve written about this a few times here and here, and having a plan in tantamount to staying happy and feeling a bit more settled. I like the idea of speaking Italian every day. Some of the best advice I ever got was from someone who said, treat Italy like it’s your home. Sounds very simple but what he meant was do the same things you would do ‘at home’, go to the gym, visit the same coffee bar, but here as well. It does wonders for building roots and feeling comfortable when you are a newbie.

  3. Which little birdie told you I was feeling stuck and frustrated and have been questioning the wisdom of coming here at all?

    Excellent article! When I get a bit down, I remind myself “You’re in Italy! You’re IN Florence! Even if nothing else works out like you planned, you’ve had an amazing experience that no one can ever take away!” That usually helps…. 🙂

  4. Great article and great advice!! We are just eight months away from our move to Italy. I am ready for the highs, lows and stress that come with such a big decision.

  5. I know it’s not quite the same, but I moved to Italy last year for my year abroad and although lots of things were great, the food, travelling around Italy, I also found it quite hard adapting to the culture and being away from everyone I knew which meant I felt quite lonely sometimes. Although i think these negatives things actually helped me e.g. to become more independent and self-confident, I think it’s important to let people know that it’s not all amazing every single day.

    Julie

    justthealpsbetweenus.blogspot.it

  6. I love your posts and I can completely relate. We are a military family and didn’t have much choice when it came to our assignment. Don’t get me wrong, when we were told that a remote location in Italy was our next move, I was elated! I immediately invisioned myself becoming best friends with our soon to be landlord and their family and their dog and having wine under a vined trellis and enjoying an amazing dinner next to the family vineyard! I had nothing to refer to. Hollywood Italy is all I knew. I knew nothing and I was so wrong about what life was going to be like. Living in this “remote location” means no American comforts. Not many native tongues and a constant feeling of being an annoyance to some of the locals. Some who refuse to even listen to my very barbaric version of Italian. Some who yell at me for reasons I’ll never understand (or atleast until I become fluent in annoyed Italian). I am blessed that there is a group of amazing women from all over the world that are here with me. Who go through the same exact tear-inducing moments as I do. We all choose to see the blessing in a trying time. We drink prosecco as often as possible. We hop the train whenever we can. We enjoy that amazing Italian dinner together as a family. Not because it’s Italy and that is all can do, but because we need eachother and choose to be happy!

    1. Ciao Candice, your story reflects the experience of so many and it’s something that should be shared. Not everyone chooses to ‘live the Italian dream’ but the best way to be happy here is to adapt, give yourself time and meet like-minded folks, which you did! So enjoy that prosecco and speak that Italian with gusto!

  7. Useful as usual, realistic and honest. I really love your articles. I follow you from Argentina. Thank you georgette

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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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