Becoming American Ex-Pats In Italy 

By: Travel With Wally

As new American ex-pats in Italy, we have encountered a lot of ups and downs.  In the beginning, we were overwhelmed with bureaucracy, language barriers, and a case of culture shock. Packing up your life and moving to a foreign country, much less a country you have never been to, is nothing less than terrifying.  Becoming American ex-pats in Italy has been exciting, overwhelming, isolating, and a cultural smorgasbord. We want to help you with your journey to becoming American ex-pats in Italy, so we have created some content just for you. 

 Who We Are

Our names are Marian and Andrew, and we moved to Italy at the end/beginning of 2020/2021. We moved here one month apart (thank you Italian bureaucracy!) and we live in Pisa with our little dog, Wally.  

Andrew and I are both natives of the American midwest, but before moving, we had lived in Southern California for about 8 years.  I loved California, we lived in San Diego and I was completely smitten.  But when the opportunity to move abroad came about, we felt as though we had to grab it.  Andrew was offered the opportunity to obtain his PhD in Pisa Italy.  It was a journey of emotions, paperwork, and purging of personal belongings.  

We sold our house, gave away and sold almost all of our belongings, and then headed home to spend some time with family before making the big leap overseas.  

Moving During a Pandemic

Because Andrew was going to Italy as a student, he was able to obtain a student Visa from the Italian consulate in Los Angeles.  This took more work than we had suspected, it should have been straightforward after all, but this was our first dip into the bureaucracy of Italy. We were soon to learn that becoming an American ex-pat in Italy was no easy feat, especially during COVID. 

After many calls, emails, and frustrations, Andrew was finally granted his student visa.  But, then came the issue of getting me to Italy.  Normally this would be straightforward.  Before the pandemic, I could have gone to Italy as a tourist and during my permitted 90 days, I could apply for residency via the family reunification option. 

But of course, things could not be that easy. When we had first begun this journey, we had no idea that COVID would still be plaguing the world.  We had no idea the pain, frustration, and heartache it would bring on us in regards to this move.  

We were led to believe that as a spouse, I would have to wait for Andrew to receive his permesso (residency permit), and then I could come to Italy via the family reunification permesso.  This could take many months, especially with the backup due to COVID.  The process was a nightmare, I was beginning to think that becoming an American ex-pat in Italy was not going to happen for me.  

How Facebook Helped Us Become American Ex-Pats in Italy

It seems crazy to think that Facebook could have any impact on our process of becoming American ex-pats in Italy.  But it’s true.  

I had previously joined Facebook groups pertaining to different subjects that we were facing in our life.  Our cat had been sick with FIP, so I joined a group dedicated to this.  I have found groups for so many things (fertility, anxiety, depression, etc) and so I thought, why not look for groups for American ex-pats in Italy? So that is what I did.  And it worked.  

One of the groups I joined was for international ex-pats in Italy and someone posted about a lawyer that had helped them get to Italy for similar reasons.  I was able to get their information, and from there everything changed. 

If it wasn’t for COVID-19 we probably could have navigated the murky waters of becoming Italian residents on our own, but we weren’t that lucky.  Instead, we spent a boatload of money on lawyers that saved us an unknown amount of pain and suffering.  My anxiety immediately went down several levels as we learned what we needed to do.  They took care of EVERYTHING!  

I am not going to lie, they weren’t cheap, and it was painful to look at our bank account, but I still think it was completely worth it.  Even if purely for the anxiety and stress they took off of my body.  

So that is how Facebook helped us become American ex-pats in Italy. 

COVID-19: American Ex-Pats Arriving in Italy

Oh COVID-19, though art a heartless monster.  I know we are lucky, neither of us has had COVID, our immediate family members have remained safe as well.  This is something I am very thankful for.  But that doesn’t mean that we haven’t felt the effects it has brought upon the World. 

As you already read, it caused a very large roadblock in my ability to make it to Italy.  But even when we each arrived, we had to deal with quarantines, lockdowns, and curfews. 

Andrew arrived about one month ahead of me in December of 2020.  The poor guy spent two weeks in quarantine, alone.  Then he spent his birthday, Christmas, and New Year in lockdown, alone.  I felt terrible for him as I spent all of that time surrounded by my family.

And then it was my turn, I also had to spend two weeks in quarantine.  I thought I had chosen a nice little Airbnb, but it turned out to be VERY small and VERY cold.  But luckily it had a yard for Wally.  By the way, traveling to Italy with a dog is also a whole process in itself.  If you are traveling with your dog, check out what I learned.

How to bring your dog to Italy

It is such a strange feeling to be in a brand new city in a brand new country, and not be able to experience any of it.  My entire world was a tiny yard and my room.  I was anxious to get out and explore. The first impression of being an American ex-pat in Italy was not a fond one.  

Luckily, things are different now.  Quarantine is much shorter if you even have to do it at all.  Vaccines have made traveling possible and things are just a bit easier.  

Italians Love Paperwork

Okay, so maybe Italian’s don’t love it, but it sure feels like it.  Everything requires paperwork and trips to the post office.  The post office is so much more than just a place to mail letters in Italy.  You go here to pay for different bills, start your residency permits, and more.  

We had to fill out paperwork and pay fees to be able to get rid of our trash.  Paperwork for our health insurance.  More paperwork for our residency, and then some more.  Oh, then copies of everything!  If you plan on becoming an American ex-pat in Italy, bring every piece of documentation you can imagine.  

Just to get to Italy I needed my marriage certificate translated and then certified by the Italian consulate.  I also had a lot more, but that was probably the most important.  

Living on a Student Budget

Becoming American ex-pats in Italy was not the only change we had to adapt to.  We also had to change our money spending mindsets.  We went from both having full-time jobs to living on a Ph.D. student budget.  I was beginning to teach English to children in China, but at the beginning that was slow.  And now it is nonexistent due to the Chinese government putting the kibosh on it.  But anyway, that is a story for a different time. 

We also had to adapt to life without a car.  We were able to find an apartment in the center of Pisa, and are able to easily walk to grocery stores, pharmacies, and most other things.  And a great thing about Italy and Europe as a whole is the train system.  We are able to travel to many places on the train.  You can even read about some of our day trips here on our blog. 

See Siena in One Day

Explore Cinque Terre In One Day

The change in budgeting was a learning curve.  We have to be careful of how much we spend on travel, even though we love it.  But to allow for more freedom on our travels, we spend less on things like clothes and various other things we just don’t need.  This is also great to keep the clutter down and save on packing up when we move in a couple of years.  

Is It Worth Being An American Ex-Pat in Italy? 

In my opinion, yes.  Of course, everyone is going to have their own experiences.  The culture changes throughout the country, there is so much to see and to do.  The history is incredibly rich.  You can live in a home that is older than The United States! 

Picking up your life and moving to a foreign country is not easy.  But if it is something you have dreamed of, and you are packed full of determination, then I say do it. There are always excuses as to why you shouldn’t, but in my experience, they can be overcome.  

Do your research, join Facebook groups and ask all of your questions.  Try to avoid what we did, and actually tour around Italy to decide on where you want to settle.  We didn’t really have a choice due to the school’s location, but it would have been nice to see it before blindly moving. 

Good luck!!

You can learn more about us here!

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