Milano, Milano, piano, piano Dear Georgette,My fiancé and I moved to Milan in Easter 2013 for his job, and at first we found it difficult as we had no Italian what so ever and the bureaucracy was a nightmare! I agree with others on here that you really have to take the rough with the smooth, some days you feel like you are getting nowhere, then others you hop on a train to Cinque Terre and you know it was all worth it for this.Here's my two pence worth:- People will stare: Stare back!! At first I hated people looking me up and down on the metro in Italy. I have brown eyes and olive skin so I was really shocked at how interested people were of me as I naively thought I blended in. I now know it's a social thing and people here are not buried in their paper as they are in London. I've learnt to stare back and at the end of the day that's why people stare. They themselves want attention and they also want eye contact. - Fashion is strange: I am a 27 year old Liverpudlian so I like to dress for myself, I do not want to wear a black puffa jacket from October to March every year. However I appreciate that people dress more conservatively here. No sandals in the city. Always take a cardigan out at night. Never wear anything too short.- Petty crime is higher here: In three months we have had three bikes stolen from inside our complex, they were chained up I might add. This is common place in Italy, especially Milan and these bikes are sold on the black market. We have to take it on the chin, at least Milan has their own Boris Bike Scheme which we’ll now make use of.- Gyms: women are extremely body confident here and will happily drop their towels to dry their hair after a gym class. I’ve even seen women wear sunglasses in my gym. Which is windowless. Everyone arrives late for their gym class. No apologies.- Never leave the house in the evening without mosquito repellent. You will be eaten alive from June to September.- Never leave the house without cash. Not even the post office accepts your Bancomat.- Office formalities: no one leaves before the big boss. Everyone is addressed by their surname. Lunches last up to 2 hours, and no one leaves before 7pm.The positives:- Aperitivo. A big cocktail and a finger buffet better than Boxing Day.- You will appreciate the difference between a 5EUR bottle of olive oil and a 15EUR bottle of olive oil quicker than you think.- Travel between the big cities by train when booked ahead is very cheap and also very fast.- There are many public holidays and ‘ponte’ so you can hop on a train and make the most of the long weekends.- You will be able to stroll around a city you never dreamed you’d live in, without a map, iPhone firmly stored away and feel, totally and utterly at home with a gelato in your hand. Grazie mille! Julia Taylor, Milano
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Milano, Milano, piano, piano Dear Georgette,My fiancé and I moved to Milan in Easter 2013 for his job, and at first we found it difficult as we had no Italian what so ever and the bureaucracy was a nightmare! I agree with others on here that you really have to take the rough with the smooth, some days you feel like you are getting nowhere, then others you hop on a train to Cinque Terre and you know it was all worth it for this.Here's my two pence worth:- People will stare: Stare back!! At first I hated people looking me up and down on the metro in Italy. I have brown eyes and olive skin so I was really shocked at how interested people were of me as I naively thought I blended in. I now know it's a social thing and people here are not buried in their paper as they are in London. I've learnt to stare back and at the end of the day that's why people stare. They themselves want attention and they also want eye contact. - Fashion is strange: I am a 27 year old Liverpudlian so I like to dress for myself, I do not want to wear a black puffa jacket from October to March every year. However I appreciate that people dress more conservatively here. No sandals in the city. Always take a cardigan out at night. Never wear anything too short.- Petty crime is higher here: In three months we have had three bikes stolen from inside our complex, they were chained up I might add. This is common place in Italy, especially Milan and these bikes are sold on the black market. We have to take it on the chin, at least Milan has their own Boris Bike Scheme which we’ll now make use of.- Gyms: women are extremely body confident here and will happily drop their towels to dry their hair after a gym class. I’ve even seen women wear sunglasses in my gym. Which is windowless. Everyone arrives late for their gym class. No apologies.- Never leave the house in the evening without mosquito repellent. You will be eaten alive from June to September.- Never leave the house without cash. Not even the post office accepts your Bancomat.- Office formalities: no one leaves before the big boss. Everyone is addressed by their surname. Lunches last up to 2 hours, and no one leaves before 7pm.The positives:- Aperitivo. A big cocktail and a finger buffet better than Boxing Day.- You will appreciate the difference between a 5EUR bottle of olive oil and a 15EUR bottle of olive oil quicker than you think.- Travel between the big cities by train when booked ahead is very cheap and also very fast.- There are many public holidays and ‘ponte’ so you can hop on a train and make the most of the long weekends.- You will be able to stroll around a city you never dreamed you’d live in, without a map, iPhone firmly stored away and feel, totally and utterly at home with a gelato in your hand. Grazie mille! Julia Taylor, Milano