Posted: September 18th, 2014, 1:42 pm
I don't wish to beat a dead horse here, but facts are facts. One of Italy's biggest claims (of itself) is that it is so community oriented and that people look out for each other. I've lived there and that is in many regards a fantasy. Families take care of their own, but that's as far as it goes. Public spaces are litter zones and people only care for their houses behind their own gates.
A recent 4-year global poll to determine the Happiness Index of nations around the world placed Italy SECOND TO LAST for community. See for yourselves:
http://blog.healthways.com/wp-content/u ... hart-5.png
To merely live abroad and live better than your compatriots, and yet take potshots at anyone who dares criticize the country of your birth, pretending it's the expat's own fault that things didn't work out, is intellectually dishonest and smacks of the sort of brainwashing that Americans grow up with.
This website is about finding YOUR PERSONAL happiness abroad, whatever country or place that may be. Just because Italy isn't suitable for people looking to start a family, grow a career, or find financial comfort, doesn't mean it's not a perfect place for vacation, for a child to grow up in cozy surroundings, or to retire to. Everyone has different reasons for going abroad, and they should be informed prior to doing so. That is the purpose of country reports. They're NOT for expats to look back and get their panties in a bunch, because a non-native criticized some realia about their distant country of birth that they aren't emotionally equipped to accept.
A recent 4-year global poll to determine the Happiness Index of nations around the world placed Italy SECOND TO LAST for community. See for yourselves:
http://blog.healthways.com/wp-content/u ... hart-5.png
To merely live abroad and live better than your compatriots, and yet take potshots at anyone who dares criticize the country of your birth, pretending it's the expat's own fault that things didn't work out, is intellectually dishonest and smacks of the sort of brainwashing that Americans grow up with.
This website is about finding YOUR PERSONAL happiness abroad, whatever country or place that may be. Just because Italy isn't suitable for people looking to start a family, grow a career, or find financial comfort, doesn't mean it's not a perfect place for vacation, for a child to grow up in cozy surroundings, or to retire to. Everyone has different reasons for going abroad, and they should be informed prior to doing so. That is the purpose of country reports. They're NOT for expats to look back and get their panties in a bunch, because a non-native criticized some realia about their distant country of birth that they aren't emotionally equipped to accept.