Last Updated on April 13, 2022
When I first met my husband and we started to get serious, I moved out to Italy to be with him while we were still dating (you can read a little more about how that all happened here).
I was lucky to have the chance to live in Northern Italy for about eight months and experience living in a different culture than I was used to.
Looking back, that time went by SO fast and there are plenty of things I regret not doing while I had the chance.
1. Utilize the Local Trains in Italy
The train system in Europe is incredible and makes it so easy to get around. In Italy, specifically, ItaliaRail is the system most used, which is super easy to navigate to surrounding destinations.
Granted, we lived in a smaller town and the closest larger city (Venice) was about 45 minutes away, there were plenty of small surrounding towns or doable day trips that I just didn’t take advantage of as much as I should have.
2. Get lost in Italy
Goes hand-in-hand with number 1, but I didn’t get lost and just enjoy the adventure. I always had a plan in mind of what I was doing and where I was going.
Unpredictability makes for the best adventures.
3. Shop local
To be honest, I was intimidated to shop local – especially for groceries. I had no idea what most things were unless I Google Translated them, or with produce, at least the weekly street markets, you need to ask for your produce in a specific weight in kilograms (and in Italian).
I typically would just shop at the on-base commissary to keep it easy. Though, all of the local food is 100x fresher and makes for a more authentic experience.
4. Learn the Language
Yes, I learned the basic words and phrases to get by, but I wish I would have put in more effort learning the language to immerse myself in the Italian culture I was living in.
5. Plan girl’s Trips Around Italy
We tend to get comfortable in day-to-day routines and look forward to making the most out of the weekend.
But why wait around for the weekend when most spouses don’t have jobs, when you could be exploring Italian culture, trying new things or going on trips while bonding with others who are in the same boat as you.
6. Stray away from the tried-and-true
Once we found a restaurant we liked, we would tend to go back time and time again. I wish we would have been more adventurous with trying new Italian places.
7. Invest in more local Italian products
We purchased a few furniture pieces while in Italy and, let me tell you, the quality is absolutely stunning.
We also purchased a breathtaking painting from Positano that we love. I wish we would have invested in more local Italian products to add to our collection.
8. Explore more of Italy, not just Europe
I think there was a point where we got a little “Europe happy” with the incredibly cheap flight deals all over Europe, that we didn’t really explore as many Italian cities as we would have liked to.
Again, ItaliaRail is so user-friendly, clean and comfortable that traveling by train is much more enjoyable than flights.
9. Make Friends with the Locals
While out and about, it was common for the Americans to stick with the Americans and the Italians to stick with the Italians.
Granted, many Italians in the small town we were living in didn’t speak much English, but it would have been a much more enriching experience to have made friends with some of the Italian locals rather than being comfortable with only our community.
There were plenty of locals in larger nearby towns, such as Venice, Treviso, Trieste and more that had a younger crowd with more locals who were learning English. Plus, it would have been perfect way to learn Italian!
10. Live like an Italian
Italians typically started their days around 8AM when shops would open up.
Locals would stop at cafés to drink a cappuccino at the counter and then work until about 11AM before shutting down for riposo.
This is when Italians would take a breather to enjoy the day, their family, their friends and have a large lunch with some wine or prosecco and then mosey about their day a few hours later. This drove me nuts when we first got there.
I came straight from NYC where life was go, go go! So, having to go slow, slow, slow was not my pace. But it’s a way of life that I wish I would have put more effort in adjusting to.
