Nate Armbruster
There are many great things about living in the US, but many people would argue that other countries have us beat in some areas of culture. There are pros and cons to both, but you’ll never know until you try to live elsewhere. That’s what travel writer, content creator, and TikToker Roze did.
Roze moved to Italy from the United States and was surprised by how different everyday life is, not to mention the cultural differences.
She recently took to TikTok to share 5 things she’ll never do again after moving to Italy, and you don’t have to move to another country to give these 5 things a shot. Think of it like a how-to guide for improving your day-to-day life.
Roze says moving from the United States to Italy is one of the best decisions she’s ever made
In a viral TikTok video, Roze shared 5 things she’ll never do again after moving from the USA to Italy
1.
Be in a hurry. One of the first things that attracted me to Italian culture is the fact that people don’t seem to be in a rush. There are no drive-throughs. People don’t walk and eat. If you need a coffee, sit down and drink a cup of coffee. There’s always time for that. Once you’re here, you realize that no one else is in a hurry, so you really can’t be in a hurry either.
2.
I will never again own a car. Now, that doesn’t mean I won’t ever drive a car. I’m happy to rent a car here if I really need one, but as I mentioned before, my city is very walkable. I don’t plan on ever living in a place where you need a car to get around. I don’t like the expense of a car, and it’s just bad for the environment.
3.
I’ll never obsess about work as much as I used to do in the US. Now I’m not saying that people don’t work here. People work very hard, but there are not as many people who make working hard their whole personality. In the US, people brag about never taking vacations, about working 60-80 hours a week. It’s one of the first things people mention in conversations. What do you do for a living? What do you do for work? And when I came to Italy for the first time, that’s when I realized our complete obsession with work was just not how the rest of the world operates.
4.
I’ll never trust the internet or Google Maps or anything like that to find out when a business in Italy is open because it could be right or it could be totally wrong. This kind of goes along with never being in a hurry. For instance a pet store I like to go to. If you look it up on Google Maps, it says that it’s open from 10:00 AM to, I think, 7:00 or 7:30 PM, which is standard hours for most stores here.
Does that mean I can go there at like 2:30-3:00 o’clock? No, what is not listed there is that they are closed from 1:00 to 4:00 for lunch. Your local pharmacy says it should be open till 7:00 o’clock you better get there before 6:30 because if there’s no one in there, they might close a little early.
This is especially true for almost every business in the month of August. Most of them will not update their websites for when they go on holiday, so you won’t know unless you ask or unless you walk up and just see the sign on the door “This cafe is closed for most of August.” Good for them.
5.
I will never have to worry about going bankrupt for medical bills. That one I don’t think really needs any further explanation, but I just don’t plan on living anywhere where there’s not some kind of universal healthcare.
You Can View The Full Video Here:
https://www.tiktok.com/@rozeinitaly/video/7131323599771716869
Here’s what fellow TikTokers had to say:
Roze also shared a few things she still misses about living in the USA in a follow up TikTok
“I’m back here in Italy after almost a month in the US, and I’m so happy to be back, but I have plenty of time to reflect during my visit. These are the top five things I think I’ll always miss about the United States. In no particular order.”
1.
Convenience. If you get off of work late, like 10:00 PM, and you need to go to the store and get groceries, if you want to have lunch at 3:30 or 4:00, if you want an early dinner at 5:30 or 6:00, all these things are available anywhere in the US.
I miss stores like Target, where you can go and get your groceries and home decor, and your pet supplies, all in one store. Yes, you get lost inside them, you go in for two items and you come out spending hundreds of dollars, but it’s really convenient.
2.
I’m probably going to get a lot of hate for this, but food variety. Italians take pride in that, their food is very delicious, it’s very fresh. And yes, that is all true. But when it comes to going out to restaurants to eat, there’s not a lot of variety outside of Italian food. I do happen to be from California, where you can get food from all over the world, and it’s pretty authentic.
I like more spice to my food. I love Thai food and Vietnamese food, and Mexican food – it’s just not very common here. Maybe there’s one or two of those kinds of restaurants. There’s just not a great variety of different types of foods from different countries.
3.
I miss is air conditioning. I’m never one of those people who likes to be freezing cold with the AC blasting, but in heat like this I just wish it was more common here. I wish I had some in my apartment. It’s just super hot, even though the sun isn’t shining right now.
4.
I can’t emphasize this enough customer service. And I know to people in other countries it seems ridiculous and overbearing and very fake. You go into any coffee shop or restaurant or store in the US and someone’s like, in your face: “Hi, how are you?”
But personally, I love it. And I’ve worked in the service industry for many years. I had to put on that fake smile myself. But you know what? It works. When people are nicer to you, you tend to spend more money, and in Italy no one seems to care about making money.
5.
This whole vibe when I shop leads me to #5, which is shopping. The whole shopping experience – I just find more pleasant, and the variety in the US is better, at least in Southern California I can always find something that will fit me and fit my budget. Maybe one day I will find the secrets to the good deals in Turin, but for now, I really miss the convenience and efficiency of shopping in the US.
None of these are reasons that I would leave Italy and move back to the US. And I completely understand that different countries do things in different ways. Just want to emphasize that the things that I love about Italy and the reasons I moved here far, far outweigh the things that I miss about living in the US.
You can view the full video here:
@rozeinitaly Follow to learn why I moved from the USA to Italy (and why I still don’t regret it, despite all the things I miss). I knew that moving countries would come with challenges, but nothing I can’t handle so far. #movingabroadtips #thingsimiss #leavingusa #moveabroadalone #missingusa #missingcalifornia #americanlivinginitaly #dualcitizen #americanimmigrant #expatlifestyle #italylifestyle
Here’s What Fellow TikTokers Had To Say
h/t: BoredPanda
