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5 Reasons You SHOULDN’T Move to Italy

Su Guillory
4 min readFeb 14, 2025

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This was originally published on The Unexplorer.

Under the Tuscan Sun. Eat, Pray, Love. If these books are anthems that sing of your dreams of moving to Italy, join the club.

And yet, while many women (myself included) do successfully create a new life in the land of pasta and prosecco, many others return to their homeland after just a few months or years, unable to rectify the dream with the reality of living in Italy.

Before you sell everything you own and buy a one-way ticket, here are a few reasons you might want to reconsider this plan.

1. You’re Running Away from Something

I get it. Politics/the economy/[insert something else here] suck where you live. You’re dreaming of escaping the rat race for a better life in Italy.

But I’ll tell you a secret: things aren’t perfect in Italy either. In the south, there’s an extremely high unemployment rate (15% versus a national average of 8.2%). Politics are wonky here too, depending on your leanings. Oh, and then there’s the mafia.

When you run away from what you consider a less-than-ideal life, you aren’t setting yourself up for success in your new home. And as you know, problems follow you.

2. You Expect the Movie Version…

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Su Guillory
Su Guillory

Written by Su Guillory

As an expat coach, I help women minimize the stress of moving abroad. Download: 9 Steps to Becoming a Digital Nomad in Italy: https://bit.ly/4arLBot

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