Working Hard and the woes of staying in Italy legally...

So I know its been many a month since I have wrote on my blog.. So much has happened and happening that I have had less time to sit here and spout /rambled away my nonsense. First off a short summary will suffice?


Since January ( actually last July) I have quit “crazy lady” or “devil” as I like to call you, basically anyone close to me knows about this notorious lady from countless stories over aperativo/din din or basically any chance I get to complain about her. I usually don’t let many people get to me but it was hard when you had pure evil staring back at you day after day.

Of course I DID choose the job and I loved the job, just not “devil” . Why is she so offensive to dear Georgette? Well take every rational problem-solving thought and deductive thinking and get a shredder and put them in there when it comes to dealing with her. I've seen hyenas with better patience and manners.

Basically my job consisted of finding clients for her vacation rentals ( she didn’t own them but rather managed them ) from abroad and finalize contracts/ do check-ins, follow-ups. Basically at the end of the day I was doing her job and then some and after many long and arduous months of me putting up with her bad vibes, I left her and the job in May ,collected my moolah and hightailed it outta there. Of course in the meantime I had contacted many private owners who had apartments in Florence and offered my services to them which they happily accepted to my delight so all was good in the world again.

Consequentially , I was hired by an American company called www.Insidersabroad.com which is a community portal/forum ( website) for people interested in traveling , studying, or living in Italy. There are reviews, forums, classifieds, and information about Italy’s various regions on the sites and they are partnered with the EYP ( English yellow pages) .it’s a great concept and I love the job, I am their Florence rep. and handle advertising in my region. In June , I went home to America for a long awaited visit to the fam, dad, mom, brothers, friends and then some. I hadn’t seen anyone in a verrrry long time and you better believe that I gorged on Mexican food, star bucks and various crap hehe..

I had a traumatizing travel back to Italy ( longgggggggggggggggg story which is not going to help anyone or my sanity by writing my experience here , maybe someday or over a cup of cafe) which made me realize how much I love the chaos that is Italy./. I nearly kissed the ground upon leaving the plane and realized for the moment this is where I am meant to be.. I have a good job, great boyfriend and a starting point of residency.. Forza!

Soooo to the fun legal stuff. As anyone who has ever eaten pasta in Italy and thought about staying there may have had to realize at some point is how hard it is to become a resident/ get a visa to stay longer in “Il Bel Paese”. Yes ive stayed, I studied here for a year, but now as a college graduate with no desire to spend money I don’t have to come back here and spend many frustrating weeks in America , I know this is something I have to take care of.
Italy does not take too kindly ( especially now) to people staying in their country without holding residency and Italian residency is like the pot at the end of the rainbow for those who want to spend their life here.

For me the study visa is out as I have had so much trouble with that and I want permanent residency at some point ( not just renewing every year or two) and access to Italian health care. Getting the correct info is like finding a needle in a haystack or watching TV without hearing about John & Kate plus 8, and at this point I would happily wrestle two midgets on Jerry Springer to gain this carte di identita!

Me and tommy are working on it and tomorrow will include a “fun” trip to the Questura to get yelled at/ or turned down by the Italian police. I am hoping one of them will have had a nice cup of café and a leery stare at a beautiful woman before I go so I can get at least a smile?

Immigration is a pain in the ass anywhere and I know how hard it is to get citizenship/residency in America but these are issues that concern me therefore why not blog about it :-P .
I will keep you posted on that process and my permesso di soggiono.. Why why why was I not born with 1,000,000 in assets to prove that I never have to work grrr.
I just came back from Lake como and Milan to work which was an amazing experience and good work wise.. Hopefully I can get insidersabroad.com more hits and action on the forum but it is new and I have to have “pazienza”

So for now I will lay back on my double ( two twins pushed together) bed and wipe the sweat off my brow and stop looking on those stupid expat sites for permesso advice and just do what I need to do . Its hot and sticky and I don’t have air conditioning but well that’s what Gelato is for..

Next week Amsterdam and the company of a very much missed friend .. I have to admit I have a pretty “bella vita” ..