Doing Italy

14/01/2023

Did you see this article published on ? About a Finnish family who moved to Sicily and didn’t like it, especially because of the style and quality of the education system there… and so now just a few months after getting to Italy, they are moving to Spain.
Now there and lots and lots and lots of things I can say about this… and what went wrong…
But I think the biggest mistake they made is not adequately analyzing and studying the situation. Not knowing what they were getting into.
We all come from our respective cultures and country processes, and it’s human nature to think things will more or less work a d function like they do “back home”.

But that’s not always the case.

I’ll always remember a book a professor reference during my first year of grad school in Italy calling culture the “invisible elephant”. It’s the huge thing that influences everything but being invisibile we don’t realize it.

Or put it another way - Sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know.

This exactly my I created my Move to Italy Masterclass. To help people moving to Italy avoid these types of costly mistakes.
I help my students tease out the various questions that they may not have thought about.
Plus, I help them realize that Italy is quite different from one area to another. So maybe they don’t like the public school system in that area, but could have found a private school or a public school in a different area within Italy that was more in line with their preferences and their family’s needs.

If you want help moving to Italy, and want to avoid a gazillion of the mistakes most expats make when doing so, then reach out to us.

We’ll be so happy to help.

10/01/2023

I decided to go to the for my year in view and annual (year to come) planning.
They still had their Christmas decorations up, which I think are absolutely stunning. Plus, let’s be honest the space is breathtakingly gorgeous in general.
How about you? Did you take time out to set your goals and intentions for the coming year?Or looked back to see what worked AND what didn’t work from the past year?

06/10/2022

The Exodus Summit kicks off on Friday!

This online event features over 21 speakers who are ready to teach you how to make that move abroad money. Are you in?

You’re going to hear from all kinds of experts like:
• Kimberly West of Global Gastronome – Running A Travel Business to Fund Your Luxury Expat or ExodUS Lifestyle
• Adalia Aborisade of Picky Girl Travels the World – How Much is Really Enough: Putting a Price on the Life of Your Dreams
• Libryia Jones of the Quit Commuting Conference – Finding Remote Jobs
• Dani Bea of Digital Love 101 – Feet Pics & Phone S*x: Virtual S*xy Work That Pays

And ME! (Of course! 😊)

I’ll be about how you can leverage a job in your home country to finance your move abroad.

We've got topics ranging from gig work to entrepreneurship to taking your traditional job remote.

And upgrade to the AMAZING All-Access Pass that gives you tons of resources to help you execute your sabbatical or your move abroad like: Bonus Group Coaching with some of our speakers + Live Accountability Sessions during the summit and replays of all summit sessions for one full year.

Are you ready for the summit?

Click the link in my bio now.

Looking forward to seeing you on there.

11/06/2022

How does one find a well paying remote job? That’s the question I’ll be discussing with Sarah . She’s an hr professional at a remote first company and a remote job search coach.
Do you have questions for Sarah? What’s the one thing you want to know about finding a remote job? Have you tried looking for one already? What questions came up along the way?
Let us know in the comments below so we can address them during our live call, tomorrow, Sunday, June 12th at 12 noon EST.

12/05/2022

Thank you so much Girl in Florence!

Have you ever considered moving to Italy but aren't sure WHERE to start?

I get emails almost daily from people looking for some insider info about how to move to Italy and these are not easy questions to answer.

I admit that it definitely wasn't an easy process for me (still have nightmares of the questura) and everyone's situation is so personal, hence why it can be hard and very time-consuming to give general advice...

Luckily I finally can send people over to this "how to move to Italy" masterclass run by my friend Thea of Doing Italy. The program is a comprehensive masterclass that will walk you through the steps you need to realize your new life in Italy – professionally, financially and legally.

Her masterclass is opened pretty rarely and enrollment closes on May 14th, 2022 while the class itself kicks off on the 21st!

Click on the link for more info but here is an excerpt from Lori who attended Thea's masterclass. She says it best!

"As a proud and self-proclaimed “Italophile” and follower of many Italy-related accounts on social media, I have been following Thea Duncan’s Doing Italy for a few years now. An American who moved to Italy 18 years ago, and is now married to her Italian hubby, Diego, Thea has amassed knowledge and experience that make her stand out as one of Instagram’s leading expat influencers living in Italy. The content on her Instagram account is amazing, and you can dive deeper by reading her blog and keeping up on her website, where she shares delicious recipes too! It’s easy to see that Thea really has a deep passion for what she does and the content she shares on her platforms. She’s written a guidebook on Milan so you know she’s got legitimate credentials and is more than just posting beautiful scenery, architecture and food. But besides her expertise on her current home city of Milan, Thea’s 18 years of living in Italy and immersing herself in the culture, have given her an astonishingly broad range of knowledge.

For anyone who has ever seriously thought about moving to Italy, or simply dreamed about it, Thea’s Masterclass is the place to be! One of the great things about this class is that it’s for anyone – like my husband and I who fantasize about living in Italy for a few months out of the year until we eventually retire there, or, for those people who are literally packing their bags right now and making the life move.

Having already taken the course, I’m actually envious of her new students (and excited for them!). If you’ve been overwhelmed by all the different avenues that must be explored to successfully pull off a move like this, Thea’s online course is designed for you, no matter where you currently live! Things you never thought of before, and secrets and tips you wouldn’t normally be privy to, are all divulged and laid out for you in organized, and chronological modules.

In addition to the online modules, there are Zoom meetings, at least 1/ week or sometimes more if necessary. Besides being fascinating, informative and fun, these Zoom meetings with Thea are also a great place to network with other like-minded individuals.

Our class really all got along well with each other and access to the Doing Italy: Moving to Italy Facebook Group is for a lifetime. Developing these connections with other people who are also interested in spending some time, or all their time, in Italy is very valuable. We can’t wait to all meet in person on a rooftop in Roma one day!"

Here's where to sign up and learn more! https://doingitaly.mykajabi.com/a/2147485502/7KgWa4jL

12/05/2022

I have incredible students/clients! Literally awesome people (on the inside and out) that are following their dreams and creating a life on their own terms.

A perfect example of just that is . She has a joy and a light that radiates from the inside out, that was so easy to spot from the first time we spoke…

Shirley wanted help moving to Italy with her son, the catch was that she had NEVER EVEN VISITED ITALY!!!
So I was really feeling the pressure!!!

After discussing her motives for wanting to move…
She said she felt a deep calling and connection to the country, and was following her intuition in making the move. (I am a firm believer in this knowing thats often times unexplainable)
… so I decided I could help.
Plus, I figured if she wants to move to Italy, and she hasn’t even visited, then my work is even more important.

A little more than a year after our first chat Shirley now is living in Florence with her son.

Want to know what she thinks? How she’s liking the experience?

Then hop onto the live call we are doing today, May 12, at 7 am EST or catch the replay…

I’m so looking forward to this chat! And I think you will love it too.

Ok, so would you be as brave as Shirley? Could you move across the ocean “sight unseen”?

And if you’ve been thinking about moving? What’s been holding you back?

(The picture above is when I went down to Florence and got to meet Shirley for the first time in person.)

25/04/2022

You have an intriguing IG LIVE coming your way!

I’ll be chatting with Zoe from on her incredible journey to moving to Italy.

Her story is filled with nail biting twists & turns that seemed may would say were ordained by a higher force…

03/04/2022

Weekends are for making homemade pizza.

01/04/2022

Today Bis Nonna (great grandma) Renata turned 99 years old.
An accomplishment in itself, but even more impressive if you consider how mentally and physically sound she is.

I’m particularly fond of her, I love her s***k and her I’m not messing around personality. I’m also very aware of how lucky I am that even at her ripe age, she has always been super welcoming and loving of her black grand daughter in law and “mixed” great grand son.

30/03/2022

“The only I thing I miss is going to Target in my pjs”

It was a mommy lunch date with my American girl friends, and Stacy had me rolling with laughter when she proclaimed, that the phrase.

(Obviously she loves it here!)

For those of you in Italy, what do you miss most?

For those of you thinking about moving to Italy, any thoughts on what that will be!?!?

22/03/2022

One of the benefits of living in Italy is undeniably the proximity and ease with which you can visit the rest of Europe.
And my little weekend getaway trip to Paris was all of the and then some.
I strolled for hours and hours and hours, contemplating life, people, culture, and the delectable desserts I couldn’t eat because I’ve given up sweets for lent.
Shortly after passing the Louvre, I came upon this adorable little bistro with stickers and good online reviews, so I made a reservation.
The food was solid (I’d give it 4 out of 5 stars), plus the price was right, with a hearty lamb stew and a vegetable side, plus a glass of champagne totaling about 30€.
I’d definitely recommend it if you’re in this part of the city… so go ahead and save this post under “restaurants I’d like to try”.
Plus I was the only foreigner in the restaurant which I think says leaps and bounds.

16/03/2022

Can I get a 🙌🙌🙌 “YES” for business meetings that look like this!?!?
I mean the food was delicious ( ), the company entertaining, and
I’m super excited about how the lovely lady I met can bring even more value to my students in my new course “Make Italy Home” on the ins and outs of buying property in Italy.

Woo woo!

Plus we had a good chat about her chickens. 🐓 Rural life is calling!

10/03/2022

Before and After!
Tomorrow I’m having a chat with the lovely .glenn and I thought it would be nice to share a photo of the before and after of my living room space.

The first photo is what the living room looked like when I reached out to Sara in late 2020!

Crazy right!?!?
How much has the space changed!!!! It’s so different!!!

(It also helps me to see this, to see how far I’ve metaphorically speaking come / something I think we should all do at times. Sit back and look at our progress…)

That said, I think the most impressive thing is the space is completely transformed by the elimination of a few strategic elements.

Aka bye bye playpen! (It was given another home to a happy expecting mom).
And how .glenn helped me pick a few key elements that took the space from drab and boring to freaking magazine worthy (lol - if I do say so myself).
I mean think we added like 5 pieces.

It goes to show how little changes can have massive results.
And sometimes all you need is a guiding hand to get you there… 😊🙏🏾🙏🏼😊.

I hope you all enjoy. And looking forward to seeing you on the call with Sara - Friday March 11th at 12 noon EST.

😘

📸 (hahaha the second one of course)

09/03/2022

How to move to Italy WITHOUT marrying an Italian?!?!?

If you all have been following me and my live chats for sometime, you have probably noticed a trend… so many women move to Italy (and stay) because they married Italians.

And well I love that, but it isn’t the only way…

Which is why I’m so happy to bring you all another perspective.

Sara Glenn of .glenn the lovely lady that helped me decorate my home and I will be chatting about how she moved to Italy AND STAYED(!!!) without marrying an Italian.

We’ll be discussing her past experience working in tourism to starting her own interior design studio in Italy and so much more…
The IG LIVE will be this Friday, March 11th at 12 noon EST (6pm Italian time).
Have questions for Sara? Let us know in the chat box below.

25/02/2022

After.
This is what our home looks like after getting interior design help from .glenn!!!!
I’m not sure if I can fill describe how I feel now.
Doing this project has brought me closure to some of the not so great things that happened in this house.
But most importantly it has brought me immense joy. Just looking around and seeing a home that absolutely fits our personal taste and lifestyle.
I’m satisfaction.
I literally walk around the space thinking I life here. Our home looks like this! (Cause I like it hahahahaha. If you do too, great but we all have our own personal style. And .glenn helped me discover what that was - because I didn’t know, and make it my physical reality.)
…
Because this is a rental, we decided to buy strategically, a few strategic pieces to compliment what was already there.
I am beyond happy with the end result.
Grazie grazie grazie Sara.
She’s based in Milan, but also works remotely. We did most of the decorating by phone and text during the lockdown!
Photos by
(If you haven’t already check out the before - the post before this - you’ll want to do that!)
😘❤️😊🏡

04/02/2022

My video editor just sent me a draft of the intro video for the new course I’m creating about buying property in Italy.

What do you guys think? Love it? Or would you change something?

I want your honest opinions.
(Lol - as if we need to tell people on the internet we want their honest opinion. Fortunately I have the best followers ever…)

01/02/2022

It’s been forever since I’ve done this…

So I was beyond excited when asked me to go LIVE with her and show you all around Milan.

We’re hosting the LIVE here on IG on Wednesday, February 2, 2022 at 10:30 am Italian time. I’m so looking forward to seeing you all there.