In our first episode of the monthly series “The Expat Files” here on The Real Life in Italy, Evelyn interviews Damien O'Farrell, an expert on global mobility who has lived in Italy for over 36 years.

Damien shares his journey from moving to Italy to assist a friend, to running a teaching business, and eventually starting a global mobility agency.

We also get into just how important it is to show Italy not only as a place to retire but as a place to create a life and work. Damien also offers insights into the most promising industries and skills for a lucrative career in Italy, underscoring the necessity of hard work and continuous learning.

Essentially: Figure out if Italy is right for you. Be Decisive. Do the Work.

Time Stamps:

00:56 Meet Damien O'Farrell: A Global Mobility Expert in Italy 01:48 Damien's Journey to Italy 03:43 From Teaching to Global Mobility 05:54 Adapting to Change: Business and Technology 08:53 Challenges and Opportunities in Italy 15:26 Deciding to Stay in Italy 20:00 Navigating Bureaucratic Hurdles 21:57 Cultural Quirks and Public Administration 24:55 Daily Life and Work Realities 29:49 Economic Challenges and Work Opportunities 38:16 Advice for Long-Term Living in Italy

Damien O’Farrell a Global Mobility Expert and Expat Coach with over thirty years of experience in Italy. He specializes in facilitating smooth transitions for individual and corporate clients adapting to Italian life. His services include immigration, relocation, citizenship, and expat coaching programs

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/damien.ofarrell Website: https://damienofarrell.com Blog: https://damien65.medium.com/ Ultimate Italy Newsletter: https://bit.ly/2yMCNfK

If you enjoyed the episode, and show, please leave us a 5 ⭐️ rating, it means a lot!

Thanks for listening to the Real Life in Italy. This podcast is for foreigners living in Italy, who are all just trying to make sense of it all.

Listen in to learn all about a side of living in Italy everyone else forgot to tell you about. But don’t expect us all to be better, I promise. Expect some good laughs, helpful tips and cultural explanations, and expat stories to remind you that you aren’t alone, and it’ll all work out.

Learn more about Evelyn at www.collineallemontagne.com www.instagram.com/collinemontagne

You can show your support by buying me a glass of wine, I always appreciate it: www.buymeacoffee.com/colline

In this episode of 'The Real Life in Italy,' I’m taking you for another technical, bureaucratic journey to understand maternity leave in Italy, but not only. I’ll also cover paternity leave, and the options for parental leave in Italy.

Italy has both “obligatory” leave for parents, and optional extended maternity and paternity that can still be paid leave. As expats in Italy, I think it is so important to understand the benefits we have access to under our Italian social security, and it’s important to understand how to access them. I hope this episode will help you make your life in Italy, as a soon-to-be mom, a little easier.

I cover who is eligible for maternity benefits, how to apply for and use these benefits, and the financial aspects of both maternity and paternity leave.

I’m covering rights for contract employees, freelancers in Italy, adoptive parents, and single parents within the Italian system. This episode aims to provide a comprehensive guide to navigating the bureaucratic landscape of parental leave in Italy.

As I mentioned in the episode, the CAF and Patronato may be your friend when applying for leave, here’s a blog explaining those more in depth.

https://collineallemontagne.com/what-is-a-patronato-or-a-caf-in-italy/

TimeStamps: 02:40 Eligibility for Maternity Leave 04:23 Maternity Leave for Contracted Employees 08:39 Maternity Leave for Freelancers 11:37 Applying for Maternity Leave 15:30 Paternity Leave and Parental Leave 21:01 Single Parents and Conclusion

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This Episode of The Real Life in Italy was sponsored by Doctorsa.com A network of English speaking doctors in Italy, and Europe, available for in-person or video call appointments 24/7. Find out more: https://bit.ly/DoctorsaRealLife ______

If you enjoyed the episode, and show, please leave us a 5 ⭐️ rating, it means a lot!

Thanks for listening to the Real Life in Italy.

This podcast is for foreigners living in Italy, who are all just trying to make sense of it all.

Listen in to learn all about a side of living in Italy everyone else forgot to tell you about. But don’t expect us all to be better, I promise. Expect some good laughs, helpful tips and cultural explanations, and expat stories to remind you that you aren’t alone, and it’ll all work out.

Learn more about Evelyn at

www.collineallemontagne.com

www.instagram.com/collinemontagne

You can show your support by buying me a glass of wine, I always appreciate it:

www.buymeacoffee.com/colline

In this episode of The Real Life in Italy, host Evelyn Hill chats with Jasmine Mah of QuestaDolceVita , explore the experience of being a mom in Italy as a foreigner.

We look at the things we love, and the things we are not crazy about being a mom here in Italy. We talk about cultural differences, challenges, and joys of raising children in Italy.

Topics covered include what we really think of our pediatrician, or what they think of us; the dynamics of raising a bilingual kid, and the Italian approach to maternity leave and daycare. The episode also highlights specific cultural practices like weaning (svezzamento), attitudes towards cleanliness and weight, and the social dynamics of making mom friends.

So if you are a soon-to-be mom or current mom in Italy, tune in to hear shared experiences of expat parenting in Italy. We’d also love you to weigh in on your experience.

Share with us on Instagram, or e-mail at evelyn@collineallemontagne.com

You can find Jasmine here: https://www.instagram.com/questadolcevita/ And Evelyn: www.instagram.com/collinemontagne

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This Episode of The Real Life in Italy was sponsored by Doctorsa.com A network of English speaking doctors in Italy, and Europe, available for in-person or video call appointments 24/7. Find out more: https://bit.ly/DoctorsaRealLife __

If you enjoyed the episode, and show, please leave us a 5 ⭐️ rating, it means a lot!

Thanks for listening to the Real Life in Italy.

This podcast is for foreigners living in Italy, who are all just trying to make sense of it all.

Listen in to learn all about a side of living in Italy everyone else forgot to tell you about. But don’t expect us all to be better, I promise. Expect some good laughs, helpful tips and cultural explanations, and expat stories to remind you that you aren’t alone, and it’ll all work out.

Learn more about Evelyn at

www.collineallemontagne.com

You can show your support by buying me a glass of wine, I always appreciate it:

www.buymeacoffee.com/colline

This week the Real Life in Italy explores the misconceptions and realities of Northern Italy vs Southern Italy. Your host, Evelyn is an american in Italy, located in Piedmont, Northern Italy, and this week I’m joined by Claire, a British expat living in Sicily. We each chose to share 5 stereotypes we hear about North Italy and South Italy, and share our own experiences with them.

Is it true Southern Italy has a lot of crime? Is it true that “everything works” in the North? Ehh, well time to listen and find out!

And of course, we share our daily life experiences as expats in Italy, and the unique charm that both regions of Italy offer. Join us as we explore what sets the North and South apart, debunking myths and revealing what life in these regions looks like.

You can find Claire here:

https://www.youtube.com/@MsBritaly

https://msbritaly.com

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If you enjoyed the episode, and show, please leave us a 5 ⭐️ rating, it means a lot!

Thanks for listening to the Real Life in Italy.

This podcast is for foreigners living in Italy, who are all just trying to make sense of it all.

Listen in to learn all about a side of living in Italy everyone else forgot to tell you about. But don’t expect us all to be better, I promise. Expect some good laughs, helpful tips and cultural explanations, and expat stories to remind you that you aren’t alone, and it’ll all work out.

Learn more about Evelyn at

www.collineallemontagne.com

www.instagram.com/collinemontagne

You can show your support by buying me a glass of wine, I always appreciate it:

www.buymeacoffee.com/colline

This week on The Real Life in Italy we are back again talking about freelancing in Italy, featuring a discussion with your host Evelyn, and Claudia. We’re sharing our journeys with the partita IVA in Italy, covering key topics like managing taxes, finding clients, and the choice between online platforms and traditional accounting. While our experiences may look different from yours, we hope we can provide other expats in Italy an overview of the challenges and opportunities faced by freelancers in Italy, including practical advice for navigating the Partita IVA, leveraging digital marketing skills, and making informed decisions to succeed in the freelance market.

This episode covers a more casual look at how the Partita IVA has touched our lives as foreigners in Italy, but if you’d like a little more technical idea of how it works, check out last weeks episode “ The Italian Partita IVA: What to know for being self-employed in Italy ”

The incredible online (and in English!) accounting software that Claudia mentions is here: https://www.xolo.io/it-en?ref=collinemontagne

And it looks like a lifesaver.

You can catch Claudia here:

https://www.ciaobellamedia.com

https://www.instagram.com/_ciaobellamedia/

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If you enjoyed the episode, and show, please leave us a 5 ⭐️ rating, it means a lot!

Thanks for listening to the Real Life in Italy.

This podcast is for foreigners living in Italy, who are all just trying to make sense of it all.

Listen in to learn all about a side of living in Italy everyone else forgot to tell you about. But don’t expect us all to be better, I promise. Expect some good laughs, helpful tips and cultural explanations, and expat stories to remind you that you aren’t alone, and it’ll all work out.

Learn more about Evelyn at

www.collineallemontagne.com

www.instagram.com/collinemontagne

You can show your support by buying me a glass of wine, I always appreciate it:

www.buymeacoffee.com/colline

Ready for another, more practical, episode of The Real Life in Italy? We’re talking about the Partita IVA, what it is, when you need it, and how it all works.

If you as a foreigner living in Italy, ever had hopes of opening a small business or going freelance in Italy, then you’ll need to get real familiar with this code. The Partita IVA is your tax code that lets you do business in Italy.

We’ll explore the different options of the partita IVA in Italy, what taxes in Italy look like with this code, and a few pros and cons.

Ultimately if you are an expat in Italy looking to open a Partita IVA, or understand it better, the best thing you can do it find a commercialista - an Italian accountant.

As promised in the episode, here’s a resource list for you. If you are looking for an online Italian accounting service in English: https://www.xolo.io/it-en?ref=collinemontagne

I’ll be back soon with a fellow freelancer in Italy to tell you more about what it’s like working and living in Italy as a freelancer. In the meantime, enjoy.

If you enjoyed the episode, and show, please leave us a 5 ⭐️ rating, it means a lot!

Thanks for listening to the Real Life in Italy.

This podcast is for foreigners living in Italy, who are all just trying to make sense of it all.

Listen in to learn all about a side of living in Italy everyone else forgot to tell you about. But don’t expect us all to be better, I promise. Expect some good laughs, helpful tips and cultural explanations, and expat stories to remind you that you aren’t alone, and it’ll all work out.

Learn more about Evelyn at

www.collineallemontagne.com

www.instagram.com/collinemontagne

You can show your support by buying me a glass of wine, I always appreciate it:

www.buymeacoffee.com/colline

On this episode of The Real Life in Italy, we’re getting into a topic I think is so important to understand: The Mafia in Italy or rather, Italian Organized Crime.

This is a little 101 for you to understand how these organizations operate, where they operate, and who they are. Oh, and how that might effect life for us foreigners living in Italy. Spoiler: You’ll probably never even notice it, but it’s all around.

Expats in Italy seem to have so many misconceptions of the mafia in italy on two extremes: one, that it is dangerous and you should avoid certain areas of Italy at all costs, two that it doesn’t exist. Both are wrong to a certain degree, and that’s exactly what we’ll be covering in this episode. I'll share where you can find the Italian mafia operating well beyond Italy's borders, and give you a quick overview of the main organizations: Cosa Nostra, Camorra, 'Ndrangheta, and the Sacra Corona Unita. While we don't have to be scared while living in Italy, understanding how the mafia exists and operates can help us make better decisions as expats in Italy - and really as general people all over the world.

Here are some great resources about the mafia in Italy if you would like to learn more:

Books- Midnight in Sicily-Peter Robb Gomorrah- Roberto Saviano The Day of the Owl- Leonardo Sciascia Global Mafia by Antonio Nicaso and Lee Lamothe Excellent Cadavers by Alexander Stille Mafia and Antimafia by Umberto Santino

Movies or Shows:

La Ribelle Siciliana Shooting the Mafia Robinò Excellent Cadavers 1992/1993 100 Passi

News Sites to stay up to date about the Mafia in Italy, and in the world:

The Guardian- covers news very well if you search through their site.

Antimafiaduemilla ___

If you enjoyed the episode, and show, please leave us a 5 ⭐️ rating, it means a lot!

Thanks for listening to the Real Life in Italy.

This podcast is for foreigners living in Italy, who are all just trying to make sense of it all.

Listen in to learn all about a side of living in Italy everyone else forgot to tell you about. But don’t expect us all to be better, I promise. Expect some good laughs, helpful tips and cultural explanations, and expat stories to remind you that you aren’t alone, and it’ll all work out.

Learn more about Evelyn at

www.collineallemontagne.com

www.instagram.com/collinemontagne

You can show your support by buying me a glass of wine, I always appreciate it:

www.buymeacoffee.com/colline

This episode of the Real Life in Italy is answering the question: who the hell were Garibaldi and Cavour anyway?

These names are everywhere we look in Italy. It’s because these two characters were key players in the Italian Unification - the Risorgimento. There’s a long, long history lesson behind that, but today, let’s take it easy and just get to know your new Italian (er or are they French?) friends: Giuseppe Garibaldi and Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour.

I’m joined by fellow American in Italy Verity Pryor-Harden, who just like you was curious about who these men were and what their deal was. Well I’m here to tell you.

Disclaimer, in case you had any doubt: I am far from a historian, I am not an expert. And I am WELL aware the stories of the Risorgimento, Garibaldi, and Cavour go far beyond this 101.

I’m just another expat in Italy, trying to understand Italian culture and history, and make sense of life in Italy.

Welcome to the Real Life in Italy.

00:00 Discovering Italy's Unification Heroes: Garibaldi and Cavour 02:56 Exploring the Risorgimento: Italy's Path to Unification 04:58 Garibaldi's Early Life 17:22 The Expedition of the Thousand: Sicily's Conquest 24:24 Garibaldi's March North: The Conquest of Naples 26:37 Garibaldi's Legacy and the Unification of Italy 27:52 The Rivalry Between Garibaldi and Cavour 31:17 Cavour's Diplomatic Mastery and Reforms 42:55 Cavour's Influence on Italian Wine Culture 46:24 Reflections on Italian Unification and Regional Identities

Want to nerd out some more about Italian Unification, History, and these guys?

Read These:

Pursuit of Italy

The Force of Destiny

Garibaldi Invention of a Hero

You can follow Verity’s adventures in Arezzzo here:

https://www.instagram.com/verityeph/

Learn more about Evelyn at

www.collineallemontagne.com

www.instagram.com/collinemontagne

You can show your support by buying me a glass of wine, I always appreciate it:

www.buymeacoffee.com/colline