Seems that's a possibility; it slipped out!
Downtown Chicago. My hands were filed with packages and this guy walking a little too close behind me, his drycleaning thrown over his arm and hand to hide what he was doing, was in my purse. We got into a screaming match on the street. I accused him. He denied it. He called me a stupid bitch. I called him a low-life dog and we went our separate ways.
Big city living.
Craven de Kere wrote:pueo,
I've lived in both, Singapore is a lot nicer....
from what i've read and seen on t.v., i agree. i had a chance to go to singapore for a company meeting a few years ago, but i passed on it, wish i hadn't.
Does anyone know how much vacation time they have in Italy, on average? A friend of mine just told me that they have the most vacation time of any country in the world, but that can't be, can it? how much vacation time can one expect to have?
Seems like I've heard or read that somewhere, also.
I dunno how across the board it is, as long vacation may have to do with corporations and or union workers and many italians have several things going at once, a bit of this and a bit of that. I should back off as I am not an in place observer, much less italian, being irish american. Still, as an avid italophile of the not romantic sort, meaning I like the energy of the real italy, not the tourist one, I have a certain personal scope out at all times. Sadly, vacation times fall in the Dunno file.
Several Italians I met on our trip told me it was a month on average. Of course, they also get a lot of religious holidays.
Very civilized, I think.
That is pretty cool.
My Italian teacher told us this saying that I thought was pretty funny. I wish I could remember it in Italian, but in English it was:
In Germany they work to live.
In America they live to work.
In Italy they live to not work.
I like that.
Table 1
Legally Mandated Paid Leave in Europe and United States, 2000
Weeks 4
Days 30
Austria
30
Denmark
30
Finland
30
France
30
Spain
30
Luxembourg
25
Sweden
25
Germany
24
Belgium
4
Greece
4
Ireland
4
Netherlands
4
United Kingdom
4
Italy 1)
(4 weeks)
Portugal 2)
22
European Union
4
Canada 3)
2
United States
0
0
Source: Article 7 of E.U. Directive 93/104/EC; and European Commission, Employment and Social Affairs, unpublished data, 2000.
1) Under the law, Italian workers have the right to paid annual leave, however, the law does not specify a minimum number of days. Since Italy is a member of the European Union, Italian workers are covered under the E.U. Directive 93/104/EC that mandates a minimum of 4 weeks of paid leave.
Table 1
Legally Mandated Paid Leave in Europe and United States, 2000
Weeks
Days
Austria
30
Denmark
30
Finland
30
France
30
Spain
30
Luxembourg
25
Sweden
25
Germany
24
Belgium
4
Greece
4
Ireland
4
Netherlands
4
United Kingdom
4
Italy 1)
(4 weeks)
Portugal 2)
22
European Union
4
Canada 3)
2
United States
0
0
Source: Article 7 of E.U. Directive 93/104/EC; and European Commission, Employment and Social Affairs, unpublished data, 2000.
1) Under the law, Italian workers have the right to paid annual leave, however, the law does not specify a minimum number of days. Since Italy is a member of the European Union, Italian workers are covered under the E.U. Directive 93/104/EC that mandates a minimum of 4 weeks of paid leave.
http://www.cepr.net/give_me_a_break.htm
kicky, I've lived in Italy twice.
The first time, for 4+ years, as a university student.
The second time, when I was 32 -but with a family- with a wage, a scholarship and seeing if I should migrate for good. I didn't.
But I'd certainly give it a try, if I were you.
So here's some advice:
First: Italy is at least 2 countries. The North and the South.
Generalizing...
In the North (where I lived), buses and trains are on time, everybody is part of some sort of an association (sports, parents-teachers, cinema lovers), services work, neighbors get really angry at you if your music is too loud at night, everyone cleans off his sidewalk snow, people are very efficient, and WORK a lot (less than in the US, but IMO, more efficiently).
In the South, nothing is on time, children pee on cars' tires, people run when it rains ('cause they forgot the umbrella), getting good -and sometimes any type of- service is a pain the ass, it's very hard to get a job without contacts, claxons honk day and night and you can go to a shop and find a sign: "I went fishing". Which tells you a lot about a happy shopowner and his philosophy of life.
Of course, the North is much richer and has reasonable job opportunities. Some of them want to think they're Swiss.
So choosing where to be is important.
Second: Red tape knows no boundaries.
It doesn't matter whether you're in the North or the South, bureaucracy will make things difficult for you.
I once saw a man being asked his "Certificato di Esistenza in Vita". The poor guy was going insane: "I'm alive, can't you see?!!!", he screamed.
I needed insurance for my car. To have the insurance, I needed to be a resident. I had everything, or so I thought, (after the questura, the finanze and the anagrafe) but the house I rented had no "certificato di abitalibità". It took me so long to get the "liveableness certificate", I had to pay an extra prime for the insurance.
I think I left the country without paying the tax for the radio in the car.
I also think the red tape is finally what convinced me that living all my life in Italy wasn't a great idea after all.
Three: You are not a European
This is hard for Americans. In Italy, they are non-Community. This means they are like Japanese, Tunisian, Nigerian or even Mexican nationals. Officials will not give you the same looks they may give a would-be Filipino or Somalian maid, but that's about it.
---
I guess those are all the major drawbacks.
The rest is great.
Beautiful places. Nice people, all around. Good people, even if a little conceited. Lots of interesting, gentle, civil people.
Kinder policemen. You are even able to discuss with them, and they'll listen. I think they are well trained, human and not corrupt.
I met many kind, human, understanding civil servants on the local level, in the North (they just didn't choose the asigned one, but looked for a good public preschool with a Spanish speaking student who could help in my 5 year old's language transition).
You go to a public hospital, doctors treat you well and then don't know how to charge. (this was more than a decade ago, perhaps it's changed for the worse).
Even with the strong Euro, prices won't compete with NYC (I was going to warn you about housing rent costs, but then I saw you live in NYC).
...and last but not least:
Italian women are beautiful.
It was an inspiration reading all your different experiences. All you guys have lots of couage and guts to do that. I always wanted to to move to Brazil but was too afriad to get out of the comfort zone.
I'm planning a trip to southern Italy, but now having second thoughts after reading fbaezer's post. LOL I still want to travel south of Rome, so what's your recommendations on places not to miss?
