Sunday 6 July 2008

Ci vedremo Italia...



The time may have come for bel ragazzo and I to leave this bel paese behind. This is my third year of living on and off in Italy and my second summer season working in Rome. Last year I was lucky enough to live and work in the idyllic Taormina and I would love to go back there one day, but for now we are thinking of moving on...not to another part of Italy but to a different country all together.

The beauty of our jobs is that we can work pretty much anywhere in the world: Florida, Cuba, Kenya, India, Maldives...We work for the largest UK tour operator and they have posts all over. Up until now I have been working in the specialist Italian division however I am contemplating moving to another area. We are (relatively) young, we have no commitments and still have the urge to travel so have decided to take advantage of the opportunities before us and make the move. I love Italy, bel ragazzo is Italian, I have a grasp of the language and with my dual passports and residency there is no problem about us returning when ever we want.

And to be honest we are both a little over Rome...but I will go into that in another post.

I believe in fate, destiny and am always on the look out for a sign to guide me. Bel ragazzo and I agreed we would wait for a sign as to which country to work in. We were thinking somewhere like Sri Lanka and going as far away as possible, that was until we got our first sign.

The first sign was in the form of bel ragazzo's brother. He announced that after seventeen years of being with his girlfriend they were finally...finally going to get married. They are planning to tie the knot next September and bel ragazzo will be in the bridal party (not that they have bridal parties as such here, more like people who act as the witness.)

Immediately our plans changed as if we go to the other side of the world then we would have to fork out the cash to fly back for the wedding...So we have re adapted our ideas to somewhere closer to home.

Currently we are thinking the Canary Islands...learning Spanish, living on an island close to the sea, close enough to Italy that it would not cost a fortune to fly back, but far enough away that it is still exciting... Vamos! Chi lo sa? We have to wait until August to request where we want to go and then September to find out where they decide to place us....

Has anyone lived in the Canary Islands, or been there for a holiday? I would love to know if you think it is a wise choice.

7 comments:

Jessica said...

I can totally relate on being over Rome. Not sure of your exact reasons, but based on your posts I think they are the same as mine. I think you should totally take advantage of the opportunity to relocate. Italy will always be a huge part of your life and why not see the rest of the world while you are not tied down with kids (or whatever ties people down)? Good luck in whatever you decide, just keep blogging :) !!!

Leanne was in Italy now in Australia said...

Hi Jessica,
I too think our reasons are the same...it is so expensive to live here in Rome, the public transport it vile, once you leave the city walls it becomes dirty, the beach is to far....
I will keep blogging however!

Delina said...

Lots of Expats seem to be leaving ...
That's great that you can go anywhere in the world. Good luck!

Romerican said...

Arrivederci Roma!
It must be a blast to be able to move around & work like that, brava!
Good luck picking your next destination.

Leanne was in Italy now in Australia said...

Hi Delina,
It does seem like a lot of people are leaving, in particular here in Rome which price wise is getting out of hand.
We however will surely be back one day as I love Italy too much to just leave it behind.

Hi Romerican,
It is great that we can move around with work so this is the first time at least bel ragazzo and I can do it together.

Anonymous said...

I came over from bleedingespresso.com.

It sounds exciting...thinking of a new place to live. My parents moved quite a bit when I was younger and I have moved a lot as an adult...but always in the US.

Good luck! I will stop by again.

Leanne was in Italy now in Australia said...

Hi Thotlady,
Thanks so much for stopping by!
It is very exciting thinking of new places to live - it's just trying to decide where as the world is full of so many great countires.