Comments on: Italy Changing: La Dolce Vita Ain’t What It Used to Be

By: A Texas Piazza « New Found Traveler

A Texas Piazza « New Found Traveler — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 16:31:28 +0000

[...] Italians. Deirdre Straughan, a U.S. citizen who lived in Italy for over 15 years, described in her blog (Countries Beginning with I) the changes she saw in Italian [...]

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 18:10:31 +0000

Don’t forget many people in the states work 2-3 jobs. You are lucky if you only have 1 job and can make ends meet here. Long commutes in traffic are dangerous and I wish we had trains here like in Italy as an option. At least one could DO something with the time instead of having to drive the car.
I guess things are changing everywhere. I still love Italy and wish I could live there. I would at least like to try. If it doesn’t work out then I can say I tried and not regret.

Rebecca

By: anna l'ameriana

anna l'ameriana — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 13:07:15 +0000

#13 – Bruce: When was the last time you actually got from LAX to Westwood in 20 minutes? – As Los Angelinos we are used to saying “it’s 20 minutes away” no matter what the distance but it has actually been some time since that was true – for any distance. Just before I left L.A in disgust 2 years ago it was taking 20 minutes to get from my place in West L.A. to my local supermarket. Now I’m in Portland, Maine – where you can walk to the corner store or the local cafe, where everybody is connected to everybody by only 1 degree of separation, and there is no traffic or parking problem. Now if only the weather actually permitted walking………

I knew la dolce vita was over in Italy when I saw frozen heat-n’-eat pre-sauced carbonara in the supermarket in Rome. I burst into tears right there, knowing that everything I cherished about Italy was corrupted (by corruption, no less!) I still get the willies at the thought of that pasta.

By: Phillip Succarotte

Phillip Succarotte — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 14:33:32 +0000

I am interested in relocating to Italy. Where is there an american expat can settle for retirement. Who do I contact

By: Dee

Dee — Thu, 08 May 2008 14:35:26 +0000

Dear D, I agree with your posts and sentiment entirely, however Milan could be the actual problem, although this way of life is disappearing fast all over Italy.
I have linked you on my blog going for 2 years( been busy editing books lately) please do the same if you wish, Few people actualy include real opinions in articles or books about italy you do. Look forward to your mail D

By: Bruce

Bruce — Wed, 07 May 2008 01:10:53 +0000

After just spending 11 days in Italy and buying a house in Abruzzo, I still find it the most relaxing place to be. People still stroll on the weekends, the food is amazing and for the first time in years I did not have “restless leg syndrome.” Just driving the twenty minutes from the airport to my home in Westwood (Los Angeles) I was ready to kill. Yes, I am going to find “La Dolce Vita” in Italy. Times maybe a changing, but in Italy they are changing at just the right rate……
Bruce

By: Emma Bird

Emma Bird — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 10:11:42 +0000

Deidre

I think anybody thinking of moving to Italy should read this because what you say is true. Life is very different now. I’ve linked to this post over at HowToItaly.

Good luck with your latest adventures!
Emma

By: maggie

maggie — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:51:13 +0000

I think Simo’s point about “islands” connected by car journeys is very apt. I’ve lived in Edinburgh, Florence and Castle Rock, CO, and although Castle Rock is a small town and should be walkable it isn’t because everything is criss-crossed with huge roads. You have to drive from the café in the old centre to Safeway and from Safeway to the library and from the library to the Denver bus stop. Yet it is a real town unlike, say, Highlands Ranch where a town centre has recently been created to serve what is really a massive housing complex but over the last 15 years as the population of Colorado has mushroomed town-planning has been completely subjugated to the car and I don’t see that happening now in Italy or anywhere else in Europe. Globalisation, out of town malls, Ikea, big fridges, etc, are all good or bad depending on your perspective but there’s one thing none of us in Europe will ever be able to do and that is develop the car culture based on cheap gasoline that America once did. I think in the long-term that will be very good for Italy and the rest of Europe.

By: david lillington

david lillington — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 22:28:19 +0000

your description of the changing life of Italy is really great. Comparisons of Europe and the States are somehow endlessly interesting to most of us for some reason … I’m in London and remember being offended when I read in an American magazine about how Europe is ‘mouldy’ – until I went to the States and realised that where I lived in London was indeed, by comparison, mouldy – more or less literally … although it maybe still seems a bit unfair about some other bits of Europe … and then … Starbucks are now invading Vienna, which as you probably know has the most fantastic, genuinely used by everyone, coffee houses …

By: kataroma

kataroma — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 20:57:12 +0000

In response to Simo – I live in the centre of Rome (Esquilino) yet all the Italians I know who live around here own cars! We don’t and we don’t plan to. They think we’re crazy foreigners – particularly since we’re expecting a child. And why do all the Italians I know own and love thier cars (and motorini) and think we’re crazy for walking/ taking public transport everywhere? So that they don’t have to walk down the street to buy groceries or take the kids to school – or take the bus or metro and sit next to other people. They love their motorized vehicles (despite the horrendous parking situation here) so that they can be isolated in their little bubble of car when they drive to their kids school, the park, the supermarket, Auchan, IKEA etc. Italy has the second highest number of cars per capita in the world after the United States – car culture and the isolation which comes from that is definitely here to stay.

I’ve always lived in big cities (Rome, New York and Sydney) – in all three I’ve got to know the people at my corner bar (in Sydney it was my local pub), newsstand or corner shop. I don’t see any difference there. And I’ve never owned a car – I prefer to walk.

I would never chose to live in suburbia though in any country though. I agree that that would be very isolating. I’m sure that there are isolated suburban areas of Miami where you have to get in your car to go to the mailbox just as there are isolated boring suburban areas of Rome like that.