The previous post was a response to the following question:
What advice would you offer for those who want to eventually work abroad, specifically in Italy ?- Evan, Bloomington, IL

Hi Evan,
The real lengthy reply is below, but for those who don’t want to read the doctoral thesis/”War and Peace”/Complete history of Italy abridged below, here is some advice I would offer:

1- Know how you can stay in Italy and not have to hide from immigration. It is not quite as simple as walking up to your nearest consulate (for you Evan, that’s Chicago) and declaring that you want to live in Italy (MAGARI!)

2- Do some market research into the sector that you want to work in. Like in the states, a lot of the interview process involves selling yourself- but a company will definitely want to know why they should hire you over an Italian (heres a hint: I speak Native English goes over VERY well).

3- Do some research on the area of Italy you would like to move to: Milan is the capital of finance and fashion, Rome provides great opportunities for government work, banking and tourism, Florence is a good city to teach English or (again) tourism, and Puglia is beautiful if you want to be a farmer.

4- Learn Italian- maybe this doesn’t need to be said, but I was in Rome two weeks ago and I ran into this girl from Minnesota who spoke such terrible Italian, I was tempted to punch her. I give credit to people who try, but her Italian was so terrible and she was so cocky about how great it was, that about 90% of the piazza was on board with the whole “me kicking her thing.”

5- Be Persistent. The old saying “where theres a will, theres a way” really holds true during a lot of the administrative work that goes into moving across an ocean. Stay focused, and don’t be afraid to call the consulate every five minutes if you have to. I was on hold with the Consulate in NY for most of 2006…

I love the questions though! Keep them coming!