Italy was our most recent overseas duty station. While it brought its own unique learning curve and challenges (as all duty stations do), it was an amazing place to spend three years. We learned a lot while we were there and grew our family by two.
We were stationed in Northern Italy. Of course, there are other installations throughout the country, but I can only speak to our experience where we were. Some things on the list apply to the whole country while others are more region specifc. No matter where you end up, Italy is a great place to spend some time.
Here are a few other things to consider if you’re orders say Italy.
Italian Restaurants and Shops Often Close Mid-Day
This is especially true of smaller mom-and-pop shops, but I’ve also seen it happen with bigger chain stores. It’s called riposo (Italian for rest). Stores may be open in the morning until 12:00 or 1:00, then close until 3:00. Restaurants usually open for lunch until 2:00 or 3:00 and then close until dinner, sometimes not reopening until 6:00 or later. Generally speaking, I did find Google to be a reliable (enough) source for when things are open or closed.
On That Same Note – Dinner is Later
This is true of Europe as a whole. Where Americans usually head out to eat at 5:00 or 5:30, many Italian restaurants aren’t even open for dinner at that time. In our area, we could find places open at 6:00, but even if we showed up at 6:30, we were often the only ones there. Italians usually sit down for dinner after 7:00 or 7:30. And dinner is a leisurely affair.
Speaking of Time – “Italian Time” is a Thing
You’ve heard of “island time.” The idea that time is just a suggestion and things move as they do, no matter what the clock says. There’s a similar idea in Italy. Posted hours for places are sometimes just suggestions. Moving to Italy from Japan, the idea of Italian time was hard to get used to. Japanese trains ran on time to the minute, but that wasn’t always the case with Italian transportation. Go with the flow.
Public Transportation is Great, but Sometimes Unreliable
A few times a year, public transportation goes on strike. This can include airports, trains, buses, and other local transportation. By Italian law, some transportation routes will remain active, but you can expect them to be jam packed with people trying to get around. Strikes are often announced in advance, which is helpful if you’re planning to travel. While inconvenient to travelers, strikes give public workers a chance to voice their dissatisfaction about a part of their job, like wages, working hours, or other parts of their contracts. A few places you can check on upcoming strikes include:
Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport
ItaliaRail Website: Strike Information
Local train stations or news stations
Speaking of Getting Around – You Can Probably Still Keep Your Car Seat
For OCONUS moves, the military will cover the cost of shipping one personal vehicle. But depending on the size of your family, having a second car can be helpful. We didn’t have a vehicle to ship, so we bought both our cars in Italy. One was a US car we purchased from a service member. The other was an EU car from a dealership off base.
Did you know there are different specs for EU cars than US cars? Of course, it makes sense, but it was never something I had to know before. Then we got pregnant and needed to find a car seat that worked in both our US spec vehicle and our EU car. If you’re purchasing an EU spec car, and you have children, it’s important to know the seatbelts function differently than in a US car. While most US car seats can be installed using the LATCH system, once your child outgrows those weight limits, you’ll need to consider how your car seat will be installed in your car.
While I am most definitely not a car seat expert, I did a lot of research before purchasing our kids’ car seats. I cover much of what I learned, specifically as it relates to installing a car seat in an non US spec vehicle, in my Guide to Surviving Your OCONUS PCS: Kids Edition.
Once You Land in Italy, It Can Be a Long Wait for Housing
Of course, I can only speak to the experience we had on our particular installation. Although our posting did offer on base housing, it was undergoing extensive renovations during our time in country. Since on base wasn’t an option, that left us with two other choices: a government lease house off base, or a private rental off base.
Ultimately, we ended up with a private lease house off base. This meant we had an Italian landlord and paid our utilities directly to the Italian companies (instead of the military being the middleman). Housing helped us get everything set up, including signing the lease and setting up utilities, but the entire process took so much longer than I thought it would.
From the time we landed to the time we moved into our house was almost 90 days. During that time, we were in the hotel on base, so it was easy enough to walk where we needed to go. How long you might be unhoused is an important question to ask as you make your plans to move to Italy.
Electricity is Different Than in the US
If you’ve traveled to Europe before, you probably know the electricity is 220V. This means some of your US appliances may not work overseas. As you sort through your house and prepare to pack, take a peek at your electronics. If they don’t say dual voltage (110-220V), you may want to consider selling them or storing them before your move.
Before you fly, grab a few outlet converters too. This will help make your first few days in the country easier. While these converters don’t change anything about the voltage, they will allow you to plug your US electronics into the wall. These are ones we bought a bunch of during our time in Italy.
If You End Up in Off Base Housing, Check Your AC Units
Unlike the US, air conditioning isn’t super prevalent in Europe. When there is AC, it’s not central, but rather a ductless system where each room has its own unit. Honestly, after two overseas duty stations with this, we prefer it.
We looked at a few houses before choosing ours, and one of the reasons we did was that there was AC in every bedroom. Often, you’ll find just one unit in a hallway that’s supposed to cover all the bedrooms. Many Americans find the cooling in this type of setup insufficient. So, make sure you’re thinking about the locations of AC units in houses you’re considering. On the flip side, many Italian homes have heated floors, and that is, in a word, amazing.
Be Prepared to Squat
Squatty potties are semi-common in Europe. Especially in the older cities, you can almost guarantee you’ll run into at least one. It can take a little getting used to, but once you do it a few times, it’s not so bad.
Grocery Shopping? Don’t Forget the Gloves
In Italian grocery stores, you weigh and tag your own produce. But before selecting your perfect head of broccoli, make sure you grab gloves. Grocery stores will have compostable produce bags in many locations throughout that section. With them are some thin plastic gloves you’re supposed to wear instead of touching the product bare-handed.
After you select and bag your item, make a note of the number on the tag. Take your produce to the scale, weigh it, and type in the number. A ticket will print out that you will stick to your bag. In most grocery stores we shopped at, customers weighed their own items. Occasionally, you’ll see a store with one central scale and an employee behind a counter that does the weighing.
For our installation, this was also the system for produce. Although they didn’t chastize me on my first visit when I didn’t know the process, it’s expected that customers bag and weigh their items just like at an off base grocery store.
August is a Holiday Month
Called ferragosto, it’s technically one single day, usually in the middle of August. However, it is often referred to as the entire month. Italian stores, public offices, and public transit usually have different hours. Many small stores or restaurants may be closed for a week or more. Business things (like signing leases or getting utilities turned on), can sometimes take longer in August. As more Italians travel and take vacations, traffic may be worse than usual, and tickets to popular attractions may be harder to get.
Italy is a Great Jumping Off Point for More Travel
While we didn’t get to see as much of Europe as we originally planned (thanks to being pregnant or newly postpartum for most of our time there), we did manage to see a few sights. Germany, Innsbruck, and Slovenia are all easily accessible by car. We also explored a significant portion of Italy itself, including Cortina d’Ampezzo, Rome, Assisi, Pompeii, Milan, Florence, Modena, Bologna, and others. I highly recommend creating a travel list for your family of places you’d like to see while in Europe. Then go do it!
Lastly, Here are Some Helpful Apps
I had a lot of Italian apps on my phone. Since my phone was a US phone, I kept all my settings as a US user (rather than transferring them to Italy). So, all the apps mentioned can be found on the US App Store. Since I have an iPhone, links take you to the App Store. Sorry, Android users.
Global Convert – helpful for moving between Metric and Imperial measuring systems
Trainline – how we got most of our bus and train tickets. Other ticket apps include Drop Ticket, Trenitalia, Mooneygo
Easy Park – we never used it, but it can be helpful when paying for parking. It was used quite a bit in Northern Italy where we were
Rail Planner – if you’re planning a lot of European travel, Rail Planner can help keep you updated on strikes, delays, or cancellations in other countries and along the route you’re traveling.
Il Meteo – Italian weather app. Slightly more reliable than weather.com
The Fork – helpful for finding restaurants, reviews, and making reservations
We also had apps for banking and utilities, like internet and phone service.
Planning for any PCS can be daunting. Overseas assignments, especially, can come with some hesitation. I hope this list has helped you feel a bit more prepared for when your orders say Italy.
