Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #495672 in Books
• Published on: 2003-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 365 pages

From the Publisher
About the Authors
TRAVIS NEIGHBOR now lives in New York City, where she is a senior editor at Departures Magazine. A writer of both fiction and nonfiction, she lived in Florence for more than four years. MONICA LARNER lives near the Colosseum in Rome, where she is a journalist for Business Week. She has lived in Italy on and off for seven years.

Customer Reviews

My absolute survival guide...
Wow! What a fabulous book! I had the first inkling when I read it in the states before my move, but now that I'm here I can't imagine how mysterious and elusive the laws and quirks of this country would seem without it. Even my American friend who has lived here for 8 months learns things from this book everytime I pull it out (which is several times daily). It has been pretty complete so far and the information in it has been accurate without exception. The only thing that is different (common sense) is the dollar to lire conversion rate.

The final important point about this book is that it is geared toward Americans which is critical since the rules for EU citizens are different and not every book on the subject that is written in English is geared toward those of us from the US.

Final tip, even with this book I don't think I could have done this without the help of native Italians, (like hook up my gas) so do everything in your power to find italian contacts. But if it IS possible to do it with a book alone, this would be the one.

Lots of good information but they exaggerate some things
I find, after having traveled to Italy several times and planning to move there that this book does have some good, helpful information but I feel that there is some exaggeration about the Italian system.
For instance...the thing about having to pay parking fines for a used car is (after having discussed it with an Italian) ridiculous. I think they say some of the stuff for effect. It tends to put some Italians in a bad light.

Practical, no-nonsense guide to living abroad
I wasn't sure what to expect with a book like this. Would the authors be so in love with Italy that they wouldn't be objective? Would they have had such bad experiences that they had nothing good to say about the country? I was pleasantly surprised to see an objective, thoughtful commentary on what you can reasonably expect to find living in Italy. Helpful tips, amusing anecdotes, loads of further resources, and practical--yet encouraging--advice. Recommended!