Tune in to the podcast, where I discuss living and working abroad.

Below is a snapshot of what you’ll hear in my podcast with ACA.

The road to Milan

My fascination with life beyond the States began in high school, when I toured Scandinavia as a member of a regional soccer team. The experience sparked my curiosity about different cultures. Later, studying abroad in Florence and Milan deepened my appreciation for Italy and ultimately led me to pursue a career in international business, setting me on my expat journey.

While completing my MBA in the U.S.A. and Italy, I interned with Pirelli in Milan. Two years later, Pirelli offered me a job at their headquarters in Italy.

Upon my return to Milan, I encountered my first set of hurdles. Navigating Italy’s bureaucracy to obtain a work permit was an early challenge. Determination and adaptability made the process less painful.

Four lessons I learned on my expat journey

• Going with the flow – Italy can test your patience. Long waits at government offices, frequent transportation strikes, and bureaucratic hurdles taught me to stop sweating the small stuff and focus on adapting instead of resisting.

• The power of determination – Five years into my expat life, Pirelli sold my business unit, and I found myself without a job. Networking and persistence helped me secure a new role with a U.S. multinational in Italy, proving that resilience is a key trait to thriving in a foreign job market.

• Embracing cultural differences – Corporate culture in Italy differs from that in the U.S.A. One of my biggest adjustments was learning the importance of face time with colleagues. Some of my best career insights came from informal conversations over coffee, lunch, and social events, rather than being glued to my desk.

• Understanding hidden costs – I underestimated taxes and some other common expenses. For example, paying roughly 700 euros for my driver’s license caught me off guard. Later, I learned how to better manage my budget and anticipate expenses, resulting in fewer surprises.

The reality of living abroad

The fantasy of moving abroad often glosses over the complexities. An expat journey presents challenges such as feeling lonely, adapting to a new way of life that may not make sense at first, being labeled a foreigner, and dealing with skeptics. Despite that, creating a new life from scratch fosters resilience, resourcefulness, and cultural openness.

Advice for aspiring expats

Thinking of relocating? Do your research. Evaluate the job offer—salary, relocation assistance, health benefits, and long-term career impact. Understand the cost of living, essential documents needed, tax implications, and logistics. If you have a family, also factor in education.

For women seeking expat roles, assertiveness is crucial. Take initiative and communicate your interest in international assignments within your company. Opportunities can arise through company expansions, acquisitions, or rotational programs.

Reflections and final thoughts

Milan’s expat community is diverse—students, business professionals, artists, designers, and entrepreneurs make up the American community here. Milan is more than just a “working city.” It has beautifully manicured, hidden courtyards, notable art, rich culture, and opportunities to meet people from all over Italy and the world.

If I could advise my younger self, I’d say, “always step outside your comfort zone and take advantage of every opportunity–whether staying put, moving to another country, or returning home.”

My expat journey has enriched my life in ways I never expected. I received career opportunities across EMEA. Have friendships with people from all over the world. Lastly, I have experienced a deep cultural immersion that is not possible through travel alone. If you’re offered an opportunity to take an expat assignment, take it! It could be the most transformative experience of your life.

Photo by Khush Sandhu from Pexels

The post My expat journey: an honest account of life abroad. appeared first on Ciao Lulu!.

Anyone who knows me, knows that working abroad is a dream come true.  I’ve constructed a full life in the country of my family’s roots – Italy.  If you have visited Italy, you can appreciate people who are full of passion, a rich culture, traditions that vary from town to town, and a history that spans ancient times to the present.  Living here has certainly influenced my thinking on how I should live my life.  Italians are passionate people who work hard and enjoy life.  With the best of food, wine, art, design, fashion, architecture, and a geographical position that appeals to cold- and warm-weather activity, it is easy to arrive in a place like Italy and fall into the trap that “la dolce vita” or “the good life” is something easily obtained.

The reality is that Italy can also be characterized as a country with a weak job market, corruption, high taxes, an inefficient government, public services that don’t work, and a lot of bureaucracy.  While your early months of expat life might feel like a scene from Netflix’s original series Emily in Paris, the reality is that to maintain a full and satisfying life abroad, you have to really work at it…all the time. 

“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.” – Dolly Parton

As I reflect on my time in Italy, there are some tough challenges to cope with while working abroad.

Trading places.

The first challenge of expat life is working, legally, in your new home country. A hard but useful lesson, one that everyone who is an expat will experience, is being an immigrant.  Even with the sponsorship of a globally-recognized Italian company, when I arrived in Italy from the USA there was no preferential treatment. 

I was labeled an “extracomunitario” or a “non-EU citizen” like many others arriving from outside the European Union.  Being called a “foreigner” or “outsider” is not exactly a warm and fuzzy feeling.  Having those words stamped on all your documents isn’t a badge of honor.  Going down to the immigration office to get my first “permesso di soggiorno” or “residence permit” is an experience that I will never forget.  The learning here is to standup tall and be proud of who you are.  Also, have compassion for those who are trying to create a better life somewhere else.

The bureaucracy.

I can’t speak for every country, but the paperwork that I needed to be admitted into the quota for my residence permit in Italy was insane, even when there was someone else doing the work for me. Once admitted, I had to return home to do more paperwork in my home country. Upon my return to Italy, it took even more time to have some of the basic services that one takes for granted at home – a form of identification, a checking account, access to healthcare, etc. Here, all I can say is that patience and determination will get you through this period.  Before you head off to your expat assignment, try to get first-hand feedback on the process from others from your home country who have gone through the work-permit process.

Finding your place far from home.

Once you are settled and start working abroad, you’ll need to create a life in your new country.  This isn’t spring break, so making meaningful connections may require more effort than usual.  On the job, you may be seen as a threat.   Integrating and finding your way will take time and will not happen overnight.  You’ll need to put yourself out there and try many experiences to find the right balance that works for you.  Join associations, volunteer and go out and meet people.

Maintain connections.

It is easy to lose touch.  Staying connected can be difficult due to time zone differences and any other excuses that come to mind.  Schedule time to connect with your family and friends.  Make the effort to see one another when you are at home or nearby.  Be sure to preserve the ties you created while you make new ones.  

Stay relevant on the job.

While expat life can open the doors to new opportunities, sometimes being too far from the corporate headquarters can be a disadvantage. Even when the experience you are undertaking makes you better at your job and more qualified for promotion, you may be passed over and even forgotten.  Here you’ll need to be assertive and vocal in order to keep yourself front and center.  And, even after proving yourself, you still might be excluded because you are not in the right location.  This is unfortunate. 

However, if there is anything the pandemic has taught us is that we can be productive even when we are not physically together in the same room.  Many companies are incorporating the learnings from the past year to create more flexible and dynamic work environments. However after all this, if you still feel that you are being put in the corner check out what you can do outside of your workday to advance your career.

Tax madness.

Something that many of us are dealing with in these days is the filing of our taxes.  If you’re an American, like me, you are required to file taxes in the USA.  Your worldwide income is subject to U.S. income tax no matter where you reside.  This means that every year you are living and working abroad, you’ll be filing taxes in two places, most likely requiring the service of an accountant.  Groups like American Citizens Abroad are advocating for tax reform.  If you want to keep your American citizenship, you must continue to file your taxes in the USA.  No matter where you’re from and where you’re going, you’ll want to understand your tax obligations.

Expat life is what you make it.

I went from the USA to Italy; you’ll probably be heading somewhere else. The point is that you’ll need to do your research on day-to-day expat life to understand the challenges of working abroad.  These are only a few but there could be other challenges to expat life. How you choose to manage the obstacles you encounter will affect your wellbeing while you are living and working abroad.  Like anything in life, you get what you put into it including “la dolce vita” or “the good life”.

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

The post The truth about expat life, it’s not always “la dolce vita.” appeared first on Ciao Lulu!.