The pros and cons of living in Italy

I’ve been living in Italy for just a couple weeks short of a YEAR! Can you believe???

I mostly cannot. But it’s true, if the calendar is to be trusted. And that year has been a wild ride of culture shocks, gay side quests, new communities and byzantine bureaucracies.

What do I make of all that? Today I’m here to tell you how it all shakes out. I’ll break down some of the major themes of life here in Italy, and give you my honest pros and cons for each one.

The library is open!

Pros: It’s free… ish! Nothing in this life is free, babygirl. Italy’s public health system is funded by taxes. And occasionally, you pay at the point of service, say $20 for a test or a prescription. (That’s the full sticker price, sans insurance.) So yeah, pretty affordable! And more importantly: Universal. Access to the public health system is not yoked to your job or some such nonsense. You’re a resident in Italy? You get healthcare. 

Cons: It has a tendency to be chaotic, like most things in Italy. Bureaucracy is not their strength. Some visits are delightfully efficient, with others are a maze of windows and tickets that have been known, on occasion, to bring me to the verge of tears. Also, sometimes the wait to start seeing a new specialist is measured in months. But last I checked, that happens all the time in the U.S., too. 

Verdict: I’ll take my mostly-free, sometimes-messy healthcare in Italy, thank you very much. Premiums and deductibles?? Miss me with that. 

Pros: I am swimming in it. Milan’s got so many places to be gay and do crimes. Bathhouses! Cruising clubs! Gay Bars! Naked dance nights! The problem is not finding somewhere to go, but finding the time (and money) to patronize all of these naughty night spots.