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How does Italy compare to the US in terms of LGBT friendliness/acceptance? As a gay person myself, I have mixed feeling about Americans' attitudes toward LGBT people. There are still tens of millions of Americans in 2018 who think I'm going to hell and shouldn't have the same rights and abilities as straight people. So how does Italy compare? I noticed that same sex marriage is not legal in Italy, but civil unions are. I would imagine that the Catholic church controls much of Italy's politics, right?
You are not Italian, you are American. You do not even speak the language.
Everything you ask boils down to the individual. Also, even though small compared to the US, Italy is not one monolithic country. People in the North are culturally very different from the people down South and the standard of living is also significantly higher in the North.
Also, even though small compared to the US, Italy is not one monolithic country. People in the North are culturally very different from the people down South and the standard of living is also significantly higher in the North.
As a general and overused meme, yes, sure, but there are also significant differences from region to region, province to province, clan to clan, neighborhood to neighborhood, household to household.
Everything boils down to the individual.
I have known many southern Italians, and I have never pitied them their standard of living, whether in material terms and certainly not in intellectual/cultural terms, anzi.
I do pity them their horribly inefficient public bureaucracy and their strait-jacketed fiscal position, and personally that predicament disgusts me, I couldn't stomach it.
Italy is a great place for travelling but I'm definitely not interested in living there. It just doesn't function very well.
That said I'm not interested in living in the US either.
Most people who already live in a developed country are not interested in moving to another country. Even rich people who live in poor countries don’t usually move out.
The vast majority of people who actually leave their home countries do so for economic reasons.
Being that you have a masters, I would imagine having more job opportunities in US. A distant cousin has a very high electric bill for a small apartment near Milan so things can be different but you won't know exactly what until you get there. You can visit during your vacation, but i would imagine their economy is not as strong as US. I know some who after retirement "snowbird" to Italy buying a house there and spending part of the year there and the rest in US, but I would learn the language as well as local dialect eventually because not every speaks English.
According to a lady in my bridge club, they don’t think too highly of southerner, she heard they said something about their smell. She’s Sicilian. You may think the grass is greener. It isn’t. Older male Italians are the rudest in my travel. Sorry for the stereotype. The younger ones are very nice though.
According to a lady in my bridge club, they don’t think too highly of southerner, she heard they said something about their smell. She’s Sicilian. You may think the grass is greener. It isn’t. Older male Italians are the rudest in my travel. Sorry for the stereotype. The younger ones are very nice though.
The northern Italians do tend to look down on those from the south. It is the usual thing that the south is more dependent on Italian and EU welfare and there is resentment that they do not contribute more. Having said that, my husband is Sicilian born and when we were travelling in the north this year he met only curiosity, not hostility. When they heard his accent they would ask about his origin and then usually switch to English, which wasn't the best for my attempts to practice Italian.
Older Italians often speak with a high modality ie the language is very direct which can make it sound aggressive. I have never found Italians of any age rude but then I have only travelled there with my DH. We found some of the French much less pleasant than the Italians on our trip this year.
I like Italian style bathrooms because that's only country that I know to have a bidet in addition to a toilet.
Japan has built in bidets in their toilet seats, with electronic controls.
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