S2 EP 10 Living in Venice: Discover Local Life Beyond Tourism with Expert Monica Cesarato
[Music] media well hello everyone welcome back to another episode of New Life in Italy I'm Samantha Wilson your host and today I'm quite excited because we are going on a journey one that's quite close to my heart we're traveling to the beautiful and iconic city of Venice but not the Venice that you see in glossy travel magazines or on Instagram today we're going be behind the scenes to uncover what life is really like for those lucky enough to call this city their home now I'm really excited because joining me today is a friend of mine a Venetian local and a famous tour guide Monica chesar and some of you might already know her from her Instagram or her books or maybe you've listened to her podcast here on STI media it's called Venice talks now Monica's Here to share all of her Insider details from the best quiet neighborhoods to the true costs of living in a floating city now Venice as we all know has these iconic canals lots of history and of course the carav valy and often all of these interesting things can feel like it's in a world on its own and it kind of is in some ways but beyond this Instagram perfect place there really is a Vibrant Community Living a rich and fulfilling life in Venice now we're going to dive into everything from daily routines on how to shop how to eat how to play like a local but we're going to stay clear of all the tourist stps now this is your golden ticket to discover the Lesser known facets of vene life and how you might be able to make this city your new home so whether you're dreaming of Venice as your next home or simply curious about the reality behind its fairy tale facade you are in the right place I'm Samantha Wilson Chief dreammaker at smartmove italy.com and this is a new life in Italy a show where each week I take you behind the scenes of what it's really like to move to Italy introduce you to some Fascinating People answer your questions and show you how starting a new life in Bel p is possible for you I remember the first time that I went to Venice it was when I first came to Italy and that was oh my goodness almost over 20 years ago it was just myself and my mom and we ended up north as some of you know the story got in a car and took off over to Venice and what we thought of Venice was probably what a lot of people did back then before they could Google their walking uh path we you know thought of Venice as a iconic City and it was very mysterious and actually I think in our minds a little bit spooky we weren't quite sure what to expect anyway we we get there we drive we park across the Lagoon really and walk into into the city pulling our bags over the multiple Bridges it was super hot it was the summertime and luckily you know we were 20 plus years younger so it wasn't so hard but we ended up in a hotel and I honestly I can't remember where that hotel was but I think it was right down in the heart of everything but back then 20 odd years ago Venice was different than it is now it was of course there were tourists everywhere but compared to what Venice is like now it was a little bit uh slower a little more maybe maybe a little more authentic might be the word to use or maybe just less um brand named stores and restaurants and coffee shops and those you know like brand name things it was really very Venetian and it was beautiful our hotel room room I remember had this thick wallpaper like velvety um wallpaper dark green and the uh quilts and blankets even though it was very very hot and no air conditioning were also matching and it was very you know very opulent inside this hotel it was super small so we had to climb up the stairs again with a lugging our big suitcases back then but uh overall I remember we really felt that this was a place unlike any other place that we had been and we only spent two nights in Venice so it consisted really of just wandering lost really around the city through the lots of different little Alleyways and canals and over Bridges we spend a lot of time in cafes and restaurants as you know you do and of course up in in St Mark Square which was again iconic and in those days there you know weren't so many well there certainly wasn't Instagram so there weren't pictures taking people taking pictures all over the place and posing and you know doing things that can get in the way of what you're really looking at you know I think what we had back then were disposable cameras that we would take in and drop them off of the drugstore Photoshop when we returned from our uh our trip but Venice uh you know we ate in Venice as well so Venice I don't have a lot of memories of Venice as far as what we ate and what it was you know really like other than really amazing and beautiful and hard to as I am even now kind of hard to describe the first time that you go I did leave thinking that absolutely everyone needs to see this city just because it is so unusual and so iconic and so breathtakingly beautiful so that was the first time I went to Venice and then when we return to Italy later that year because as some of you know I didn't stop coming back to Italy after that very first trip all those years ago we ended up going back to Venice but this time we went back in the winter time we actually went back in December and this was way back come back here with me guys back to 2005 and it was in December just after Christmas and we went to Venice and at that time my youngest son was only I guess maybe about 8 years old 8 or 9 I don't know I can't do the math and we went into Venice we drove there from Sienna and we got a hotel and when we arrived in Venice it was Winter right so it was kind of Cloudy and foggy and rainy and when we arrived there uh we saw all of these um like tables they were like Market tables set up in the big St Mark square and all along the main streets just sort of lined up there was nothing on these tables at all um it was there were just these blank tables and we thought oh darn you know we missed some kind of a market or Festival of some sort but no never mind so we went into the hotel checked in again the same kind of experience very small so my husband who's a big guy was you know not all that comfortable in Venice because it it felt a bit crowded but the room again was opulent and deep rich colors and brass or gold you know ornate uh decorations it was quite beautiful and um I was happy to be there because it was Venice again it looked amazing even in the winter hardly any tour at all because again it was winter but also 2005 so we didn't have the mass amounts of tourists that we do now in Venice and that night we went out to a little bar like a little um yeah like a little bar and we had some uh fuka and some antipasti and and some drinks and we were watching the TV and on the TV that night was when the tsunami hit uh the um the tsunami in 200 5 as all of you I'm sure can remember and I remember watching it on this little tiny TV that was stuck up in the corner of this very packed bar and thinking oh my goodness it's just awful and horrific and we were a bit glued to it even though we were there on vacation it impacted all of us because we didn't quite understand what was happening or what the really problem or what the outcome was going to be of this horrific natural disaster so that night we went back to the hotel room slept woke up and I woke up to my husband saying pack the stuff pack everything we've got to get out of here it's flooding Venice is flooding and the first thing I thought of was the tsunami oh my God it's come over to Venice or what are we going to do and we went down quickly packed up all of us went down into the lobby and there was water coming into the lobby and we thought oh my God so we quickly get out and remember my youngest boy was young he was only eight so he wasn't really all that tall at that point point so we get out into this street and the the water's increasingly getting deeper and deeper and it's you know at least at our our shins if not coming up to our knees for my youngest guy it was like up to his thighs it was getting really deep so we're trudging along the water trying to think how do we get out of here quickly you know we're panicking because of the connection to what we saw the night before to this Rising water in Venice and also you know back then we didn't we didn't Google everything so we didn't have the information that we do now so easily we couldn't quickly go oh what's going on and nobody was speaking English so we couldn't ask we just pretty much freaked out and wanted to go so we were trying to get through these this deep water and what pushing through this deep water in these streets my husband had our suitcases on one on each shoulder and my youngest boy absolutely loved it he was just jumping everywhere getting soaking wet and then we walked past this guy this old Venetian man who was kind of hiding in a corner it was really weird we actually but he was selling these boots these plastic boots that you tied up uh all the way up your leg the bottom was very thick uh like a very thick Sole and then there was almost like a big very heavy plastic garbage bag that was came around that Sole and you use these big long laces and tied them all the way up your leg you know like zigzag all the way up your leg to keep them on so we bought a bunch of those cuz we all needed a pair it was I think back then it was like €20 each so it was super even expensive then and I remember thinking oh this guy's got a good kick so we and I didn't know why he was there I mean did he know the tsunami was coming it didn't make any sense so we all strap these these things on and we start moving through the water and then I noticed people are walking above us and I realize they're walking on all those tables that we saw set up the night before and that Venice was actually used to this or that it wasn't the tsunami it was actually what I know now to be just Rising Waters which happen um every few years in Venice and they actually nowadays they have a barricade that can stop this um high water from rising into the city but back then it was really a complete mystery so we jump up onto these tables and find our way back to our car and take off and it was a memory that you know we had planned to stay in Venice even longer than we did but um we didn't because we really didn't know what was happening and when I look back on it it really was an incredible experience my family my kids still talk about it and it is the memory that they have kind of burnt into their head about Venice being very very small being very very cold and of course full of water very wet and of course this isn't like what Venice is like now they have like I said they have things that can prevent this water from rising like it does now but we did keep those boots at actually for a long time for many many many years I think eventually we ended up selling them in a garage sale or something we don't have them anymore I'm sure there's uh places in Venice that you can still buy these because there is still problems with water because the city as you know is built on water and one of um I haven't really been back to Venice much since and I know a lot of people who are madly in love with this city and rightfully so I know that this city is going through a lot of uh struggles with over tourism and infrastructure trying to find a balance between the people who want to and really should see Venice because it is Iconic and it'll change you uh compared to the people who want to actually live there and live a nice life in Venice so there's this conflict that's constantly going on and they're trying to find their way as you may know there is a fee now for day Trippers into Venice that you have to pay to get in what which will contribute towards helping build the infrastructure to handle all of these people that are coming in so it's you know it's a fair tax to put in in order to provide the services that people need to enjoy Venice as much as they really should but times are changing compared to what I remember at for the first time I went to Venice to what Venice is like now is really vastly different but I think that uh there's a part of Venice that most people don't know about there's a part of Venice that uh I think you should know about because even though we imagine Venice you know from what we see on Instagram is these packs of people you can't even move down the streets or that woman that's yelling you know pickpocket pickpocket there's another side to Venice that I want to share with you today this side of Venice is the side where you will live and we do have a lot of people asking what it's like to live in Venice or maybe they think to themselves man and yeah pretty but I would never live here and I can tell you that Venice wants you to live there Venice wants people to start coming back into the City and turning it back to what it was like it's losing a lot of its residents because of the over tourism and the cost High Cost of Living and Venice has a lot to offer as a place to live so today what I've done is I've invited my friend uh today's guest Monica chesar now Monica is a Venetian so she grew up in Venice although she lives across the Lagoon but she um grew up in Venice she went to school all of her friends and family are there and this is a city that is really part of who she is she is Venice and Venice is Monica and when you meet her I know you'll agree because you'll see what I'm talking about now she's also a professional tour guide so if you are going to Venice honestly Monica is the one that you need to contact and don't worry I'll have all of her details in the show notes so that you can but she's not just a tour guide she is also an author and a famous ambassador to Venice and to the artisans in Venice trying to keep the um Artisan life alive in this iconic City she's also a podcaster some of you might have listened to her podcast Venice talks right here on Santi if you haven't heard it you really should because she interviews local Artisans and venetians and takes you a lot further into the real life of this really magical city than you can even imagine she's also a writer she has two books she has a Blog and she is the guide to the celebrities and the dignitaries that visit Venice so needless to say she is the goto if you want to see Venice or know about Venice and she's here with us today well Monica thank you for coming on the show you and I always have such great conversation so I'm so happy for um you know my listeners to be able to meet you and hear about your stories but also today what I want to really talk to you about is life in Venice because I know you live up there right yeah thanks so much Samantha for having me well I live just outside of Venice but I I literally work there all the time I mean most of my from Monday to Saturdays I'm in Venice from morning to evening and I used to go to school there and let's say 90% of my friends are from Venice so I I am venisha I only sleep in my house let's put it this way okay right well so Venice is I think you know a city that obviously millions of people dream about going millions of people arrive and I think that a lot of people that have a really great experience when they're in Venice they can visualize themselves living there I know that we have some of our uh Community who have always dreamed of living in Venice so I thought that you know because it's a unique City not just the way that it's positioned and where it is but also it has a lot of dynamic um you know features to it that I I thought would be a really good uh to have you on to help people understand what it's really like to live in Venice so can you describe you know maybe a typical day in Venice you know for a Venetian uh right okay well first of all one thing to remember in Venice there are no Cars so remember if you want to move to Venice you need to train a little bit before you come because there's more than 400 Bridges and you walk everywhere more than 400 oh yeah okay so yeah uh so that's one thing that needs to be kept in mind okay it is not an easy city to live but is a city that gives a lot back so I uh you know but typical well exactly because you don't have a car um you need more or less to go and Shop every day I would say because there are supermarkets so people say to me oh you don't have supermarkets V there's plenty of supermarkets but of course they are not your big big Walmarts you know you know Trader Jo and stuff like not so big much smaller but of course because you're small and because you don't have a card and you have to take everything with a little hand trolley you know up and down the stairs of the bridges and up and down the stairs of your house because remember most of the houses in Venice do not have a lift okay so most of venetians every morning uh you see the old ladies and the old guys and the moms and whatever we is little trolley most of them will go to the Rialto Market to buy some fish and the fruits and vegetables on then you stop in the various uh of a bakery you stop at a butcher you go to the supermarket for everything else and then you cart it at home so usually that's what people will do then in the morning is very very uh normal to see everybody stopping in the local pseries in local bars for an espresso and a crossan uh above all if you're in the near the area of the University okay Al the students but mainly everybody that goes to work because you know you have to remember uh Venice unfortunately uh because of a housing problem is losing 1,000 inhabitant per year so yeah we are uh less than 49,000 right now uh so we need people to come back and leave in Venice of course all right but anyway those that are that don't live in Venice but work in Venice because because there tons of people like me that obviously work in Venice in the morning that's the first thing you do uh on your way to work you stop at a bar have a little breakfast and then you go off and open your shop shops in Venice usually open about 10:00 much later than other uh uh cities and they usually most of them not all of them but most of them will be open uh right until 7:00 then at lunchtime uh you know you will go for a nice lunch if you're working if you stayed at home obviously you cook your own food or whatever um and then what's great about Venice is the evenings when people when they finish work everybody everybody goes out for an apparative so you close your shop you close your office whatever and you stop in one of AIA one of a Bary you go for a spritz you go for a glass of wine maybe one or two chti and then you go home for a meal and that's generally your life in Venice right and is there a lot of people that live off of the island for example com in every yeah yeah practically I would say that most of practically everybody that works in the hotel business everybody that works in the shops most of the people live outside of Venice because it is two reason first is very expensive to buy a home in Venice because you can understand you know there are historical buildings so unless you've been very lucky that uh you come from a family that comes from Venice and then obviously was passed down to you uh it's not easy to buy a house in Venice uh rental is becoming possible uh because of Airbnb unfortunately I know that uh things are you know people here and ver try to change things but it takes time until the city doesn't give a a big shaking to this things at the moment is not happening uh so it's nearly impossible not for the cost but so much because because the uh people the rental property owners do not rent longterm they prefer to rent short terms to the tourist make it impossible for people uh to be able to live in Venice so there is a huge demand of people wanted to come and live in Venice you know workers themselves you know because every time it takes you about an hour to go back home it's not so much as the distance because everybody lives quite near but is the problem is that you uh public system is good but they're always packed so just because you go and catch a bus it doesn't mean you're going to be able to catch it so sometimes you have to wait two buses exactly so a journey maybe could take you 15 minutes and that take you an hour or you might get on the bus by you're like sardines uh because of course what's happening is the city hasn't created a system by which there are buses for tourist and buses for locals so of course uh since Venice now is not anymore from from March to September but it's become a 12 month uh tourist uh location we have tourist all the time and they use a public system and because many use stay outside of and it's because it's cheaper for them so it's a you know like a dog bite in his own right well so yeah go on sorry that's that's interesting because when you're talking about the type of properties that people live in this is something that interests me because you know people who love to at property there online on emobil or Ed time you know dreaming about buying say they could buy a house in Venice I always can you talk a little bit about what it what those homes are like or what to avoid because I know that um you know with the water and of course you know maybe you can explain a little bit more about live a property in V first of all pictures forget them you need to see the house okay no don't ever trust the pictures in Venice not because they're not real but because of course it's so easy to photoshop things nowadays Venice is a city but suffer of course it's City built on water so I suffer from amazing amazing humidity green mold and so on so the first thing that you need generally we tell everybody you know when I have friends say to me oh I want to move to Venice whatever said okay if you have a buying a property or you move into a rental property if you're lucky to find one do not ever go to a ground floor property because yes it is true that now we have a Moses system by which the huge Aqua ala if there is any event can be stopped but they don't raise it all the time so if you are in an area that is among the one that goes underwater straight away like n and marks for example do not ever get a ground floor because remember when you go underwater in Venice it is not a fresh water it is salt water salt water if you do not clear it straight away corrodes in an incredible way because it's all when it dries up over Crystal crack everything so you know and that's a problem so that's one thing second you have a a big problem of course with humidity so you might go in and they just give it a nice leak of paint what you don't understand that underneath probably is all black by green mold by black mold and green mold and so on and trust me is happen with many friends were in this situation another thing is remember Venice is built on water so the buildings move they have to move because if they didn't they'll collapse so there's a lot of cracks you know when you go into these places another thing that you need to look look at is Windows to make sure that there are brand new windows because of course the old windows for as beautiful as they are uh and they are beautiful but they don't keep any heating so your remember the sometimes the SES in Venice can be really high they can be above the average because of course it depends also on the type of property you buy I mean if you lucky enough to buy a palace well it means you got enough money not to worry about these things anyway because you probably can pick them more right if it's that you you're looking into buy a normal property that will be like a small apartment or a nice apartment in a um it's not there are condominiums in a way but not in the sense that you have in the imaginary Collective a brand new uh you know because obviously nothing is new in Venice so there will be uh Apartments have been uh taken uh built out of the original building that was divided in many floors they were supposed to be other rooms and then they've been turned into Apartments okay so the apartments will be small but not that big I mean not for American Standards okay smaller but the ceilings are really high and when it's so high of course all your heating goes up and your cold air comes down so if you do not have a good uh system of Windows insulated Windows uh it can be very expensive uh I don't know if you ever tell people during new things but in Italy we have the highest utility bills in Europe so uh you know and I can tell you because I live outside and I have a big house and trust me uh I have the same problem so as Venice so yeah that's the kind of things that I think you should look at and then remember in Italy well in Venice particular obviously we sell by the square meter uh so you need to when you go and buy your property uh the square meter changes also according to the area if you're in s marks it will cost much more than if you are outside of s marks and also I will say uh I would never buy a house near s Marco uh you need also to understand which area you want to buy your house or what you right and this this was my next question so tell me about the neighborhoods okay so he all depends what you want to come and do in Venice I mean if you're going to buy your property and you thinking of spending it all in one month please don't don't ever do that thank you we don't we don't because we already got B problem with people not living in city so please please if you ever thinking of moving to Venice please do move to Venice okay do spend at least six months you know um I think the best areas will be uh Castello and canaro because they are the one that are still nowadays the most residentials and let's say apart some areas like fundament in and galdi in Castello all of the other areas apart from these two streets are very very quiet and very very believable very safe because Venice is a very very very safe City okay I can walk at 2 3:00 in the morning on my own the only thing I'm worried about rats because you know we're quite big in Venice you know and that's another thing you need to worry if you buy a house in Venice because eventually you will get rats well yeah it's just fairly normal but okay we do have a system by you know everybody usually has casts and stuff anyway um but yeah I would say Cano and Castello are still some of the most residential and maybe also uh the area uh o dorsoduro towards where the university is work towards the uh what's it call San basilio the area of a cruise ship uh is still very very very quiet the other parts I got to say um you know the pr and cons if you stay near Rialto if you stay near San Marco if you stay other like s Paulo beautiful areas but you know uh plenty of plenty of tourist passing by yeah well and it can really impact obviously if you're planning to live there I know here in Florence we have a you know quite a serious problem with overtourism a lot as well in the Centro so if people are moving here to live you know the the Italian Florentine life I always recommend don't buy anything I know you're attracted to that area because that's where you went to but lifestyle wise just a little bit in the residential areas is better yeah and and remember Venice is only fre square kilometers so it doesn't really matter where you buy a home within 10 minutes you are where you want to be anyway you know uh so you don't need to live in the center because we repeat 10 minutes walk we're not talking about an hour walk 10 minutes walk you can be in the center so there no reason not to you know to to not to go and buy a house uh in Castell or I mean to be honest with you if you want to really get away you can even buy a house in Morano you can buy a house in Belo on the Juda you know I think that what people before buy a home in Venice I think well first of all remember uh well no you obviously whoever is listening is just because you came here on holiday and you have this dream of Venice living in Venice is totally another kettle of fish oh I'm so glad you said that because I was going to ask you that what do you think is the biggest misconception that tourists have about Venice you know compared to the local okay well first of all um the venetians okay I'm a Venetian but from the countryside so I'm so sorry for the venetians from the city but that's that's the way they are venetians are very friendly very nice when you come to Venice but when you live there it's another cattle of fish I repeat you is a Venetian will not approach you it's up to you to approach them so they can seem very cold but they're not it's just the way they are they have millions of people passing every day you know they're not going to be you know if you move into the city you need to make the effort simple as that but once you make the effort then you 11 friends forever okay that is the difference mainly that I see from the south when people are you arri and they just so nice to everybody okay venetians that a b more you know they used to be Merchants so they got to be careful in a way you know comes from a DNA of centuries you know so that a be you know a be they don't trust you at the beginning but once they get to know you oh yeah then you can ask them anything will be there then the pace Venice is slow somebody says yeah I'll come tomorrow that doesn't necessarily mean it will be tomorrow tomorrow is a very blond word a very word in it I mean I saw signs and I have friends that do that as well that they put a sign on the when they get out of the shop and they right okay I come back straight away but not telling you what time that you don't know when the sign was put on or out for lunch how long is your lunch what what what time you know so that's a b the attitude in Venice but eventually they'll get there okay so I think for me is very important if somebody needs wants to move into Venice before they come and buy a property or any Fe come and spend at least three to four months here not on holiday so don't come say oh well I'll be on holiday no you come here and you meet people and you ask people find out exactly how much it will cost you to run your bills the tax the health you know what's it Li to go to the hospital in Venice that is not an easy thing to do you know I mean for as much as we have free healthare in a way it's not so easy as people uh you know uh make out sometimes I know probably it's easier than America but still not so easy I don't know I just think people should do a little bit more research and four months I think gives you an idea if it is the city for you or not yeah I think that's a perfect a really good piece of advice actually 3 months is the limit that most people can come here without a Visa but it's still enough time to really kind of dig in and I think it's all in the mindset right it's all in the attitude so if you come here thinking hey I'm G to go hang around and go on holiday for three months or look I'm going there for a reason to feel it out meet some people see if it really is my spot yeah you're gonna get a different experience yeah and and another thing with stress out Venice it's a city for people that can afford to stay in Venice yes I want to talk about that how expensive is it it's not cheap everything well rightly so if you think everything's got to arrive a a carted on troles over Bridges or taking on boats so obviously the cost of Transport is much higher than any other part of Italy number one so obviously that has got a big impact on the price of things there's no denying that then uh obviously there is a big impact on the cost of rental properties even when it comes down for shops so of course that has an impact on your price so just to show you basic basic different the other day I was in Venice and I ran out of bread for my house I didn't have time because I was working whatever I didn't have time to be back in time to my uh near my home and go to my local store to buy my bread I oh well I just grab here some is a special type of bread that I'm using at the moment and uh it was double the price of what I pay and I live literally about 15 minutes away from Venice double the price it WM me up a little bit but at the same time I totally I understand why it's like that so you know I just got it and take it so uh is very you know is expensive but not only if you come to Venice do not think about looking for a job I'm I'm saying this to people because there's thousands of other people that decided to do the same thing is not okay and not thinking of oh I go to Vena teach English because hundred thousands of people fought exactly what you fought in Italy to uh in every schools unless you're a professor okay if you're a professor or already a teacher good fine but if you're not and you just speak the language forget it because in Italy to be a teacher you need a proper degree you need a proper proper permissions and so on so even Italians have a struggle teaching English teacher themselves okay so you know you know that the new digital Nomad Visa has just been released so I know that there is H well we have been just overwhelmed with people asking about it and um yeah I'm that's what I'm saying if you come in NOA and you do not need to work let's say you don't need to look for a job in Venice and you can come and leave of your income that you're already getting from your own Venice is fantastic because uh I mean no great internet connection I'm telling you now I mean depends because obviously we have big thick wood and thick walls so sometimes you walk into a place and you are in a black hole so that's another thing you need to check if you buy the property to make sure that your internet connection is very good do you have fiber is there fiber in Venice or is it all satellite uh I think it's a mix uh I think it's a mix of a CH a mix of a CH yeah but it's uh you know the problem is always that have a fiber or or satellite the problem is that they are the thi walls and trust me sometimes even with my nomone I walk into a shop and is they go like I'm sorry we don't have Internet so why not we can't get it working we just can get it working and go like okay and that's a serious you know nowadays for Global you know mobile people a really big yeah downside for sure yeah and I imagine I mean obviously that's just where you can pick where you're living and the type of home that you're in and check that internet speed as well yeah that's very I think if you decide there's so many things that uh you know before um leaving a think that's why say three months is a good idea is think of all the things that you want and check where they are here and then you have to make compromises you have to understand that you picking to live in probably what is well unbiased but let's say the most beautiful city in the world it is a city vot that 6600 years old you know is you know you you're choosing to go and live in an old city it is not a new city so don't expect for things to work be happy when they do do you know you're going to put that on a t-shirt that's perfect that's just everywhere isn't it don't it you know so is I mean as I repeat you have to compromise it is um don't have high expectation be happy when things happen because when they happen they are wonderful in Venice I mean there's things that you can do in Venice that you cannot do in any other way any other part of the world you walk everywhere you don't need need a car so that's already a cost that you're not going to have yeah and and then the the benefits of lifestyle and health that the food and the wine that we have here I mean come on this is the our Region's got more than 40 native red grapes and more than 40 white Native red grapes that's already 80 typ of wines that you need to try when you come to to live in Venice you know but so oh and the food we have fresh fish all the time because you know this is a City built on water it's a port you can imagine so there are a lot of Pros you know and the beauty I mean you wake up in the morning no matter no matter what the weather is like in Venice the beauty is always beautiful and we have got sorry the view is always beautiful and the light in Venice is just so unique of the city uh you know if you like Arts we got a list between museums and art galleries of I think it's about 40 of them you know is the city has got more than 100 churches come on I mean I don't you know I want people to move into Venice but I don't want people to move into Venice and run away because it wasn't their dream and then walking going away and say oh that's not what I expected I want people to move to Venice and to stay forever uh but there is that one downside and this is comes from uh having seen so many people moving into Venice beware you'll move into Venice you will say to yourself o from Venice I can go and visit vens I can go and visit Padova I can go and visit Rome or whatever and then you will never do because I don't know what is with Venice but this has seen with every single foreign friend that that moved into the city you move and then it's like Venice traps you you just get lazy and you don't want to move out of V because you have it probably because you're living in this this environment that is giving back so much like you said the food and the art and the the yeah people and yeah the location you think why leave yeah I think that's what it is so uh I repeat people get get a bit lazy well there's worse places to be to be trapped in that's for sure I know I know but you gain you gain a lot of in elf because you walk in everywhere so everybody I know is in such a great shape I got to say oh great well listen Monica I know that you live there and I know that you're busy and I appreciate so much your time before we go though I wanted you to take a moment and tell everybody what you do in Venice tell us about your books so that and where they can find them everyone who's listening I will have all of this in the show notes as well that you can go and visit but um it's your turn to Monica let them know who you are okay so well first I run Food Tours in Venice and cooking classes but mainly food tours in Venice uh that you can find obviously on the uh information that Samantha is going to close later I have written two books one exactly about where to eat in Venice with chiti and another one that just came out that is called andar is about going V visiting the islands of Venice and that doesn't mean Morano Bano torello but all the others uh it will be out in English soon and then I go my own podcast of course Venice talks where I talk about Venice 360 Dees interviewing everybody that lives and works in Venice to show you the real Venice yeah I love it it's on CTI media as well it's amazing if you haven't listened to Monica's podcast you have to you have to tune on thanks thanks yeah all right Monica well again always so much fun I always look forward to our chats thank you again for coming on and um you know have a great day in Venice it's going to be sunny today yeah thank you for having me and thank uh everybody for listening chow chow well that's all for this week my friends I hope that you enjoyed this episode of a new life in Italy behind the scenes of Venice and if you want to contact Monica perhaps you're going to be in Venice and want to book a tour with her I highly recommend you do it and I highly recommend you do it in advance because she does get booked up pretty quickly and you'll know why so you can find all of her details on our website at CTI media.com just click on a new life in Italy now Monica also has a podcast there called Venice talk so you can have a listen and you can find out more about her read her blog buy her books and book tour of course right there on the website until next time my friends ciao for [Music] now it's time for listener questions just like the old radio call-in shows my team has picked three listener questions all left on our voicemail I have no idea what these questions are but I haven't been stumped yet are you ready let's get started hi Samantha this is Ol we uh have a pair of American friends with International driver licenses also living here in Italy and they think that the international driver's licenses are legal for at least a year after arriving and don't believe that as we've informed them they must the end of that year obtain an Italian driver's license who's right thanks Samantha well thank you for that question and it's a great one and one that often people get a little bit wrong or it's a little misunderstood you can drive in Italy with your foreign driver's license with an international driver's permit if you're here as a tourist which for those of you who are coming and want to rent a car make sure you get that international driver's permit because they are checking more often now um but when you move here you can also use that driver's permit for up to 12 months when you be uh move here after you move here and after you've become a resident of Italy after 12 months of residency in Italy you can no longer drive with your foreign driver's license your American driver's license in this case with your international driver's permit it will no longer be valid so after 12 months of residency you must then take an Italian driver's license test which is all in Italian and it's a learner test so you're like a a baby driver again like a teenager and then after you pass this test then you have to go get a learner's permit as a new driver here in Italy so the international driver's permit is only valid for the first 12 months and then after that you are unlicensed unless you get an Italian driver's license I do highly recommend that people who are in this position not to wait till the 12 months is up because it can take a long time to prepare and study for this very very notoriously hard exam and you don't want to be stuck without a license if you really need one so start to prepare early take the exam when you're you know six months through your time frame so that gives yourself some time to catch that license hi Samantha this is Lisa I um read a post on Facebook from an expat who said that we aren't eligible for or we won't be eligible when the time comes for a long-term Visa if we've been out of Italy for a total of 10 months during our first five years of residency is this accurate so many uh people with so many opinions online and you're the one I trust thanks so much bye hi Lisa thanks for the question a good question actually for the elective residency Visa you are permitted to of course travel outside of Italy and be in other countries it's up to you now remember on the elective residency Visa the Peres Journal that goes with that you are still restricted to 90 days out of 180-day period in other shenen countries but in Italy you can of course you're living here and you can travel around now if you leave Italy on the elective residency Visa you are not permitted to be out of Italy for more than six consecutive months out of a two 2-year period so that's no more than six consecutive so backtack consecutive months out of a 2-year period so if you're not doing that then you're perfectly fine on your elective residency Visa Hi Sam it's Tony and I'm wondering if you could explain after you've purchased a home here and you're only in the 90 in and 90 out what are the things you need to be aware of that you need to renew with owning a property in Italy like how often do you pay your taxes do you have to renew something with the costura anything that you need to know that happens over and over because you own a property here period I hope that makes sense take care hi Tony yes there's a couple of things that you need to pay attention to and it's mostly to do with taxes because it's always to do with taxes in Italy so as a property owner you will need to pay attention to two different taxes one is the Emu which is your yearly property tax that you'll have to pay and um the other one is tari which is your garbage tax those are the two main taxes that you'll have to pay every year you will get notification in the mail from the agency delata which is the tax office and the first one the Emu can be paid in a couple of different installments what I do recommend that you do Tony is get um a commercial EAS who can take care of all of these filings for you so that you can uh always be regular and not miss a payment it's really easy to do if you don't live here full-time now if you want some help let us know because our commercial EA does have a program for people who own properties who are not here to keep up with all of the tax payments um the only other thing that you might want to think about and I'm not sure if this is uh applies to you or maybe a listener if you have a property here in Italy and you are renting it out the other obligation that you will have every year is to uh send in your income tax for the earnings that you have made in Italy well that's all for this week's episode thank you for listening if you have any questions about visas citizenship property and well really anything about moving to Italy that you would like me to answer in an upcoming episode please feel free to send us a voicemail at our website at smartmove italy.com /p podcast or just click on the links in the show notes
thanks again for listening and remember you can find all of the resources and the links to the people and the places that I mentioned in this episode inside the show notes ciao for [Music] now A New Life in Italy podcast is a production of CTI media created and hosted by me Samantha Wilson production by London Nero and with special thanks to Ali frothingham Sophia pisana and the entire team at CTI follow a new life in Italy wherever you get your podcasts and hey if you're thinking of moving to Italy whether full-time part-time or for a Life Time come and see me over at smartmove italy.com and we'll help you get here and start living your best life and don't forget if you love this episode please rate and leave a review it's much appreciated I can't wait to meet up with you again next week same time same place ciao for [Music] now C media hey podcast producers and show hosts do you want to join a podcast Network that celebrates all things Italian at stiti media we understand the Allure of Italy and its unique culture our devoted team of hosts and producers are all driven by their shared passion for Italy and we work tirelessly to create the best lifestyle podcasts and content that will whisk you away to the very heart of Italy with us you can Savor the mouthwatering Flavors get lost in the stories from the past break down the cultural barriers and truly immerse yourself in the vibrant traditions of this intoxicating country if you have a great podcast idea or are already in production and would like to join CTI media head over to STI media.com that's s n TI media.com and find out how to submit your show
2024-05-02 18:05
