Any Irish ever lived in Italy and began to hate Italians?

ladyinwaiting

U know when I tell people I live in Italy (originally from Dublin) they say , "Wow you are so lucky, Pizza pasta casanova art blah"..Yes all those things are nice, but once you LIVE here and you are dealing with self absorbed Italians everyday it becomes a little different. :mad:

What is with the staring?!? Everyone stares here and its normal!?
And everything being closed all the time?
Do Italians ever work??

Anyone have these experiences? I'm starting to really look forward to leaving here!

Jarren

ladyinwaiting wrote: »

U know when I tell people I live in Italy (originally from Dublin) they say , "Wow you are so lucky, Pizza pasta casanova art blah"..Yes all those things are nice, but once you LIVE here and you are dealing with self absorbed Italians everyday it becomes a little different. :mad:

What is with the staring?!? Everyone stares here and its normal!?
And everything being closed all the time?
Do Italians ever work??

Anyone have these experiences? I'm starting to really look forward to leaving here!

Well... when in rome do as the romans do;)

Dannyboi3k

Not a truer word spoken

helimachoptor

I found the same when I worked in Spain, pretty much everywhere closed on Sundays and for siesta.
I was in La Coruna which wasn't a toursity place but it had 3 Irish bars but only 1 run by an Irish guy but even that closed for siesta!

ladyinwaiting

jarecki1976 wrote: »

Well... when in rome do as the romans do;)

Trouble is I am not in Rome. And to be honest I feel uncomfortable just staring people out of it for no reason.

Eugh Italians are dirrrty.

mike65

You sound a bit mad.

mikemac

Is it true that all Italians put a massive effort into dressing stylishly and wearing the latest fashions?

I've seen it from a few different sources, mainly books of sports people who move to Italy.

ladyinwaiting

mike65 wrote: »

You sound a bit mad.

I do? I probably am yeah.

ladyinwaiting

mikemac wrote: »

Is it true that all Italians put a massive effort into dressing stylishly and wearing the latest fashions?

It's all cultural. The men go around in pink trousers, sparkley belts and belly tops, my boyfriend thinks it's the gayest thing ever. And I agree, they look like homosexuals. If this is fashion then yes they are fashionable. Also if you don't adhere to what they call style you are stared out of it...!

Love2love

I thought the same and I was only there on holidays! I found the people to be extremely rude and they tried to give me the wrong change 3 times when buying something.
Thing that really bothers me about Italy though is the traffic and congestion! We had to circle the block around the hotel for 45 mins before we could get a spot as the hotel car park was full.

seachto7

I lived in Italy for 2 years (Rome) and worked for an Italian company here, and was over and back a lot. I find the Italians fine, though I speak the lingo fairly well I'd like to think. I find the whole conformity to what you wear a bit of a nightmare but what can you do...

Any Irish women I knew there were always giving out about Italian men, but secretly they loved the attention. I could go on a rant about the differences between continental women and Irish, but I won't!!!

Italian women were high maintenance in general, and wrecked my head, even though they are nice to look at..

If I got attention from Italian women, I'd be happy out. Better than no attention.

Even people who dressed down over there did so in style...

I enjoyed my time there, but don't think I would live there permantly. Not in Rome anyway. France was way more appealing to me...

AARRRGH

ladyinwaiting wrote: »

What is with the staring?!?

They've probably never seen the beauty of an Irish girl covered head to toe in about 100 layers of glowing orange fake tan.

Certi Layla!!

the minute i seen your post my friend came straight to mind. she lived in italy, thought it was a beautiful country but like yourself wasnt found of the italians. She said they were very outspoken and she noticed the staring too!

AARRRGH

I only found out today they don't have the dole in Italy. Isn't that mad?!

Ponster

AARRRGH wrote: »

I only found out today they don't have the dole in Italy. Isn't that mad?!

It's not the same system as in ireland but it's not true to say that if you lose your job that the state doesn't help you out. As in France you can get 80% of your previous wages for a limited time which runs out should you not manage to find another job.

oisindoyle

ladyinwaiting wrote: »

It's all cultural. The men go around in pink trousers, sparkley belts and belly tops, my boyfriend thinks it's the gayest thing ever. And I agree, they look like homosexuals. If this is fashion then yes they are fashionable. Also if you don't adhere to what they call style you are stared out of it...!

"They look like homosexuals"???Whats that suppose to mean.
What does a homosexual look like by the way ?Or are you just making a huge generalisation and stereotypical comment?

ladyinwaiting

AARRRGH wrote: »

They've probably never seen the beauty of an Irish girl covered head to toe in about 100 layers of glowing orange fake tan.

U must be referring to someone like your mother/ wife/ girlfriend.
I don't wear fake tan.

Lanaier

Haha, love the comments.

What does a homosexual look like?
Well pink pants would be a good start :P lets not disappear up our own asses for the sake of being politically correct.
If someone asked me what an Irish person looked like I'd draw them a leprechaun for gods sake.

Anyway, back to staring and hating.


I think you'll find that your attitude is actually fairly normal for people adjusting to culture shock and a new country.
Just don't let it get out of hand.

As for staring, I used to live in the sticks in western China.
You think staring is bad in Italy?
Crowds of people used to follow me around when I went outside.
Want to have a quite bowl of noodles? Prepare for the whole room to be staring at you like a deer caught in a headlight.

fmess

ladyinwaiting, I guess you had a bad experience and I'm sorry to hear that, but generalizing by saying that ALL Italians are dirty and don't work is just not fair and not true . You shouldn't jump to conclusions after ONE bad experience. There are many other Irish living there with other ideas(most of my friends for instance)
I'm Italian and living in Ireland since the 90's, My wife's Irish and she lived 5 years in Italy having no trouble at all (she spoke well the local lingo or dialect thought)
Obviously our cultures are different so you cannot expect to live in Italy at the Irish standards, but that's only common sense. Same for me when I moved here I thought that despite what they say about Irish (been friendly) it has actually been hard to be accepted (still is at times!) and very often been pointed as "foreigner". Reality is that Italy, as the U.K., is a big country with about 60 million people and the difference between a region and another is massive. I come from a busy working area in the north east and I used to work 10 hours a day 6 days a week back there and since i came here i can tell something about workload (40 hours a week is heaven!). In relation to fashion, what's wrong to dress well and try to appear nice to others? Isn't it better rather then see someone with dirty muddy wellies at the counter in a shop or in a pub? especially given if one works with public and when the stereotype spread by the media is way different from the one in Ireland.
(I guarantee I do not wear ping clothing!!! ;-) ).
I hope things work out for you.
best of luck

seachto7

Ciao fmess! ha bosogna di qualquno vicino di Clare per lavoro che parla italiano ;)

ladyinwaiting

well im home now and bloody delighted!

Arrvederci

Priapus

ladyinwaiting wrote: »

dealing with self absorbed Italians everyday it becomes a little different. :mad:


And everything being closed all the time?
Do Italians ever work??

Very funny title to this post btw.

Have to agree with your frustrations. Very self-absorbed people in my experience! Everything is a big drama too.

Welcome back!

Blackpitts

ladyinwaiting wrote: »

well im home now and bloody delighted!

Arrvederci

I'm sure they are also delighted to see you go.

Regarding the dirty and lazy people, please take a ride on a dublinbus and you will see all the variety of bad smells coming from irish people/ About lazyness, I can see many wasters around the city centre and the quays too spending all their money from the government in alcohol and cigarettes.

I hate this kind of generalizations, you can meet this kind of persons all around the world.

ladyinwaiting

Blackpitts wrote: »

I'm sure they are also delighted to see you go.

Regarding the dirty and lazy people, please take a ride on a dublinbus and you will see all the variety of bad smells coming from irish people/ About lazyness, I can see many wasters around the city centre and the quays too spending all their money from the government in alcohol and cigarettes.

I hate this kind of generalizations, you can meet this kind of persons all around the world.

What are u on about? Citizenship??? I can assure u the people I am referring to are 100% Italian..Thats the problem. EVIDENTLY.

seachto7

ladyinwaiting wrote: »

well im home now and bloody delighted!

Arrvederci

I think maybe you are the problem, and not Italy. Did some bloke dump you over there or something?

ladyinwaiting

seachto7 wrote: »

I think maybe you are the problem, and not Italy. Did some bloke dump you over there or something?

No. You wouldn't catch me going out with an Italian so that was definitely not the issue.

Anyway, whatever you think yourself Seachto. Spoke to alot of people since about it who have been to Italy and the general concencus is in and around the same as what I think.

Ciao.

Blackpitts

ladyinwaiting wrote: »

What are u on about? Citizenship??? I can assure u the people I am referring to are 100% Italian..Thats the problem. EVIDENTLY.

I'm sure they were 100% italian, but are you talking about people with hygiene problem and no will to work?
then I know some people here 100% irish who have the same issues.

You are doing some generalization that I really don't like and I'm sure people over there is glad to see you went away.
I'm also curious to know who are these people here that you have spoken to alot and have built this "general concencus", how long they have been there and if they really look around them when they go from home to work or when they are on a night out...
The problem was not "italy" but you and your attitude.

gdbjoe

lmao
Ya made my day!!!

Ciao, statemi bene, e grazie a chi mi ha segnalato questo thread.

seachto7

Blackpitts wrote: »

The problem was not "italy" but you and your attitude.

c'hai ragione!

Fratton Fred

Lanaier wrote: »

I think you'll find that your attitude is actually fairly normal for people adjusting to culture shock and a new country.
Just don't let it get out of hand.

As for staring, I used to live in the sticks in western China.
You think staring is bad in Italy?
Crowds of people used to follow me around when I went outside.
Want to have a quite bowl of noodles? Prepare for the whole room to be staring at you like a deer caught in a headlight.

After a few months of living in Ireland i started to hate Irish people. As you say, it has a lot to do with different cultures and coming out of your comfort zone. You can put up with it at first, then it starts to annoy you, then you start hating, then you get used to it and everything's grand...I mean fine.:D

I had a similar experience in North East Thailand we stayed in a village near Sa Kaw up towards the Cambodian border) by the way. We would walk along the street and people would be waving out of bus windows at us, or staring at us. We even used to get people point and shout Farang!!

In that part of Thailand, the only weterners a lot of them had seen were on TV so to see a European in the flesh was something new. they meant no malice, they were just genuinely curious.

Auslander

If you want everything to stay the same, stay at home.
Sorry you hear you feel the way you do about your experience in Italy, but Europe is a big place and not limited to Italy.
It sounds like you are back where you belong.

Remember that if at first you don't succeed, try again.

btw. I agree with your sentiments on living in Italy, it's all furry coats and no knickers!

I'm resident in the Alps in Austria, but regularly travel to Aachen working.
Great spot up here on the German/Belgian/Dutch border, highly recommend it.

Ladyinwaiting, pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get your ass back over here. It's yours for the taking.

gdbjoe

Auslander wrote: »

btw. I agree with your sentiments on living in Italy, it's all furry coats and no knickers!

You forgot also mafia, spaghetti, pizza, mandolino!

Can I have you expert opinion on this?
http://i34.tinypic.com/nlzhmq.jpg

topper75

I thought it to be one of the world's nicest countries.

• So much culture and history - all around you.
• Nice people (little or no English language though, so you must learn some Italian to make the breakthrough).
• Great food, but sometimes I did feel it was variation on a theme.
• Weather goes without saying.
• It is nice to see people wear good clothes as a matter of course.

I thought Irish and Italians have their differences, but generally speaking we do see 'eye to eye'.

I visited Venice and Trieste in the North East, along with Naples and Campania, Calabria and Sicily. Country areas and people were more charming, they were the 'real' Italy more so than the cities, inhabited by the effeminately-dressed men described above.

Other countries are hard work at times, but it is usually worth it. Ability to speak their language is pivotal really.

Blackpitts

topper75 wrote: »

Other countries are hard work at times, but it is usually worth it. Ability to speak their language is pivotal really.

+1.
I really don't understand why people go to foreign countries expecting foreign people to understand them and not viceversa.
This is the same attitude that many English people have when they travel just because they always think that they own the place. I'm sorry but the british empire ended a long time ago.

I think irish people would be annoyed if I start to speak in italian to them here in Dublin. Any people should be bothered in learning at least few basic sentences before going to live abroad, this is what I did when i moved here.

anyway, the OP was more annoyed at the staring, the bad smell, the omosexual way to dress, the shops closed on sunday etc.. I don't know what her expectations were when she went there, for sure she has learnt an important lesson: if the rest of world is not like Ireland u'd better to stay at home!

seachto7

blackpitts.. c'e lavoro per me a dublino!! ha!!??:)

kaki

Not all Italian men are sleazy around women, but from my experience over here, about 90% of them are. Walking down the street, which isn't rough at all, when my hair is washed and I'm not wearing tracksuit bottoms at least the heads turn to follow me (and my arse) as I walk away. Normally with some nice comment, like "Oi Gnoccaaaa, vieni qua...", or "Puttana troia". And not just young men either, men old enough to be my dad, even my grandad...

In general, I think Italians blow hot and cold - when they don't know you, or when they're working, they can be uninterested, unengaged, unhelpful, even malicious - I've learned to be a fair bit more assertive since I came over here, otherwise the amount of **** you have to put up with is unbelievable.... Instead of spending 2 minutes ringing a supervisor to check the procedure for dealing with EU nationals, they'll send you to another desk/office, or tell you it's not possible, or "Tu sei irlandese, non e' la mia problema...".

The bureaucracy here is unreal, everything is a bit more tightly regulated (no ****, when I opened my bank account here I had to sign my name 50 times) and the opening times are a pain in the arse, as places generally open from 0900 - 1300, then they have lunch, then reopen in the evening. So if you need to register at the town hall, go to the doctor, pay a bill at the bank, pick up stationary for university, there's no chance of getting it done on your lunchbreak.

Inversely, when they do get to know you, they can be the warmest, kindest, wittiest people - if you're lost, they'll go out of their way to give you directions, they see you with health problems, they'll feed you up and give you traditional cures. So I certainly don't hate all Italians...

I must say as well, the beauty around is amazing - here in Torino, where I'm studying, the centre of the town, with the Baroque and Liberty architecture is gorgeous, and having the backdrop of the Alps...just beautiful.

As a last point, about the clothes, yep, they're very particular about clothing. Especially labels, to an even greater extent than I've seen in Ireland (even laptop cases...) and most girls here won't go out without being immaculate - perfectly straightened/styled and serumed hair, face full of makeup, bleached teath, and even the emo kids here do emo immaculately - they wear Converse, but never scruffy or dirty.

On second thoughts, I probably stick out like a sore thumb - this might be why I get stared at all the time....

Blackpitts

kaki wrote: »

Not all Italian men are sleazy around women, but from my experience over here, about 90% of them are. Walking down the street, which isn't rough at all, when my hair is washed and I'm not wearing tracksuit bottoms at least the heads turn to follow me (and my arse) as I walk away. Normally with some nice comment, like "Oi Gnoccaaaa, vieni qua...", or "Puttana troia". And not just young men either, men old enough to be my dad, even my grandad...

maybe 90% is a little bit exaggerated but I have to say that many italian men can be very rude, especially when they look at a foreign girl.
Many italian girls in Ireland have told me that it's very nice walking down the streets without being harrassed by strangers.

kaki wrote: »

In general, I think Italians blow hot and cold - when they don't know you, or when they're working, they can be uninterested, unengaged, unhelpful, even malicious - I've learned to be a fair bit more assertive since I came over here, otherwise the amount of **** you have to put up with is unbelievable.... Instead of spending 2 minutes ringing a supervisor to check the procedure for dealing with EU nationals, they'll send you to another desk/office, or tell you it's not possible, or "Tu sei irlandese, non e' la mia problema...".

that's true particularly in the public sector and I hate this kind of behaviour, things are slightly better when you deal with people working for a private company

kaki wrote: »

The bureaucracy here is unreal, everything is a bit more tightly regulated (no ****, when I opened my bank account here I had to sign my name 50 times) and the opening times are a pain in the arse, as places generally open from 0900 - 1300, then they have lunch, then reopen in the evening. So if you need to register at the town hall, go to the doctor, pay a bill at the bank, pick up stationary for university, there's no chance of getting it done on your lunchbreak.

italian burocracy is ****, that's fact

kaki wrote: »

Inversely, when they do get to know you, they can be the warmest, kindest, wittiest people - if you're lost, they'll go out of their way to give you directions, they see you with health problems, they'll feed you up and give you traditional cures. So I certainly don't hate all Italians...

we can be very generous and trusty friends, i miss this here in Ireland where irish people seem to stick to each other since the primary school and it's very difficult to make real friends.

kaki wrote: »

As a last point, about the clothes, yep, they're very particular about clothing. Especially labels, to an even greater extent than I've seen in Ireland (even laptop cases...) and most girls here won't go out without being immaculate - perfectly straightened/styled and serumed hair, face full of makeup, bleached teath, and even the emo kids here do emo immaculately - they wear Converse, but never scruffy or dirty.

we are getting too f***ing vain! if you don't wear a label you are a loser, i hate this sh*t! and this attitude is getting worse, everytime i go back home i see my friends becoming more shallow!
anyway, good luck for your uni! ciao

30kmph

Has anyone any experience in starting a business in Italy? Yes the whole pink trousers thing is very sad and a bit gay for my liking. Not everyone goes around like that, though. I haven't experienced the whole staring thing really - do you mean in a pervie way...or just rude staring...German style?

InTheTrees

I've been in america almost 20 years and there's times that I really hate them.

The constant blind pollyanna optimism can get on your nerves.

Fysh

30kmph wrote: »

Has anyone any experience in starting a business in Italy? Yes the whole pink trousers thing is very sad and a bit gay for my liking. Not everyone goes around like that, though. I haven't experienced the whole staring thing really - do you mean in a pervie way...or just rude staring...German style?

I'm not sure that resurrecting this thread, with its comparatively high quotient of silliness and cultural stereotyping, is the best way of getting an answer to your question - anyone who's read the thread before will probably assume that new posts are just more comments from the mad lady who started the thread .

Rufein

ladyinwaiting wrote: »

U know when I tell people I live in Italy (originally from Dublin) they say , "Wow you are so lucky, Pizza pasta casanova art blah"..Yes all those things are nice, but once you LIVE here and you are dealing with self absorbed Italians everyday it becomes a little different. :mad:

What is with the staring?!? Everyone stares here and its normal!?
And everything being closed all the time?
Do Italians ever work??

Anyone have these experiences? I'm starting to really look forward to leaving here!

I'm Italian and i lived in Ireland for a little while dealing with the good things as much as the bad things. I moved to different towns (not just Dublin!) and villages. Pretty aware about the cliques and stereotypes but those faded down the more i got used to the real people and the real local life, like going to offices, meeting people for formal affaires, dealing with bosses and collaborators. I can tell i felt very stared myself but this didn't annoyed me at all, Irish can recognize a foreigner pretty quickly and most of them are curious about them. Nothing bad on that. Sometimes i understand it can be hard to get used to the local uses, it takes some times but then it's all fine.
But i agree with you in one point: visit a place is something, living there is something else.
Obviously if you go in a european metropolis you should expect some chaos, pollution and mess... It's wise to not follow the wave on those cases and not to stick in the same places all the time. I remember Dublin has some areas very involved into fashionable/poshy styled things, but that's what you can get in any big city actually, so in the big italians cities. Especially those linked to the big fashion deal, but you should be aware that those vagues changes sistematically every season and they don't apply to all the people everywhere. I can tell i didn't liked too much the viking-like fashion style or the pijamas party style wich was a big thing in the uptown But again, i'm not a fashion-person myself and i don't focus too much on this kind of things either
A last very important thing before you decide to move somewhere is to get informed before moving. Get informed about the local culture, get used to know the people, in what they like, in what they do in how their society works. This helps a lot to feel way more comfortable once you get there. I knew the irish history and the irish culture before moving and i loved it, also got in touch with irish friends, so most of the things i found there weren't unexpected.
However if you have some question to pose or things you wanna talk about i'd be very glad to help
Cheers! Saluti!

PS: I don't wear pink!

seachto7

An old thread resurrected. Before it gets locked, I just read the OP. WTF!

hawkwind23

Just learning Italian , i want to visit and spend some time there.

Spanish Eyes

The cops in Italy are something else. Or at least the ones I saw anyway. This was in San Remo.

OMG. I was in a bar looking out the window as you do, and then suddenly, this entourage arrived with the lights and all. Out popped the cops. Aviator glasses, (and this was at night ha ha), and stopped a car. It was great entertainment. Those cops are manicured to the Nth degree, and they know it. Great free show for me anyway!

Then I was in Malcesine on Lake Garda, and the locals were great fun once they knew you were OK if you get me. It is a bit touristy but I was there in March, quiet enough and had a great laugh in the restaurant with the owners. EVENTUALLY!! That's business.

As someone else said, if you want to know me, come and live with me!

irishgeo

Who drags up a 5 yr old thread?

Tom Dunne

irishgeo wrote: »

Who drags up a 5 yr old thread?

An Italian in Ireland who Googled "hate Italians"?

IamtheWalrus

Lanaier wrote: »

As for staring, I used to live in the sticks in western China.
You think staring is bad in Italy?
Crowds of people used to follow me around when I went outside.
Want to have a quite bowl of noodles? Prepare for the whole room to be staring at you like a deer caught in a headlight.

I concur.

smarty_mcfly

irishgeo wrote: »

Who drags up a 5 yr old thread?

someone who's fond of recycling!

DarkyHughes

Ah the classic " I hate Italians & they look like homosexuals" thread.

DarkyHughes

irishgeo wrote: »

Who drags up a 5 yr old thread?

A newbie from Italy who was searching google to see who hate his country.

Wompa1

Most Italians I met while over there were very nice. I was a bit disappointed by the amount of very rude people. I went to a cathedral in Florence, had to go around the back to buy a ticket. So, I figure..ok, the long was ages to get my ticket. I've got it. I see a door on the same side. Walk up to it and a security guy inside there flipped out. Cursing me out.

That was only one incident and I was only there for 4 days!!

Also, the scum trying to con people at the train station. Boo!