I want to write about something a little different today. After living in Italy for about a half year on the investor visa, I can honestly say that I love almost everything about my new life here. I say “almost” because … well, let us not talk about the bureaucracy today. We can save that joy for another time. Everything else has met or surpassed my expectations. The food, the wine, the beauty, the rhythm of life, and especially the people. But the part that has changed my life the most is the social culture.
What I mean by social culture is the ease with which Italy creates space for connection. It is surprisingly simple to make friends, find activities, discover hobbies, and feel socially fulfilled. After six months here, my life feels more connected than it did in nearly three decades in Boston. That contrast alone is worth talking about.
At the center of it is a cultural instinct for interpersonal connection. People here genuinely like engaging with one another. They are not racing through their days. There is pleasure in talking to a stranger, helping a neighbor, or discovering a shared interest. Life flows. Plans form naturally. Sometimes they form five minutes before they happen. There is no need for a scheduling spreadsheet.
In Boston, dinner with close friends required planning a month ahead of time. It had to fit between a child’s piano lesson and someone else’s soccer practice. Everyone I knew lived inside a tight little orbit of work and routine. Social life existed, but only with significant effort and advanced notice.
Italy reversed that experience for me. Because social engagement is part of daily life here, there is always something happening. There are people to meet and places to go. Even while building my business from scratch to support investor visa clients, my calendar has filled in ways I did not expect.
In five months, I have joined two chess clubs, a group of Tuscan Arsenal supporters, a circle of expat dads, and a golf club in Ugolino. I volunteer once a week teaching English to a nine year old boy. A friend owns a bar with Friday game nights, and I try to go whenever I can. Most evenings I end up on my terrace sharing food, conversation, and a bottle of wine with my next door neighbor, an eighty year old woman who has more energy than most people I know.
This week I am going to an Albanian national festival. This weekend I am hosting a little watch party for my son’s soccer match. I have weekly dinners with teachers from the Italian school I once attended. I am learning to play backgammon with a few locals who appreciate a good discussion about strategy. I even chat with my butcher for ten minutes every time I go to the macellaio. All of this has happened in five months.
Being an extrovert certainly helps, but the truth is that the opportunities are everywhere. Italy celebrates the dolce vita in a way that you cannot fully understand until you live inside it. Americans know the phrase in theory, but the lived version is something entirely different. It is woven into the culture, the pace, and the expectations of everyday life.
A few things make the experience even better. Speak Italian whenever you can. Mistakes are irrelevant. The effort is what earns goodwill. It shows that you want to be part of the country rather than simply observing it. A little friendliness goes a long way here. A smile and a ciao might earn you a polite nod in the United States. In Italy, it can turn into a full conversation, an invitation to an aperitivo, a new friend, and eventually an entire circle of people who become part of your life.
Starting fresh is never effortless. Building a new life and a new social circle always requires some initiative. But having lived across the United States and in other parts of the world, I can say without hesitation that the possibilities for genuine connection are more abundant here than anywhere I have ever lived.
This article is also posted on La Lovely Vita
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Making Friends After Moving to Italy - La Lovely Vita
says November 25, 2025 at 4:03 am[…] wrote this longer version of the story on my own blog for those who are […]