Friday, September 07, 2007
HowToItaly has as new blog
THIS BLOG MOVED TO http://www.howtoitaly.typepad.com/ IN MARCH 2007.
http://www.howtoitaly.typepad.com/ IS UPDATED DAILY WITH LOTS OF INFO ON MOVING TO ITALY, LIIVING IN ITALY, WORKING IN ITALY, STARTING A BUSINESS IN ITALY AND LOTS MORE BESIDES.
COME ALONG AND JOIN THE PARTY at http://www.howtoitaly.typepad.com/.
A PRESTO
EMMA
http://www.howtoitaly.typepad.com/
http://www.howtoitaly.typepad.com/ IS UPDATED DAILY WITH LOTS OF INFO ON MOVING TO ITALY, LIIVING IN ITALY, WORKING IN ITALY, STARTING A BUSINESS IN ITALY AND LOTS MORE BESIDES.
COME ALONG AND JOIN THE PARTY at http://www.howtoitaly.typepad.com/.
A PRESTO
EMMA
http://www.howtoitaly.typepad.com/
Labels: HowToItaly, living in Italy, working in Italy
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Forget what I said last time
Some things never change.
Or as the French would say: Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose.
I went to the Post Office yesterday to pick up the kit I wrote about last time.
What a disaster - that's the only word for it.
There were all kinds of foreigners in the queue who couldn't speak Italian and the post office assistant couldn't speak any other language either.
And then it was my turn.
"But surely you don't need a kit," the post office assistant said. "You're British. Then again, maybe you do."
She went away and came back with an envelope with the words 'Cittadini dell'Unione Europea' on it, clearly proving that I do need the kit after all.
However, I've got no idea why this is a separate envelope for EU citizens as inside the information is for everyone, regardless of your nationality.
There is one main difference between the Kit and having to go to the Questura - you have to now pay Eur30 to have your request processed.
It used to be free!
Emma Bird is the director of www.howtoitaly.com and the co-author of Starting a Business in Italy: how to set up and run a successful business in the Bel Paese.
Or as the French would say: Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose.
I went to the Post Office yesterday to pick up the kit I wrote about last time.
What a disaster - that's the only word for it.
There were all kinds of foreigners in the queue who couldn't speak Italian and the post office assistant couldn't speak any other language either.
And then it was my turn.
"But surely you don't need a kit," the post office assistant said. "You're British. Then again, maybe you do."
She went away and came back with an envelope with the words 'Cittadini dell'Unione Europea' on it, clearly proving that I do need the kit after all.
However, I've got no idea why this is a separate envelope for EU citizens as inside the information is for everyone, regardless of your nationality.
There is one main difference between the Kit and having to go to the Questura - you have to now pay Eur30 to have your request processed.
It used to be free!
Emma Bird is the director of www.howtoitaly.com and the co-author of Starting a Business in Italy: how to set up and run a successful business in the Bel Paese.
Friday, February 02, 2007
Permesso di Soggiorno
The HowToItaly blog has moved to www.howtoitaly.typepad.com.
It's updated daily so why not come along and join the party?
A presto
Emma
One of the reforms to come out of Romano Prodi's goverment is that you no longer need to go to the Questura request or renew your Permesso di Soggiorno.
In a bid to streamline the process that is irritating at best and unbearably traumatic at worst, the Posta has now taken over the handling of most Permessi and cut the number of documents you need to produce.
Before, a non-EU citizen had to show documentation of employment and a rental agreement or proof of home ownership. But now self-certification is now accepted though.
The forms you need to fill in come in a special packet called Il Kit and is available from all 14,000 post offices in Italy. However, only 5,332 of those have a Sportello Amico, authorising them to process your request.
Emma Bird is the director of www.howtoitaly.com and the co-author of Starting a Business in Italy: how to set up and run a successful business in the Bel Paese.
It's updated daily so why not come along and join the party?
A presto
Emma
One of the reforms to come out of Romano Prodi's goverment is that you no longer need to go to the Questura request or renew your Permesso di Soggiorno.
In a bid to streamline the process that is irritating at best and unbearably traumatic at worst, the Posta has now taken over the handling of most Permessi and cut the number of documents you need to produce.
Before, a non-EU citizen had to show documentation of employment and a rental agreement or proof of home ownership. But now self-certification is now accepted though.
The forms you need to fill in come in a special packet called Il Kit and is available from all 14,000 post offices in Italy. However, only 5,332 of those have a Sportello Amico, authorising them to process your request.
Emma Bird is the director of www.howtoitaly.com and the co-author of Starting a Business in Italy: how to set up and run a successful business in the Bel Paese.
Labels: foreignner, immigrant, Italian, Italy, job, living, move, moving, non-EU, permesso di soggiorno, renew, renewing permit, work
Thursday, February 01, 2007
It's good to talk...for free
Thanks to everyone that has responded to my request for emails to be resent. Lots and lots have come in so I was clearly missing some.
For those of you that are already in Italy and hate all those huge bills you are running up on long-distance phone calls check out www.infostrada.it. If you switch to InfoStrada from Telecom Italia before February 15, for Eur19.95 per month, you get unlimited phone calls to the UK, the US and Canada until December 31 2007. The option you want is Happy No Limit.
So now you can stay on the phone as long as you want!
Emma Bird is the director of www.howtoitaly.com and the co-author of Starting a Business in Italy: how to set up and run a successful business in the Bel Paese. Buy the book and take part in our next Skype chat on Saturday February 17 at 9am Italian time.
For those of you that are already in Italy and hate all those huge bills you are running up on long-distance phone calls check out www.infostrada.it. If you switch to InfoStrada from Telecom Italia before February 15, for Eur19.95 per month, you get unlimited phone calls to the UK, the US and Canada until December 31 2007. The option you want is Happy No Limit.
So now you can stay on the phone as long as you want!
Emma Bird is the director of www.howtoitaly.com and the co-author of Starting a Business in Italy: how to set up and run a successful business in the Bel Paese. Buy the book and take part in our next Skype chat on Saturday February 17 at 9am Italian time.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Please help!
I've been priding myself on doing a weekly back-up of my files in the event that the computer crashed and I lost them.
But it seems I don't do them often enough.
My laptop has just had a meltdown and at the moment I don't know whether this is reversible or not - it's currently in for a bit of TLC and emergency repair and I'll know the outcome tomorrow afternoon.
What it does mean is that all emails that people have sent me since Wednesday of last week are currently non-retrievable.
So if you have sent me an email both now and in the past, please send me another email with your contact details so that I can at least reply to you.
Many thanks
Emma
But it seems I don't do them often enough.
My laptop has just had a meltdown and at the moment I don't know whether this is reversible or not - it's currently in for a bit of TLC and emergency repair and I'll know the outcome tomorrow afternoon.
What it does mean is that all emails that people have sent me since Wednesday of last week are currently non-retrievable.
So if you have sent me an email both now and in the past, please send me another email with your contact details so that I can at least reply to you.
Many thanks
Emma
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Blackout
There was utter chaos this morning as a result of the bad weather sweeping Italy.
The whole of the north east of Sardinia was in blackout from sometime in the middle of the night when I stumbled out of bed in the dark for a glass of water to just after midday today.
More than 150,000 families didn't have any electricty - that's a lot of towns affected when you think that Olbia is the biggest town in the area and has just over 30,000 inhabitants.
And it made me realise just how dependent we are on electricity. I couldn't use the kettle, I couldn't use the hob, I didn't have any heating, I couldn't use my computer, my phone or scanner - in fact I couldn't do much at all because we have a basement apartment meaning we don't get lots of light unless it is the summer.
So, I'm now more determined than ever to have an eco-home and to use solar energy and water/wood combination for heating and for cooking.
Anyway, there is news on the home front as we saw the geometra last night. Find out more at Oh dear the roof collapsed.
Emma Bird is the director of www.howtoitaly.com and the co-author of Starting a Business in Italy: how to set up and run a successful business in the Bel Paese
The whole of the north east of Sardinia was in blackout from sometime in the middle of the night when I stumbled out of bed in the dark for a glass of water to just after midday today.
More than 150,000 families didn't have any electricty - that's a lot of towns affected when you think that Olbia is the biggest town in the area and has just over 30,000 inhabitants.
And it made me realise just how dependent we are on electricity. I couldn't use the kettle, I couldn't use the hob, I didn't have any heating, I couldn't use my computer, my phone or scanner - in fact I couldn't do much at all because we have a basement apartment meaning we don't get lots of light unless it is the summer.
So, I'm now more determined than ever to have an eco-home and to use solar energy and water/wood combination for heating and for cooking.
Anyway, there is news on the home front as we saw the geometra last night. Find out more at Oh dear the roof collapsed.
Emma Bird is the director of www.howtoitaly.com and the co-author of Starting a Business in Italy: how to set up and run a successful business in the Bel Paese
Saturday, January 20, 2007
The robbin
The sun is shining and I've just spent the past 10 minutes feeding the robbin that lives in the garden. Just a few weeks ago, he would hop away whenever I came out of the house to scatter nuts and breadcrumbs for him to eat.
But now, he'll happily observe me as I tidy up the garden or hang out of the washing, or simply stop and stare at the seaview which makes my jaw drop always, even though I see it everytime I step out of the house.
And, then, today, the little robbin just hopped nearer and nearer to me and then up onto my hand.
I would have missed that if I'd been working away in the office, so it's at times like this that I'm glad I'm a patio-table expatreneur.
Emma Bird is the director of www.howtoitaly.com and the co-author of Starting a Business in Italy: how to set up and run a successful business in the Bel Paese
But now, he'll happily observe me as I tidy up the garden or hang out of the washing, or simply stop and stare at the seaview which makes my jaw drop always, even though I see it everytime I step out of the house.
And, then, today, the little robbin just hopped nearer and nearer to me and then up onto my hand.
I would have missed that if I'd been working away in the office, so it's at times like this that I'm glad I'm a patio-table expatreneur.
Emma Bird is the director of www.howtoitaly.com and the co-author of Starting a Business in Italy: how to set up and run a successful business in the Bel Paese
