Our lovely landlord called us the other day to let us know the apartment would be ready the 25th. So we are moving in the 26th! Only 10 more days of my Roman adventures (said with extreme happiness).
Since I have been gushing about moving to anyone that will listen, I keep getting asked why I am so excited to leave Rome. Well…
It never really grew on me. It’s too big for my taste. Which is weird because when I came here on vacations I thought it was so dreamy and wonderful. But shortly after moving here, I knew it just wasn’t my style. I don’t think it is Rome specifically, but just big cities in general. But what is weird is I loved Seattle, which I guess is close to the population of Rome-so who’s knows? Seattle seems smaller than Rome and it had many of the all the things I love: shows, lots of green space, water and ethic food. Which I never really found here.
Rome has a few ghosts for me too. When I was vacationing here it was a wild time in my life. I had just broken up with my ex, it was the first time I had been single, free and of drinking age. Whenever I am near Termini I avoid the street the “Hostel of Shame” is located. And just wandering around I can spot the places where I made a fool of myself. Granted during that time I had no idea I would ever live here, so it was just a place to be young, dumb and foreign. But now, in just a few years my whole life is changed. I don’t feel like I need to run away from anything, but I want a place to start new memories that better reflect my life as it is now. Verona is a new start for me in many ways.
I pledge to be more open, explore and take advantage of the fact I live in such a beautiful country. Verona will be different.
I want to make it clear I am not complaining, it was a great experience living in Rome. But I am ready to close this chapter of my life.
Tags: Jessica
Jessica, I have been in Rome for a week now and It is my first time ever here. I pretty much like it, I like the people, they are so friendly, I like the historical places, the Italian lifestyle, the food, I like the fact that things are pretty simple in contrast to NYC and other major cities, but maybe living in Rome is something different. You need to work, to pay the bills, to do a lot of stuff, it is not like being a tourist I know, but for me and for some others, Rome is an excellent place to start a new life.
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i’m excited for you and the new change soon to come in your life!
we’ll hopefully be moving soon as well as we’re in the process of starting to build a house
i too had some “shameful” areas in florence. we all have them!!!
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I’ve never been a huge fan of Rome myself - I like it, and I respect it, but it never fails to leave me exhausted and feeling like I’m missing something critical… Something that would cause me to swoon over the city the way I do over, say, Venice… And I don’t think it’s about the size, either, because “j’adore” Paris.
Hmm - I wonder if there’s something about people called Jessica and a city called Rome?
I liked Verona, though I only spent a day there back in 2001. We did manage to see an opera in the theatre, which I highly recommend. Even if you’re not an opera person. Pick a production with a bunch of cool and over-the-top sets, and a story that’s interesting. There’s something really stunning about seeing an opera in a Roman amphitheatre.
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Hey there, I want to wish you good luck with the moving. There sure will be a lot to do. What do you do on daily basis? I’m very curious about your life in Italy and I want to find out more about it. I hope one day I can travel to Italy and discover the beauty of the country.
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OK, it works! Why am I still using IE? Well, to put it simply, because I am a jackass when it comes to technology! Seriously! It’s a wonder I am able to maintain a blog. When Ale gets here I’ll ask him to get me on Firefox or Safari. I suppose it’s as easy as logging into those websites……?? There’s so much I’d like to do with my blog but I have no clue how to. I had to do a Power Point presentation for one of my classes and I just about s**t my pants when I found out about it. I got through it with the help of one of my classmates, thank goodness. I keep saying I’m going to take a computer class. I guess it’s time I put my money where my mouth is!
Anyhow, I wish you lots of luck on your big move. I look forward to hearing about your adventures in your new and improved smaller-sized city. Please post lots of pics!!
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Lots and lots of luck with the move. You never know, you may never have to hear the Roman ‘aooo’ again! I hope to hear about the new experiences you have in Verona very soon!.
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Jessica~
I can understand completely. If I ever get the chance to move their, I would not pick Rome. I liked it for the history, but I didn’t love it. Too big for my taste too!!
Happy Moving!!
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You must be so happy and excited! I really look forward to hearing about your adventures in Verona so make sure you keep us posted.
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Jessica - good luck with the move. Verona sounds very nice. From what I hear the north of Italy doesn’t have a lot of the problems which make central (and southern) Italy so difficult to live in.
I feel the same about Rome - and I’m definitely a big city person. It’s hard to put your finger on but I feel like Rome has all the disadvantages of a big city (expensive, traffic, smog, tiny apts) without the things which made me love my home cities of New York and Sydney and also other cities like Paris, Amsterdam, Austin etc. For example, I really loved to go out and listen to live music when I lived in NY and Sydney - but here I’ve yet to find an inexpensive, unpretentious live music venue. It all seems to be DJs and cover bands. I guess young musicians go north. And it’s boiling hot without a lot of green space of places to swim. But most of all - it just lacks that cosmopolitan vibe.
Of course when you’re on holiday you don’t see any of this…
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I can understand why you would want a change. i mean i hate the usa. BORING. cant wait till i get 2,000 dolla. love you
lil sis kristi
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Good luck with the move! Although I was in Verona only once, it seems like a nice city to live in!
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Good luck with the move! If you are ever in Bergamo let me know!
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Hope the move went swimmingly and you are settling in nicley to Verona
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Bye and kisses
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Hey! You!! I want to see pictures of your new digs!
ALI
hehe! Hope all is going well - I bet you’re all busy unpacking and stuff.
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