Today sees the latest in our series of interviews with Expats in Italy, taking us to Lazio to meet Gareth Horsfall who has been living in Rome for the last 7 years with his Italian wife and son.
Gareth works for the Spectrum IFA Group where he provides his clients with an in depth understanding of the cross over between local and International tax planning structures. He has been a financial services professional since 1999 and has been working with Expatriates and the International community in Italy since 2004.
The Questions and Answers:
How long have you been living in Italy?
8 years in July 2012
Who came up with the idea of living in Italy?
I was offered a job as an IFA, working with expats in Rome, for a previous company with whom I worked. I was working in HSBC bank in a Northern English town and staring out of the window wondering how on earth I was going to make the move to live and work somewhere warmer. Then I got a call.
How are you getting on with The Italian language?
OK, but not great. My work is in English and although I married an Italian lady we speak English at home. Funnily enough at the time of writing this I have just enrolled on another course to take myself up a few more levels.
Do you miss your home and family?
NO. Well, maybe my family, but my sister lives in Sweden with her husband and the rest of the family are scattered around the UK. I definitely don’t miss the UK. I could never see myself returning. Its too cold and wet for me now.
Did you buy, or are you renting the place where you live?
We rent. Prices in Rome are ridiculously high, for the quality. But we are thinking about buying in a couple of years…where is another question!
What do you think about the Italians?
Love them and hate them. I love and hate Italians like any nationality of person. We all have positive and negative sides to our characters. It’s what makes us interesting.
5 Good aspects of living in Italy?
The usual suspects: Food, wine, people, sun, sea.
5 Bad aspects of living in Italy?
Banking (arrgghh), understanding dialect, crazy prices for everyday items, litter (in Rome it drives me insane) and the inability to form an orderly queue (its a classic expat complaint but it still confuses me).
5 Top tips for our readers about living in Italy?
1. Driving. Think like an Italian, it will keep you alive for longer.
2. “Scende”. Understand when and why Italians will ask you “Scende”?
3. Eat at the most rustic looking trattorie possible. They are normally where you get the best food.
4. Once you find the right people to provide the right service for you, return, return and return again. Its the best way to do business here.
5. Give yourself plenty of time to do the most simple tasks.
Thank you Gareth for your time, answers and giving us a little insight into expat life in Lazio…
Gareth can be contacted by email: gareth.horsfall@spectrum-ifa.com
and via these links:
website: http://www.spectrum-ifa.com/financialadviceitaly.shtml
Blog: http://financialadviceitaly.blogspot.com/
Linked IN: http://it.linkedin.com/in/garethhorsfall
Hot off the press! – From tomorrow, March 1st, Gareth will be posting a new series of articles for Italian Reflections.
Related posts:
Nice one Gareth – now, tell me … what DOES ‘scende’ mean?! LoL”