Florence is known for its beauty and art. But what’s it really like to settle down and start over here – not just visit as a tourist?
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00:00I never would have thought that I would find home here.
00:05I never would have thought I would build such a life here and find love and find happiness
00:09and create a whole new life than what I had originally intended, but I couldn't be happier.
00:14It's home.
00:16Meet Casey Rose Burns, a 31-year-old content creator and author from the U.S.
00:21She gave up her dream career as a professional dancer in New York City
00:25and took a chance on a new life in Florence, Italy.
00:28But what challenges has she faced?
00:30What does she miss most?
00:32And what's her advice to others thinking about moving abroad?
00:35I love New York, but it's beautiful, but it is chaotic and it is really hard.
00:41It's a really hard city to live in, especially as a dancer.
00:45And there's a lot of beauty in it, but with that, there's also a lot of unknowns and a lot of instability.
00:51And I think the hard part with that whole career in general is like,
00:54there's so many things that are out of your control.
00:56I don't think I see myself going back to live.
00:59Casey is one of over 5 million Americans that live abroad, with Italy being one of the top destinations.
01:06Many move for a better work-life balance and a lower cost of living.
01:10At 24, she felt stuck, so she decided to take a break and travel to Italy.
01:15And I've always loved to travel.
01:17I had never done a solo trip, though, before, and I was terrified.
01:20But I, for some reason, said, you know what?
01:23Do it.
01:25I met my now-fiancé, Dario, my first day in Florence.
01:29And we spent my three days in Florence together and just never stopped talking from there.
01:35The whole journey of it was he moved to New York, and we had those three months of normalcy.
01:41And then COVID hit.
01:42Well, my industry's completely shut down.
01:44I am in this new realization that I have no idea what I want to do with my life anymore.
01:48So maybe we just moved to Italy for a six-month trial period.
01:51Six months passed, and I was like, maybe we just stay.
01:54And here we are four years later.
01:55While it might sound like a fairy tale, moving abroad for love did come with its challenges.
02:03You have to find a community outside of your partner, right?
02:06And you have to find a community of people that you can relate to in certain ways.
02:13And so I think it's important to also befriend locals and have those people in your corner.
02:18You know, you also do need other immigrant expat friends who understand what you're going through.
02:26First year, that year was the loneliest of my life, and it took me a long time.
02:30I think for anybody that is out there that is also going through the same thing, it's going to take a while.
02:34But, like, they are out there, and you just have to be patient.
02:37And when they come, it'll be a really awesome thing.
02:40After moving to Italy, Casey began sharing the cultural differences she experienced daily online.
02:46I don't normally wear a spaghetti strap, but I really like it.
02:49I'm sorry.
02:50What did you just call them?
02:52No, I'm nothing.
02:54Nothing.
02:55Her content quickly gained traction, so much so that she's built a career out of it.
03:02I am a worker, and I am like a hustle, grind the pavement type of person.
03:07And I definitely do it less here, for sure.
03:12I do it weighs less.
03:13But I think it's a part of me that I'm never going to get rid of fully.
03:17Like, I had to find, like, a good, happy medium between, like, American culture and Italian culture.
03:24Another element of adapting to her new life in Italy was, of course, the food.
03:29They're very simple, very classic, very focusing on, like, the quality and the taste of the food over quantity of food.
03:44I definitely appreciated it more being here because Italians take their food so seriously and because they find such enjoyment in food and wine.
03:52Like, alcohol culture is also a really interesting part of Italian culture because they really do view it as, like, an art form.
03:59Because they don't drink it to initiate the conversation.
04:02They drink it to enjoy along with the already existing conversation, if that makes sense.
04:09Casey feels more and more at home in the Italian culture.
04:13But what does she miss most from the U.S.?
04:16Obviously, the family and friends, of course, but I think just the sense of comfort.
04:22I think the sense of feeling like you belong somewhere.
04:25I think the sense of walking into a shop, for example, and knowing exactly what to say and not having to, like, have a script going in my head beforehand.
04:35And how has living in Italy changed her?
04:38What has she learned from Italians?
04:41I think I just learned to, like, appreciate and enjoy life more.
04:44Like, and that's won't say cheesy and cliche, but it's true.
04:47It is that, like, aspect of Italian culture where, like, they really do know how to enjoy.
04:51I've grown to be more patient.
04:53It doesn't mean that I'm completely patient, but I've grown to be more patient.
04:57To me, Italian culture is just so beautiful.
05:00And I think there's so many things that we can learn from Italians and Italian culture and the lifestyle.
05:04And I want to help other people experience that.
05:11So, what should others know before making the move to Italy?
05:18It's going to be the most frustrating, lonely experience of your life, but it's also going to be the most beautiful.
05:22Honestly, I don't think I would do anything differently, and that doesn't mean that I didn't make mistakes, because I made a lot.
05:27I made a lot, but it's just to say that I think those failures and those mistakes helped me adapt and learn and understand the culture and the lifestyle better,
05:40because it shapes me into the person I am today and, like, the knowledge that I have now.
05:45And I think that's the important part.