![\"banking](\"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/bank-300x221.jpg\")
Furthermore, I wouldn\u2019t suggest trying to set up an Italian bank account\u2014at least not until you\u2019re sure that you\u2019ll be staying for longer than a year.\u00a0 Even then, my inclination is to avoid an Italian bank account.\u00a0 The Italian banking system is much more restrictive than in the U.S. and typically loaded with procedural red tape. \u00a0And instead of paying interest on your money, they expect YOU to pay a fee to park your money in their bank! \u00a0Not to mention those annoying air-locked security doors that you have to pass through each time.<\/p>\n
Instead, what I would recommend is working with an American bank before your leave.\u00a0 Talk to them and ask about their foreign transaction fees and ATM charges.\u00a0 I use a Charles Schwab High-Yield Checking Account<\/a> and it allows me to use European ATMs with no transaction fees and no exchange premium.\u00a0 And if the European bank charges you to use their ATM (in Rome they don\u2019t), Schwab will reimburse you at the end of the month.<\/p>\n The checking account must be linked to a brokerage account that requires a minimum $1,000 starting balance. But after the brokerage account is opened, you can transfer that money into your checking account the next day and use it as you see fit. There is no minimum balance after the initial deposit in either account. This has proved to be a very easy, convenient solution for me and I would highly suggest looking into it.\u00a0 (NOTE: I am not affiliated with Charles Schwab Bank in any way, and so my advice is merely based on my own anecdotal experience and that of others whom I\u2019ve talked to.)<\/p>\n <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I\u2019ve gotten a few inquiries lately about Internet service in Rome (and Italy in general).\u00a0 The good news: the Internet service is better than the postal service. For the bad news, read my previous post about the Italian postal service<\/a>.<\/p>\n Simply put, Internet providers in Italy are about as reliable as the politicians and priests. They\u2019ll make you promises, fill you with hope, but then ultimately leave you disappointed.\u00a0 If you want ADSL installed in your apartment, you\u2019d better have some patience.\u00a0 (Fortunately, if you\u2019ve been waiting for your Permesso di Soggiorno<\/i>, it\u2019s likely you\u2019ve already cultivated this virtue.)<\/p>\n The Italian telecommunication market is dominated by Telecom Italia, the former state-owned monopoly. \u00a0Although users can now choose from other service providers, almost all fixed-line hardware is provided by Telecom Italia.\u00a0 But yes, they also offer high-speed Internet with an ADSL package, and you can get your land-line telephone and Internet at a monthly fixed rate.\u00a0 In theory.<\/p>\n These days there are many other providers besides Telecom Italia (for example Infostrada<\/a>), offering a confusing range of telecommunication services.\u00a0 Unfortunately, these companies are usually even less reliable than Telecom, if you can believe that.\u00a0 For this reason, many people choose not to get a fixed line at all, and instead use their mobile connection for both phone calls and internet access. \u00a0This is what I opted to do. \u00a0I’ve used \u201c3\u201d and they\u2019re decent…not super-fast, of course, but good enough for email, Facebook, etc. And pretty cheap, too, at 19 Euro a month. \u00a0And while they put limits on how much you can download, I\u2019ve never once exceeded my limit.<\/p>\n Here are some recent offers from various companies:<\/p>\n Tre<\/b>: http:\/\/www.tre.it\/opzioni\/internet-con-chiavetta<\/a><\/p>\n Wind<\/b>: http:\/\/www.wind.it\/it\/privati\/tariffe_e_opzioni\/internet\/?prov=HP2_1<\/a><\/p>\n TIM<\/b>: http:\/\/www.tim.it\/internet\/ultra-internet-4G-LTE<\/a><\/p>\n Before you opt for this solution, however, you should first check the signal strength in your area, which you can do here: http:\/\/opensignal.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n If at all possible, avoid ever driving a car in Rome. \u00a0Just don\u2019t do it.\u00a0 It\u2019s not that the drivers are all murderous psychopaths\u2013which of course they are\u2014but the problem is that eventually you<\/i> become one of them. \u00a0I drove a car in Rome during my first six months in town and then wisely opted to preserve what little was left of my sanity over the marginal \u201cconvenience\u201d of owning a vehicle. \u00a0(On the plus side, my vocabulary of Roman expletives improved dramatically during that period. In the beginning, they were all directed AT me, but once I got the hang of it, I quickly made up for the imbalance. I never would have thought myself capable of shifting gears, talking on my cell phone, and making obscene gestures at the same time. As it turns out, I can.)<\/p>\n But even if, by some miracle of divine intervention, you successfully run the gauntlet and arrive home safely, you\u2019ll spend another 30-40 minutes looking for a place to park before giving up and leaving your car on the sidewalk like everybody else. \u2018Sti cazzi!<\/i><\/p>\n Motorini<\/strong><\/p>\n So then anyone who\u2019s seen one too many movies about Italy will have the big idea to just get a scooter\/Vespa\/motorino.\u00a0 This is actually a great idea\u2014if you have lost your job, not to mention all hope\u2014and want to leave a big life insurance settlement to your next of kin.\u00a0 It\u2019s not a direct method of killing yourself; it\u2019s suicide by proxy, so technically your insurance carrier will still be obliged to pay the claim to your beneficiaries.<\/p>\n Seriously, this is not something that the uninitiated should attempt without proper training.\u00a0 Instead, if you really want to channel Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn, then hook up with one of the tour companies that offer this sort of experience. Check out Scooteroma<\/a>.\u00a0 They\u2019ll keep you safe and you can enjoy this unique way to see all the famous sites of Rome.\u00a0 But unless \u201cromanaccio\u201d<\/em> is your first language, don\u2019t rely on this for transportation.<\/p>\n However, if I still haven\u2019t convinced you and you\u2019re determined to donate your organs while they\u2019re still viable for medical science, then you\u2019ll have other obstacles to conquer beyond the kamikaze Fiat drivers.\u00a0 I\u2019m referring, of course, to the bureaucracy involved in getting a motorino license.<\/p>\n In January of 2013 they changed the law and now the once beloved Patentino<\/i> (mini-license used for scooters) no longer exists.\u00a0 You now must go through basically the same useless autoscuola<\/i> as every other would-be assassin on the road.\u00a0 For those in Rome, all the info can be found here: Motorizzazione<\/a><\/p>\n Once in a while you\u2019ll need to get a document notarized in Italy.\u00a0 To the American readers, this may not sound like a big deal.\u00a0 In the States, anyone can be a notary and almost everyone has a friend, relative, or co-worker who can easily perform this task gratis.\u00a0 Or else you can seek out the services of a random notary and pay a very small fee.<\/p>\n Not so in Italy.\u00a0 For some reason, notary services are big business.\u00a0 And not only that, the fees for these services are highly variable and completely subjective.\u00a0 Jess and I needed to get a document notarized for our wedding, and then discovered they required almost an entire month\u2019s rent to sign their name on a piece of paper.<\/p>\n Of course, this same service can also be performed for free at the local Comune<\/i>\u2026IF you don\u2019t mind waiting six months or so.\u00a0 At least in Rome.<\/p>\nInternet Service<\/h2>\n
![\"Tips](\"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/wifiimage.jpg\")
Getting around town<\/h2>\n
![\"driving](\"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/parking3-300x198.jpg\")
Notary<\/h2>\n