We’d love to let you in on a little secret, Pandas. One of the things we want most in life is to have a small house somewhere by the Mediterranean Sea. Preferably by the beach, with the mountains somewhere far off in the distance, the sun warming our faces, while we breathe in the delicious smells of freshly made local food. Owning a small villa in Italy would be a dream come true—life is different there. Better, in many cases.
Content creator, traveler, and writer Roze, aka TikToker @rozeinitaly, who moved to Italy from the United States, shares just how different everyday life really is there. The cultural differences are immense. In a viral video, she shared the 5 things that she’ll never do again after embracing the Italian lifestyle. And honestly, it’s a short how-to guide on living a happy and fulfilling life. Check out her insights below, Pandas. Meanwhile, we’re also featuring her video about the 5 things that she actually misses about the States.
What did you think of Roze’s thoughts about how different life is in Italy, Pandas? Do you happen to live there or have you ever visited the country? Share your thoughts, as well as your travel experiences in the comments! And don’t forget to follow Roze’s socials and check out her website, 'Reinventing Roze,' if you enjoy learning more about just how beautiful life can be.
Bored Panda got in touch with Roze to have a chat about the differences between life in Italy and in the US, why she decided to move in the first place, as well her advice for anyone daydreaming about doing something similar. She also opened up to us about her passion for travel and why she started filming videos.
Roze shared her thoughts about the hustle culture in the US: "So many factors contribute to the hyper-focus on work and productivity in the US. But I think the main driving force that makes everyone rush around and work so hard is fear. The common attitude that everyone needs to fend for themselves, that we need to work as hard as we can and accumulate as much money as possible, it all stems from how the whole society is structured," she said. Check out our full interview with Roze below, Pandas!
Roze moved from the United States to Italy, and it was one of the best decisions she'd ever made
Image credits: rozeinitaly
Her quality of life improved immensely. In a viral TikTok video, she shared the 5 things she'll never do again after finally having moved to Italy
Image credits: rozeinitaly
You can watch Roze's full viral TikTok right over here
"The US doesn’t have any of the safety nets that most countries in Europe, including Italy, provide. There are no job protections for workers (you can be fired with no reason or notice from most jobs), no pension funds, no requirements for paid time off, including for maternity leave or even illness. Healthcare costs are tied to your employment (if your employer is generous enough), higher education is so expensive that most young people begin their adult lives in mountains of debt, the list goes on and on," traveler and TikToker Roze shared her thoughts about some of the pitfalls of life in the United States.
"I think most people who embrace the hustle culture do it not just because they 'love' to work, but because they’re terrified of the alternative. If you stop hustling so hard, slack off just a little bit, or take too many breaks, the consequences could be grim. If you lose your job, you’ll lose your healthcare coverage. If you have a sudden accident or chronic illness, you’ll soon be buried in medical bills. If you can't pay those bills, you could lose everything, including your house. And your family could be on the streets, just like that," she said that the system is brutal.
"It rewards only the truly wealthy—the corporate executives, the real estate moguls. Oh, and the politicians, whose largest donors are those same corporations (who also help write the laws that keep this system in place). Everyone is programmed to believe that if they work hard enough, one day they might become one of those wealthy elites and they can finally relax. But most of us will never get there. And the system will never change."
Here's what some people thought after watching the TikTok
According to Roze, part of what makes the quality of life better for her in Italy is that the culture is mainly focused on community rather than fierce individualism. "I love that the arts and historical architecture are valued here, that my tax dollars go to fund museums and building restorations and for maintaining public parks. I can easily travel to many other countries at a very low cost. And I’ve found it much easier to build a social life here than in the US because people aren’t overworked and too tired all the time. All of these things contribute to a higher quality of life here, overall."
We were curious to learn more about why Roze decided to move to Italy. She actually even has a series of TikToks 'Why I Moved to Italy' that you can also check out here, here, and here. Moving to Italy had been a dream of hers for years.
"I spent a few months here as a college student. My grandmother is from Sicily, and one of the motivations for my first trip was to reconnect with that part of my family history. Then, around 2009 I found out that I qualified to become an Italian citizen, so I went through the process and got my Italian passport, with only the vaguest of plans to use it if I wanted to retire here one day," she said.
"Then the pandemic happened in 2020, I lost all my jobs, the world was in chaos, and suddenly I had a rare chance to start over from scratch and do something I had always really wanted to do. I had been working in the hotel industry (in events), and at the time we had no idea when everything would reopen. I needed to find another job, and I knew I wanted to work from home," she told Bored Panda that she started looking into teaching English online. However, she saw that the pay would be much lower than she needed to continue living in Los Angeles.
"Having an Italian passport gave me the option of moving here without needing a visa. But when I did some research and calculated the cost of living, I found out that it made financial sense too. If I hadn’t been forced into that uncomfortable place of not knowing what would happen next (in my life, but also in the world), I’m not sure if I ever would have made this decision," Roze said.
"The best piece of advice I can give to someone who’s thinking about moving abroad is that the more information you have the better prepared you will be. It costs nothing to research the visa requirements for the country you’re interested in. It costs nothing to watch videos or read books about what life is like in other countries, to learn more about the ones that intrigue you most and narrow down your options. You can even study and learn languages for free these days," she gave advice to all of you Pandas considering moving there or elsewhere as well.
"Think first about the lifestyle you’d want, including the environment and culture you can see yourself living in, then take your time and gather all the logistical pieces you might need to make it happen. My actual move happened quickly, but it took me over 20 years and a freak worldwide event to expand my way of thinking and decide to change my life. I never even considered it before—I assumed that it just wouldn’t be possible."
Roze revealed to Bored Panda that she first started creating content as a sort of video diary for her family and friends back in the US. She wanted them to know how she's been doing since her move.
"But as my account has grown, I’ve had more and more people asking me how I managed to do it, and how they can do it too. Now I’m working on more ways to inspire others and guide them to achieve their own goals. I’ve recently started to do some one-on-one consultations, and I’m launching a blog in a few weeks that will focus on the logistics of moving abroad and traveling on a budget," she said.
"I know that moving countries and traveling, in general, isn’t accessible to everyone, but I think a platform like TikTok is important to help people learn about different cultures and start to see more possibilities for their own lives, even if it just means a slight shift in your perspective."
However, there are some things that Roze still misses about life in the US. She shared 5 of them in another video
Overall, however, she still feels like living in Italy is by far the better deal
Image credits: rozeinitaly
Meanwhile, here's her video, in full
Most of the things that Roze called out in her viral TikTok about what she’ll never do again are directly related to living a quality life. She mentioned how she now doesn’t rush about. She’s no longer in a hurry because people are far more relaxed in Italy. It’s making a lot of people reconsider why they’re always hurrying in their own day-to-day lives. After all, if you’re always rushing somewhere, how often do you actually take a moment to appreciate life, beauty, and other people?
According to traveler and TikToker Roze, her perspective about car ownership and how business hours work has also shifted. She understands that, unlike in the States, the pace of life is very different in Italy. You have to be far more flexible and understand that while people work hard, they also value taking time off and resting.
The creator of the video also noted that she’ll never obsess about work as much now that she’s seen how much better things can get. There’s more to life than just work. There’s more to people’s worth than just what they do for a living and how much they make. That, we feel, is the main difference in mentality when we compare setting down roots in Southern Europe compared to the States.
And finally, Roze noted that, yes, the healthcare system is far fairer and more affordable than back in the US. We’ve covered this particular topic in detail a number of times here on Bored Panda. For instance, Dr. Andrew Carroll, the head of Atembis LLC, previously explained to us that “unfortunately in the US, since the insurance company is the payer for a patient’s care, they are heavily involved in the provision of that care. Their job is not to pay for healthcare but avoid paying for healthcare. It is a terrible system.”
He continued: “I love what I do because I could not see myself doing anything else. I’ve wanted to be a doctor since I was 5, since I myself had a major medical issue. I remember the care and compassion my doctors when I was that age showed me, and helped me get through my very tough time. I wanted to do that for others, and so far I think I have done so. Insurance companies make it difficult though, and nearly force cold, inhumane, and compassionless rules on patients when they are most vulnerable.”
Meanwhile, what Roze said about work really resonates with the ‘quiet quitting’ trend that’s been sweeping all over the job industry and the internet in recent months. Though nothing new, the term itself is fairly fresh, and refers to setting up healthy boundaries at work: you do what you’re paid to do and don’t sacrifice your health and time to work overtime.
Some employees see quiet quitting as a way to tune out and coast because they don’t see any prospects for their futures. Others, however, see it as a way to reclaim their lives and enforce boundaries while fighting back against burnout. We’ve written about this in detail before, and it comes down to reevaluating your work-life balance.
Working hard and going the extra mile works wonders if you’re at a good company and see a lot of purpose in what you do. At the same time, focusing just on work and making money can make life lose a lot of its shine. It’s hard work balancing the two. But just like with exercise, you need to take breaks and rest up if you want to reach peak performance. You can’t always be ‘on the go.’
The Italian lifestyle, we feel, helps counter the rat race mentality that many employees in the West and elsewhere around the world have in this day and age. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, stressed out, and exhausted, you ought to focus on yourself for a bit. Get some proper sleep. Eat well. Go outside and have a long walk out in nature. Get some sun. It’s obviously easier if you’re living in Italy… but who says you can’t live like the Italians do, no matter where you are in the world?
Meanwhile, her followers shared some of their thoughts on this
