Milan?

[don'TreadOnMe]

Can any of you fine folks give me the lowdown on Milan Italy?
There's a good chance I'll be there for a year or 2 for work, & bringing mi familia as well...

Thanks, and Happy Happy Joy Joy!

[sbornia]

First, congrats on the opportunity! It will definitely be an adventure.

I lived about 1.5 hours north of Milano for three years, so my perception of the city is definitely that of an outsider. On the surface, it's a big, faster paced city, and not particularly pretty imho. But like much of Italy, it's likely made up of smaller, more personal local communities of folks who've been there for several generations, and there are probably beautiful areas of the city that tourists like me never see. I'm guessing that at the neighborhood level, people are just as sociable as they are in smaller towns.

Given its size and industry, I'm sure there are plenty of transplants who come for work and school, too, so you won't be the only newcomer. (Unlike in the little town I lived in, where no foreigners ever really moved or even visited.)

It is also in great location for getting to other parts of Italy and Europe easily. You'll be able to make long weekend trips to the lakes to the north, and Tuscany a bit south. Or pack up the famiglia and get a quick cheap flight to London or Paris.

In any event, you will have a GREAT time over there. PM me if you have more questions!

[don'TreadOnMe]

sbornia - thanks so much!!!...any memories of local framebuilders over there?
I'm bringing something handmade/measured back w/me.

[sbornia]

Well, I was working for an American bicycle company at the time, but had a connection at DeRosa. So I got fitted at the factory and brought back a classic Ferrari red one. You could try to hook up with Dario Pegoretti, or one of the framebuilders in the Veneto to the east, like Scapin.

[don'TreadOnMe]

Ahhhhh, sbornia, you rule.

[Polyglot]

I lived for a decade in Italy, all across the North. First Treviso, then Vicenza and finally Turin. I would not trade a day of the time that I spent there, it was great. Having said that, it is not the location that makes it special but what you do there. You most definitely need to learn some Italian and just start talking to the locals. You will find that the Italians are very forgiving if you mangle their language as long as you try to speak it. You can also get quite far using hand gestures. Working in an Italian work environment is perhaps more difficult to get used to than actually living there. In each of the three companies that I worked for, I was either the only or one of a very small minority of non-Italians. Once you get the hang of it, you will find the Italians very hard-working and dedicated (quite the opposite of what I experienced when working in Germany, where most of my colleagues were out of the office 30 seconds after the contractual work time.) If you are anywhere near Philly give me a call and we can perhaps meet up and I can give you some hints. I can also point you towards a few framebuilders that I know too.