Sicily Help
 

Hi All,

I live in Cefalù Sicily. I love the town, its a wonderful place to be. However I am finding so much in Sicily insufferable and really need to vent.

First of all: Opening Times

They don't exist, shops open as and when the wind blows people into them and as for closing, some nights they close at 11, other nights they close at 7. I walked around last night desperately hunting a take away Pizza at 21:00pm and not one to be found!

Cars:

This doesn't seem to end, I look on subito for cars, but can't buy one because I am not resident, even if I become resident (Which is its own rigmarole! No job etc) because I am 24 and in Province Palermo in Sicily the insurance is Phenomenal, 2.200 per anno for a fiat brava 1998 1.6 :mad: Haven't had a chance to look at Tax and MOT equivalents:blink:

People/Jobs:

I have worked in Castelbuono briefly for next to nothing cash in hand and although I was grateful at the time I am noticing a pattern of people offering the world and delivering naff all. I am speaking with one at the moment who had offered a place to stay for free and 300 a month to look after his apartments, now we are getting closer to the time the 300 has disappeared and I just don't think he is reliable enough, I think the apartment won't be as free as he is making out. It seems people here really just want to get to know you and will say anything to do that, once they know you they don't want to know anymore? Is it me? When I was in Castelbuono an American told me that if you offer someone a finger they will take your hand here. Its sad to say I think it is true.

I came to Sicily because I always wanted to live in Italy since I was a kid and had a best friend who was Italian. I came to Sicily specifically because I loved the idea of being in Italy having the weather of the Mediterranean Islands as I have always been going on Holiday to Menorca.

I am so disappointed though, Menorca seems to be miles ahead in terms of understanding foreign tastes. I go into a bar in Sicily and they are all the same, bottled beer, plastered with pizza cakes and ice cream. No where can I find decent Birra alla spina, or decent music. I like listening to live bands for example. I am in arguably one of the most touristy cities in Sicily and they are just not catered for it.

I am about to marry my Sicillian fiancé who is from Castelbuono and I think we are looking at heading to Spain now. We are not really looking for a 18-30's place to live but at least somewhere we can go where the options are slightly higher than Pizza, Ice Cream and Pasta...

Finding work has been difficult, I thought the hotels would jump at the chance of having a young enthusiastic English man on their reception, boy was I wrong.

Sad to say but I think we are going to try and survive this season and then move on to Spain. Shame money is low now and we might even have to return to blighty:thumbdown::frown:

Just want to hear other people's thoughts, what do you think? Anyone have experience of this area? Know of any work? Basically.... HELP!!!!

Re: Sicily Help
 

Hello,

why does it have to be Spain? Why not Florence for example or a university city?

Re: Sicily Help
 

We are still considering various places. I think my issue is I have become very disillusioned with Italy whereas I have always loved Spain. Moving north could be an option. I think I am just sulking a bit:p

The soon to be missus has said she would be happy to go north. Wherever we go it will be our last opportunity financially to move for a while. I am returning to the UK to work for a month which gives us a bit of cash.

I would probably need to courier all my stuff wherever we go as I don't own a vehicle at the moment.

Really wherever we go we would need an 'In' whether thats a place to stay or a job for either of us. She shouldn't have to much trouble as she is fluent in Italian and English but my italian is not great. Although miles better than my Spanish.

Where are you based? How is life in your part of the jungle? :D:lol:

Re: Sicily Help
 

Based on your first post , why not go to Menorca ?

Re: Sicily Help
 

Yeah thats one option as well. Its just going on Holiday somewhere and living there is very different. It a great place to be on holiday but I am not sure it would be good to live for many of the same reasons Sicily hasn't worked out.

I was thinking maybe Valencia should we go to Spain but I think I was really hoping someone would have a good Italian option. I don't really want to leave Italy disappointed.

Re: Sicily Help
 

I totaly agree based on the posts I think you want England with sunshine
Italy is not turistick like spain even the north of Italy

Re: Sicily Help
 

Maybe not England with Sun just a nice job with Sun. I love speaking another language and mixing with people but Sicily is a whole new level of snobbery and they openly admit it. If I make a mistake with Italian I am immediately dismissed by the locals no real encouragement I have found.

What I would love to find is a city with good weather and good employment opportunities all year round. Where I am now is all black economy and everyone trying to con an extra euro out of everyone else. I just would like somewhere I can find work, take the pay home and have a nice quiet life.... Too much? I was thinking Valencia because of good weather and its a big city so employment rates should be better. I just would love to find something in Italy/Sicily like that...

Re: Sicily Help
 

here in abruzzo the locals don't snub you if youy make a mistake with the lingo the weather is so mild you would not belive iam stil not wearing winter cloths juust lite summers one the food is good and cheap so is the wine BUT there is not any work even the locals are strugeling as is our BB next to a ski resort people have no spair cash

Re: Sicily Help
 

Yeah I appreciate that work is difficult to come by everywhere. I had a dream of coming here and opening an Irish bar in Sicily but I needed to work for a bit first. The longer I am not working the further away the dream is going. More annoying is that although I am certain the tourists would be happy with that kind of bar the locals here will drink one 'b****e'(Sorry I consider that a swear word) of beer and thats it. My first night here I had 2 bottles of beer and people were looking at me like I had just arrived from Mars... I don't think an Irish Bar or English Pub could ever survive in Sicily. Not outside of Palermo or Catania anyway.

Re: Sicily Help
 

I have lived in Sicily for a good number of years and I dont agree with most of your post.
Part of the problem may be that you live in Cefalu which is a tourist town and has little life of its own, it has a population of about 10.000, which triples in summer. Go out looking for a pizza on a Monday night and you will have problems in any small town, most restaurants tend to close on Monday, as they are open all weekend. Italy is a country of bottled beer, and live music you will find in big cities, not in little seaside towns out of season.
You possibly find work in season, but out of season - as with all seasonal jobs - there is nothing. Contracts run for the summer, lots of hotels close in the winter. It will sound cruel, but what did you expect? Sicily has crippling unemployent, any employer will have a list of family, friends and acquaintances who all want work - why should you jump to the head of the queue? Given the current state of the economy, jobs are hard won any where in Italy - unless you have something that no-one else can offer in your sector.

I have never encountered snobbery as regards teh language - most Sicilian are only too keen to help you learn Italian, and know that your your Italian is probably better than theirs if they speak predominantly Siciilan.
There is a certain pride and obstinacy - in that Sicilians do things the way their parents did, and dont see the need for change - but that too is changing with the younger generation who are all too aware of how backward Sicily can sometimes seem to be.
Having said that you are marrying into a Sicilian family and so better learn to accept all of that, otherwise you will be deeply unhappy. I just nod and laugh and let it all wash over me.
Instead of drumming your heels in Cefalu why not think of Palermo, or Naples - much more vibrant cities - with more possibilities of work, (live music and beer) but bear in mind that a work contract is the holy grail in southern Italy (and most of Italy at the moment) - there are young people with degrees and doctorates who cant even get temp work in a call centre. Of course would be employers will try it on, and offer you the world in return for your labour - I have Sicilian clients who work their bits off and never get paid, that's why most people end up setting themselves up in business - so they are not dependent on others. What it comes down to, Im afraid to say , is why does the world owe you a living? It doesnt. Apart from being keen and speaking English what else do you have to offer?

Re: Sicily Help
 

Well if you want the warm weather of the med with the chance to work in an Irish bar it will have to be an spanish island or the costa del sol where plenty of Irsih bars flourish in the tourist season

Re: Sicily Help
 

Rereading that it sounds rude , which I didnt intend. Irish pubs do exist in Sicily - but Sicilians are not big drinkers, being drunk in public is not acceptable here - (thank god - too many years of stepping over comatose people in Leicester Sq put me right off a good British night out) but you need to be a bit practical. Opening a pub require a ton of paperwork, licences, you have to do a course in Italain for handling of foodstuffs, and so on - but they make money if you open the hours that young Sicilians want to go drinking ie - Fri,Sat Sunday evenings from 10pm to 5 or 6 in the morning. But if you are looking for hard drinkers, then you need to find another country.

Re: Sicily Help
 

Of course here in Rome you keep falling over Irish pubs - lost count of how many I have seen. However, they mainly cater for tourists, the odd expat and AUR students...

the tone of modicasa's post may seem a tad harsh but it is essentially fair

Re: Sicily Help
 

here here here a big bloke wiil pehaps drink a cupple of campareis or perhaps[s a cuppl of small bears and playn cards all night , not a pub culture here , there is an irish pub called belive it or not in the next tow called the Red lion complete with cast iron shop front but hardly any drinkers . spain the place for that so iam told :D

Re: Sicily Help
 

:goodpost:
my thoughts exactly.And I was in a similar situation 53 years ago: and I'm still here.
Did have to make the odd trip abroad or to the UK in the early days to find a wage.
by by dicette l'inglese,
'o nonno

Re: Sicily Help
 

It wasn't harsh, it was completely true and fair, like I said, I am sulking :p

This is all why I am thinking of Spain. I don't think the world owes me a living I just want to try and find one! I thought that speaking English fluently would be advantageous in terms of work in a touristy area but I think that is not really true.

In terms of people being snobby about language maybe I have just been unlucky with the people I have met and shouldn't tar everyone with the same brush. I have met a couple of people who have been very helpful.

I came to Sicily mainly for the missus but I think even she is changing her mind now.

I appreciate all the feedback.. I just need a few people to snap me back to reality because it has all been a bit draining and depressing. :( I really want to find something here and I am desperately trying to make it work, however as I am watching my bank balance decline I can't help but feel I need to make some tough decisions.

Re: Sicily Help
 

As you have surmised there are no easy answers on this one Kenzo. Just try and keep your chin up and keep looking for opportunities. Spain isn't exactly the land of milk and honey from an economy or jobs point of view either.

very best of luck mate

Re: Sicily Help
 

Most young Sicilians dream of going off to London - and everyone always says to me, why did you come here? - but you could the get the best of two worlds - leave with the new wife and find work in the 'frozen north' for 6 months a year but you'll always have a fabulous extended holiday home in Sicily. Any job that you can do better than a local will require some bit of paper - tour guide, teacher, barman, lifeguard and so on - so you should seriously think about getting some Italian qualification, you'll find they attach huge importance to a Grade 3 recorder certificate.

Re: Sicily Help
 

What does your girlfriends family do ? That would be the first port of call, but is potentially dangerous as you are then 100% immersed in your in laws. You're only an hour or so train ride from palermo - have you thought about commuting? How good is your italian? If everyone is using you as a free English lesson, stop it - refuse to speak Englihs unless you get an Italian lesson first. Or just refuse until you learn Italian. Its very frustrating, but worth it.

Re: Sicily Help
 

The family are farmers. I was with them originally working but they weren't paying me, they just gave me somewhere to live which was a good start but I couldn't progress because I didn't have time to be job searching and I was somewhere very small. I have thought about commuting but the people here say the money I would spend on the train outweighs the money earned. My Italian is ok but not great. In terms of paper I have 14 GCSE's and 3 A levels, 2 in business studies and 1 in sport development. It seems to mean little to the people here though. Yeah the biggest problem is everyone wants to speak English! I will start in Italian but the second I make one mistake they revert to English and refuse to change back.

Re: Sicily Help
 

Kenzo I firmly believe you just have to keep responding in Italian whatever they do. I had many convesations where they spoke English and I responded in Italian at first. However, as time goes on and your Italian improves they will eventually realize your Italian is better than their English and then you have cracked it.

Other thing I did was to agree with the 2 Italians in my office that we would only speak to each other in English on mon/wed/fri and Italian on tue/thurs. That way, in a fairly short time, my Italian improved as did the English ability of one of my office mates (the other guy is pretty much bilingual).

Hope that helps a little

Re: Sicily Help
 

Hi Kenzo, Ive been casting my mind back(no mean feat I assure you) :-)
In the winter 72/73 I worked in Cefalu' as an area manager for a large UK tour operator; one of those that unfortunately long since disappeared. As I remember it Cefalu' was quite a lively resort, although no doubt things have changed. Anyway, I still have a list of the hotels I worked with; all of whom at the time would have been glad of native English speaking personnel. Examples Baia del Capitano, Costa Verde, Le Sabbie d'Oro, Kalura, and others I can't remember out Gibilmanna way. Worth a punt I would say. Also with your education certs. why not have a bash at advertising yourself as an English teacher and see what reaction you get. Another thought, if you want to move but not too far from Sicily - Malta?
Anyway, buona fortuna.
by by dicette l'inglese,
'o nonno

Re: Sicily Help
 

Kenzo - is it the winter weather that is getting you down as well as the lack of job ? Things always seem better when the sun is shining.

But then at this time of year Spain isn't in any position to give you sunshine and even on the CDS touristy jobs are few and far between in the summer and non-existent in the winter.
and there do seem to be a lot of Eastern Europeans who can speak English who are getting jobs.

But if you are serious about living in Spain or Italy - and why drag the BH away from the family unless you have to - why not try for a "real" job, one with a multi-national paying reasonable wages. But that will mean paying serious money for a flat. Here in Granada its either a shared student flat at €200/m or on your own at €500+
and then again there is the BH to consider - will she want to mope around feeling miserable with you feeling miserable and no money coming in.:eek:

first you need a plan, stick to it and only move to another place or country if really desperate - but remember the BH in all of it.

but its only another 4-5 months before it is warmer and the tourists are flooding in
and you are still young, can put off the Paddie Pub for a couple of years until you have been able to get some real money behind you - all as per The Plan.

regards

Re: Sicily Help
 

Hey all, sorry its been a few days, things are getting hectic, Back in the uk tomorrow. Yeah I have tried the only speaking in Italian but it seems someone has told them to only respond in English. I like the idea of alternate days, I will give that a go. I am going to go round all the hotels when I return on the 20th Feb. I will keep my fingers crossed. Thank you for all your help guys I really appreciate it. :)

Re: Sicily Help
 

If they respond in English you answer them in Italian. Or correct their English - they'll soon stop. Or just say you cant understand them! Or even better - cosa vuoi dire, cosa esattamente vuoi dire? Theyll revert to Italian soon enough.

Re: Sicily Help
 

This means very little to people in the UK too.. as it is not experience and when times are tough that is what people look for first..

I feel your pain with everyone looking to speak English, I am in the same boat as far as that goes but self employed.

I will send you a personal message have a look