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At Least You’re in Tuscany

Posted May 8, 2013 by Sharon 6 Comments

Author Jennifer Criswell and her beloved Weirmariner Cinder.

Author Jennifer Criswell and Cinder.

By Sharon Sanders

Jennifer Criswell had guts.  She wasn’t rich. She wasn’t fluent in Italian. And, she was no longer of the age where people say things like, “Oh, she’s young. . . she’s just finding herself.”

Yet, she moved from New York City to live in Tuscany. As a local barrista quizzically asked when she told him she was living in Montepulciano: “Ma, per sempre?” (but, forever?)

Her companion was a beloved Weimaraner named Cinder who, as you might suppose, was also neither rich, fluent in Italian, nor a frisky pup. 

ALYIT.250In At Least You’re in Tuscany: A Somewhat Disastrous Quest for the Sweet Life, Criswell shares the transformation with candor and humor. By her own admission, “It certainly wasn’t the sensible thing to do.”

Ten years before relocating, Criswell experienced an epiphany in Pienza, the last stay on her first trip to Italy, a three-week jaunt through the peninsula. Confiding in her journal, she realized that she no longer wanted to be a lawyer. She wanted to be a writer, and, more importantly, she wanted to be a writer in Italy.

Although her resolve was firm, the move was not fast. She writes, “My dream of Tuscany inspired me to start making changes. It took nine years, a move from Miami to New York—where I survived (just) as a dog walker on the Upper West Side—loads of Italian lessons, and three more trips before I hoisted sail on my Italian odyssey. But when you’re meant to be somewhere, everything in between feels like you’re treading water, just waiting for that wave to lift you and carry you onto the shore of your new land. My new land was Italy.”

A New Life in Italy

She chose Montepulciano (population of about 15,000), her favorite among the hill towns south of Siena, Tuscany, as her new home.

After moving into the apartment she had secured beforehand, finding work was first on her to-do list. She became intimately acquainted with the Comune (town hall) in her quest to wrap up her Italian citizenship. She had begun the process (three years earlier), as she was entitled to pursue citizenship because of her Sicilian ancestors on her mother’s side. She had obtained a permesso di soggiorno (stay permit) that allowed her to reside, but not work, in Italy. A key document was missing!

The Duomo, with its unfinished facade, in Piazza Grande. In November, the tourists, and the Tuscan sun, are nowhere to be found.

The Duomo, with its unfinished facade, in Piazza Grande, Montepulciano. In November, the tourists, and the Tuscan sun, are nowhere to be found.

Desperate, she even sought restaurant work in nero (under the table) to no avail. False pride was not an option since she only had enough money to support herself for a few months. She quilted together an income from part-time stints teaching English, babysitting, and picking grapes during the vendemmia, an adventure she describes in hilarious and painful detail.

She chronicles challenges of adapting to small-town Tuscan culture—becoming a figure of local gossip—but also the triumph of forming new, real, friendships and navigating the daunting bureaucracy. I won’t give away the details because the tale is delicious, seasoned with an unshakeable fervor for Italy.

No matter how dark the circumstances, Criswell consoled herself with the mantra. . . “At least you’re in Tuscany.”

Dreaming of moving to Italy? Have you made the dream come true?

Share your story here.

Filed Under: Books, Culture, Language, Sicily, Travel, Tuscany Tagged With: expatriates in Italy, Jennifer Criswell, Montepulicano, moving to Italy

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Comments

  1. Laura says

    May 23, 2013 at 9:46 PM

    I can’t wait to read this book! I dream of moving to Umbria daily and re-live every moment of my many trips to Italy. Alas, I’ve fallen in love with an American, so I’ll have to settle for vacations there (though I tell him if we ever break up, I am out of here!!)

    Reply
  2. Jean Lewis says

    May 8, 2013 at 4:46 PM

    I loved Jennifer’s honest and enlightening book. We visited Montalcino a few years ago. Stayed a week. Found the people and the area warm and inviting.

    Great review.

    Reply
    • Sharon says

      May 21, 2013 at 10:27 AM

      Ciao Jean,

      Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

      Reply
  3. Karen says

    May 8, 2013 at 3:25 PM

    We did it too!! My husband and I moved from Baltimore, Md to Venice Italy 5 years ago. We didn’t know one other person in Venice and spoke ZERO italian, but we somehow mustered the courage, quit our jobs, sold everything we owned and flew over with 2 dogs and 4 suitcases. I too have dual citizenship, through my mom who is native born Italian. Every day is a dream come true, but the adventure was not without lots of frustrations and road blocks along the way. Happy to share our story too.

    Reply
  4. Martina says

    May 8, 2013 at 11:51 AM

    I love Jennifer’s story! I did something very similiar: Moving from Canada to Italy and opened a buisness. I would love to share my story!

    Reply
    • Sharon says

      May 8, 2013 at 1:47 PM

      Ciao Martina,
      Please share your story in a comment.

      Reply

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