Things I can’t stand about Italy nowadays 🇮🇹 (not so Dolce Vita)

Key frustrations about living in Italy (as described by the speaker)

Driving culture

• Aggressive driving and speeding
  • People often drive aggressively and exceed speed limits.
  • The speaker says they get passed many times a day even when driving normally.
• Ignoring or misusing street signals (“segnaletica”)
  • Drivers frequently ignore, misuse, or fail to follow street signals.
• Roundabouts (“rotonde”) without proper signaling
  • Drivers often don’t signal properly when turning left or right.
• Worse in certain cities/regions
  • The speaker notes it feels worse in Rome, Turin, Sicily.
  • They also mention living in Mantua, indicating the issue isn’t uniform everywhere.

Workplace, salary, and mental health

• Low pay makes independence difficult
  • Example figures given: €1,200–€1,500/month.
• Toxic workplaces
  • The speaker claims toxic environments are very common (about 90%).
• Older leadership, limited modern vision
  • Managers are often over 60/70, and may lack a modern entrepreneurial mindset.
• No clear career ladder / slow progression
  • Promotions may rely on connections (family and friends-of-friends).
  • Some companies reportedly remain unchanged for decades (“since the 1950s”), creating “legacy” that feels unhealthy.
• High requirements for low reward
  • The speaker says it can take multiple degrees + years of experience to earn around €1,500/month, while working 40+ hours.
• Health and mental health
  • Concerns are described as “horrible.”
• Harder access to renting
  • They describe needing a specific contract type: “contratto a tempo indeterminato” to rent more easily.
  • Without it, renters may need extra certification from parents, a bank, or others.

Bureaucracy and “everything is slow”

• Slow responses and paperwork
  • In public administration and other processes, the speaker reports:
    • Often 48+ hours, sometimes 3–4 days
    • Or much longer (e.g., 2 weeks or a month)
• Lots of required documents
  • Many processes require extensive paperwork.
• “Slow living” is not truly chosen
  • The speaker argues it’s forced by systems, rules, and older workplace structures—not a genuine lifestyle preference.
• Complex taxes and business administration
  • Difficulty understanding and managing tax reporting.
  • Mentions “saldo” and annual paperwork that varies across years with different percentages.
• Inflexible retirement funding
  • Contributions are described as going automatically to a state fund, rather than being freely chosen by the individual.

Limited options for young people (especially in smaller towns)

• Fewer activities and spaces
  • In smaller places, options may be limited to basic routines like walking or eating ice cream.
• Fewer amenities
  • Less access to parks, youth spaces, and general amenities compared with big cities.
• Contrast with larger cities
  • The speaker compares this with larger cities, citing London as an example of more developed youth amenities.

Travel / lifestyle context mentioned

• The speaker references the common summer-on-social-media portrayal of Italy as a carefree “Euro summer calling.”
• They emphasize that the lived reality may not match that “Dolce Vita” image, especially for younger people with normal jobs.

Notable locations / references at the end

• Mantua (speaker lives there)
• Rome
• Turin
• Sicily
• London (used as a comparison for amenities/opportunities)
• Mentions a “creator” who moved from America to Italy and back to have an app produced—used as an example of how bureaucracy can be slow.