Move to Italy

I've talked lots of big talk about moving to Italy one day. Sure, I should do it while I'm young and not tied down to a husband or kids. But what about a job? A visa? A car? Not being fluent? A phone? A place to live? Enough money to get started? Yep. Many reasons not to do it right now. And how long have I had to work on this? And I didn't do it.

Well my friend Kim is moving there this fall. She has family in Naples, who are apparently willing to put her up until she gets her bearings. She's signing up for a course this summer which will certify her to teach English as a Second Language (ESL). The program helps graduates with job placement.

And she asked me to come with her.

I've already stated all of the obvious reasons not to. I haven't been saving. Just paying bills, getting by, buying a new outfit now and then. Had I known...... and of course I just started a new job in February. Wouldn't THAT feel like a betrayal. Still, I don't owe my life to work. If this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity (and it is), I can't turn it down over loyalty to an office or a profession that I'm not committed to for life. It would suck, but they don't own me.

I can't believe I'm considering this.

So Kim issued this proposition yesterday. My friend Becky gave me a calendar of famous women quotations - a new one every day. This is yesterday's:

"I have lived my life according to this principle: If I'm afraid of it, then I must do it."
-Erica Jong, scholarly sex novelist

While I'm no sex novelist (YET), that sure hit home.

I asked a good friend for her advice. She works with me, and takes seriously the responsibilities, even more than I do. I expected her to tell me about my responsibility here, all of the obstacles, the bad timing, etc. She said, "You have to do it."

I called Ohio and talked to Joyce last night. She rattled off all of the ways in which Italian bureaucracy makes every logistic imaginable next to impossible. Shared a Long list of how difficult and frustrating building a life there will be. Then she said, "If I were you, I'd do it."

I called Mom, who's totally overstressed with selling her house, buying a new one, moving in with her husband, taking care of Grandma who's fading fast with cancer, and generally being overwhelmed. She shared a few general suggestions, like making a pro/con list and making a list of everything there would be to do. Then she said, "You'll never do anything great if you don't take a risk."

Gah! I might actually do this. The pressure is on for lots of reasons. My friend is going this fall, so that's when the cushion of her family's help will be available. She's going to grad schools next fall, so she'll only be there a limited time. That's a big cushion to give up just to wait to get myself more financially stable. The course she's taking is this summer. It's $800 if you register by June 14. $900 after that. So many thoughts.....

I know that negative 14 people read this blog, but advice is welcome!