Things I Wish I'd Known Before Moving to Milan

Sponsored by IULM

Originally from Turkey, I’ve always been drawn to Europe, especially Italy. Having picked up a bit of Spanish and English in high school, I moved to Milan four years ago, my International Baccalaureate in hand. I set myself the totally insane goal of learning to speak, understand and write Italian like a native Milanese in less than a year, and, believe it or not, I succeeded! I learned to read, write and carry out a conversation in Italian almost like a native speaker.  

A year later, I was enrolled at the Milanese university IULM to study a bachelor’s degree in Communications, Advertising and Media, all in Italian. And while my life in Milan so far couldn’t have been more exciting and rewarding, knowing a few things earlier definitely would have made my life a lot easier.

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Now, you might not need to learn Italian to study in Italy because some universities, including IULM, offer master’s programs instructed in English. However, knowing the language makes your experience a lot more enjoyable, and it’s an easy language to learn.  

Thanks to a fairly intense year of language training, my classmates and I learned Italian fairly rapidly. My course at Scuola Leonardo da Vinci started in October 2014, and by June 2015, most of us mastered C1 Italian. Of course, what made it a lot easier for us is the immersion aspect. You’re constantly hearing and speaking Italian in shops, on the bus, in the street and when with friends, which trains your ear without almost any effort from your part.

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Like most expats living in Italy, the bureaucracy is my least favourite thing about living in Milan, but it’s nothing that can’t be defeated if you come prepared and ask for help. When you apply for a stay permit, fiscal code and health insurance, you have to make sure you bring all of the documents with you. In my experience, clerks tend to be very helpful, and I’ve had people from one department help me with administrative procedures in a completely different one.  

Don’t worry too much about applying for health insurance and a stay permit on your own though because your university’s International Students Guidance Office should be able to help you tackle bureaucratic issues.