From Italy to Germany and The Challenges Getting Dual Citizenship
Welcome to Today’s Show I’m on the podcast Global citizen life we have Cristiano baluchi thank you very much for joining us today thank you very much Sally for having me here and so you are originally from Italy but have left quite some time ago and made Germany your new
Home that’s true I think I was quite lucky when I was young I have a an uncle who grounded a new University in peruja Italy which is a mix of marketing and tourism so I had the chance I was really lucky to travel with him quite a lot we
Used to have one two big trips uh every year traveling really in the every continent and this is where since I was maybe 10 or 11 I used to travel with him everywhere and I was exposed to the different count countries different personalities cultures and I found that
Fascinating so that when I arrived to the point in which I was about five years into my work I was still in a room I thought uh you know what the word is nice I can travel somewhere I can uh experience something new something different and I sent my CV in Europe at
The point was Europe the easiest way I was lucky I got a few positive feedback from uh um France uh Ireland UK and then I chose one in Germany that it was not as a country my first choice but it was for the company it was I’m a computer
Engineer and uh it was one of the first search engine that came even before Google so I thought to myself okay I can go there and I guess as many of us do I thought okay I go out one year two years stops mom I’ll come back with you I’ll
Come back to Rome Rome is beautiful yeah I changed so much after one and a half year the company shut it down and then nevertheless it was easier for me to find another job in Germany rather than come back uh to Italy and after there I was just so happy I saw
The positives of the economy on one end of how people are nice with each other how polite and well organized the year that after a while I then got to know yeah my wife who is then Scottish we decided to move here yeah we we actually met in Romania so then eventually she
Moved from Glasgow to Munich where I was we had a son who was born in in Munich he he has now three nationalities and uh to be honest we are just so happy to live uh here in Germany that’s great and so obviously for now maybe not obviously because you
You moved quite some time ago so did you now traveling through Europe going Italy to Germany is is very easy to move but you moved I think it was about 15 years ago was it still that easy or did you have to go through um kind of the more
Of a longer process because I my memor is not great with when the European Union started the free travel between all the shenen countries sure that’s correct it has been about 15 years ago and uh we were already part of the EU where it was easy to move but then you
Know it’s easy if you have a job if you don’t have a job and you need to go through all the bureaucracy yeah even without a job then uh it’s pretty much impossible I saw people uh trying but it’s it’s not working so then when I
Moved um I was uh it was easy for me because part of the EU but then uh I really have to say thankful there was a friend of mine at work a new friend that I got to know there who help me with all the bureaucracy which was really I mean
Already now after 15 years after I have a good level of German I’m still struggling with the the local bureaucracy unfortunately that’s every government in the world the bureaucracy everywhere everybody I talked to on the show and I asked about kind of maybe the the struggle are the negatives a lot of
The things are the paperwork and bureaucracy um and and I don’t know I don’t know that the consistency is no matter where you move to there’s going to be some struggles and the bureaucracy is definitely one of them no matter where in the world you’re
Going yeah indeed I agree I we just got married with my wife a couple of years ago and uh then we were living already in Germany and then at that point I didn’t have the German citizenship she is British and we needed to consolidate all the documents in an international
Format uh a little bit from uh the UK a little bit from Italy yeah it was really painful even back then uh even coming back to Rome just to get my birth certificate it was the time of covid so with the mask and the person was there
Looking at me is it really you yeah it’s me I know take off your mask I took off my mask okay yeah you have a lovely s yeah I’ve been in holid it’s still me look clearly your picture is of me maybe 15 years ago but I’m still all register
So it’s really tricky and it’s never ending that’s really something that uh uh yeah you you will not find uh easily also recently I started my side uh business and uh starting everything again in a different language even if uh quite a lot of uh procedures are online
Makes everything easier faster and so on you always have the the question mark did they do everything correctly or the tax will come and say in the last past year 10 years you did everything wrong and you need to pay all back but anyway it’s it’s part of the game
Again and how how is that process to to start a a company or business in Germany is it in the sense like quite easy to to register and and get it started or is it like in in Canada generally we can go to a registry’s office if we want a
Specific name they’ll search it if it comes back great we pay some money and pretty much then we’re done we take those documents to a bank we open up the bank account probably within a day or two again done so I mean this is my memory from when I lived there more than
10 years ago now um but but it was basically pretty smooth and and pretty easy is it similar in Germany or is are there more Hoops to kind of jump through to starting a a company there right now it’s the process is pretty much similar and uh I think that particularly few
Cities like Berlin and Munich that are very International they have some uh hubs that explain you what in English what the procedures are what options you have because as soon as you start looking deeper what type of company you want you need to open and what procedure
You have how much money you need to put up front what credentials you need to bring becomes really tricky and difficult fortunately there are the there are these centers that even at the beginning they try to give information for free and help you to go to the right
Path and particularly if you want to start out you go you go with the easiest path and there are so it’s fairly easy eventually may take a little bit may take a little bit of translation but you can do anyone really can do and um and you just start eventually if you see
That you need to adjust you need to fit better into different categories or even your business develops into a different direction then you can change and adjust also the government I mean tax is always looking for getting money from you so if they see that you can fit into more
Higher paying spot they will do I also see in general that you know Munich is quite famous for Italian restaurants here so there’s a lot of people coming maybe without high knowledge of it deep knowledge of German and nevertheless they manage to to open up and to have
Their business up and running I believe also the government is fairly nice with you understanding that you may have different context different issues as you said from language to tax from practical things and uh they help you figure out what to do and how eventually to
Change that’s great because I mean it is beneficial for for them as well right when people want to open up businesses obviously then taxes are paid they’re employing people hopefully eventually and and growing and so it benefits the government it benefits the economy as
Well and so to make it um as smooth as possible is is always a good thing it’s it’s a bit different in Spain Spain is the it just seems like they don’t want people to open up businesses there the amount of paperwork and documents and
Stuff I have a friend of mine who is just going through um getting her her company set up um in Spain and and she just said it was it was a bit of a nightmare and she’s like it just feels like they don’t want people to be starting businesses there so um I
Haven’t opened a business or or self-employment or anything in Spain even though I do I’m about residency there but she says it it was quite challenging so um a friend of hers actually opened their company I want to say in Italy I might be wrong but I want
To say they found it easier to open in Italy and then have the company in Italy and then just paid thems as an employee salary and and lived in Spain but it was easier for them to to open in Italy so you know it’s something to to think
About depending upon if listeners want to open business to be which what countries are business friendly because most times I find people are interested in a few countries if they’re their first time move abroad they’re like well I like this place this place and this place great if you’ve got it narrowed
Down to three then it’s to look at the cost of living you know if you’re going to be having a a company which one is the easiest or or makes more sense for what you’re doing taxes could be another thing to to consider as well if if you’re unsure and I know sometimes
People are like nope this is where I’m going and it’s like great you’re sure then you know everything works you know she opened up her business you you’re making things work in Germany there’s things that work and it’s just we realize that sometimes things take a little bit longer some places things are
A little bit harder but it’s I always say when there’s a will there’s a will and totally agree yeah totally agree with you when also I started I said my wife is British we consider to open our company my company there because of tax reasons in general you can have um some
Spots some areas Islands sometimes taxfree even that it’s particularly beneficial but then you need to live there like Jersey but then in general the tax the amount of money that you pay is relatively lower than Germany or Italy I think it can go even to half of what you
Pay there compared to here so then it’s h it’s very attractive anyway sometimes I think when you are in a specific country becomes easier than to discuss with the local authorities and to try to move on I found for example the bank is one of the key sometimes if you are
Remotely becomes difficult to find a bank in the country where you want to open your business if you start everything in a country then you move becomes easier otherwise it’s um yeah being local it’s um yeah it’s probably the best do you think in Spain is more
About the language or the amount of details and bureaucracy that they require I think it’s the details in the bureaucracy because she’s um she’s fluent yeah she’s fluent in Spanish and so she’s she she doesn’t have that issue but she just said that like it it’s kind
Of one of those things that happen in several countries it’s like well you need document a but to get document a you have to have document B but you can’t get document B without document a and and it’s kind of that vicious cycle of things until somebody then it becomes
The luck if you finally get somebody that says okay I get it I’ll give you this document when you get that document you know bring it back in and whatever and and they kind of work but it’s it is one of those those things and i’ I’ve
Talked to a few people that said it is um to uh what they call an autonomo in Spain to be self-employed it is very very challenging and then the monthly fees that they have to pay and and part of that does cover healthare and so to me I’m like well that makes sense
Because there is like private and public health care there um and once you’re resident it’s and it’s great Healthcare it’s really good same as Germany I’m sure it’s a very good healthare there as well um and so yeah that I mean that takes money and to me that’s normal
Because in Canada part of our tax money goes to healthcare everybody’s like oh you get free healthcare in Canada and we said well our taxes pay for it we we pay pretty high taxes so you know technically it’s free but no it’s really not um and and so sometimes it’s looking
At that because then I I talked to some people from the United States and they’re like oh but taxes are are more in Europe and I said but what do you get for your tax dollars in in the United States and then plus you’re paying how
Much for Health Care well you might be paying more on a dollarwise for for taxes but you’re also not paying for health care so then you’re paying less overall in in the bigger picture and so sometimes we have to to look at kind of everything because not everything is
Black and white totally agree with you we noticed the you mentioned health care I come from Italy where depending from north to south you have different Healthcare systems and the north is more organized already from Rome to South it can be more chaotic in any case also
Rome is a very big city so yeah question marks also uh Julie my wife from the UK she doesn’t have a particularly brilliant experience when uh we arrived here um so our son was born in in an easy that couldn’t be smoother than that at some point toward the end uh of
The the way she she was controlled twice per week one at the hospital wanted the doctor so that just to be sure that everything was fine and indeed eventually when we went for a a checkup two weeks before the official date they noticed it’s better that we induce the
Birth because the the baby’s suffering a little bit after that it went so smooth again everything fine and another example was just last summer when my wife spot a mall the she went to the doctor one week did the test after two weeks hey it doesn’t look that nice
Let’s book it was a Friday let’s book next Tuesday we remove everything and you’re good to go and it went in this way so really no no stress even not no it was just a a long weekend to be a little bit stressed but then you are
Sure that they take good care of you and that’s what you say I mean we pay and we pay taxes of course based on the income you have and based on the work you do if you start up with your business you have just the minimum to pay the more you
Earn the more you can contribute it’s different levels but then you’re really sure I think here also the mindset they always say secure is secure in the German Way see see here meaning um if we prevent if we able to tackle the problems in advance we pay much less
Than then cure and have months and months of medicines and so on so the approach is uh in worth particularly for the health system and uh yeah you pay you’re happy to pay to be honest well and those tax dollars dude like it’s health care it’s for school
I’m sure some of that goes for for the schools and and for those who have children I mean of course you want your kids well educated infrastructure I’ve I’ve been to to Germany a few times mostly Berlin um but everything seems to be quite organized clean I don’t recall
Seeing like a lot of garbage or anything anywhere on the streets and stuff and so you know there there’s and safe I always felt safe wherever I went it it it’s great so I mean we tax dollars go to pay for that and so yeah there’s a certain
Amount that I think is good to know that you know if if I get sick I’m going to be taken care of I can be safe in the streets um you know it’s it’s clean it’s nice and I’m not saying that things don’t happen obviously you know there’s
We need to be aware of of stuff as well and and not every place is perfect but um there is a cost to to have all of those things yeah I think cost is one aspect I believe the mindset the mentality that people have also help a lot here in
Germany they tend to be organized they are proud to be clean safe and so on still it’s what you pay my wife now she’s totally into rock music in concerts and uh sometimes she finds we can go together sometimes I stay at home looking after our son and she goes by
Herself nevertheless she can go with public transportation at midnight at the Central Station in Munich big city and she is she I’m totally sure that will be totally fine and Totally Secure and that’s she she has never had a problem a single time and it’s beautiful it’s
Beautiful for her as a woman is beautiful for us having a kid of eight who can really just go cross the streets and nothing happens if something happens you sure that there is someone who says are you okay do you have any problem did
You lose your mom and dad do you need to find someone so it it’s nice way to live here right and so what what would you say are some of the biggest differences between Germany and Italy or more specifically Munich and Rome because there’s a lot of people that like me is
As before we started uh recording I was like oh I love Italy and it’s like it’s it’s a great place and you know I think especially from North America we really kind of romanticize Italy and Paris and certain things that there’s just you know we think of all the good positive things so
What um what were some of the reasons like I know you talked about like you’ve just traveled and you know you could expand but what are some of the main differences that maybe you like and dislike between the two sure you know mun is seen as the north city of Italy so
We’re quite close even if not much but when I started in Germany so my life two to zero the original one was in the north ven so north west of Germany it was really quite far away uh starting from the weather that it’s uh still I mean still challenging particularly over
There you really have many days of a gray rain and so on and uh yeah coming from Roma where uh we have cold maybe three days per year and then the coldest days are 10 degrees plus Celsius so it’s it’s quite comfortable so yeah the weather is still
A little bit of challenge but then again you try to see the positives particularly here in Munich we have the Alps one hour from here you take your skis you go there and you enjoy skiing so you need to adjust a little bit I guess one of the points that I’m not
Adjusting not compromising too much is about food and yeah food is quite difficult I know it’s a stereotype I like pasta I like pizza properly done eventually I end up doing my own cooking on my own so that I’m sure of what comes in and yeah when I come back I have to
Say also coming back and going to restaurants I see I don’t know the quality is maybe different or I’m getting older I like to stay with my mom I prefer my mom’s cook and that’s it the way she cooks is fantastic for me I would stay all the
Time at I’m cooking with there um but yeah otherwise I think life here is um is fantastic the work possibilities are uh yeah in general higher than uh uh than in general I think in many other countries in the world that they saw so that makes a huge
Difference on one hand I like working on the other hand work is sometimes one of the basic aspects to to feel safe to gain your life starting in a in a country and going on I think uh right now I enjoy more going back to Rome
Where I am and we have also a house at the beach nearby just more for holidays where you really have as you mentioned you have just the positive aspects you have the beauty of everything only the sunny days and then when it comes to yeah come back and work and maybe have a
More than the real life if you want and also to grow kids I think here is a is a great combination we said education system uh um safety Health Care they are all aspects that uh on the long run make you feel choosing Germany over to be honest over many many many other
Countries and that’s one thing I was going to ask you too was was the education system there um obviously it’s it’s going to be quite quite good um do you think it’s better than in in Italy like I don’t know if you have brothers and sisters so if you have like nieces
And nephews that are in the the school system in it to give a bit of a comparison between the two oh yeah definitely I think it’s a bit challenging I don’t know here they say that uh Bavaria is famous for high education or better for kids being particularly smart
Hardworking in my opinion also compared to the kids both in Italy and in the UK they are put under such a pressure since young age that it’s a little bit uh question mark so yeah anyway I see still the also the positive on that means that
The kids have to chose and maybe to put a little bit more effort since earlier on in studying but then uh the general the system is so worth that you’re sure you will gain a good knowledge growing up and uh the university also is generally free with the low entrance fee
Compare for example to yeah compare for example to the US or yeah North America in general or also the UK at Le some part of there and uh yeah I think being so my wife as speaks English so our son is trilingual we try to push him into a
Private school since the beginning so that he can so then the school is a Bilingual School German and English where he can foster this language but that’s the only reason otherwise I have many friends here going to the public school and being totally happy because the the quality is that is the
Drawback of the pressure compared to the other countries but still it seems something that uh we can’t afford well it’s it’s it’s good to have the the opportunities but even knowing that the the public system is is very good and for University I mean like you
Had mentioned in in North America um you know kids will go to I shouldn’t well yeah they’re still kids they might be adults young adults they go to university um and they they come out tens of thousands of dollars in debt some even more depending upon how long
They go to school and then they they’re spending you 20ish Years or or more trying to pay off this University debt and right now it seems that even though they go to university and they get the degree there’s not not a guarantee that they’re going to be getting a good job
To kind of make up for paying for for all of that there was I want to say I don’t know if it was a a Facebook video or or Instagram post or something it was just in the last few days that I saw a a girl was um having a
Bit of a of a meltdown in a in a way of just she’s like I’ve gone to University I’m like $80,000 in debt um I’ve graduated and she’s like and I’m making more money as a server at a restaurant than I could be getting in the field
That I went to school for because to start they won’t hire you without experience but you can’t get an experience if they don’t hire you so now I’m at a at a serving job because I don’t have experience to get the work she’s like but that’s what I went to
School for and it’s kind of that vicious cycle and it’s and it’s hard because then you know they get stuck in that that cycle of um you know what do you do it’s bit sad I believe the system the university system change a little bit over the years and in the past maybe
Working more with for companies so the students used to go from the University to big companies or companies and have a job there and then it made everything sense everything sense so that you go you get your job you pay your loan back and that’s okay right now where the crisis is hitting
Strongly and sometimes you see particularly in the it sector where I am you see how you can even gain specific Kno how without having to be five years in a university that uh then yeah as you mentioned will create you a Dept that you have to pay over 20 years so that I
Think things are changing a little bit also maybe with the internet people have easier access to knowledge uh to read to know what to maybe the specifics that uh they can use immediately anyone almost can create their own job based on their passion and being successful on it so
Then the question mark becomes okay is it really worth to spend so much time into universities or not I think also depends a little bit on the character of the the students absolutely yeah I think no and I mean some some people may need that have to
Go to school to get up because they just don’t they don’t kind of have that drive to push themselves like it’s you know if if we have to go to school we have to go to job we get up at whatever time we
Need to get up at we don’t have to a lot of us and me included sometimes on the weekends or it’s like if I don’t have an early morning something you we sleep a little bit you know like that’s normal human nature and so some some people need that and obviously depending upon
What career path they’re taking University is important but I also think it’s very interesting though like they make it so much but we have to think the education of students is the future of the country and so that’s why I think like places as you said within Germany
You know where where the cost of university is low that’s beneficial to the country country because then if you know if it’s free it’s even better even low because then all your people are going to be educated and that benefits the country moving forward because everybody’s being very well
Educated I totally agree once again is uh you know coming back to how much tax you pay but then if everybody can benefit and you have more an equal system where everybody can access the same resources the same information the same know how then everybody has the
Possibility to grow based on their own wishes sometimes no they may need a support and a direction and that’s fine or sometimes they want to study more or they even want to be very specific in their uh field and get a doctorate after that and for example here also the PHD
Is the period when you study for it is uh well recognized and proportionally well paid so that it’s almost like having a a proper job so I mean it’s nice and it allows the different people to follow their passion their vocation so seems nice no I think uh I think it is great
And um it would be great if more more kind of countries took that that lead to to do that but for for people who are thinking about reloca and moving that for them that might be something to consider if if they have kids to think okay well I have kids you know what
School University where that could be one of those things that are important for them to to think about with a with a relocation um and and then the language um as well learning learning German I don’t believe is is that easy okay here we can
Open you know all the jokes I you would don’t need the life to to learn German it’s too short but yeah it’s really challenging it’s also true that uh you know also uh with uh people seeking ayum from abroad Germany has uh worked a lot to be inclusive and to get everybody and
Give the basics including language courses so that yeah if even if you are normal family thinking to relocate you can be sure that the government will support you in learning the language because it’s seen as a proper mean to be part of the community you want to be
Integrated you want to understand what’s going on you want to interact with the locals and um that’s uh again a sort of easier way to to be integrated I think sometimes when you compare with the us maybe the size between us and Western Europe is is comparable but then the
Language makes a huge difference it’s not that you can easily move in the EU if you don’t have the language I was lucky enough because in it English the beginning is the the international language and it’s fine to start immediately after that you really need to spend time in learning the local
Language if you want to communicate if you want to be well integrated and again Germany is one of the count that helps you with that that’s that’s great that they they do that I know in in Barcelona um they will help with Catalan because they it’s it’s part of the
Catalan region So for anybody who wants to learn Catalan they can get free free Catalan classes um Spanish unfortunately though there’s no free free Spanish classes that I’m aware of anyway but but it’s true being like my Spanish I’ll admit is still horrible like it’s it’s
Not great I I do I do practice a bit but I I travel quite a bit so I’m in and out a lot my excuse anyway that I always use um but it does make a difference it’s it makes a difference even there was like
One time I was on the train train had stopped and they made some announcement and I’m like I have no idea what and then some people were getting off some people were staying on and I’m thinking like I don’t know what’s going on should
I get off should I stay on like I don’t know and and sometimes it’s just things like that of course dealing with all government things the local language is required um but yeah just day-to-day life it it is a lot easier um and and some things just don’t translate there’s
You know there there’s just things of conversations and and stuff it’s it’s like what does that mean they’re like well it doesn’t you know there’s not really a word in English for that and so it does make it more integrated and and your experience better um with learning
The the local language I agree I find uh just even nice if uh just go around the corner for the grocery or so and you can have a just a quick chat with people I think it makes you feel more really local now it’s we organized with the neighbors just to have something
Drinking something together a little bit of biscuits and just share a little bit of moment together I think it’s nice is really just make you feel part of of the community do you find challenging to learn Spanish um yes and no uh because it is quite different from English in the fact
Of everything’s masculine feminine and we just use the in English which is very easy but then there’s a lot of words that are very similar um so just kind of the ending changes so wordwise it’s not too bad but the sentence structure is a little bit different so there’s parts of
It that I’ll have days that I’ll be like Oh I’m getting this I’m doing good and then the next day it’ll be I don’t understand anything what like it’s but my problem is my inconsistency and and with learning a language we need to practice every day
To to be honest and not you know like 15 minutes like it it really does need to be more once I think a good base is done then to keep it yeah 15 30 minutes is fine but the initial I have not been as consistent as what I need to be and put
In the time to to learn it and that’s I mean that’s just all on me I I can’t blame anybody but me for that one I wish I could it’s somebody else’s fault no it is just me and I mean and the the Spanish language is a great language and and
There’s I think I read one time 22 countries that speak Spanish so there’s there there’s a lot so I uh I definitely need to and I have been practicing every day recently I’ve I I’ve been doing a little bit every day I probably should be doing more but I am practicing a
Little bit every day I’m I’m going to be heading back to Spain um in a little over a week I’ll be there for for a month um and so then then that way I’ll I’ll get some I thought okay I gotta gotta get practicing more to to use it
More but it it is challenging and I do think it’s it is harder to learn a language when you’re not in the country that speaks that language so for me being in Montenegro practicing Spanish I just practiced by myself because here they speak monegan which is a form of
Serbian it’s very similar um to Serbian um and so there’s I mean there’s not a lot of Spanish-speaking people and I don’t speak any Serbian at all um it’s it’s another one that’s kind of tough to to learn um or montenegrin I have to be careful because some people get offended
If I say Serbian and they say they speak montenegrin um but for my understanding the difference is is basically like well it’s like Spanish or like English British English Compared to North American English there’s some words that are different some things that are different but they’re very similar if
You if I speak one I would understand um the others but yeah and so it’s yeah I I just to try to learn all languages like it’s just too much and I just need to prioritize one um and one it it should be Spanish that I do prioritize because
It’s just more widely spoken um and and that’s why with living in Spain some people like oh you need to learn catch a land and I thought no no offense to anybody but it’s just such a small region that it’s more beneficial for me to first get Spanish down and do
That because more regions in area and then once I get that perhaps to work on Catalan if I’m going to be there more kind of full-time or long term but at this point I don’t see that happening yeah you’re right and I think consistency then is the key I also
Noticed when I was really exposed to work with German people speaking German for few months in a row that’s when something clicked not that I really speak talk properly but still at least we were able to understand each other and sometimes it’s also yeah it’s what
You say you try to find the similarity every time I’m in Spain and we try to speak English after the first two sentences we switch they speak Spanish I speak Italian and we understand each other properly and it’s just yes well they’re very similar it is and and I think I mean
People who speak more than one language they also understand how hard it is to speak another language and so there there’s always that oh at least you’re trying right and and there is that effort and we don’t have to be completely fluent for people to understand because if we think of all
The words that we use in a sentence a lot of those words are kind of filler words like I don’t have to say oh I need to go to the doctor if I just put in like I need Doctor we we get it right it’s it’s broken it’s not perfect but
People will understand and so it is a little bit of I don’t want to say something really bad or sound stupid but as we learn we you know it’ll be broken and it’ll be small and and and it works but yeah it is a lot easier when you’re
Immersed in it and you hear it all around you um than trying to learn a language from another country it’s just I I know people that do it and I think some people as well some people have a natural Talent for learning languages I know a couple people that speak five or
Six languages not completely fluently but but quite well for all of them and I think it’s just some people have that natural ability um that they pick up on it quite easy uh but consistency absolutely is is what’s needed and I need to work on that I guess yeah
Sometimes it also depends what goals you have sometimes you also need maybe you want to have a just that basic level to communicate with people because as you mention that they will understand you and sometimes having a an international background people will recognize that and they will be even more patient with
You and they will be happy to to let you practice I remember at the beginning with h my B German I’ll try to explain that my mom was 60 but then within the new sounds that we don’t have in Italian uh it came out it sound in in German
Like my mom is sexy and not zish how should be but you know it’s fine you have a laugh you see people getting red and they don’t want to tell you something it’s fine you have a lot all together and that’s fine right but you know and it’s it’s interesting though because sometimes
When we make mistakes like that like we we’re just like oh that’s not what I mean and we never make it again like when we get that kind of embarrassment mistake even though it wasn’t that bad like it was funny you laugh but you probably didn’t make that mistake again
Because sometimes those are the ones that like it burns in us to not like that’s what that means or I need to work on the sounds but and it’s very hard because some some sounds of of words that are completely different words in any language are very similar we we have
It in English there’s many words that one or two letters they sound very similar but just that little bit and they mean completely different things okay totally when we go to Scotland my wife goes around and says okay now you read the instructions what what is that
City what and you know they have edinb which is for me it’s Edinburg so if I read it and you go on and on all that’s how it is that’s fine and you just get the funny part of it right and and that’s that’s part of a thing to remember too though with
Languages as well is in different languages letters are ounc differently and so even sometimes here on the podcast I’m talking to somebody like before we get started and before recording and I’ll always ask about the name because depending upon where they’re from names can be pronounced differently as well and and the the
Spelling is the same but it’s like oh well we pronounce this letter this way or this letter is said that way and and so it um you know it just kind of adds to to those those challenges but I mean they’re all good there’s um saying and I
Don’t know where uh where I heard it and it was quite some time ago but it was basically if we’re not challenging ourselves and and growing and like using our brain to learn new things we’re we’re just slowly dying like our brain cells are dying we we’ll forget things
More and so whether we’re learning a language or a sport a musical instrument like anything that’s new it keeps our brain sharp and we should almost always be trying and and learning new things and that’s part of moving abroad when you move to a new country everything is
New even you know even if there’s similarities it’s still getting to know the street names going to the grocery stores which grocery stores have which things and and it’s like an overwhelmingness of of everything new but it’s also very enjoyable too totally it’s fascinating there was a a research
I saw a few weeks ago where uh they took kids at different age uh that speak speak different languages some only one some two and they noticed how the brain was changing was developing in a different areas more depending also on the age so that if the kids were
Learning a second language at the age of four which seems already quite early there was a certain development if they were learning when they were two there was a a bigger more important development of the brain and then also that reflects later on when they can learn further languages much easier than
Uh than when you are adult so it’s it’s just fascinating it’s what you say and it keeps you fresh and sharp yeah yeah it’s the the human brain is very interesting for sure and um and I think too just with with travel as well and moving we just were we’re open
To different things as we were chatting a little bit earlier about um you know why every country does things that we’re like wow that’s great makes sense and every country does things that make us think sometimes like why would you do it that way that doesn’t make any sense at
All um and and sometimes it’s just then going with like okay well this this is the way it is it makes sense great it’s it’s good and and those things work and and there is no perfect country I I don’t believe any maybe some people they might find a place that’s that’s perfect
But I’ve always found in all the places that that I’ve lived there’s um some pros and cons I don’t necessarily mean cons in a bad way but just challenges and and sometimes it is that why would you do it that way like this country does it this way and it’s it’s so much
Easier which is one thing I’ll never understand I always think of like countries the way that we do things that they’re all they’re all different and some are more advanced than others but I just don’t understand why sometimes some countries choose to do things the hard
Way when it’s when it’s knowing that it works an easier way and makes more sense but agree with you we’re talking about opening business it’s an the interest of a country to boost the economy to welcome new Enterprises uh new activities new business they flourish they give other
People a job they pay tax it’s all positive nevertheless you see that there are countries with a certain mindset they open up they may be losing the rules just to welcome new people to create their own business and I think North America is a one of them and uh
Other countries just tend to shut down these initiatives and uh why do you want to do that and as you mentioned then it makes sense I mean each mindset each approach works best in some conditions then maybe you may want to restrict a little bit you may want to have more a
Conservative economy I mean if that’s your goal that’s also fine the important thing is you’re conscious of uh what you’re doing otherwise for us having more an international mindset it’s just beautiful to see how people think and uh to reproduce the same thoughts the same approach so that we can benefit from the
Same uh mentality when we need so we are in control and uh we can decide what works best for us in each moment in each situation absolutely and um I I just want to ask for for our listeners who are maybe considering a move but you know they’re not too sure they’re a
Little bit nervous about it because you know it’s I get it it’s the fear of the unknown and sometimes think what if it doesn’t work and our our brain which is as we said very interesting always tends to lean towards the negative what if it doesn’t work what if I can’t do whatever
But what would be a piece of advice or or a couple tips that you would give somebody that you know they’re wanting to but they’re just a little bit nervous about taking that step to to move a sure I followed recently an entrepreneur course where they said
Identify well what is the risk that you’re willing to accept so then just consider that in advance what can be wrong if you move to another country what can be the worst case scenario that you cannot accept and then work around that in a way that it doesn’t happen if
You see that you’re going to that direction you just stop earlier enough and I think if you move country is is exactly the same what is that you cannot really afford to and if you think in this direction you may consider that what is really the worst case scenario
You go to a new country it doesn’t work out after six months or one year you come back to your home country is it really the the worst that can happen you lost one year of your life yeah considering that uh probably the experience you gain moving in
Another country is so much high that even if you lose one year it’s still worth anyway I see many people really moving and could be to Germany or many other countries you just need to have the open mind to adjust a little bit you go to a different country try to embrace
What you see what you hear the feelings that you have the people around you and try to make the best out of it and uh really that’s it we live in a in a world that is so well connected that maybe if you go there and you don’t like you may
Find another opportunity to go somewhere else or again to come back and bring back with you the experience you have if not workwise at least at personal level I’m sure and in any case also saw people really who did what I thought to do so going abroad for a short period of time
One year five years and then coming back anyway they are so much enriched that uh only for that the experience was worth uh I have to say that uh um I see many more people moving and staying rather than coming back so if if you’re ready
To consider the risk is more that you like so much to be somewhere else to be broad that you will stay and if you target countries that you love could be you know the well organized Germany could be sunny Spain could be whatever you want but just with the value the
Matches what you like you will just be happy in the in the new place so just be be open to to the new experience and enjoy what comes in I agree and I think that’s great and and you’re right it’s a kind of worst case scenario you can always leave to go
Back or maybe it’s just not quite the right city right because even even sometimes like in in Germany for example each city has kind of a different vibe different things going on things are some are quieter some are more partyish some are more you know cooler weather
Warmer weather I mean sometimes we have to think of that so it is narrowing down but um I I haven’t met somebody that has regretted moving abroad that I know of anyway there may be people that have but um I I think you’re right most people who say oh I’m
Just going to go for a year or two they end up being longer or they continue to move and enjoy other countries as well so I just want to say thank you very much for your time I really appreciate it and I know our listeners got a lot of valuable
Information thank you very much it was a pleasure and good luck everybody who wants to have this step
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Cristiano Bellucci aims to grow business through technology and innovation. Cristiano’s passion for coaching was ignited when he taught and coached students both at the University of Rome, Italy and Bradford University, UK. He is passionate about supporting solopreneur and small companies to find their way and grow their business. With a Masters’s in Computer Engineering and an MBA as well as a Master in NLP, he has worked for companies including Lycos, Sony, and TrenItalia. Currently, Cristiano is the Technology Vision Strategist at Fujitsu with a mission to drive the company’s long-term vision. He is the founder of digitideas.com, which helps small businesses to launch and grow their activities. Combining extensive experience in software development, project and product management, and NLP, he coaches teams to create innovative products and improve their performance. Currently based in Munich, Germany, he is trilingual and is fluent in English, Italian, and German.
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