Milano / Amsterdam

Italy is a beautiful country, we have always been at the vanguard, with enough culture to spare. Today we've decayed socially, culturally and ethically. Our cultural heritage has been abandoned: nobody is willing to invest on it. In the field of design we are living from our past glories. We are not the best designers anymore.

Napoli / Copenhagen

Italy is a great country ofartists with an innate notion of beauty, but in every other field we are the last in class. We are not efficient, we are not mature. The only good thing I see is anger at this situation, but nothing else. There is no generation ready to change the country and certainly those in charge have no intention of handing over the reins. I am a great supporter of the European Union, without it I would have never had any experience abroad and I would have never matured faster than my peers. I take pride in my roots, but I am looking at a future where culture, markets and everything else are shared.

Trento / Paris

I came to Paris without a thing and within a week I had found a house and a job. I was supposed to stay for a year or two, but then time goes by and you realise that four years have passed. I would like to go back, but watching tv, reading the newspapers and talking to my friends who stayed there... I'd like to believe that it can't be like that for everyone, that there will be good opportunities, employers who will invest in their employees and proper work environments.

Torino / Amsterdam

I have a strong personality and being gay, I have never hidden my personal life. After working a year in a small bank, I was given a permanent contract, a promotion and a raise. But I was also told that, being a high-potential individual, it would have been a real shame to have my career ruined just for not having a woman by my side. On the contrary, a gay man should be even more attractive on the market: not having a wife and children allows you to work until very late.

Rimini / London

Every morning when I wake up I am really grateful I moved to London, because it’s like living in the centre of the world. It is so multi-cultural and multi-ethnic that you feel you are in a different city every day. I feel European—I belong to the world and it’s London that makes me feel this way. For my work, I take inspiration from the world of art. It’s amazing that all the art collections here have free entry.

Siena - Napoli / Amsterdam

In the Netherlands, having a house is a right under the law, while it is illegal to sleep in the streets. That's why the squat movement is so active: a house that has been empty for six months can be occupied. In Italy it takes at least 10 years. Street life is a choice here, while in Italy it's just for addicts and alcoholics. And, with all the sense of safety and the civic sense in Amsterdam, you feel you're living under a glass bell.

Roma / Paris

After completing my degree I sent my curriculum everywhere, but I couldn't find any job, not even for free. Paris is not heaven, but I've never felt as energetic and encouraged like this in Rome. Here, I am free of expressing everything I have within me.

Roma / Paris

Italy is a country of extremes, there are cultural peaks that you can hardly find in other countries, but it's also extremely close minded. For what concerns the quality of life, the services offered to the citizens, we are way behind compared to other countries with the same GDP.

Brescia / Copenhagen

Being part of the Danish society is not easy, because they keep a lot to themselves. Social life is very different here, you never hang out for a chat or a drink after work. You have to make an appointment a week earlier if you want to go out for dinner and stopping by at a friend's house for coffee is inconceivable.

Pisa / Paris

The horrible difference between Italy and France is the respect they have for women, it even feels strange at times. Especially in the world of engineering, typically dominated by men. This makes you feel more respected, but at the same time less attractive! During my job interview, my future boss explained to me all the advantages I would have had if I had decided to have any children: unthinkable in Italy!

Brescia / Amsterdam

At 30, you can't have a child because you have a temporary job and cannot afford it. If you are offered a job as an intern, you are forced to accept it and even be grateful to your boss for giving you any kind of opportunity to work. The problem is that Italians are adapting to this social decay without being aware of it. We, on the other hand, wouldn't take it and moved.

Neviano / London

After graduating from high school we went to Newcastle for a few days to visit some relatives. It was our first vacation abroad by ourselves and it was a real shock: a whole new world, a whole different lifestyle, especially since we come from a very small town. We decided to move to England the day we flew back home. We had always wanted to study cinema, but the schools in Italy are all unaffordable. We eventually received a grant from the EU to study in England and we never went back.

Torino / London

I first came to London when I was 14 and it felt like home right away. One of the reasons I decided to move here many years later, was because this is a country where wages are appropriate and where your work and your merits are appreciated. It would have taken me 10 or 15 years in Italy to achieve the kind of professional growth I've experienced in my three years here.

Cornube / Paris

In Paris, you can find any Italian product you wish. Sometimes I'd even forget I am in France, if it wasn't for the fact that there are much more services, things work and I am paid properly. Everything in my life is Italian: from the food to the gynaecologist and even the parish church, where I am part of the choir. In France, unfortunately, if you are a Christian you are thought of as a bigot there is no cool Christianity. The mass in French is horrible: it's dark, gloomy, apocalyptic; at the Italian church, instead, you feel completely at home.

Salerno / Madrid

The only thing you can do in Italy is work at a call centre. If you are from the south you have even less opportunities. The only thing I want is to find a job, but the problem is getting a permanent contract. I can't think of stability or raising a family when I could be fired at any time. Things are not great in Madrid, but at least everything works fine.