Expert: Valerie - 8/26/2004

Question
I'm so glad to have found this website.  I hope you can answer a few questions for me.  I am traveling to Rome alone in Feb/March and plan to stay for a few months, maybe a year.  My parents are both from Sicily so I will not have a problem getting citizenship.  
What I need to know is about apartments or roommates.  I would like to spend no more than $500/month so I may have to share with a roomate which I do not mind.  Do you have any suggestions or do you know of a website that will post people in my situation that are also looking for roommates?  
I've been to Sicily many times but I've never been to Rome and I've never been anywhere by myself.  Is there any advice you can give me?  
Any parts of town I should stay away from?
Any advice would be appreciated!! Thank You, Vida.
Omaha Nebraska

Answer
Buongiorno Vida,
The first thing I would do is contact the embassy and make sure you have the citizenship issue handled and filed before making the move, so you'll legally be able to move there and work.  It can take several months for that so you're better off starting as soon as possible.  There is a lot of information at www.expatsinitaly.com about citizenship, bureacracy and moving.  There is also a lot of information at www.informer.it (especially their "Survival Guide").

For apartments and roommates, I'd check out Wanted in Rome (www.wantedinrome.com).  They have a classified section with listings.  And you could post for roommate information at the Expats in Italy site's message board.  You may also want to contact the American University or other colleges that offer Rome programs to see if they have a listing of students seeking roommates.

Rome covers a huge area, and I'm not sure what your goals are; if you are wanting to be in the historical center prices are much higher.  The area here that I'd avoid is that directly around Termini which gets pretty seedy.  Otherwise most of the centro is nice.  The surrounding areas are diverse and huge, and I'm not really that familiar with the different locales other than Parioli (very nice though expensive) and Salaria (nice, middle class apartments but further from the centro).  I'm sure there are many areas of around the city that are nice and less expensive, but I'm just not familiar with them.  

I hope this helps.  Let me know how it works out for you.  I love to hear about the stories of those who successfully fulfill their dream of living in Italy!

Buon viaggio,

Valerie