{"id":290154,"date":"2026-02-10T08:07:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T08:07:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/290154\/"},"modified":"2026-02-10T08:07:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T08:07:08","slug":"the-more-i-read-about-italy-the-more-i-dont-want-to-go-back-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/290154\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The more I read about Italy, the more I don\u2019t want to go back\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gabriele Frattaroli (38) and a friend moved from their native Rome<\/a> to Dublin<\/a> 12 years ago. <\/p>\n

The pair had graduated from university a few months before and were looking to move somewhere for a few months, maybe a year at most, to perfect their English.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe first thought about London, but that was too expensive. Then we saw Dublin, which back in those days, and even now, is a technology hub with a vivid music scene. There were loads of bands here and it was cheaper than London, at least back in those days,\u201d Frattaroli says. <\/p>\n

His friend ended up only lasting three weeks in Ireland, his two main complaints about life in Dublin: the food and the weather.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe grew up with this idea that the food over in northern Europe was inedible. That there was absolutely nothing to eat if you don\u2019t like very specific stuff like hairy sausages or bacon. I was expecting a lot worse than actually what I found.\u201d<\/p>\n

Arriving in October 2013, Frattaroli and his friend tried to acclimatise to lower temperatures and increased rainfall during what was then the wettest winter on record. <\/p>\n

Though his friend\u2019s time in Ireland was brief, it was through him that Frattaroli initially secured accommodation in Dublin. <\/p>\n

\u201cThanks to my friend I found this room in Blanchardstown, and I lived with a Romanian family \u2013 it was quite crowded. It was a duplex apartment with, like, eight people. Fortunately, I had my own room. I was paying absolutely nothing compared to what people are paying at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though Frattaroli struggled to find work in his first few months, he emphasised how easy he found dealing with Irish bureaucracy compared with the Italian systems he was used to. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Saying thanks to the bus driver \u2013 in Italy people would ask \u2018what\u2019s wrong with you?\u2019Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

\u201cComing from Italy<\/a>, I was also genuinely surprised by how quickly bureaucracy worked. I had my PPS number and the essentials sorted within a few weeks, and I was ready to start working without the long delays you might expect elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frattaroli spent much of his first six months in Ireland teaching himself the basics of data analytics. His father had been an early software developer in the 1980s. <\/p>\n

His proficiency in English came from his mother, who had worked as an au pair in London for a few years and spoke English to him at home. Having an interest in computers at the time also necessitated good English, as most of the programming was done in that language. <\/p>\n

Aside from being a software developer, Frattaroli\u2019s father is also a musician. Growing up, he says, \u201cMy house was always full of instruments and computers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inheriting his father\u2019s love for music, Frattaroli had been fixing computers by day and playing bass and singing with a few bands on the side before moving to Dublin.<\/p>\n

Frattaroli believes that Ireland has a much better music scene than Rome. <\/p>\n

\"GabrieleGabriele Frattaroli: ‘My wife\u2019s family were incredibly welcoming.’ Photograph: Alan Betson <\/p>\n

\u201cEspecially in Rome, we don\u2019t really have as many concerts. I mean we have concerts for the big main bands, but we never have concerts of the bands that are on the verge of being successful. That\u2019s what I wanted to have.\u201d<\/p>\n

With his friend gone and knowing only a handful of people in the country, Frattaroli decided to turn to the internet to find love. He considered leaving Ireland too as he was still unemployed after five months of job searching. <\/p>\n

\u201cI never tried dating websites before, but since I was in Ireland and in 2013, it wasn\u2019t like Tinder or all these very easy apps.\u201d<\/p>\n

Quite soon after making his profile, he matched with a woman called Nicola. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe was actually the one who sent me the first message. It was just a simple \u2018hi\u2019. It turned out that we had a lot in common. We have a big passion for music of course. Actually she had seen a lot more bands than I had.\u201d<\/p>\n

After a few weeks of exchanging messages online, Frattaroli and Nicola went on their first date. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe met up in front of Trinity College and that night was just magical. We talked all night. We talked about music, we talked about philosophy. It was just great. I saw something in her immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pair started dating immediately but after a few months Frattaroli was offered a job as an analyst for Amazon in Cork. He moved to Kinsale, and a few months after that Nicola, who he later married, followed. <\/p>\n

\u201cMy wife\u2019s family were incredibly welcoming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frattaroli also says he has joined Nicola\u2019s old group of friends and met other friends through work. <\/p>\n

In 2021, the couple welcomed their son Elio and started looking to buy a house. The couple decided to look in Tullamore, where Nicola is from. Frattaroli says they got lucky, as a house on a sold-out newly built estate suddenly became available after a family decided to pull out of a purchase at the last minute.<\/p>\n

When asked whether he ever sees himself moving back to Italy, Frattaroli laughs and says: \u201cOh believe me, the more I read about Italy, the more I don\u2019t want to go back.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think I would have the same lifestyle, the same quality of life in Italy that I\u2019m having at the moment here in Ireland. It wouldn\u2019t be as easy for me to find a job, build a family and buy a house in Italy. Of course, there is a housing crisis in Ireland, we all know that, but at least here made it possible for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

We would like to hear from people who have moved to Ireland in the past 10 years. To get involved, email newtotheparish@irishtimes.com<\/a> or tweet @newtotheparish<\/a><\/p>\n