Hi

Just wanted to know from those of you living in Lugano what the realistic chances were of a middle aged man getting an unskilled job ie any job in Lugano. I figure the chances are close to nil but thought Id ask the experts anyway.

Im an Italian born male living in Australia since childhood so speak Italian and English but no German or French. Im an Italian and Australian citizen. Having been to the lakes on brief holidays Ive always wanted to live there for a few years to experience life from a non tourist perspective.

My idea would be to live in Menaggio Italy where I have been offered an apartment to rent and commute to Lugano by bus as a frontaliero on a permesso G permit. My Australian work history is probably irrelevant since there is no chance of getting similar work, suffice it to say Im not a corporate high flyer more of a humble civil servant, administrative clerical type person but Id be willing to do literally most anything as I said just to enable me to live there for a few years except teach english for which I doubt I have the aptitude nor the qualifications.

Having scanned various swiss job sites Ive seen countless job wanted ads from Italians seeking work in switzerland which further implies my hopes are rather forlorn given the competition.

My other question is how hot does Lugano get in summer? My research on a weather website indicates it is indeed hot and humid from mid June till end of August ie high twenties early thirties with a good dose of humidity but not sure how accurate that site is.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

Can't answer your questions but welcome to the Forum and good luck.

Hi there,

Welcome to the forum, hope it serves you well!

First of all, I'd say you were at an advantage as you speak Italian and English. I'm a believer that if you want to work, you will find work. You sound like a pretty motivated person, so I think with open-mindedness and flexibilty, you'll be just fine.
A friend of mine living in a very rural village found a job in one of the most famous watch factories speaking about B1 level of the official language there, which she reached within a year, but before that, she'd been working in a restaurant. Anything is possible if you put your mind to it.
As for the weather, I couldn't tell you.
Anyway good luck and keep us informed!

Hello and welcome from a fellow Italian!

Without knowing much about your skills and qualifications, I can already tell you that you have three extremely positive things going for you:

1. You are an Italian citizen, which will make it easier (being EU) to obtain a job permit.
2. You speak Italian, which will make it much, much easier to find a job and navigate through the hoops of the system in Ticino, not to mention your daily life (apartment, day-to-day stuff) on the other side of the border.
3. You come across as the type of person who is not afraid to humbly start from the bottom and tenaciously work his way up. I personally find this extremely valuable anywhere in the world, and wish there were more people like you.

I unfortunately have no concrete advice on looking for a job down there, but I have a cousin who is a "frontaliera" and I can ask her for information regarding permits, how it all works, etc. Send me a private message (PM) if you want. Aside from this, I wish you the best of luck!

P.S. Menaggio is a lovely place to live in

Thanks for the replies sofar. Re frontalieri I think I understand how the system works. An employer in Ticino requests a Permesso G from their local commune. The frontalieri are only taxed in Switzerland not in Italy. Frontalieri dont have to submit any tax returns in Italy except notify the Agenzia Delle Entrate of their swiss bank account into which they are paid. The swiss then repay a portion of the taxes directly back to the commune in Italy where the frontalieri live. Seems like a good system once you are able to get into it.

welcome to Italy/Switzerland!Do u know if there are many Italians moving to Australia nowadays?How are they considered there?

The mass migration of unskilled Italians to Australia stopped in the 1960's. I dont think many Italians if any migrate to Australia nowdays. If they do they have to be highly qualified and speak good english. Firstly its a long way to travel, secondly they probably have problems getting their qualifications recognised. Unfortunately as the original Italian migrants have or will pass away and their grandchildren assimilate into australia and lose or never had any italian language skills its becoming harder to find any traces of italian language or culture. Restaurants or cafes with italian names are often operated by non italians. In the not to distant future the only evidence of a past italian connection with australia will be people with italian surnames but little else. I am very much in a minority ie a child or grandchild of italian immigrants who still retains any interest in italy or speaks italian.

The main migrants into australia nowdays as always are from the United Kingdom the difference being once they were unskilled workers today they are highly qualified professionals or tradespersons. The other main highly qualified migrants are from Asia. The only unskilled migrants coming in nowdays are refugees from the Middle East and Africa.

hi, there are italians who comute as frontaliere from Menaggio to Lugano, there must be some possiblities, but it's certainly not so straightforward/easy to find work (i don't know how easy it is to get a g permit, it could be that there are limits (quotas) for the number of G permits given out, so your success of getting one will depend on the timing of your application (best to apply when the quota get's reset... you might find a friendly worker at the ufficio stranieri will tell you when this takes place).

Again I'm no expert, but going from your introduction, your best chances would be to look for work that the swiss themselves would not consider. Could well be cleaning, macdonalds, manual work, kitchens, security, a good bet might be hotel stuff in the summer... The market for jobs requiring professional qualifications here is very tough, employers can afford to be super picky. Connections are also very useful, do you have any italian family around? It is beautiful here, but it's also quiet and provincial, so you might find a deeper cultural experience in other parts of italy.

Finally, check the bus timetable to see if you can deal with comuting that way, it might be that the last bus is not all that late...
http://www.sptlinea.it/Lineeeorari/O...traurbana.aspx

good luck!!!

I guess your best chances will be in the tourist industry. Summer season starts at about Easter and employers start now to look for staff.
Try this one for a start: http://www.hoteljob.ch/?locale=it

You do realise that Menaggio-Lugano is about an hour by bus

Tom

Thanks again for the replies. Yes I know Lugano is an hour by bus from Menaggio in fact the bus stop is virtually just outside the front door of the apartment Im hoping to rent. Ive done the trip years ago as a tourist. A one hour commute may seem long for Europe but its the bare minimum in Australia given the size of the cities.

Re Lugano and Menaggio being quiet is okay with me, Ive had enough of living in a 4 million plus city. Re cultural aspects my ancestry is Calabrian so I already know about the pros and cons of northern vs southern culture. Lugano and Menaggio were arrived at by a process of elimination. Calabria is okay to visit but its too hot and not enough work for the locals.

Italian wages are near the bottom of the OECD a half to a third less than Australia so working in Italy proper isnt very enticing for a new arrival looking for entry level type jobs. I saw a job ad for FIAT in Arese looking for english speaking call center workers at 1.100 Euros per month after tax. Not easy to live on that particularly in an area close to Milan.

Re work I might look at assisting people with disabilities or aged care. In Australia at least that is an area where new arrivals tend to find work. Being switzerland though there are probably a lot more formalities to be overcome. Yes there are a lot of frontalieri so its possible but judging by various job sites most of these italians are middle class professionals similar to most expats, much more difficult for the less qualified so its probably going to be a case of living for a year on my savings being content to have tried and failed then going back to Australia.

If you have savings that you plan to use anyway, why wouldn't you consider the job at the call center? That's 1100E you don't have to take out of your savings until you find something else.

The salary might be "1/3 what it is in Australia" but I'd bet the cost of living is less too.

Sounds like an excellent adventure. Good luck!

Dipping into savings isnt a plan but a last resort. Milan and surrounds is probably more expensive not less As I said Ive already done the big city thang ie traffic, population density etc last time I checked Milan was a big city Im looking for a more semi rural experience. Thanks anyways.

	Quote:	ItalianAustralian
	.... much more difficult for the less qualified so its probably going to be a case of living for a year on my savings being content to have tried and failed then going back to Australia.

My point (besides replying to the quote above) is not that specific job in that specific location, but that you shouldn't cut off your options before you've even looked at them. Taking an unskilled job (which you say you are looking for) that only gives you E1100 after taxes will pay a good part of your expenses until you find something else. Rural/semi rural Italy is still relatively inexpensive.

Good luck.

It can be extremely difficult. There is a certain amount of Xenophobia in parts of Australia with locals often resentful of newcomers taking "their" jobs [this happens in many other parts of the world too of course]. We are English mother tongue but still found it difficult to find gainful employment - it took far longer than anticipated - and many others who emigrated with us from South Africa found the situation equally as fraught. However, the younger one is, the more likely one is to find something.

Where did this happen?

Unemployment is around 5%, so unless one is in a small country town nobody will notice or for that matter care if that person is around.

@ItalianAustralian

Moving from Australia to Europe is like traveling to a different planet, Australia is great but if one is not into surf lifestyle it can become boring and monotonous. Good luck with your move.