Dear psycho, you didn't write anymore what you decided..
But being Italian, I know very well what you feel and, speaking with my heart, I would say: "GO BACK!".
I am here since one year now, and I know very well what you mean. I will never get integrated here. I only go out with non-swiss people and language is a HUGE barrier.. I always have problems when I go, for example, in a pharmacy and I ask for something and people don't understand me, due to my sh** knowledge of german (which I can't improve very fast, since where I work everybody speaks english), and to the sh** knowledge of english of the people who sell things in the shops... Sometimes I find it easier to go to Italy and come back with a trolley full of things (funny, ah?).
But I can't go on like this forever.
I've tried to put down on paper pros and cons of Switzerland vs Italy.. No way.. I know that here cities are clean, life is safe, I earn three times what I would earn in Italy, bla bla bla.. we all know these things.
The only pro when I think about Italy is: happiness! Happiness because I have all my friends there, my family.. and the landscapes and the cities. I'm sorry to say this but I prefer our dirty and messy towns and cities, that really give you emotions, rather than this cold beauty here.
In a few words: I am getting depressed here, either I go for a therapy or I move back.
It's a pity Italy has so many problems, because from the point of view of enjoying life, I really think it's the best country in the world where you can live.
For your children, I also think that education is good in Italy, until high school. I think the real problem is University, it is not selective enough, and if I were in your shoes, I would send my sons abroad for University.. But I think this problem will not show up for quite some time ;-)
All the best!

I don't know where you lived in Italy but I am in Milan often and what a dirty dump of a place that has become.
One of my tenants is an Italian family from Rome and has moved to Ticino because he tells me that Rome is unsafe to live in because of the violent Albanians and Romanians there.
My Italian cousin has come to England from Triesta telling me that there is no work and the place is a pig-hole.
Obviously if you have family and close friends in Italy, cannot/not prepared to learn German, then that may well be a good enough reason to leave Switzerland.

Cashboy, how's in Sicily?

and take a look here...history repeats itself, don't you think?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Italianism

Cheers

The only reason Rome or other Italian towns might be unsafe is because the justice does not work thanks to our politicians, so that people get away with any crime, including our prime minister.
It has nothing to do with Albanian or Romanian! We (as Italians) have plenty of criminals of our own that run the country, and your tenant is 'victim' of a racist propaganda that hides the real problems.

In 2004 I lived in Zurich for a year and found it really tough. My wife and I decided to give it a go and moved from Australia to live with her family. A year later and no work in sight due to language and lack of specialist skills we decided to move back to Australia. Returning home was a great feeling for a time, however over time I have felt the pull of Switzerland and Europe. Last year we returned for a holiday and during that time I decided I wanted to return and give it another shot.

It will be hard leaving family and friends again however we feel Switzerland is a better country to raise children. My major concern is integration and learning the language. I have tackled German on and off for a number of years and never have been able to get on top of it. I hope this time is different.

I am returning armed with significantly more skills than last time and more confidence, better finances, knowing what I am getting myself in for this time. My wife and I look forward to enjoying our new life in Europe to begin raising a family and be closer to her family.

I will do short trips back to Australia as needed to see family.

Good luck with your decision, but just remember if you do decide to return to Italy, deciding and getting back to Switzerland may be tougher the second time around. I have had more difficulty this time extracting myself from life in my home country having established my career and family ties with deeper roots.

You can't choose your parents or where you were born, bless those Sicilians.

The Northern Italians hate the Southern Italians; so that must be saying something.

From what I can see, we have lots of Sicilians in Ticino. Their children were educated in Switzerland (so they are not totally stupid), did their National Service and for some unknown reason were given Swiss Nationality. The Swiss have always been very charitable.
A substancial number of their parents are now claiming housing benefits etc. though the house is owned by members of their family (entitled to I understand) but obviously not declaring their properties in Sicily.

My best friend abroad (ever) is an Italian girl..we have so many things in common..She's from North Italy, I know many things about the North-South..err..rivalry..
She specialised in Romance languages (she speaks even Catalan), I taught her a little Romanian too.
But overall I'd say she is very patriotic.

THIS is the real truth.. Justice doesn't work! And this is just one of the many problems that Italy has..
Cashboy, I can say Milan is not really a nice place, ok, and for the rest, as I told you, I know Italy is more dirty than Switzerland, however, every time I go back, yes I find it a bit disturbing but still I think we have such wonderful places in Italy..
Crime has become an issue everywhere, not only in Rome, as well as finding a job (I am surprised because TriestE is in a region where usually it's easier to find a job..).
These are the problems that all italians know very well, these are the main reasons why people decide to move abroad.
But still, after a while you realize that there are more important things in life, which means: feelings.
I don't know, I am still struggling to understand whether it's worth to stay here and miss home so much, or going back, knowing very well all the withdrawals of living in Italy..

You are correct in that everywhere in Western Europe is going down hill, attitudes have changed and there are less morals and more greed everywhere. Probably Switzerland and Scandinavia are the last to be effected.
I loved Italy as a place, the food and I did like majority of the people on a social level. In the late 80's and early 90's the females used to have real style. The girls didn't have a large selection of clothes but they were classic and cut well and able to mix the few clothes they had. Now there is very little individualism and everyone wears leisure/tracksuits/jeans in this global market.
My problems with Italians have been in business transactions involving money where they seldom supply what they promised and always let you down on delivery. As soon as they saw that you had a foreign number plate and gave them a 100,000 lire note, they would give you change as if you had given them 10,000 lire note.
I remember when I was in Como last year with my mother and a girl-friends children and I sent the child with money to buy themselves ice-creams. When the child came back with too little change my Italian mother went to question (shout at) the salesman who appologised thinking we were German, so it was alright to con us and I have to say I have found this to be more in Italy than any other Western country.

You were writing about "lire"? How long haven't you been there? The Italians I know forgot about "those" things, and they are quite pleased with the status quo I'd say...O.K. I understand it was a "reminiscence" of old Italy.

If you are a parent, you should be thinking about which country is best for your children. In the short and long-run. That is the implicit contract when you have them, at least in my personal philosophy.

I totally agree, and not only if you are a parent, but also if you want to be one... or maybe simply put: Ubi bene, ibi patria.

Yeah, that it is very typical of Italian people (then they complain about foreigners!). Recently a Japanese man was billed 1200 dollars for a dinner out in Rome! the news hit the first pages in Italy and some officials had to apologise and offered a free trip back to Italy, but the man refused.

That is the result of a highly corrupt political system, where fraud has even been de-penalised!! If people know that they get away with it, how would they bother? it is not in the culture of the country to be 'honest'. What is very typical of an italian person is to think that if you don't get advantage of a situation, you're stupid. If you find a wallet is much more likely that you first empty it of the money and then you give it back, as sad as that can be.
Of course I am generalising and there are many honest people in Italy too, but you cannot really turn your back, you always need to watch out and trust nor single nor institutions.

As an Italian living in ZH since 2007, I do really understand the need to feel at home and the concept of a language friendly country, however having said that I believe that we, Italians in CH, are really lucky not being in Italy in these tough times. Italy is experiencing a new "Medio Evo", it's in a decadent period and the confirmation is clear when you watch the faces of the politicians, they look like decadent characters. Violence has spread widely in the big cities, poverty too.
I don't see any future for Italy, unless someone with the strenght of Robespierre or Marat could rise and dismantle the current establishment.

Cheers
Nick

Well, that's partially true; I've got to underlin that only Northern ignorant people hate the Southern Italians and that's due to the huge reality mismatch ongoing in Italy over the las years.

Stupid or Ignorant people are equally spread all over the world.

I wish I hadn't read this post. This is the feeling most of us go through and try to fight the urge to go back and stay here for "better" future in terms of career and other material things. In my scenario, if I decide move back home, I won't get a job easily because I am in a highly specialized field and there is no research in that area in my home country.
On my trip recent trip home for the first 3-4 days I was complaining about things like lack of 24/7 water supply, electricity, high levels of pollution, corruption and lack of civic responsibility. But when I looked around, people were content with what they had and instead of complaining, were cherishing the small things in life. All of sudden it hit me that I am one of them and that is where I belong. As some of here said "home is where heart is"...and that is the ultimate refuge after running around the world.
I think I might go for walk along the river so I won't spend the Sunday at home in a depressed state .

I understand you as I am also making a similar agonising decision, in my
case we do have two good jobs but the pain is not less. The only thing I can
suggest is that if your husband can easily find a good job in Italy and can
easily come Switzerland to the same job, there is no harm to go back to Italy
to try it out. But if he is like most of us, finding an ideal job is not that easy.
Move to the Italian part of Switzerland could really work for both of you.
Language problem would be solved, people appeared to be more italian there.
You parents might be happy to visit you since they could talk to
your husband cannot find a suitable job in the Italy part, commuting by train
from work to the Italian part can also be a good solution. I loved Locarno
when I visited it almost twenty years ago. It that does not work for you, you
could go back without regret. of course that would involve moving houses etc.

Hi Chipmaker:
I remember your posts, some years ago telling us about your interviews to get a job in CH. Maybe life is a cycle....
regards,