The past couple days have been busy. I established residency, signed up for free health care, and moved into a new apartment. The city is still empty as most of us (haha, that takes time to get used to) are still on ferie (vacation). For the entire month of August Milano is a ghost town. The streets are empty, about 70% of shops are either closed entirely or have seriously reduced hours, and nothing gets done. I guess I haven’t truly acclimated to the Milanese life style though because I have completed nearly everything I set out to accomplish within the first week of arriving.
On Friday I went to the Agenzie Entrate to register for my Codisce Fisciale (CF). The CF is basically my Italian Social Security number. I need this to do just about anything a normal Italian would do like, get a phone number, rent an apartment, get a drivers license, or open a bank account. Getting the CF was much easier than getting to the office. I spoke to a few Italians to ask where the office was and they all said it was within walking distance. So I start out on the walk and after 4 miles, I reach the office. Lesson 1 about Italians, when they say something is within walking distance, do not trust them. So after getting my CF I set out to establish residency.
There are 7 different offices in Milano where you can establish residency and luckily for me, there was one close be to the Agenzie Entrate. So a short walk later I arrive at the office, but it is closed for Ferie. So the woman who was standing outside told me where another one was. I jumped on tram number 3 and made my way up to the office. I took a number and waited about 45 minutes. This place is like a DMV with 20 angry people working at a counter with 100 even more angry people waiting to be served. So after my number is called, they informed me that since I am an Italian and lived in the USA, I had to register at a different office. Oh the bureaucracy of Italy. Pure. Joy. So I finally found the office, gave my info over, and was told that police men would visit me within two months to verify my address, but basically I am now Milanese!
After that journey I decided I needed healthcare. With all that walking just to become a resident, I figured my feet were sure to fall off shortly and health insurance would be nice to have, just in case. This was easy to get. I showed my passport, residency documents, codisce fisciale, and BAM! I have health insurance. Oh the joys of Italy. It can be nice!
Well, now that this boring stuff is done, my next posts will focus on a couple of the coolest food and antiques markets that I have ever seen.
Ciao Ciao!
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