How To Be a Local

Studying away in Milan, and want to make the most of your experience? Look no further! Here is my guide on how to immerse yourself into the Milanese culture, and really "become" a local. While this guide gives advice specific to Milan, the basic lessons can be applied to almost any other study away location!

Step 1.) Look the part

Out of every place in Europe that I visited this semester, Milan was by far the most unique fashion-wise. Yes, London and Paris are also fashion capitals, but Milan is not overly touristy and it's much smaller than the other two. As a result, I’ve found that people tend to follow the dress code pretty strictly here. If you’re looking to blend in, here are a few things to keep in mind. 

• WEAR BLACK. Seriously, when you’re packing, if your suitcase doesn’t look like something Wednesday Addams would approve of, you should go back and re-evaluate your choices. Okay, I’m kidding—sort of. Milanese folks wear black all the time, especially in the rainy/colder months. Black jackets, black jeans, black sweaters, black shoes….you get the point. Plus, if you bring a bunch of black, a lot of your clothes will match without you having to think too hard.
• Get some black boots! When people go out in Milan, specifically clubbing, almost every girl wears a black clubbing dress (or skirt) and black boots. Tights are also a necessity for the colder months!
• Jackets galore! Milanese people wear jackets well into the spring (and how they’re able to go onto the 80-degree metro while wearing a puffer jacket in April amazes me). You definitely will use a black or brown leather jacket—I think this was my most used item of clothing—but also bring a winter jacket. It doesn’t have to be a trench coat, although people online will try to tell you differently. Tons of Milanese teenagers and college students have the black North Face puffer jacket, you know the one, or something similar.
• Fun shoes! One of my greatest regrets was believing the people online when they said that you’d only need 3 or 4 pairs of shoes. No. Don’t listen to them, I missed my shoes SO MUCH. Locals in Milan wear a lot of boots, loafers, ballet flats, and sneakers. 

Step 2.) Use Italian

Okay, even if the (inevitable) event happens where you speak Italian to a cashier or barista, and they reply in English, it is really important to practice and use Italian daily. Milan isn’t like Rome, where English can be heard on just about every street, and using the language is essential to immersing yourself. 

Step 3.) The lifestyle 

Now, learning to adjust to the lifestyle in Milan was an adjustment for me. Milan is a lot faster/busier than other cities in Italy, but it is still different from American working culture. Italians have strict hours where they do work, and hours that they don’t. If you can find a co-working space or cafe that’s laptop-friendly, odds are that there are only very specific hours when you can do work there. They usually don’t allow laptops between noon and 2, and after 4, or on weekends. This is because work-life balance is taken seriously in Milan! 

Also, meals are a very social and lengthy event. I think this is true of Italy generally, but if you’re going out to eat, you can expect to sit for at least an hour. Even for aperitivo, “rushing” or “eating quickly” is really just not done. Instead, take the time to enjoy the meal and the company. 

Step 4.) Learn the history 

Italy is an incredibly diverse country, and its history contributes greatly to that. In order to understand Milanese culture, and how it differs from other regions in Italy, learning the history is important. Here is a YouTube video which might be helpful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWovIltRiGg 

Step 5.) Utilize third spaces

One easy trap to fall into when you’re studying abroad is ending up in an endless cycle between home and school. Living in a city and immersing yourself in the culture requires you to not only see the city, but also be a part of it. So, utilize third spaces (a third space, by the way, is a place where people go that isn’t work or home, like a cafe, park, museum, etc.). Personally, I loved going to different parks and city squares in Milan and reading there, the benches are lowkey so comfortable. 

Step 6.) Meet other Italians

SOOOO IMPORTANT!!! In order to “be local” in a sense, you have to get to know locals! Duh. So, here are a few ways you can do this. 

• Option #1: Volunteering/taking the Community-Based Learning class. At IES Abroad Milan, they offer a class called “Community-Based Learning”, where two-thirds of the credit hours are from volunteering in and with the local community. The other third is for in-class conversations and lessons about relevant social and political issues. There are different opportunities you can do. Personally, I volunteered at a community closet. I worked with Daniella and Alessandra, and they were the sweetest (and silliest) people in the whole world. They helped me SO much with my Italian, and taught me tons about the culture. I feel especially fortunate because not only did I make meaningful connections, but they’re lasting, because we’re going to be pen pals once I’m home in the States. I couldn’t be more grateful for them.

  • I also volunteered teaching English with a community up in Paderno Dugnano (north of Milan), with one of our professor's friends, Cristina. Cristina and her fellow teachers are unbelievably kind, and going to Paderno became a highlight of my week every week. I learned a lot about Milanese culture (and countless curse words) from the kids. 

  • But, even if you don’t take CBL, Elyse (the professor) is awesome and super accommodating. She can help find opportunities for volunteering for anyone. She also does this program called “adopt-a-family”, where you’re partnered with a local student at Elyse’s high school and their family, and over the course of the semester, you join them for occasional dinners and outings. You can make lasting connections through this, and anyone can participate. 

• Okay, option 2: Internships! I didn’t do an internship this semester, but I had a friend who did, so I asked her about her experience. Everyone say, “thank you, Kylie”!). She told me that in her weekly internship, she observed a lot about Italian working culture. She saw how Italians approach work with more of an emphasis on relationships, and saw the difference between formal and informal conversations in Italian. She also said it was helpful to get experience practicing Italian with native speakers. 
   

• Option 3: Make friends! Strike up conversations with waiters, with people in public, in bars, in the club, wherever! Introduce yourself, and get chatting. For some people, this can be really difficult, and if that’s the case, you can always try this in pairs. Bring a friend along. 

Step 7.) Get to know your own city

I also took a photography class this semester, and I did a project on “being a tourist in your own city”. The idea was that my friends put on this I Heart Milano t-shirt, and then we went around the city and did touristy things. Sometimes we can get tunnel vision in the place that we live, and we can forget to admire all of the unique and wonderful things it has to offer. Milan has countless, but if you’re going to be a tourist, make sure to do it during fashion week (and design week if you study here in the Spring). Don’t travel those weekends, the city has countless events going on that you can usually go to for free (or very cheap), and it’s amazing. Also, the last Sunday of the month, museums in Milan are free, so that’s another good time to play tourist.

Step 8.) Get to know the outside of your city!

Just as important as getting to know your city itself, get to know the region! Lombardy is a vast area of Italy, and there are tons of cities with unique histories and things to offer only a little bit away. Save some weekends to do day trips, you won’t regret it! Some options include (but are not limited to): Bologna, Turin, Bergamo, Como, Bellagio, Stresa & the islands on Lake Maggiore, and Anora.