those people might be nutty....
7-9 dollars a month...
i would take a villa in the country anyday, with the added incentive of owning.

My house (Liguria, Italy) is 100 meters squared with views of Portofino and the sea. Small compared to what I’m used to, but large by Italian standards. The beauty of this area is that you can experience ‘real Italy’ particularly with the sea and historical centre in buildings dated back to 1600, without paying absurd prices. Rome is gorgeous, but with all the Americans there its almost like the Las Vegas rendition of Italy. What’s the point, really?

Absurd prices? Think again. Here in Geneva (actually, not IN Geneva, but in outlying towns and villages, some very much like bona fide suburbs) modest 3 bedroom houses rent for around 9,400 Swiss Francs a month -- IF you can find one, that is.

How exactly do an artist and a musician/'communications officer' afford $7,000 - $8,000 a MONTH in rent. I smell a trust fund.

Which is not surprising, as the NY Times real estate section has always been more about shelter porn for the professional and upper classes than anything else. I look at the apartment and I see nothing I can really relate to as being anything close to attainable - its not even fantasy, as at least a 'fantasy' might have an iota of attainability.

I do not agree with MAds. I live in Rome, I am Italian, and I can guarantee that Rome and Las Vegas are worlds apart and the city is still very authentic.
However, if the family in the article are settled on Rome and they can afford to rent that kind of place, I really do not understand why they don't just buy an apartment. Morgages in Italy are always much lower than rents (even in the presence of a big terrace!), and at least the place is yours.

Luce makes a very good point. There is a huge difference between Natives living in areas and Expats. I absolutly didnt mean to imply that Rome was similar to Las Vegas. I realize now it came off like that. But what I mean is that when you are an expat living in a city that is filled with expats, be it Tokyo, Paris, Barcelona, etc...Your experience is not authentic. You mind as well go to Las Vegas. Natives who speak the language and make friends with others have completely different experiences. I have lived in cities around the world. I did a short stint in Rome. For Expats, iRome is not an exception. For Natives, it is a treasured jewel that continues to sparkle.

"But what I mean is that when you are an expat living in a city that is filled with expats, be it Tokyo, Paris, Barcelona, etc...Your experience is not authentic."

Nonsense.

Webster's defines authentic as "worthy of acceptance or belief as conforming to fact or reality; not imaginary, false or imitation.

Did you really mean to invalidate the experience of thousands of expats around the world?

«when you are an expat living in a city that is filled with expats, be it Tokyo, Paris, Barcelona, etc...Your experience is not authentic.»

I'm sorry, but I don't agree - I reckon that as long as you don't *just* stick to your expats fellows but befriend (or at least communicate with) natives, your experience will be by all means authentic - and, in my book, by "authentic" I mean not feeling like an alienated tourist but part of a community.

(btw, Italian living in Rome, here, too - but I've experienced living abroad and managed not to feel like a tourist. Surely I didn't rent $7,000 a month flats, though. ;))

Giorgia- agreed using your definition of authentic.

My definition of authentic is that your life is no different than the natives. Being perfectly fluent (and being able to go shopping without too many headaches does not qualify) eliminates about 75% of expats; then cross off those getting paid more than locals not even taking into account housing, furniture, etc allocations, down to 85%; cross out the rich who can afford to live anywhere they want, down to 90%; and of course students dont count because thats not real life for anyone, down to 98%

So we are left with the remaining 2% of expats worldwide who may be living the same as the natives. If you are referring to those 2% then I apologize. I certainly did not intend to invalidate their experiences...

Hello all. I am the person you are speaking about in the above comments so I thought I would end your speculation and give you some answers since you seem to have a different view of my world than matches reality!

I don't pay the amount of rent they listed in the article. The amount listed in the article is what an apartment rental specialist quoted for an apartment of the size of ours located in the area we live in- if one was to look for one today. We don't pay the rent which is quoted, since we have been living here for over five years. I don't know how much our apartment would rent for today if it was listed on the market - but I don't think it would cost that much. We are also bargain hunters (yes, artists have to be creative!) and found what we considered to be an amazing deal on the rent. One thing is certain though: the dollar is doing so poorly, and the Euro is so inflated that prices here in Rome have skyrocketed over the last several years and it is very difficult to get by. My husband does not live off his music, but works very hard at an intense job. My work is painting- I do portraits and other work on commission- and I give tours in Rome as well as teaching painting lessons! One does what one has to in order to get by.

As for the debate on what is authentic- Rome is as authentic as any other city in Italy whether you are an expat or a native, and that experience is obviously an individual one based on your philosophy in life. Rome has always been a city to which people came from other places. Even the Romans are mostly from other parts of Italy originally. Ancient Rome was a cosmopolitan metropolis like New York with people living there from all over the Roman Empire, speaking foreign languages and bringing foreign influences in culture and food. Today Rome has much more of a mono-culture- but foreigners and expats do not make it inauthenic.

We moved here because we loved Rome, not because of work or wanting to belong to an ex-pat community. We then found work after we moved here. We love Rome because of its endless secrets in art and history and architecture, which I have experienced and researched continually since I moved here. We have a lot of Italian friends and we speak fluent Italian. We also have a lot of expat friends. Expats experience the city where they are living in various ways. Some never learn the language and never make friends with locals. Others only hang out with locals. I find Rome's expat community to be quite interesting since most people are here for a love of Rome stemming from many different interests- I do not believe the statement saying that because there is an expat community, it makes Rome an inauthentic city!

My interest in Rome is historic, artistic and culinary. I have found it a great place to bring up our son as well. Rome has its downsides too- the traffic, the 26 million tourists every year, the garbage.

All of Italy is different - every city town or part of the countryside has a different flavor- a uniqueness. We have loved exploring Italy's different regions with Rome as a base, and comparing them with each other. We have spent nine years here and I still do not feel like a local- I retain my own native character and always will. But there is nothing that is in-authentic about our lives. This type of speculation about whether someone lives an authentic life, based on a one page article in paper is ridiculous!