Expats in Florence

Perhaps not everyone knows that for a long time Florence has been, and remains, home to many expats: those who have longed to live there, those who have found love and moved there, and those who have gone to Florence and felt immediately at home there. “Many people,” says Melinda Gallo, a writer and blogger who has been living in Florence for seven years, “arrive here at a point in their lives when they seek to redefine themselves: whether they were not completely happy, were searching for something new, or were looking for love, it seems that those who come to Florence are reborn.” Of course this is, or should be, no surprise to those who have already experienced the special atmosphere that makes Florence such a unique city (and Tuscany such a magical place).

However, whether you have an idea of what I’m talking about, or not, here Melinda tells the story of one of those expats, Natasha Garland, an American young woman whose initial one-year adventure has now become an eight-year stint in a place she continues to delight in.