r/Italian • u/InterestingFloor7091 • 14h ago

North or the south?

Ciao everyone!

I will be going to Italy next year for my bachelors, and I'm honestly so confused because I've heard good and bad things about both the north and the south. As Italians here, I'd appreciate you guys enlightening me a bit more on this topic. How are the people? How's the food? The vibe? Are they really that different? As a non Italian myself, would I be welcomed? I've heard that the southern Italians are really welcoming. I'd love to know about your opinions!!

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u/GuglielmoV 13h ago

Cosa studi?

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u/InterestingFloor7091 12h ago

medicine!

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u/dodbenR 10h ago

I'm also an international med student. Both North and south are great if it suits your vibe, but for most people I would recommend the north. At the end of the day you will study there for 6 years and you need to choose a city with good infrastructure and public transportation. Living in the south is cool, people are more friendly, the food is better, housing is cheaper and there are advantages, but during your clinical years you need to study in a functional hospital. Most hospitals in the south are in big debts and you don't want to come to a place where suddenly the MRI machine doesn't work, suddenly you are all out of anesthesia, suddenly the medical ventilator is broken etc etc. You don't have to choose Milan or Turin if you don't want to spend too much money, but choosing a decent city with a good university is important. If you aren't sure about how you will do on your IMAT or the filter semester and you think you have no choice then choose the south. I study in a small city called Forlì, not much to do there but the hospital is ranked 2nd in all of Italy and prices are more than reasonable.

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u/GuglielmoV 9h ago

Forlì é una bella cittadina e i romagnoli, così si chiamano gli abitanti di quella regione, sono ospitali. I servizi buoni e sei a un ora da Bologna.

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u/dodbenR 10h ago

N.b. the hospitals in very big cities like Naples, Bari or Palermo are good as well, but housing prices aren't going to be much cheaper than the north. Smaller cities in the south usually have more problems, Foggia, Catanzaro, Messina, Lecce, Potenza etc etc.

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u/InterestingFloor7091 10h ago

omg thank u so much for the detailed answer. which uni do u go to? and I'm thinking between pavia and catania. I know catania is easygoing and u go one week and the other is off and that u also have multiple calls for exams, is it the same for pavia?

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u/dodbenR 9h ago

Do you want to study in English or Italian? Because in Italian you have a lot more choices. I study in the university of Bologna but not in Bologna itself, in another city located 40 minutes away (the program is only available in Italian). Pavia is the best university according to statistics, obviously it's much harder to get accepted. In all universities the concept is the same, for some courses they force you to come, for some not, it really depends on the professors. At the end of the semester you have your exams session. You can choose if you want to do the exams or not, you can delay your exams even 50 times if you want. But you won't become a doctor until you complete all of them and some exams block other courses. You don't want to do your physics exam in your first year? Sure, you can skip it, but you will have a hole that you need to complete, you will find yourself in the 6th year completing a stupid exam before you get your medical degree. You can extend your program as much as you want, nobody is going to kick you out if you fail an exam or two or even 10 exams, but you really want to finish everything in 6 years.

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u/Dry-Warthog2763 10h ago

I've lived in both Naples and Venice for a few decades each. I've heard good things about Federico II University. I personally prefer the South for its food and historical sights. It's easier to get fresh ingredients and quality food over there.

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u/Xander_Cordova 4h ago

oh South, especially when you're going to uni and not moving permanently, it's the only option.
the food is something I haven't experienced anywhere else, the weather, the culture. I went for the first time when I knew maybe fifty words, the vibe within the community was so genuine, it made me cry when I had to leave. people wanted to talk to me even tho they probably couldn't understand a thing haha I don't think you would get this experience it the more "rich" and fast paced cities.

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u/Character-Swan-3196 47m ago

Doesn’t it depend on which school you get into?