Ciao, it's me Claire

Most people know me as Ms Britaly.

Before Italy, I spent six years as a Metropolitan Police officer in London and four years as an entrepreneur running my own vintage catering business. From the outside all looked fine but from the inside, something was missing.

In 2018 I closed my business, packed up my London life and moved solo to South Italy with barely any Italian and just two visits to my name. It worked but just not in the way I expected.

Moving abroad hits deep. You're rebuilding yourself somewhere that doesn't yet feel like home and navigating the gap between the dream and the reality. Often in quieter moments you might even end up wondering what on earth you have done. I've been through all of it.

Eight years later I'm still here, teaching English full time in South Italy and sharing the beautiful, chaotic, contradictory reality of actually living here (aka the Italy that most people never get to see). Ms Britaly exists because nobody was being honest enough about what this experience looks like, so I decided to be.

So whether you're visiting and want to see beyond the tourist trail, seriously considering the move or already living here and finding it harder than expected, pull up a chair. You're in the right place.