The First Week Living in Merate

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Europe, Italia 2026

We had a great feeling about Merate when we first met our landlord and saw the apartment in real life. They were incredibly friendly and ensured our place was completely furnished. Even going to the point of buying some brand new appliances for us.

They also owned the shoe shop right next to our apartment. We also met their son, who used to live in the apartment and would be our main contact if we needed anything.

Saturday

In the morning we explored the local piazza and streets. It was such a nice vibe. Within 5 minutes of walking, we saw a man on a bike selling flowers. Rose just had to buy some! We then went to Qbo, one of the local bars, for a coffee and pastries. Ilaria couldn’t contain her energy inside (which is normal), so I took her outside to run around in the Piazza.

Across the road from our apartment is a bakery with amazing pizza slices. We got lunch from there, and when Ilaria had a nap, I went for a walk with Issy to Adda Centre — a shopping centre about 20 minutes away with a much larger supermarket than our local Coop. I picked up some supplies and stopped in at the TIM store there to buy a local SIM card for my phone.

Sunday

I ran the Monza half-marathon in the morning, then we headed to Zia Stella’s for lunch.

Monday

First real working day, and the first challenge: finding internet. Our apartment had a nice little study that could be closed off from the living room — perfect in theory. The problem is there’s no phone reception inside (apparently this is common in all buildings in Merate!), so I had to balance my phone on the window sill just to get 1–2 bars of reception.

During my morning break I walked to a coworking spot that looked very promising on Google Maps. Of course, it didn’t exist. In its place was a boarded-up building with a for sale sign.

Tuesday

During my work break, I ran to Lake Satirana and back. A nice escape from the screen, it was a beautiful sunny day and the scenery was everything I could ask for.

Grazia left us her car to use for the week while she was on holiday. A very welcome loan!

Wednesday

We got wifi set up in the apartment. Hooray! The window-sill phone balancing act was officially retired.

Thursday

During my break I ran to the Adda river, where Leonardo Da Vinci’s ferry is located. A beautiful spot to run to, though as I discovered the hard way, there’s a huge incline on the way home that made the return rather challenging.

In the afternoon I went to CISL to submit my visa documents, then to the post office to submit more paperwork. Everything was sorted, with the final step being a meeting scheduled for late August . This feels a little pointless given we have a flight booked home in mid-September. Huge hats off to Rose though for navigating all the Italian bureaucracy. Unfortunately, I’ve found the reputation to be completely justified.