bettlebrowed fruit peddlers such as are so often portrayed in our cartoons of typical Italians. If you do choose Italy in which to sojourn, whether permanently or temporarily, you'll probably like the Italians, their food and drink, their outlook—their way of life. I certainly do. § MONEY. Not too many years ago Italian money wag one of the weakest in Europe but today it is quite hard and you gain little by changing your dollars at the exchange houses. In fact, at this writing the official rate is 624.84 lire to the dollar while on the free market in New York or Switzerland you can get 630 to the dollar. Not enough difference to make any difference. Italian money, like French, can offer its hazards. The larger the bill the larger the size until when you get to the 10,000 lire notes ($16) you've got a piece of money that seems half the size of a baby blanket, and you have to fold it several times to get it into your wallet. WORK PERMISSION. You are not allowed to work in Italy if by so doing you displace an Italian. If the job is something an Italian can't handle, then a work permit will be issued. Italian rates of pay, however, are miserably low by American standards and there are few jobs at which you could make enough to get by. You are allowed to work for American firms, or individuals, without such a permit. And you are allowed to operate any little deal you may dream up which will bring foreign currency, such as dollars, into Italy. Jobs are scarce, prices are high, but we'll have various case histories at the end of this chapter on people who have beaten this tough Italian rap. § PRICES. We've mentioned elsewhere in this book that you can live cheaply just about anywhere // you know the ropes, even in Paris or New York. This was proven to me in an amusing way in Rome.
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