Francesco Morabito is an Italian IT specialist with a background in chemistry, although when asked about his profession, he always answers he’s a content creator. He has a YouTube channel covering his life and travel in Poland, which – as he says – is his true passion. He moved to Warsaw almost three years ago from Turin following the hunch, that Poland is a perfect place to live.
How did your connection to Poland develop?
I first came to Poland in 2014 on the trip with my friends. We decided to come here because of the cheap flights and also, I already had some Polish friends who I met abroad. Other than that, I really didn’t know much about Poland at the time. When we found ourselves in Warsaw, I remember this vividly, I immediately got this strange feeling that one day I was going to live here. I fell in love with Warsaw at first sight. I had travelled a lot in my life, I had seen much more beautiful cities, yet that was the first time I ever had this feeling. I really cannot put my finger on it… After that I visited Poland every year – different places, different cities. I was still studying chemistry in Turin back then, but when I graduated, I made a really fast decision to look for work here. I came for an interview, got hired and moved. It was the beginning of 2020.
Just before the pandemic.
Yes. I was really lucky to be able to move in time. The situation in Italy was really terrible. In the course of the last three years, I was travelling back home a lot to see my family and friends, and every time I was happy to be coming back here. The atmosphere in Italy was so heavy, people so stressed and scared and the general quality of life really not good. I think it’s also because the restrictions in Italy were very hard on people and they lasted much longer than those in Poland. Plus – here I couldn’t really follow the news on tv, because I couldn’t understand it /laugh/. But seriously – I came here before all that and back then I was also doing it to change the environment and broaden my possibilities.
How so?
Warsaw is much more modern than most Italian cities. They do not offer many opportunities and kind of just stand still (apart from Milan of course). So, if you want to look into the future and find yourself in the dynamic environment full of diversity and progress, Warsaw is the place to go. You get all kinds of companies here, all kinds of industries, lots of activities to do, lots of young people of different cultural backgrounds. When you work in an office in Italy, you’re sort of sentenced to the company of older people representing some kind of a stiff mindset and you have this feeling that you’re really headed nowhere. I needed something more and I found everything I was looking for here in Warsaw.
Apart from professional opportunities, was there something else that you found particularly appealing about life in Poland?
It started with atmosphere here that I always liked. Then I studied Polish history and culture and it really spoke to me. The fact that Polish history is a difficult one and full of constant defending of what’s yours. It is a story of standing up, raising again and again. Poles in general are good and humble people but most importantly – they care about their country. I really like your patriotism. I know that some say that it’s too much and it’s just Polish nationalism, but my perspective is different. I come from Italy where people don’t care at all. They’re just about their business and most of them would rather cheat than live within bigger social context. So, to me Polish perspective is really nice.
How about things that you don’t like here or the ones you’re missing?
I don’t really miss much except for my family. Winter darkness is a little bit of a problem, but I’m from Turin so the climate change in general isn’t as drastic as it would have been if I was a Sicilian /laugh/. Winters in the North of Italy get very cold too and I actually prefer the cold here because it’s dry – the humidity in Turin can make your life there really uncomfortable. I do miss fresh fish though. I don’t have it very often in Poland. You can get a good salmon here and sometimes even a decent swordfish, but in general Poland is not big on it.
You have your YouTube channel about life and travelling in Poland – FraMora. Do you spend all your time off here?
Not all of it. I’ve always travelled a lot so I try to spend my main vacation abroad. But I do a lot of travelling here and I have to tell you – now I know Poland even better than Italy. Sharing what I learn about Poland is my passion and to be honest I wish I could do it full time.
And you’ve been doing it since you moved to Poland?
Pretty much. I think the first video I made was way before that – when I was working in Kenya. I came back to this idea after moving here. The COVID time helped – like everyone I was at home, so I had way more time to share my experiences. Most of my videos are about Poland and my life in Warsaw and such travel content is rather hard to find, so I’m doing quite well.
Of all the places in Poland you talk about – which one is the absolute must-see?
Mazuria. It’s so beautiful! Poland has some really wonderful places and fantastic cities but I cannot think of anything more amazing. I discovered Mazuria last summer and I plan to go back and explore it more. I’ve always been the biggest fan of the sea, but when I saw Mazury, I understood the popularity of this one-of-a-kind lake region.
