As much as this sub pushes away people from moving here, there are chances for people to move here successfully. To better understand the area, try to visit some time in mid spring or late fall to see the worst of the seasons. There's a big difference between the sun of Italy and the cloudy dull weather that's prevalent here.

Job listings are plentiful online for restaurant workers, and that same shortage makes it difficult for small business owners to keep their businesses open. You can use the pay information you find to budget out what you can afford for housing (should be no more than 1/3rd your monthly take home pay), heating costs for 6-7 months, health care (you're fully on your own for insurance in most restaurant jobs) through the exchanges, car + insurance + gas (which will be significantly cheaper than what you pay), an extra set of winter clothing and gear, services like water and sewer and trash collection, and groceries. Once you have that budget number, you can search around for available housing onliine, which you'll find is limited and more expensive than many US cities. That will be your reality check.

It's not impossible to survive and thrive here, but it's more difficult than many parts of the country. The lower the pay you take in, the harder it will be. A Sicilian restaurant that puts out consistent, authentic, quality food would do well here, either in the larger areas or the rural towns that have no real food options. My local pizza place started in our small town 30 minutes of Burlington, and they've grown to 3 locations that all seem to do a brisk business.