Kate
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First and foremost, LEARN SOME ITALIAN. I am an Italian major who has spent a year abroad in Italy, and there is really no way you are going to survive without knowing how to communicate. Living there, your language skills will get better over time, but do not go expecting everyone to cater to you because you are a foreigner.
As for a Visa, you need to go to the Italian consulate closest to where you live in the US, check online to locate this, and complete the application process well in advance before you leave. Once you arrive in Italy, you will need to go to the police station and get a Permesso di soggiorno (like a green card) and Permesso di lavoro (permission to work). You may also need to complete some forms to be able to go to a state university there, so ask at the consulate when you get your visa.
As for crime rate, city, cost, and type of job, it really depends on your personal preference. In the north of Italy you find modern cities like Milan and Turin, while along the coast you find more Touristic cities like Viarreggio, Venice, and Cinque Terre, in the south you will find more traditional Italian cities, but be careful...the crime rates are very high, and the quality of life isn't good, because of the ongoing problems with the mafia. In the north, typical jobs a foreigner might get include waiting at a restaurant, private English tutoring, or working in a small shop. In cities with a large tourism industry, multilingual skills mean you will be able to find a job easily in a shop or restaurant that serves a lot of English speaking customers, or, if you are qualified, work as a tour guide. In the south, unemployment rates tend to be very high, and you may have to settle for manual labor, if you can find it at all.
Universities again are very subjective, most school specialize in just a few fields, such as Physics, Medicine, and Chemistry, or Law, or Art and Language, much like departments in a typical American university. There are no schools that can compare to an American "community college", but there are trade schools. Tuition for a University is relatively cheap, the more expensive schools are 5,000 euro a year. Expect very difficult courses and frequent and rigorous testing, the Italian school system will take some getting used to!
Life can get pretty expensive, especially considering that the Euro is stronger than the dollar. Houses are hard to come by, and apartment is your best bet, but depending on your income, you may have to get an apartment with housemates, like most young Italians who move away from home. As for how much $20,000 is in Euros, at current rates (on September 1, 2008) in converts to 13,685.5197. But as exchange rates fluctuate day to day, and you are not expecting to leave any time soon, check up regularly on an online currency calculator to see what your money's worth!!
Buona fortuna e buon divertimento in Italia!
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