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LIVING IN ITALY

Ten things you need to know before moving to Italy

You want to live in Italy, but where to start? Relocation coach Damien O'Farrell, who has spent 30 years helping foreigners make the move, runs through the top ten must-knows on his checklist.

Published: 24 January 2020 09:54 CET
Updated: 9 October 2021 08:31 CEST
Ten things you need to know before moving to Italy
The town of Perugia, Umbria, is a popular choice for foreigners moving to Italy. Photo: AFP

1. Be legal.

This is so important, especially if you are a non-EU citizen. After the 90 days allowed by the visa waiver programme or tourist visa, if you stay in Italy without the proper documents you are illegal – regardless of your nationality.

Please make sure you obtain the relevant visa before moving permanently to Italy, since visas are not issued in Italy: you must go to the nearest Italian consulate in your country of origin or residency to obtain it.

READ ALSO: The essential articles to help you navigate life in Italy

EU citizens, meanwhile, should register as Italian residents at the town hall within 90 days of relocating to Italy. As part of the free movement of people within the EU, citizens of other European countries have the right to live and work in Italy automatically.

However, if an EU citizen does not have a job, the town hall where you request your residency is perfectly within its rights to ask for proof of self-sufficiency concerning financial means.

2. Start networking.

Unless you are moving to Italy as part of an intracompany transfer or a retiree, you will probably need to work. There are a lot of opportunities in the IT sector, but sectors that traditionally once yielded jobs, like banking, are laying off people like there is no tomorrow. It is a good idea to network with Italian headhunters on LinkedIn who specialize in the sector in which you would like to work.

REAL-LIFE STORIES:

3. Be prepared for the cost of living.

Unless you choose to live in a small town, life in major markets like Rome or Milan can be expensive, especially if you want to live on your own. Expect to pay at least €850 for a small apartment in a big city.

Considering the average salary is €1,200, living on your own can be a challenge, and you will probably need a second job.

4. Weigh the pros and cons of the countryside.

I often receive inquiries from people who would like to move to a remote part of Italy, especially towns where houses are being offered for €1!

These can be great locations for anyone seeking a bucolic lifestyle, but two important things to remember are: 1) if you need to work there will be almost no work opportunities; 2) if you want to work online, the internet connection may not be the best. Make sure you do your due diligence before taking the plunge.

READ ALSO: How safe is living in the Italian countryside?

Photo: Ashley Bartner

5. Research real estate agents.

Apart from a few exceptions, many realtors in Italy do not update their websites very often – so the listings you see online may be no longer be available. Quite often the realtor may not have photos of the properties on file, and if they do, they may only have a few.

Italian landlords normally don’t like to give a realtor exclusivity on their property, which means that the same property can be listed with several agencies. As a result properties can quickly disappear from the market, even on the day you are scheduled to visit them.

READ ALSO: 

Realtors in northern Italy, in cities such as Milan and Turin, normally take two months’ rent as commission (or a yearly percentage of the rent that usually works out more or less as two months’ rent). In the rest of Italy, the standard is one month’s rent.

6. Know your leases.

When a landlord enters a person-to-person lease agreement in Italy, they pay considerably less tax than if they sign a contract with a company. If a personal contract isn’t an option for you, it might reduce the number of properties you can see. Occasionally a property owner may be willing to accept a higher rent to offset the higher taxes associated with a corporate contract, but it cannot be guaranteed. 

I always advise my clients to never rent a property in Italy without a proper lease contract. Once the contract has been signed by both parties, the landlord then has 30 days to register the contract with the tax authorities, he/she should provide you with a copy of the registration once completed.

READ ALSO: Renting in Italy: the crucial vocabulary you need to know


Photo: Maugli/DepositPhotos

7. Get the right help.

If you are going to be living in Italy long-term, please engage the services of a competent lawyer and accountant for any legal or tax advice you may need.

Many expats try to do it themselves, as they are under the impression that they can get away with things in Italy and the law is not enforced. This is not the case, and in my 30-plus years of assisting expats, I’ve seen hundreds end up in tears when the authorities come knocking.

READ ALSO: How to spend 24 hours living the Italian way 

8. Retake your driving test.

Unless you come from a country that has a reciprocal agreement with Italy, after one year of being a resident in Italy you will need to take the Italian driving test. Unfortunately, this is only available in Italian (though you can also take the test in French or German if you are a resident in the areas of Italy where they also are official languages).

For example, a state-issued US licence will be valid for one year from when you request residency at the town hall, and not from when you receive confirmation of your residency.

READ ALSO: How to swap your British driving licence for an Italian one

The best thing to do is to apply at a driving school once your residency has been confirmed and you have your Italian ID card. The driving school will supply you with the driver’s manual that you will need to study to complete the course and initiate the exam. If you are taking Italian lessons, you may want to ask your teacher to concentrate the lessons around the manual so that you can be prepared for the test.

Depending on how old your EU licence is, and whether it has an expiry date, you should contact the Department of Motor Vehicles (Motorizzazione Civile) to see if you need to exchange it or not.

Photo: Andreas Solaro/AFP

9. Register your car.

Every EU and non-EU citizen who brings their foreign-registered car to Italy with them must register their car with the Italian authorities within 12 months of becoming an Italian resident. This process can be extremely time- and labour-intensive, especially if the vehicle needs modifications to be in line with European directives, and depending on where you have the service done, the cost is normally not less than €800 plus disbursements.

Please also note that insurance companies in Italy are not normally willing to insure a foreign-registered car; therefore, if you are planning on living in Italy long-term, it is highly advisable to register your car here. Right-hand drive cars also present challenges in Italy, especially with insurers.

10. Stay clear of the moaners.

You simply do not have the time to hang out with expats who are constantly hating on Italy and Italians: they will sap your energy and chip away at your enthusiasm for why you moved. 

Just like you should avoid the moaners, don’t overly focus on the negatives in Italy. As much as you can, focus on all the wonderful aspects of Italy and be grateful for the fact that you can experience it firsthand.

READ ALSO: ‘How I fell in love with Naples, a city full of contrasts’


Photo: Ana Stanciulescu/Flickr

Relocating to a foreign country can be challenging and Italy is no exception. Regardless of whether you are moving here under your own steam or as part of an intracompany transfer, the same issues of culture shock, isolation and bureaucracy can still come into play. To help you to live the most successful life possible in Italy, I believe it is very important for you to be aware of the ten must-knows that I have just detailed above.

Enjoy your time in Italy!

Based in Rome, Damien O’Farrell is a life and expat coach specializing in relocation to Italy. This article was originally published in 2018 and is an edited version of a post originally published on his website. Find out more here.

Do you have any advice to add? Get in touch with us by email.

For members

MOVING TO ITALY

‘€150 rent a month’: Why you don’t always need to buy when you move to Italy

Buying a house is often the most common route for foreigners choosing to retire in Italy, but renting can be a far better fit for some. Here's how one British retiree left a hefty mortgage behind to rent a rural cottage for €150 a month.

Published: 19 September 2024 13:39 CEST
'€150 rent a month': Why you don't always need to buy when you move to Italy

Retiring and moving to Italy at a certain age isn’t an easy job, particularly if one has to first get rid of a burdensome mortgage. 

But Tim Wood, a 72-year-old British retiree who used to work as an interior designer, in 2016 managed to sell his house in Brighton, pay off the remaining part of his mortgage and move to southern Italy. 

But instead of buying a cheap dwelling as most expats do, he settled for an extremely low rent. 

“I was just so scared of buying another home, even if it might have been mortgage-free and extremely cheap. I wanted to live without any financial weight on my shoulders. I now pay just €150 per month to rent a 4-bedroom rural cottage in Abruzzo”, Wood tells The Local. 

‘Abruzzo popped up after I researched cost of living throughout Italy’

Renting was also a much easier option than buying, because he wanted to avoid the paper work, the bureaucracy and procedures involved in purchasing and eventually having to restyle a house. 

After selling his UK house, Wood moved to the countryside near the coastal town of Vasto, on the Adriatic sea. 

“I did some online search on which were the cheapest regions to live in Italy, reading articles about national statistics on cost of living and life quality, and Abruzzo popped up”, says Wood. 

READ ALSO: What you need to know about navigating Italian rental contracts

Wood, who after losing his wife in 2015 decided to change life, said relying on advice from distant relatives of his who had already moved to the region a few years earlier proved crucial.

“They suggested I picked a place near the sea, for great summer dips, but at the same time far from the touristy areas and relatively quiet. That’s why I chose Vasto’s pristine rural surroundings,” he says.

‘Get a feel for the place before you move’

Being close to trains that cross Italy and even connect to Europe is vital if one has forsaken driving a car like he has, he says.

Wood advises anyone eager to follow on his steps to never rent or buy property if they haven’t seen it first hand, not just online.

Get advice from friends or other people who have made similar moves, he adds.

The old fishermens huts at Vasto marina. Photo: Tim Wood

“Prior to making the big leap I decided to take a two-week holiday in Vasto and tour the surrounding areas of Abruzzo. It’s important to get a feel of the place not as a tourist but as a local, meeting people, hanging out at the bar till nightfall, getting a haircut at the barber’s and listening to the gossip at the butcher’s shop, even if you hardly speak Italian,” he says.

The warm weather year-round in Vasto was also a major perk, as in some mountain spots in Abruzzo it can be as cold as in England in winter, he says. 

Wood lives off a small pension, plus the remaining revenues from the sale of his UK home. He says he spends around €150 a month for food and locally-sourced fresh produce. 

He’s so glad to be finally living the idyll after what he called a “nightmare” in the UK.

‘Make sure you’re not a victim of a scam’

Almost 24 years ago Wood purchased a two-bedroom apartment in Brighton for £400,000, with a downpayment of £250,000, and had been paying a £500 monthly mortgage since then.

“It was a nightmare. When I retired I realised I no longer wanted to live to pay a mortgage so I decided to move to Italy before post-Brexit new travel rules kicked in.”

Wood put his home on sale and managed to get £550,000. He now lives on a UK yearly pension of £8,000, which he says is more than he will ever need in Vasto. 

He was granted Italian residency in 2017, when the UK was still part of the European Union and Brits did not face the hurdles of today in traveling and relocating to Europe. 

One key tip he shares is to do a lot of prep research. Prior to relocating, he surfed the web to get an idea of what rentals were like in the area and also wanted to make sure he was not going to be a scam victim. 

So during his vacation there, he selected 10 properties, and booked a one-day tour with four local agencies to see them all before he picked the cottage. 

“Online photos don’t work, one needs to see the building and when I stepped into that farmhouse, I felt a special vibe”, says Wood. 

He also recommends meeting the local owners if possible, and starting with them a friendly relationship from the beginning in case there are bumps along the road, like the sewage system breaks down or a tree collapses on the front porch. 

READ ALSO: Italian rental scams: ‘As soon as we handed over the money, we kissed it goodbye’

The cottage was fully furbished, distant only two kilometres from Vasto’s historic quarter. And the icing on the cake was that it came with a 2-acre patch of land, olive trees and vineyard. 

“Locals have been making a premium extra-virgin olive oil here for centuries and I just found these trees in my garden. I now have farmers teaching me how to collect the olives and take them to the press.”

Cost of living and high quality of life are plus points. 

Family-run taverns in the countryside are very cheap and he can afford to eat out almost every night being alone. A meal is just €15, including a glass of wine. 

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