A Helpful Guide To Living Abroad In Italy

From the Colosseum to the Leaning Tower of Pisa, there is so much to do in Italy. If you’re an expat, digital nomad, or another type of traveler moving to the land of love, you may be eager to learn everything there is to know about living abroad in Italy. Relax your shoulders, sit back, and read on!

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In this helpful guide, we will discuss some key topics you will want to know before jumping on a plane and unpacking in your new apartment across the street from St. Peter’s Basilica.

We’ll lay out simply the cost of living in Italy compared to the USA, Italy’s healthcare systems, what it’s like to retire in Italy, and what the process is like to move to Italy.

Overview Of This Guide To Living Abroad In Italy

Colosseum In Rome, Italy

This useful guide is all about helping you know what it will be like living abroad in Italy. You’ll learn the average living expenses in Italy, the healthcare systems there, what retirees will want to know, and the visa requirements to move there.

Financial preparedness is essential in practically everything we do in life, and the same is true of moving across the globe. Even if your heart is set on moving into a city home with a grand view of Italy’s splendor, you’ll want to consider your budget first.

For that reason, we’ve gathered together this resource to help you determine what type of lifestyle you can afford in Italy (we’ll give you a hint – it’s much cheaper there!). Knowing this will give you confidence and surety as you make your moving plans.

If by the end of this article, you have fallen in love with the city of love, head-over-heels, you won’t want to miss our article about the best places to live in Italy.

However, if you get to the end and feel unsure that Italy is actually the place for you, we suggest reading our article all about what you need to know when living abroad to guide your search, or you can read about the best places to live in Europe.

Cost Of Living In Italy Vs. USA

Venice's Grand Canal at twilight with Santa Maria della Salute.

It is 46% more expensive to live in the United States than in Italy. Housing in Italy feels like a steal it’s so low, and food is also cheaper. Transportation costs depend on if you use local transport or prefer to drive, but overall, the cost of living in Italy is much lower vs in the USA!

Housing in Italy vs USA

In the United States, the average price to rent a 1 bedroom apartment downtown is $1,220. In Italy, the average price to rent a 1 bedroom apartment downtown is $591. To rent a 1 bedroom apartment out of the city center in the US is on average $1,022 compared to Italy’s price of $442.

Here is the comparison breakdown of some housing costs:

Utility Bill for one person: $113 in the USA vs $113 in Italy
Utility Bill for a family: $173 in the USA vs $174 in Italy
Internet: $67 in the USA vs $29 in Italy

Food Prices in Italy vs USA

When it comes to food prices, groceries are cheaper in Italy vs USA, but eating out at a restaurant is comparable. Of course, there is always a wide range of what “average” looks like, and it depends on your eating lifestyle.

Grocery prices:

1 loaf of bread: $3.04 in the USA vs $1.66 in Italy
1 dozen eggs: $3.91 in the USA vs $3.33 in Italy
1 qt of milk: $1.05 in the USA vs $1.33 in Italy
2.2 lbs of apples: $4.66 in the USA vs $2.10 in Italy
2.2 lbs of rice: $3.99 in the USA vs $1.96
2.2 lbs of cheese: $11.80 in the USA vs $14.10 in Italy

Average restaurant prices:

Lunch menu: $16.60 in the USA vs $14.40 in Italy
Dinner menu: $63.30 in the USA vs $56.80 in Italy
Fast Food meal: $9.07 in the USA vs $9.08 in Italy

Transportation in Italy vs USA

When we compare the transportation prices in Italy to those in the USA, it depends on your preferred methods of transport. Gas in Italy is twice as expensive as what it costs in the USA, but a monthly ticket for transportation in Italy is almost half as much as it costs in the USA.

Transport fees:

Local transport ticket: $2.23 in the USA vs $1.62 in Italy
Monthly ticket for local transport: $65.50 in the USA vs $38.80 in Italy
Taxi ride: $17.40 in the USA vs $18.10 in Italy
Gas: $1.01 in the USA vs $2.02 in Italy

Salaries in Italy vs USA

On average, Italians earn about 52K per year. However, they have heavy taxation, which makes the average net income 33K per year. Citizens of the United States earn an average of 54% more than Italians, with an average salary of just under 70K per year.

It is worth pointing out that in all of Europe, Italy has the highest unemployment rates, so if you plan to work while in Italy, you’ll want to secure a job before you move there.

So, overall, even though you make less money in Italy, the cost of living is much lower (as we’ve seen), and if you get an American stipend, you should be able to live quite comfortably abroad there.

Healthcare In Italy As An Expat

Italy has both public and private healthcare systems. As an expat, you can choose which system you’d prefer. Their public system, the Servizio Sanitario Nazionale (SSN), is very affordable, but there will be long wait times and few English speakers. You may prefer private insurance.

Public Healthcare:

Pros

Can cover all legal residents, including Italians and foreigners, who register
Most medical procedures are covered free or with a minimal copay
Elective procedures may be subsidized on a case-by-case basis

Cons

Family Doctor offices don’t allow appointments, so you often have to wait a long time in a crowded office
Even with hospital appointments, you may still wait
It can be hard to find English-speaking healthcare providers
You can’t choose your specialists when referred by a family doctor

Private Healthcare:

Pros

Private insurance plans can be customized to meet your specific needs
You can book appointments at private doctor practices
You have a greater chance of finding English-speaking doctors and staff
You can select your preferred specialists

Cons

May cost more than public insurance

Pacific Prime, the largest global brokerage that provides international health insurance, has excellent private health insurance plans in Italy. We highly recommend looking into them!

Retiring in Italy from the USA

If you’d like to retire in Italy from the USA, you will need to apply for an Elective Residency Visa. You’ll also need to meet their income requirements and make sure that any income you get doesn’t come from an employer. The retirement age in Italy for both women and men is 67.

Italy requires that if you’re retiring to Italy alone, you make a minimum annual income of €31,000, and if you’re a couple or married, your minimum is €38,000.

That income cannot come from a job, even one outside of Italy. It must come from sources like:

A pension scheme
Income from properties you own
Savings
Investment returns
Passive income

If you have lived in Italy as a foreigner for 20 years, you can apply for a full pension scheme. Also, if you live in Italy for 10 years with a permanent residence permit, you can get the benefits of the Italian pension scheme.

Moving to Italy from the USA

There are over 15,000 Americans living in Italy. If you plan to join them and move to Italy from the USA, there are 6 types of visas you can get to live in Italy. There are also 2 types of residence permits available to you.

These are the types of visas:

Uniform Schengen Visa: This is a short-term stay visa that can let you move to Italy for up to 90 days at a time. After that, you must leave the country for 180 days before coming back.
Employment Visa: This is a work visa, and it is valid for 2 years and can be renewed for up to 5 years. For 2023, Italy has a limit of 82,000 people getting that a year, so if those spots get filled, you will need a different visa plan.
Self-Employed Visa: There are two kinds of this visa: the start-up visa and the freelancer visa. These can also be difficult to obtain since there is a yearly limit on how many are given out and because you’ll need to get Nulla Osta clearance before applying.
Student Visa: You can apply for this visa at a US Consulate after you get your acceptance letter from an Italian school.
Elective Visa: This visa is for those who don’t work in Italy (in fact, you’re not allowed to). This is great for retirees or individuals with a passive income.
Investor Visa: To apply for this visa, you must invest a sufficient amount of money in an innovative start-up, a limited company, or a philanthropic donation.

Once you’ve lived in Italy for a while, you can apply for residence permits. There are 2 types of those.

Permesso di Soggiorno: This is a renewable permit that has various time frames of validity. With it, you can apply for Italian citizenship if you’ve lived in Italy for 10 uninterrupted years.
Carta di Soggiorno: This is a permanent residence permit that has no end. You can apply for it after living in Italy for 5 uninterrupted years. This grants you similar rights to Italian citizens. With this permit, you can apply for citizenship after living in Italy for 5 years.

Conclusion

Now you have a solid understanding of what it will be like living abroad in Italy as a retiree or other expat. You may also enjoy reading about living abroad in Malta or Portugal.

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Jantra Jacobs

Senior Copywriter at Pacific Prime

Jantra Jacobs is a Senior Copywriter at Pacific Prime with over 10 years of writing and editing experience. She writes and edits a diverse variety of online and offline copy, including sales and marketing materials ranging from articles and advertising copy to reports, guides, RFPs, and more.

Jantra curates and reports on the results of Pacific Prime’s monthly newsletters, as well as manages Pacific Prime’s Deputy Global CEO’s LinkedIn posts. Complemented by her background in business writing, Jantra’s passion for health, insurance, and employee benefits helps her create engaging content – no matter how complex the subject is.

Growing up as a third-culture kid has given her a multicultural perspective that helps her relate to expats and their families while 8 years of working remotely have given her unique insight into hybrid work arrangements and enthusiasm for employee benefits.