Known for its historic cities, beautiful countryside and delicious food, Italy is a popular option for U.S. retirees who want to live overseas. With planning and the right expectations, living in this Mediterranean country can be an enjoyable way for expats to spend their retirement years.
“It is perhaps the most spectacular country in the world,” says Kim Englehart, co-founder of Finding La Dolce Vita, an expat relocation agency that helps others settle in the country she’s called home for 30 years.
If Italy is on your shortlist of potential retirement locales, here’s what to know.
Italy Visa Options for Retirees
Italy doesn’t offer a retirement visa, but U.S. retirees can move to the country under its elective residency program. Those with Italian ancestry may also be entitled to citizenship.
Under the elective residency program, retirees can’t work in the country and need a sufficient level of passive income to sustain themselves. Currently, the minimum required annual amount is 32,000 euros ($35,600 at the current exchange rate), according to Englehart. That income can come from pensions, Social Security or private investments.
Glenda Tuminello, who moved to the country with her husband, Randy, in 2022, took the elective residency visa route.
“I was always enamored with Italy as a little girl,” she says. The couple, both 71, took the COVID-19 pandemic as their cue to plan for the move that they had long talked about. However, the reality of the process took longer than expected.
“You can’t move to Italy fast,” Tuminello says. “It is a steep hill to climb and yet so worth it.”
The couple, who recently returned to the United States for a family emergency, had yet to receive their permesso di soggiorno — a residency document — after 18 months in the country. The process to receive this document used to take three months, according to Tuminello, but a bottleneck of applications from an influx of refugees, among others, has slowed the processing time.
“Prepare yourself for the overwhelming bureaucracy,” says Kat Kalashian, a senior editor with Live and Invest Overseas, which provides resources to expats. “It will seem pointless and excessive, but it is what it is.”
[See: The Cheapest Places to Retire Abroad on $1K Per Month]
Where to Live in Italy
Your experience of living in Italy will depend greatly on where you choose to settle.
“There is a connotation of a sophisticated lifestyle in Italy,” Kalashian says. “Some of the most exciting cities in the world are here.”
While Venice, Rome and Florence attract a flood of tourists each year, they may not be the ideal spot for retirees to live. Not only are they crowded but they can be expensive. If you are looking for city living, Englehart recommends Milan, which is not a tourist spot. “It’s not crowded at all,” she says.
If you are looking for coastal living, the Amalfi coast is famous for its dramatic views and picturesque towns. However, it is very expensive to live there. For more affordable living by the water, consider the Adriatic coast, Englehart suggests.
Abruzzo is Kalashian’s choice for retirees looking to live in Italy on a budget. She says the little-known region is only two hours from Rome and boasts medieval towns with fantastic homes. “Tons of countryside but you also have beach and mountains,” Kalashian says of the region. She notes that expats can rent a home for about $300 a month in parts of Abruzzo.
[READ: The Best Places to Retire Overseas Where English Is Spoken]
The One Euro House
Social media is awash with videos and posts about Italian homes for sale for a single euro. There are, in fact, homes selling for that cheap, but there are usually strings attached.
“It’s not really spending one euro,” according to Englehart. She says buyers are required to spend a certain amount to fix up what are essentially ruins, and people should be prepared for their one-euro house to cost 200,000 to 300,000 euros in the end. “It’s not as glamorous as it sounds,” Englehart says.
If you are looking for an affordable home to purchase in Italy, consider rural Tuscany or Umbria, where Englehart says two-bedroom stone cottages can sell for 150,000 euros. However, be sure to use a local real estate agent who can confirm any work completed on the home was done correctly and with the proper permits. Otherwise, it could complicate the sale and your ability to live in the home.
Taxes are another factor to consider when selecting a home. Italy’s personal income tax rates can be as high as 43%, but the country offers a 7% flat tax rate to foreigners who settle in certain communities. Typically, these are cities to the east and south of Naples that have populations of fewer than 20,000 residents.
“We knew we wanted to live in a place that had the 7% flat tax,” Tuminello says. She and her husband settled on Polignano a Mare, a community in Southern Italy along the Adriatic Sea. There, they found a rental home set on a cliff. “It’s just out of this world in beauty,” according to Tuminello.
Sicily, Sardinia, Campania and Abruzzo are other regions with cities that qualify for the 7% flat tax rate.
[READ: The Most Tax-Friendly States for Retirees]
Expat Health Care in Italy
While Italy has a public health care system, expats must purchase private insurance before moving to the country. Rates for this coverage can range from 10 to 300 euros a month, according to Kalashian.
She notes that the payment system in Italy differs from the U.S. in that most care requires a person with private insurance to pay upfront. They are then reimbursed by their health plan.
Once an expat’s residency is established, they may be eligible to apply for Servicio Sanitario Nazionale, known as SSN, Italy’s national health care system.
The cost for non-EU citizens to join SSN was previously about 388 euros per year, but a 2024 budgetary change increased the price to 2,000 euros. The annual contribution is taken from a person’s taxes. In exchange, they get access to a variety of free and low-cost health care services.
“The north generally has better infrastructure in all areas than the south,” according to Kalashian. That includes health care infrastructure. Those with chronic conditions may want to see what hospitals and clinics are in an area before selecting a place to live.
Life in Italy
When you retire to Italy, be prepared to slow down. “The Italians are very relaxed,” Englehart says. “It’s all about quality of life.”
Outside the tourist cities, shops may be closed daily from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. for an afternoon break, and restaurants may only serve meals at certain times. Many businesses are closed on Sundays. You’ll need to know at least some Italian if you live outside the major cities.
“The best thing you can do before you go is to practice being very patient,” Tuminello says. “You have to get out of that frame of mind of being in a hurry.”
Tuminello cautions that the heat exceeded anything she had experienced while living in Arizona. “The Italians are known for leaving during the month of August,” partly to escape the hot weather, she says.
Despite the heat and slow pace of government paperwork, Tuminello praises the Italian people for their kindness and the country for its beauty. “We fell in love with every single aspect of it,” she says.
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How to Retire in Italy originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 09/20/24: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
