Who has actually retired to Italy?

[RetiredAtThirty-eight]

If you can get by without a vehicle, it should save you some money as Italians pay more for gas than almost every other European nation. Last year, we paid about €5/gallon.

If you buy an EV for retirement in Italy, you can still get out and enjoy the countryside and small towns, wineries, etc. and you'll never have to buy gas again. Electricity in Italy costs about twice as much as the U.S. average which means it will still be a lot cheaper than gas in the US.

 

[urn2bfree]

Venice supposedly has a higher cost of living. As
do many of the typical tourist centers. I hear Abruzzo region is very affordable as it has yet to be “discovered.”

 

[Bamaman]

I would love to live in Europe, however the Schengen Agreement limits Americans to staying in the EU only 90 days every 180 days.

Visa's are generally unavailable unless you're going there temporarily as a student. It's hard to pass yourself off as a college exchange student when you're 70 years old.

Therefore, it's very, very difficult to obtain a Visa where you're allowed to live in Italy. Portugal will issue a Visa if you bring a great deal of cash into the country. And sons/daughters and sometimes grandchildren of German citizens can obtain a EU passport allowing them to live there.

The whole deal is that these countries don't want U.S. citizens moving over there and overwhelming their already fragile health care systems. And they don't want Americans to drive up their home prices that are already excessively priced.

 

[big-papa]

Getting a work visa isn't that difficult for expats, that is as long as your company is paying for it and doing the legwork. I did that for 2 years in Germany.

A former boss of mine retired in Italy - His experience was similar to this article: https://www.thelocal.it/20200112/how-to-get-an-elective-residency-visa-retire-in-italy

 

[urn2bfree]

I would love to live in Europe, however the Schengen Agreement limits Americans to staying in the EU only 90 days every 180 days.

...Portugal will issue a Visa if you bring a great deal of cash into the country.

Portugal has one of the most permissive and interesting Visa options called the Golden Visa that makes it the easiest of the EU countries for foreigners to immigrate to. There are a variety of ways to get the Golden Visa, but once obtained one could then stay in any of the EU Schengen countries like any EU citizen.

Briefly. The options for a Golden Visa involve either the big amount of money invested €1 Million, or create 10 jobs in Portugal, or invest in Portugal real estate worth at least €500,000, or smaller investments in the arts or scientific research can be made, though the kowest is €250,000. You also have to remain invested for a 5 years and spend at least a week a year in Portugal on average for the 5 years. There was a move afoot to crack down on these Golden Visas by restricting where the real estate could be to be eligible, basically removing the attractive locales from eligibility (think the coastal towns and Lisbon) Like so much in the world, that is in pause since Covid struck.

 

[Fermion]

I still haven't done everything there is to do in my one state of Washington, much less the other 49 states, so it would be a long time before I would be ready to try out Europe...at the rate we explore, it would be something around year 2170 before I am bored with the USA. Good thing I invest in biotech.

 

[Puravida1]

Malta is a kind of English speaking version of Sicily. The food is similar and people are from a similar background. Its even more catholic than Rome. For much of its history Sicily and Malta had the same rulers. its only 50 miles south of Sicily and you can see Sicily from Malta on a clear day. The car ferry is less than 2 hours. Most of the stuff in the shops is from Italy. There is no crime like in Italy. So if your considering southern Italy but intimidated by the language, then Malta is worth a look. Of course we are talking about Southern Italy here, which is a world away from Northern Italy.

 

[Bamaman]

Malta is a kind of English speaking version of Sicily. The food is similar and people are from a similar background. Its even more catholic than Rome. For much of its history Sicily and Malta had the same rulers. its only 50 miles south of Sicily and you can see Sicily from Malta on a clear day. The car ferry is less than 2 hours. Most of the stuff in the shops is from Italy. There is no crime like in Italy. So if your considering southern Italy but intimidated by the language, then Malta is worth a look. Of course we are talking about Southern Italy here, which is a world away from Northern Italy.

Heck, you can almost see Sicily from Malta.

I've been to Italy at least 10 times and also to Malta. Southern Italy's a very high unemployment area and much less desirable to travel in than from Rome north. The industrial Italy is from Torino to Milan and over toward Bologna.