The Cost of Living and Eating in Italy!

Taking a look at the cost of living in Italy in light of recent inflation particularly in pasta costs!

Have you heard all the fuss coming out of Italy about the great pasta price hike?  If you have you may be like many other would-be-expatriates and sitting there wondering just how important this particular dish is to their potential new neighbours!  The long and the short of it is – if you plan on living in Italy, you’d better like eating pasta!

But don’t worry too much though, the price hike still leaves this particular food staple well within financial reach of just about anyone.  It’s the other prices associated with the Italian cost of living that might make your bank account cringe and in this article we examine the cost of living and eating in Italy.

On the pasta front, this official Italian dish is considered the most economical food going – even with the price hike!  This food is so important to Italians that it is estimated that the average Italian puts away about 28 kg of the stuff each year!  From penne to spaghetti to linguini, this dish is to Italy what curry and fish and chips are to Great Britain!  It’s hard to imagine a week passing without them!

So, with the news of a one-day pasta strike and national outcries over price hikes making international headlines, many are asking just how much this price hike of a basic food stuff will hurt their wallets – well, we can tell you that if you do have your heart set on living in Italy and eating like the Italians do you can basically relax!  Even with the price rise pasta remains the most economical dish in the country.  The price is about 0.45 Euro per kg now – cheap – although the hike in cost was pretty significant in the grand scheme of things as it added about 20% in recent months due to durum wheat shortages. 

But, if the price of pasta and the general increase in the cost of living in Italy does actually have you a little worried about whether you can afford the move especially if you’re thinking of retiring on a fixed income to live in Italy, you might want to go back and look a little more closely at your finances.

The Italian cost of living is considered pretty high by some standards.  In fact Italy has one of the highest cost of living rates in the European Union though it is nothing compared with the cost of living in the UK.  While grocery store and market shopping shouldn’t break a self-employed or retired person’s bank balance for example, eating out and regular entertainment just might! 

The prices in the resort and major tourist destinations are generally the highest of course – but because many expatriates prefer living in Italy’s countryside and rural interior they do actually find the cost of living and eating in Italy is a great deal more reasonable for them.

If you do prefer to live on the coast or in the main resorts, there are some tricks to getting around the high cost of living in such places - eating in, selecting places the locals go since you’ll effectively now be a local and even choosing to drink standing up in cafes rather than taking out outdoor seating can save you some serious pounds or euros!

Still, the best bet before living in Italy on a full-time basis is to really explore all your options.  While Italy has some major and undeniable appeal, it can be pricier than many an expatriate would like.  Potential immigrants are often urged to travel and explore and get to know the country before pulling up all their roots and relocating.