The Magic of Italy

Summary: With such a fantastic climate, some of the best food and wine in the world, the passionate and welcoming people and the incredibly affordable property and lifestyle opportunities is it any wonder that over the past 4 years there has been a 40% increase in the numbers of people seduced by the magic of Italy?

With such a fantastic climate, some of the best food and wine in the world, the passionate and welcoming people and the incredibly affordable property and lifestyle opportunities is it any wonder that over the past 4 years there has been a 40% increase in the numbers of people seduced by the magic of Italy?

It’s true, in just 4 short years the desirability of Italy has intensified.  But what specific factors are attracting record numbers of young people to move to Italy and begin a new life the Italian way?

Until the 1990’s it was only retiree expatriates seeking to move to Italy to settle down in the beautiful Umbrian or Tuscan countryside to a relaxing retirement.  But the last few years have seen a dramatic increase in the number of relatively young immigrants.  In fact the average age of those applying for relocation visas, residence or work permits in Italy now is just under 35 years of age. 

These people are not being seduced by the magic of Italy’s economy!  Unemployment across the country is relatively high, particularly in the beautiful Mediterranean kissed southern regions where it reaches 14% in some areas.  It seems that most people are either seeking out a brand new lifestyle where they downsize and seek to live modestly off the Italian countryside and the income they can generate from their home grown produce or small business efforts, or else they are moving to some of the more affluent northern areas.  These people are taking on full time professional employment in the banking, financial, media, IT or telecommunications industries in the more industrialized north and in cities such as Milan.

The appeal and magic of Italy is manifold.  Firstly property prices in the country remain affordable to many particularly those coming from the UK where property prices have soared.  There are roughly 19,000 British expatriates living life in Italy, these people also see a marked contrast to their lifestyle costs once they relocate to Italy.  The cost of living in the UK is up to three times higher depending on where you herald from and settle down to.

The availability and quality of education is of appeal to people relocating with children, the stability of the political situation in Italy is another positive factor in Italy’s favour with much of the corruption the country was infamous for being rooted out.  The weather in Italy varies from temperate to glorious in the summer and from temperate to ski-able in the winter depending on the region in which you live and of course the Italian food and drink is legendary.

For citizens of EU countries the process of relocating to Italy is very simple.  You can move there and live unrestricted for three months before you need to go through the basic process of registration.  You can then reside for five years in Italy and if you want to take up employment you should apply for your work permit as soon as you arrive.  For non EU citizens things are more complicated and it can be hard to get a work permit as unemployment in Italy is a problem.  The easiest and most straight forward method is to secure employment before you arrive and your new employer will sponsor your visa.

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