Are you at the end of your tether with the day to day run of the mill English weather and cities, do you look for scenic vistas when you wake up in the morning or living in a city that has 1000 years of cultural heritage then your next stop could be Italy.
Being ranked as one of the most beautiful countries to live in in Europe, Italy has a lot to offer any new purchase in the region.
From the amazing Italian cuisine to the beautiful vistas that seem to be over every hill or the amazing architecture that seems to run through the whole of the country and who can forget the traditions of lazy work days and social evenings that the Italians are so well known for.
Moving to Italy
A move to Italy from the UK would not be as much of a cultural or societal shock as moving to some of the other prominent European countries.
There are a lot of similarities but there are also a few jolting differences that you should be aware of, below we will go through some of these
Government funded services
Much like the UK, Germany and France. Italy has a publicly funded health care system where it is a single payer system, so just like the UK you can use the public services or opt to spend extra and use private doctors or hospitals
Employment Opportunities
The Italian employment sector is very similar to the UK, it has a large tech sector in the cities as well as banking, health care etc, but much like the UK the rural economy is based around farming and food production
Cost of Living
The cost of living in Italy isn’t always as clear as you may think, where as coffee, clothes and cars can be much cheaper (due to being manufactured locally), other items such as electronics due to no local production
Overall there are a lot of similarities between the 2 but as always make sure that you research properly for the move that you are going to make, but city to city and rural to rural it is an easy transition.
Buying property in Italy
When looking at property for sale in Italy there are a few neighbourhoods that you should really be looking at for both the investment and residential types of property
Below we will list some of the best locations of property to buy in Italy
Investment
Student accommodation
Italian universities have seen a large rise in foreign student applications within the last few years, especially the areas of Lulm, Cattolica, Bicocca and Bovisa. These could be great investment properties as you are guaranteed to always have possible pool of tenants available
Holiday homes / AirBnB
The regions of Trevi and Corso Vittorio within Rome have seen some of the largest increase in value and also tourism in the last few years and are great contenders for a holiday rental investment
Residential
Tuscany
Do you dream of buying a farm house and renovating with local materials, then Tuscany is the area for you, with an explosion in recent years of ex-pats purchasing farm houses and renovating, there is now a larger UK presence then there has been in previous years
Apulia
Is an up and coming coastal region, that has amazing vistas and welcoming locals, prices tend to be cheaper than Tuscany and has a smaller ex-pat community, but this can also play in to your hands. It can be an investment as well as a residential property
Conclusion
Italy is a top 5 European region to move into, the prices are lower than most other popular countries and you also get more for your euro. As with any intercountry move make sure that you do your due diligence and that all of your checkbox’s are ticked
Good luck with your property hunting