Are you an expat living in Italy?

Expat Arrivals is looking for locals to contribute to this guide, and answer forum questions from others planning their move to Italy. Please contact us if you'd like to contribute.

There’s no one-size-fits-all rule for settling into expat life in a new country, but here are a few helpful articles and personal stories that may help make your move a little easier.

Interview with Roxanne – an American expat living in Italy

Roxanne is a retired American who recently moved to a small town in the Tuscany region of Italy. She spent most of her life in California but lived in New Jersey for the past 13 years before leaving the US. At 62, after running a successful construction business and buying a home, Roxanne felt… Read more

Interview with Laurie – an American expat living in Italy

Laurie and her husband initially moved to Paris in 1993 from the USA and finally decided it was time for a new adventure in 2015 when they made the move to the Italian countryside. As artists who often paint, Laurie and her husband sell paintings and host workshops in Rocca Malatina. After 20 years… Read more

Interview with Brynna – an American expat living in Italy

Brynna Rao is an American expat from Cheshire, Connecticut, the middle of three sisters, and an amateur windsurfer face-planting in a bay near you. Brynna began her expat lifestyle in 2017 – first in Tres Rios, Costa Rica for five years and then in Treviso, Italy in 2022. Brynna now calls Italy… Read more

Interview with Stef – a Dutch expat living in Italy

Stef is a Dutch expat who moved to Italy, accompanied by his husband and dog, to start their bed and breakfast, Villa I Due Padroni, in the Oltrepo Pavese wine region, just 30 miles (50km) south of Milan. He wrote a book about their adventures, Living in Italy: the Real Deal. Find out more… Read more

Interview with Juli-Anne – a Jamaican expat in Italy

Born in Jamaica, Juli-Anne Royes Russo is an aquaculture scientist, science communicator, founder of the Caribbean Aquaculture Network, foodie, amateur photographer and writer. Juli-Anne became a freelance writer in 2020 after moving to Italy. She spends most of her time consulting with fish… Read more

Interview with Hope – an American expat who lived in Florence

Hope, originally from New York, and her husband decided to save up and travel. Together, they travelled to Mexico, Japan and Europe. There are things she loved and things she found difficult to deal with in Italy, but she still always has an interesting story to tell, be it about food,… Read more

Interview with Caroline – an American expat living in Verona

Caroline is an American architect, cat lover, spritz aficionado, occasional translator, doodler and traveller living in Verona, Italy. She writes about life in Italy as a foreigner, from immigration and practical information to travel, food, culture, events and everyday life on her blog, Quotidian… Read more

Interview with Gabrielle – an American expat living in Italy

About GabrielleQ: Where are you originally from? A: Brooklyn NY, USA.Q: Where are you living now? A: I live in Brooklyn for part of the year and then in Penna San Giovanni, Le Marche in Italy for the rest of the year.Q: When did you move to Italy? A: I… Read more

Purchasing Italian property the right way

Those thinking of investing in property in Italy have to ensure they get things right, which is why the following rules are an excellent place to start.Remain patient because the Italian courts and bureaucracy can be very testing and devious. However, remain calm because offending anyone involved… Read more

Interview with Jasmine – a Canadian expat in Bergamo, Italy

About JasmineQ: Where are you originally from? A: Edmonton, Alberta, CanadaQ: Where are you living now? A: Bergamo, ItalyQ: When did you move here? A: December 2014Q: Did you move here alone or with a spouse/family? A: AloneQ: Why did you… Read more

Interview with Jasmine – a Canadian expat living in Italy

Jasmine is a Canadian expat who moved to Bergamo, Italy, in December 2014 to be with her fiance. While she admits that Italian bureaucracy and red tap are points of frustration, her overall quality of life has improved since she moved. Specific highlights for Jasmine include the architecture of the… Read more

Interview with Pauline – a Dutch expat living in Italy

Pauline Ninck Blok studied the Italian language at university in her home country of the Netherlands, and it was during this time that she discovered her love for Italy.She has been living there since 2001 and says her secret to adapting to expat life is to be relaxed and go with the flow of a new… Read more

Interview with Stef – a Dutch expat living in Italy

Stef is a Dutch expat living in Italy. He moved to the town of Montecalvo Versiggia, in the Lombardy region, with his husband in 2008 to start a bed and breakfast. Although they miss not seeing their family and friends on a regular basis, they’ve enjoyed their expat experience thus far, and are… Read more

Interview with Hayley – a Canadian expat living in Italy

Hayley Richardson is a Canadian expat who has lived in Tuscany for over five years with her husband and their daughter. While she misses having space and being able to plug in the washing machine and hairdryer at the same time, she thoroughly enjoys the Italian lifestyle, its superior healthcare… Read more

Interview with Jessica – an American expat living in Italy

Jessica is an American expat living in Italy. She moved to Casarano in the southeastern province of Lecce in 2012 to be with her Italian fiancé, who is now her husband. Although Jessica finds Casarano a bit small at times, she enjoys the fact that she gets to experience the real Italian life, as… Read more

Moving to Italy with a special-needs child

There is no denying that moving overseas is challenging, but for parents of children with special needs, relocating to a new country can seem impossible. Italy is not an ideal place for children with special needs. While it has strong legislation and principles of inclusion, the country is bound by… Read more

Interview with Martina – a German expat living in Italy

Martina is a German expat living in Italy with her husband and three children. They moved to the northern city of Bologna because of her husband’s job. Despite the slow pace and constant bureaucratic delays, they enjoy the lifestyle in Bologna, which includes many entertainment options, warm… Read more

Interview with Linda – a French expat living in Italy

Linda is a French expat of Algerian origin living in Italy. After ten years of living in England, she decided to take a year off to follow her dream of becoming a writer and freelance journalist and now finds herself living in Olbia, on the Italian island of Sardegna.Read more about Italy in the… Read more

Interview with Sarah – a British expat living in Italy

Sarah Ager is a British expat living in Italy. She moved there because she fell in love, both with the country and a man, and now lives in Bologna, working as an English teacher. Sarah enjoys sharing her experiences of life in Italy as a modern Anglo Muslim woman on her blog, Hotchpotch Hijabi in… Read more

Teaching English in Italy

Despite the current economic situation in Italy, the need for English doesn't appear to be declining. This means that although many Italians seem to be suffering from the lack of employment opportunities, those seeking to get into the area of teaching English in Italy are at an advantage, and… Read more

Interview with Amy – a British expat living in Italy

Amy is a British expat who moved to Torremaggiore in the Puglia region of southern Italy to take up a post teaching English at a private language school. Besides her three colleagues, there is not much of an expat community to speak of in the town, but Amy finds the locals are friendly and the food… Read more

Interview with Elisa – an Australian expat living in Italy

Elisa is an Australian expat who initially moved to Tuscany for a year, and fell in love with and married an Italian man. They live in the town of Manciano in the beautiful Tuscany region. A freelance journalist, Elisa now writes a travel blog and online travel guide about her new home.Read more… Read more

Interview with Sonia – an expat Texan in Turin

Sonia Piacente first visited Italy on a school trip, and her heart was won by the country. Later, she met an Italian man on assignment in Texas, where a pen-friendship blossomed into romance, then marriage. Moving to Italy was the next step in her double-barrelled love affair.Read… Read more

Interview with Anna – an expat learning to love Italy

Anna Savino was born in San Francisco, raised in the California wine country, jumped up to Seattle for college, transferred to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, worked and played in LA – and ended up in a tiny town in Piedmont, Italy called Saluzzo. She settled here 1) for love 2) and for stubbornness,… Read more

Getting a permit to live in Italy – one American's struggle

By Jessica SpiegelSince I began the process of getting a permit to live in Italy in 2008, I've often said that the Italians must have invented red tape. Sure, there are difficulties in becoming a legal expat in many countries, and Italy certainly isn't the most… Read more

Interview with Valerie – an American expat living in Italy

Valerie Schneider and her husband moved to Italy in 2006 and quickly settled into life in the beautiful city of Ascoli Piceno.  Valerie is a freelance writer, and she and her husband offer customized tours, as well as consultation to others thinking of tackling bureaucracy and moving to… Read more

Interview with Irene – an American expat living in Italy

Irene Woodbury is an American who has been living and working in Italy for a decade. She writes about her experiences in this beloved yet often awkward country on her immensely readable blog, American in Padua.Read more about the country in the Expat Arrivals Italy country guide or… Read more

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