Moving to Italy? Here’s what you need to know before you start living La Dolce Vita

Are you moving to Italy for the weather? Beware where you settle!

It is a very common misconception, particularly among dwellers of northern European countries, that Italy should be a “warm” Country, whereby “warm” is understood to mean “indiscriminately hot with seasons ranging from scorching summer to pleasant spring”. That is most definitely not the case. Not all Italian regions enjoy a temperate, mediterranean weather. This particular kind of weather, in fact, is only prevalent in the South of the Country, whereas the North usually has bitterly cold winters, with enough snow on the Alps and the Apennine Mountains to keep skiers and snowboarders busy for months. And no, you can’t wear flip-flops all year. Or rather, you can – we are not stopping you – but you shouldn’t and I can promise that you will not want to.

Big cities are hard work (and too many temptations)

There are those who simply can’t resist the lure of the metropolis and will feel claustrophobic in anything smaller than a solid 4 million people crowd. Beware though: major Italian cities can be exhausting. Finding accommodation in Rome, Milan or Florence can be an expensive and time-consuming affair and, once you have settled, you run the risk of never getting into a proper Italian lifestyle. All of these cities have large expat communities which will make your resolve to learn the language falter. Smaller towns, on the other hand, will offer much the same in terms of excellent food and great sights, while allowing for affordable housing, a more relaxed pace, better life quality and fewer temptations in the language department. If you wish to learn more about the secret beauty of Italian cities, I suggest you check out our Guides section.

Do you need help launching your business in Italy? Contact us!

Getting your residency in Italy can be tricky

We do like bureaucracy in Italy, sorry. If you are planning on moving to Italy for good, you will need to deal with it eventually. If you need a visa to enter the Country, you will have a wide range to choose from (tourism, study, work, business, family reunion and so on) and you will be allowed to stay for up to 90 days, after which, if you intend to stay, you should apply for a residency visa. This will require some degree of queueing in public offices. If you are planning on handling your residency application by yourself, you will need to speak Italian, as official documents can only be discussed in the Country’s official language, so if you don’t feel confident having a complex conversation in Italian, make sure you have someone to translate for you. American and Canadian citizens do not need a visa and EU citizens enjoy freedom of residency and movement, but they will still need to become residents if they wish to overstay the 90 days term. At the moment of writing it has not yet been established whether this condition will continue to apply to UK subjects in future years or not. If you decide to have your household goods join you in Italy, you should be aware that you are allowed to import them duty-free within six months of you moving to Italy. Your motor vehicle too will be granted duty-free entry, if you have owned it for at least one year.

Pineapples do not belong on pizzas (and a few other myths that need to be busted)

Seriously. They don’t. Pineapples do not belong on pizzas any more than giraffes belong on bicycles. Also, if you ask for Pepperoni Pizza you will get a pizza with peppers on it (Peperoni). If you want a pizza with salami on it, you should ask for it. And it’s Salame, with a final -e. Just like Linguin-e and Fettuccin-e. And while we are on the subject of fettuccine, there’s no such thing as Fettuccine Alfredo, we have no idea where you got that from. Be aware that if a restaurant promises to serve you Fettuccine Alfredo, that restaurant is a tourist trap and you should leave. Also, our coffee etiquette is not nearly as strict as it is made out to be and to prove exactly how relaxed we are around coffee, we have written a whole post about it.

Find the perfect venue for your corporate event in Italy!