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Guide · Place

Where in Italy should I retire?

Choose the life first, the town second, the property last.

Most people do it backwards: they fall for a property, then discover what the town, the taxes, and the winters are actually like. The retirees who settle happily tend to have chosen in the opposite order.

Start with constraints, not postcards

Before any town list, answer five questions:

1. Budget: what can your income support, after tax, in euros?
2. Tax route: does the 7% regime matter enough to steer where you look?
3. Healthcare: how close do you need hospitals and English-speaking doctors to be?
4. Mobility: will you drive, and what happens when you do not want to?
5. Community: do you want an established expat circle, or to live as the locals do?

Three patterns we see

• The slow town: smaller hill towns in Abruzzo and the south, with quieter pockets in Lazio and Umbria — lower costs, slower pace, fewer services in English. Abruzzo and the southern regions are the core of the 7% regime; in Lazio and Umbria only a designated list of earthquake-zone comuni qualifies. Eligibility is decided town by town, so check it before it shapes your shortlist.
• The postcard, honestly priced: Tuscany and the Val d’Orcia — beautiful, well-served, and in demand. Livable on a solid budget, punishing on a thin one.
• The sea and the South: Puglia and the southern coasts — climate, cost, and community in varying mixes; regional variation is huge, town by town.

Sicily, the Italian Lakes, and Lombardy&Milan follow the same logic — different trades. See all nine patterns side by side, or read the full region notes under Destinations.

Rent before you buy — seriously

The cheapest mistake to avoid is the most common: buying before living somewhere through a winter. A long rental in your shortlisted town costs a fraction of what unwinding a purchase costs, and it answers questions no scouting trip can.