What is the cost of living in Italy?

What is comparative Cost of Living in Palermo, Italy and Istanbul, Turkey?

• I am a 2nd generation Italian-American (Also I have been considering making an application for my Italian citizenship through what is known as “jure sanguine”). I am retired and ...show more

• Answer:

  I think you mean "jus sanguinis" :-) Be sure to read the first link of the resources I posted below (from WikiPedia) before applying for the Italian citizenship. Palermo, like all of the south of Italy, would be absolutely stunning place to live, if it wasn't polluted with mafia, corruption, general poverty and unemployment, which makes generally the places much less desirable to stay compared to the north. Also, if Internet is a must, expect to be deluded, especially in the south of Italy and especially in the rural areas, as much often there is no decent DSL coverage out of the major urban centre's. Of course before taking such a difficult decision I would do my research and probably, it is worth that you spend some month travelling around Italy (which is a nice thing to do in itself) and look and touch and have a feel by yourself. Generally, the south is more mild in the climate, and cost of life tends to be lower - but infrastructure tends to be lacking. Don't expect trains or bus to be on time or even don't be surprise if they don't pass at all... In the north infrastructure tends to be better (even if strikes and problems of every kind are always happening - we are still very far from European averages) and much more expensive. Probably, centre of Italy (from Emilia Romagna down to Rome) tends to be a good compromise. It really depends on your tastes. Emilia Romagna is great for the food (even compared to normal Italian average which is excellent in every region, to be honest!), Florence is full of British and American expats, while Rome is really multi-cultural. That is just an example - you should really consider what is a plus for you. Don't be fooled by statistics, because a lot of time, especially for the south of Italy, they don't really describe what is happening. You would be tempted to think that in Palermo you could live with 800€ a month, but that isn't actually what is happening. The truth is that "lavoro nero" (black work, or work that is not regularised with a contract, so taxes are not paid and does not figure in the statistics officially) is very diffused, with spikes in the south. So while living in Palermo may appear a lot cheaper that living, for instance, in Rome, that may actually not be completely accurate. In Italy in general, apartment rental tends to be the majority of the cost for a living, much higher than in the rest of Europe. While in the rest of Europe, apartments are expensive only in major urban centres (like London, or Barcelona, etc.), unfortunately in Italy this happens everywhere, in and out of the urban areas. I suggest that you start exploring the web site of one of the major real estate company (second link in the resources below), there is also an English version if you need it. Another useful tool to compare prices is Craiglist. Look at the pages of Turkey and Italy-Sicily for instance to have an idea. In my opinion, 1200 € a month (the actual change more or less for your money) is _not_ a lot of money to live with in Italy in general. You may end up very easily into leaving off 60% or more of that sum only into your flat rental. You may work your way somehow in the south, but you should really consider them as a plus and really look forward to find a job that really complements this money or they won't be enough. If you could just add another 500 € a month on top of that, I would then suggest you to look for actually obtaining a mortgage and buy an apartment/house - since the cost of interest is so low, and it has never happened that housing prices went down in Italy (even after the credit crisis!...), and considering you want to stay in Italy for a living, that is worth considering, IMHO. Hope this is useful.