Buying houses in Italy to live there: EU and non-EU citizens differences.

Are you dreaming of living your Dolce Vita in Italy? Are you interested in buying estates in Italy to get there after retirement, or simply you are searching the best way to invest in Leonardo da Vinci’s birthplace? There are of course some things to know before you buy a property in Italy, especially if you do it because you want to live there.

Moving to Italy to live is indeed not an easy thing, especially if you are American, Canadian or Australian citizens. In that case you will have the opportunity to stay in Italy until 90 days every 180, and exclusively as tourists ( so you can not take any work ); to overcome this “inconvenience” and put a foot in the door, however, you will have the possibilities to take the citizenship before in one of the other European countries or, if you are studying, to be accredited by an Italian university ( in this way you will also have the opportunity to work for a maximum of 20 hours per week). If you are lucky enough to be retired, however, the road is much simpler: you only have to try to have a place to stay, to have medical insurance, to not having problems with the law, to have a pension, and you can move to Italy.

For residents in Europe, however, the question is much easier, primarily because it is simply an ID or a passport to be requested to enter Italy, and you could also start looking for work.
Moving involves buying a property in Italy: in case that you want to move after retirement, or if you want to buy to invest or to live your dream, advices are to buy right now (because of the economic crisis, since 2008 prices lowered by 15-20 %) and especially those properties placed in a place of honor (or nearby), preferring a property that can also be used for business ( B&B , farmhouse, farm company etc…) in case you want to get rid of easily in the future.

The best places to buy , speaking only with business in mind, remain the coastal areas, major cities, Tuscany and Umbria. If you want to experience the Dolce Vita and the real Italy, the most authentic, the advice is to narrow the search to Umbria and Tuscany.
Buying a house in rural Tuscany or Umbria, in fact, will surely be a good investment, both economically and in relation to quality of life : nature, folklore, gastronomy, art, historical and cultural treasures will always be within easy reach, as well as feeling really live deeply in the true Italian lifestyle.