Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Living overseas

Whether you're considering emigrating or an expat abroad, you'll find likeminds on this forum.

Original poster

Italy for expats to live?

53 replies

Oioiioi · 03/09/2025 21:51

We are considering moving to Italy, looking at Lucca as it seems to be a beautiful village and good amenities and transportation. We wanted ti know of anyone has experienced living in Italy and where you lived? Would you suggest further south? We would be a couple with grown up kids who would visit. Villas with a pool, good community .. will def integrate but would be nice to have some expats around… any advice?

OP posts:
Cookerhood · 03/09/2025 21:53

Would you be allowed to with Brexit? Do you have EU passports?

Pissenlit · 03/09/2025 21:58

Do you speak good Italian? Have you not spent time previously in anywhere you would consider settling?

Original poster
Oioiioi · 03/09/2025 21:58

Cookerhood · 03/09/2025 21:53

Would you be allowed to with Brexit? Do you have EU passports?

Yes one has an EU passport the other a British one, so lots of travelling back and forth for one… but travel a lot for business so hoping it’s not an issue … will also apply fid long term residents visa

OP posts:
Zonder · 03/09/2025 21:59

How's your Italian?

Original poster
Oioiioi · 03/09/2025 22:00

Pissenlit · 03/09/2025 21:58

Do you speak good Italian? Have you not spent time previously in anywhere you would consider settling?

No our Italian is basic . Been to lots of major cities, but all too built up, Rome etc. looking fir a beautiful small town or village

OP posts:
Zonder · 03/09/2025 22:03

If you want to integrate I would be working on the language now. Try and find some local Italians to meet and chat with. That way you can practise the language while also getting to know the culture a bit more through your new friends.

Original poster
Oioiioi · 03/09/2025 22:05

Zonder · 03/09/2025 22:03

If you want to integrate I would be working on the language now. Try and find some local Italians to meet and chat with. That way you can practise the language while also getting to know the culture a bit more through your new friends.

Great advice… any suggestions on villages or towns to move to?

OP posts:
Zonder · 03/09/2025 22:18

Oioiioi · 03/09/2025 22:05

Great advice… any suggestions on villages or towns to move to?

Show quote history

No, I don't know Italy very well but I have learnt a couple of other languages and lived in the relevant countries so I'm just sharing my experience of what helps if you want to integrate. It really helps to get as much of the language beforehand as you can. So my suggestion is before you look further at where to move try and find some Italians here to hang out with, practise the language with and get tips from.

Pissenlit · 03/09/2025 22:27

Oioiioi · 03/09/2025 22:00

No our Italian is basic . Been to lots of major cities, but all too built up, Rome etc. looking fir a beautiful small town or village

Show quote history

But bluntly, how do you know you want to move to a small Italian town or village, if you don’t speak more than tourist Italian, and have only spent time in big cities?

Cookerhood · 03/09/2025 22:35

Oioiioi · 03/09/2025 21:58

Yes one has an EU passport the other a British one, so lots of travelling back and forth for one… but travel a lot for business so hoping it’s not an issue … will also apply fid long term residents visa

Show quote history

It's not just the traveling back & forth, you can only stay 90 days in 180.

Zonder · 03/09/2025 22:51

Pissenlit · 03/09/2025 22:27

But bluntly, how do you know you want to move to a small Italian town or village, if you don’t speak more than tourist Italian, and have only spent time in big cities?

Show quote history

This is what I was getting at really. In a small town or village it's going to be hard to integrate or make friends without speaking Italian decently.

It's not even just the language. It's the understanding of the people and culture that gives you.

Imagine a couple from Italy moving into a little village in the UK with really basic English.

skippy67 · 03/09/2025 22:53

"Expats"...🙄

Zonder · 03/09/2025 23:02

skippy67 · 03/09/2025 22:53

"Expats"...🙄

Exactly.

BridgetofKildare · 03/09/2025 23:10

An EU citizen has the right to bring a spouse into the EU. So if you are married the UK passport holder will get a residence permit. No need to travel back and forth.

DancingCactusFlower · 03/09/2025 23:11

Lucca is quite big - a large town or city rather than a village if a village is what you're looking for. I've been as a tourist and remember it as beautiful but busy. Is your Italian good enough to get help in a medical emergency? I think that would be a good place to start in terms of absolute minimum language skills.

Original poster
Oioiioi · 04/09/2025 08:52

I should clarify that we have a 3 year plan to move, we’ve both lived in several countries over the years and both speak several languages fluently, leading more advanced Italian won’t be a problem. The complexities of moving to a foreign country isn’t the advice we are after.

yes we’ve been to Lucca, I wouldn’t consider it massive but with lots of amenities, we’d like to be in a villa near a town / village.

if anyone has any advice on where they have lived and loved for various reasons then I’d love to hear your thoughts.

OP posts:
Original poster
Oioiioi · 04/09/2025 08:53

Expats? What term would you use? Genuinely interested

OP posts:
ladybirdsanchez · 04/09/2025 08:56

Lucca is not a village! It's a small city. So if you're looking for a village, keep looking, because Lucca isn't one!

As someone who's lived in Italy I would be cautious about moving there if you don't speak Italian or have family/friends there. Italy is extremely bureaucratic, quite xenophobic on an official level and it's also very nepotistic. If you don't have people to help you integrate and get things done, life can be quite difficult there.

Pissenlit · 04/09/2025 08:57

Oioiioi · 04/09/2025 08:53

Expats? What term would you use? Genuinely interested

Immigrants.

Original poster
Oioiioi · 04/09/2025 08:59

Where in Italy did you live?

OP posts:
Pissenlit · 04/09/2025 08:59

ladybirdsanchez · 04/09/2025 08:56

Lucca is not a village! It's a small city. So if you're looking for a village, keep looking, because Lucca isn't one!

As someone who's lived in Italy I would be cautious about moving there if you don't speak Italian or have family/friends there. Italy is extremely bureaucratic, quite xenophobic on an official level and it's also very nepotistic. If you don't have people to help you integrate and get things done, life can be quite difficult there.

I would largely agree. But in general, the idea of moving somewhere you barely know and don’t speak the language of is crazy to me. I mean, what is it that attracts someone to somewhere they literally don’t understand?

Original poster
Oioiioi · 04/09/2025 09:11

Pissenlit · 04/09/2025 08:59

I would largely agree. But in general, the idea of moving somewhere you barely know and don’t speak the language of is crazy to me. I mean, what is it that attracts someone to somewhere they literally don’t understand?

Show quote history

Maybe everyone should stay in their own country and never experience new ways of life and expand their knowledge… life is short, and we are certainly not crazy 😊

OP posts:
NormalAuntFanny · 04/09/2025 09:14

As someone who emigrated without the local language I wouldn't be too worried about that because you can pick it up if you're willing to put in the time.

However without something to anchor you in the country you will be stuck as outsiders especially in a small place where family ties run deep.

We had our kids here and so were at the school gates, fêtes etc and got to know people organically. The older people who moved to our area had none of that and seemed to get stuck in an expat bubble - although you can have a perfectly pleasant life like that if it suits you.

Absentmindedsmile · 04/09/2025 09:16

ladybirdsanchez · 04/09/2025 08:56

Lucca is not a village! It's a small city. So if you're looking for a village, keep looking, because Lucca isn't one!

As someone who's lived in Italy I would be cautious about moving there if you don't speak Italian or have family/friends there. Italy is extremely bureaucratic, quite xenophobic on an official level and it's also very nepotistic. If you don't have people to help you integrate and get things done, life can be quite difficult there.

Ha ha - that is a perfect description ..

ladybirdsanchez · 04/09/2025 09:18

NormalAuntFanny · 04/09/2025 09:14

As someone who emigrated without the local language I wouldn't be too worried about that because you can pick it up if you're willing to put in the time.

However without something to anchor you in the country you will be stuck as outsiders especially in a small place where family ties run deep.

We had our kids here and so were at the school gates, fêtes etc and got to know people organically. The older people who moved to our area had none of that and seemed to get stuck in an expat bubble - although you can have a perfectly pleasant life like that if it suits you.

They're retirees who don't want to integrate though - they want to live among other 'expats'. There are plenty of other English people in Tuscany, so I'm sure they'll find some to socialise with.