The Real Cost of Living in Italy. What I Pay to Live Here.

Everyday costs of living in Italy. Real life examples of what we pay. Life in Italy today has been affected by inflation and some of the costs are reflected in this and some not. What you can afford depends on what you make as a salary. We got that too in today's video! Enjoy! Buona visione!

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🔎🔎 Jump to a specific part of the video:

00:00 The Real Cost of Living in Italy.
00:38 Cell phone plans
02:03 Apartments
03:18 Food
03:45 Gas
04:20 Car Insurance
05:35 Day care costs
06:30 Bills
06:43 Valeria and the bills
08:12 Italian salaries
09:37 Frase Italiana Della Settimana

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Media Credits:

[PatIreland]

Super informative and entertaining video! I really like the editing in this one. Great to have the personal story of the gas bill in Sicily, along with showing prices of phone plans, it gives a good, broad sense overall of the cost of living. Rent has gotten crazy over there though!

[FrankFiorentino]

Italian salaries are typically referred to by the net after taxes. While taxes are high, there are more social services with healthcare being the biggest.

[CandyBimatic]

David you must say that in the avarage of 1500 Euros is what you get having all of the taxes already payed and most important the Universal Helthcare is included so you don't have to worry about not being able to go to the doctor! And this apply for you all over the EU so if you're on vacation, let's say in Germany... you are covered because you're a EU citizen... in the US you make more money but how much would you spend for the Healthcare Insurrance alone... I mean one that covers you exactly as we are covered here in Italy with NO CO-PAY so that if you are sick you just go to the doctor or go to the hospital or call an ambulance (20 Euros extra) and you are fully covered? That's something to take into account when you talk about how much money you really have in your hands after the taxes and Healthcare insurance...

[RACHELORI]

I agree with you, David, and with others here. The US is difficult as salaries rarely go up anymore, but the costs keep going up and up.
Car insurance & house insurance are also one of the highest in the country.
State employees in our state have not received a raise in a few years.
We are Italian/Greek & family values are important to us, definitely more important than material things like fancy cars & expensive phones.
We are planning a trip to see how life is there.

[pinkblackdesign]

Living inthe German speaking Italian region Alto Adige.
The monthly costs without any luxury are 3000 € !

[ezioauditore]

Don't forget that if you are hospitalized to be treated or have to undergo an operation, you don't spend anything and you don't have to commit the house.

[alexwtf]

National average NET salary is over 1600 euros per month and it includes health insurance with no co-pay. Comparing to US, you should also point out that any job gets, from day 1: around 4 weeks of payed holidays a year, payed sick leave, a few hours a month of payed "permission" (you can be out of work and be payed to do your own business), payed parental leave, pension credits, "tfr credits". TFR is money that your employer have to give you when you stop working for him and it's about one month of pay per year worked.

[Mike-vibg]

Living in Italy it’s been very difficult for many years now. Worse and worse year by year. People and family are struggling to make payments and find a good job.

[shaunhall]

I'm an artist and admire how much Europeans support their artists.

[carolc]

Italians get more vacation time than Americans. I’m in Florida. It’s getting expensive like California. I’m retired and can’t afford to stay here.

[vp]

Italian salary is a different case. Most of the jobs get 14 salaries per year and a TFR, lunch coupons, additional insurances and discounts that make the job more attractive for applicants. I have to say everything is based in Italy on your ISEE, for example university fees, so if you are poor you can anyway afford it.
Many taxes are optional like the one on the house, and make the people afford more with less salary. Unfortunately younger generations have it difficult though, but it's a general perception in many countries.

[reginapolo]

Hi David, grazie! I am so exited, my flight to Rome is on the 16. I wish I could spend enought time in Rome to visit with you but I am traveling with 3 chihuahuas and need to get to my place in Scalea "a presto!". I will keep in touch once I settle there.

[secretariatgirl]

Very interesting indeed...seems the cell phone bills can offset some off the higher utility bills. Here in the SW of the US, I have solar panels and they cover my electric bills...cable TV, internet, 'landline" is about $200 a month, utilities (cooking/hot water heater gas, garbage, water) about $75 average, but a bit higher in winter. Car insurance, house insurance...well, it all adds up!

[theCreativeAssemblymachinimas]

honestly both my parents are (actually my dad just got retired) statal average workers, no big curriculum needed, and took 1700-1800 here in Florence, but probably after many years of career. So i think that 1500 is a starting point when you start a new job but with time the salary should increase, step by step, at least for statal workers it is this way, i suppose even for private ones. Also you should mention that in many jobs you get a 13th and even a 14th salary per year, outside other benefits like lunch coupons, so you spend less for food.

[mirkofrollano]

In Rome, I think every carrier should have 5G coverage by now. I'm not sure about smaller cities though. I remember traveling in a small town in Calabria and I had 3 SIM cards, none of them worked. The locals told me that there was only one carrier which had coverage there. Then I found out each carrier has a webpage that lets you select a location and tells you if they have coverage there or not. Kinda convenient to check it out first I guess.

[elisabethkategilley]

My husband and I are moving from super expensive California, to Italy because we cannot afford to retire here in the US. We are self employed, and between the high costs of living, inflation, and medical, well, you get the idea!

[johnh.]

Pretty much like Puerto Rico, except the coffee, it seems that in Italy is more cheap

[LeftToWrite]

3:55 you correct yourself about versatile but, in fact, an obsolete meaning of it is "changeable" or "inconstant". So, you were right, more or less.

[outlaw]

I can't remember where I heard it. Might have even been one of your videos. But for an American retiree to get an Italian retirement visa, they are required to show 3000 euro a month of retirement income. If that's true, then based on what you just said, those individuals would be wealthy in comparison to an average Italian.

[mediterraneanworld]

You did not mention that salaries are quoted NET not GROSS like in the US and Britain. Let's look at Mr. Average-Italiano - they are paid for 13 or even 14 monthly payments per year - a double salary paid in July and December. In addition, Italians with regular contracts receive a total of 26 days of "paid vacation" that is the equivalent in the US of 5 weeks of paid holidays plus all of the national holidays of which there are 12 from Jan 1 New Year's Day, January 6 Epifany, Easter Sunday and Monday, April 25 (Liberation Day), May 1 (Labour Day), June 2 (republic Day, August 15 (Annunciation), November 1 (All Saints), December 8 (Immaculata), December 25 and 26 (Xmas and S. Stefano), next no outlays for healthcare - souse and children are covered whether or not they work, additional payments only due if salary is higher - not on the low ones 1500 etc that you mentioned. So no outlays for insurance or copays or deductable, higher education is very low cost with most university fees being under 1000 Euros a year and for families making 1500 the fees are probably waived. Moving on, this salary also means one is paying in to the national pension program as well which is not the same thing a social security. So there is a lot more there than what it seems.