The Pros + Cons of Retiring in Italy

Have you been dreaming of retiring in Italy? As part of my research for the Italy chapter I wrote for the new book Retirement Without Borders, I conducted extensive interviews with American expats who retired there. Here’s a summary of the pros and cons of their retirement experiences —

PROS:
· The savoring of life; la dolce vita is still alive and well in Italy.

· The sense of community and the noisy warmth of family life

· With 3,000 museums and 60% of the world’s art, Italy is culture heaven.

· Good, affordable health care.

· The mild Mediterranean weather.

CONS:
· The dollar’s fall against the euro makes Italy expensive. (Although the dollar has been gaining strength again.)

· The wheels of bureaucracy turn excruciatingly slowly.

· Need to be in pretty good shape; Italy is not disabled- or wheelchair-friendly.

· Great Italian food, but little variety in ethnic dining.

· Corruption: Italy does not get high marks from Transparency.org

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