Your Dream Move to Italy

Lucca is one of those places that earns every superlative written about it — and then reveals, once you live there, that the real thing is better than the description. A complete circle of Renaissance walls enclosing a medieval city centre so well-preserved it genuinely feels like stepping back several centuries, yet running on entirely modern services, excellent rail connections, and a genuine year-round community of both locals and an established international expat population.

The walls themselves are Lucca’s secret weapon. A 4.2-kilometre ring of grass-topped 16th-century ramparts, wide enough to drive a car along (they’re now closed to traffic and used for walking and cycling), giving every resident a circular park at their doorstep. Flat terrain inside the walls means genuine walkability — you can reach almost everything on foot or by bicycle without any hills. This makes Lucca exceptional for older residents and families alike.

Transport: Pisa International Airport is just 18km away — a 20-minute bus or taxi ride — with direct flights across Europe and to the US (including Ryanair, easyJet, and Wizz Air routes). Florence Peretola is 56km away. Direct regional trains run to Florence (1 hour), Pisa (25 minutes), and connect onward to Italy’s high-speed rail network. For European day trips and family visits, Lucca is superbly positioned.

Lifestyle reality: Lucca has an established expat community — concentrated in the Centro Storico and the quieter residential streets just outside the walls — making the integration experience somewhat smoother than more off-the-beaten-track choices. The weekly market at Piazzale Don Baroni is a genuine local institution. The annual Lucca Comics & Games festival in October briefly transforms the city; outside that, the pace is genuinely calm. Evenings are quiet by Italian standards — Lucca is a city that goes to bed at a reasonable hour, which suits some perfectly and others less so.

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Perugia occupies an extraordinary hilltop in the heart of Umbria — a region often called Italy’s green heart, and with good reason. Rolling wooded hills, medieval hill towns visible in every direction, the shimmering surface of Lago Trasimeno to the west, and one of the most characterful university cities in central Italy at its core. Yet Perugia is substantially cheaper than Tuscany for equivalent quality of life, less touristed, and — perhaps most importantly — alive year-round with the energy of two universities and a calendar of genuinely excellent festivals.

The University of Perugia (founded 1308) and the Università per Stranieri di Perugia (the famous University for Foreigners, which teaches Italian language and culture to international students) give the city a naturally young, cosmopolitan energy that makes integration as a foreigner remarkably smooth. The Università per Stranieri, in particular, is a resource for any expat seriously learning Italian — and attending its public events and exhibitions opens doors into local cultural life quickly.

Transport: Perugia San Francesco d’Assisi Airport handles European routes (Amsterdam, London, Brussels, Tirana, and others) — limited compared to major hubs but growing. The main practical gateway is Rome: high-speed train to Roma Termini is approximately 2 hours, from where connections to the rest of Europe via Fiumicino are excellent. Florence is 1.5 hours by fast train. Perugia’s central position in Italy makes it one of the most accessible mid-sized cities in the country.

The value case: Perugia’s rents are dramatically cheaper than Lucca or Treviso — often 40 to 50 per cent less for comparable apartments. A comfortable single person can live here on €1,142–1,300 per month including rent, which is essentially unmatched among the towns in this guide. For anyone on a fixed income, a pension, or building savings while living well, Perugia makes the Italian dream accessible at a price most other countries cannot approach.

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Parma is the city that food-loving expats eventually find themselves in — whether they planned it or not. Sitting in the heart of Emilia-Romagna’s extraordinary Food Valley, on the high-speed rail line between Milan and Bologna (and onward to Florence, Rome, and Venice), it is simultaneously one of Italy’s great food cities, a beautifully proportioned historic centre, and one of the most practical transport nodes in the country.

The gastronomic case needs little elaboration. Parma produces Parmigiano-Reggiano (the real article, not the green-canister imitation), Prosciutto di Parma DOP, Culatello di Zibello (widely considered the finest cured meat in Italy), and an extraordinary range of local pasta, wines, and preserved foods. Living here means shopping at salumerias and markets where these products are local commodities, not specialty imports. The Mercato della Pilotta and the covered Mercato di Mezzo are genuine daily-life institutions for residents.

Transport: Parma has its own small international airport 5km from the centre (Giuseppe Verdi Airport), with direct routes to several European cities. More importantly, Parma sits on Italy’s highest-speed rail line: Milan is 55 minutes by Frecciarossa, Bologna 25 minutes, Florence 1 hour, Rome 2.5 hours. Bologna International Airport is 80–90km away and reachable in under an hour by train — one of the best-connected airports in Europe. For anyone who travels frequently for work or family, Parma’s transport network is arguably the most practical of all five towns.

The Teatro Regio di Parma is one of Italy’s great opera houses — its Festival Verdi (October/November) celebrates its most famous local son with productions of exceptional quality. The city’s cultural calendar is rich and year-round: Parma was European Capital of Gastronomy in 2015 and continues to invest in food culture events that make it a genuine destination, not just a pleasant place to live.

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Treviso is the town that budget travellers know as “the Venice airport town” — but residents know it as something far more interesting. A beautifully preserved medieval city of canals, frescoed arcaded streets, and a riverfront piazza, surrounded by the rolling Prosecco hills of the UNESCO-listed Conegliano-Valdobbiadene zone, with the Dolomites visible on clear days from the city walls. It is quieter than Venice, substantially cheaper, and has one of Italy’s most practical budget airline hubs at its doorstep.

Treviso Airport (Canova International) is a major Ryanair hub — directly connected to airports across the UK, Ireland, Spain, Germany, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, and beyond. The combination of very low-cost flights and Treviso’s rail connections (Venice in 30 minutes, Milan in 2 hours) creates a level of European mobility that is genuinely superior to many larger Italian cities. For expats who want to visit family in London, Dublin, Manchester, or Barcelona frequently without enormous travel costs, this is a significant practical advantage.

The culinary identity of Treviso is proudly distinct from Venice. The city claims inventorship of tiramisu (a pride held with great seriousness). The aperitivo culture is distinctly Venetian in character — cicchetti, Prosecco, and Spritz at osterie that date back centuries. The surrounding Prosecco hills produce wines of genuine quality, and living within reach of the Valpolicella and Bardolino zones of Verona adds further to a wine culture that is both excellent and accessible.

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Bergamo is the guide’s most compelling practical choice — not because it is the most romantic (though it absolutely is), but because the combination of Milan-adjacent earning power, a UNESCO-listed medieval upper city of extraordinary beauty, and Orio al Serio airport — one of Italy’s busiest, handling 15+ million passengers annually — creates a value proposition that no other town in this guide can match on pure data.

The financial case is concrete: average net monthly salaries in Bergamo are approximately €2,079 — among the highest of any city this size in Italy — reflecting its position within the greater Milan economic zone. This means that expats working remotely at European or international salary levels, or Italians employed in Bergamo and Milan’s industries, enjoy a salary-to-cost ratio that makes genuine financial progress possible. The rents are not cheap by Italian standards, but the income available to offset them is higher.

Transport: Orio al Serio International Airport (also known as Il Caravaggio) is approximately 5km from the city centre — essentially within the urban area — and handles 15+ million annual passengers across Ryanair, easyJet, Wizz Air, and other carriers. Direct connections span the entire European continent, with routes to North America in development. Milan by train is 50 minutes (with frequent services daily). Venice 2.5 hours. Bologna 3 hours. The combination of an elite budget airline hub and Milan’s high-speed rail onward connections makes Bergamo’s European access arguably the best in this entire guide.

The Papa Giovanni XXIII Hospital is one of Italy’s highest-ranked general hospitals — a significant consideration for any expat who places healthcare near the top of their priority list. This, combined with Lombardy’s generally excellent public health infrastructure, makes Bergamo a serious choice for older residents or those with healthcare needs.

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