International Living Community

Hello lovers of Italy. Introducing myself as your Italian Correspondant, I am Chip Stites. I wanted to suggest that this forum is a great way to learn about Italy and how to travel, or to move to this wonderful country. If I can be of assistance, it will be my pleasure. Chip

HI everyone! This is Chip Stites, your Italian Correspondant - I want to welcome you to this site and to Italy and all the contacts and information you might need. I have contacts for travel agents, who live full time here, not just those traveling here. I have tax consultants and visa and realestate consultants. So If you want more information about Italy... please click on the Italy button to the right and post a question... don't be shy: beleive me, if you need an answer so do hundreds of other people. I look forward to talking with you! Chip

*Right sizing is an important step in any successful transistion to another country whether we are talking about Italy or anywhere else.

Rule #1 is "if you haven't seen it, touched it or used it in the last year, it goes! Be tough on yourself. The porcelain statue that Aunt Elsa gave you two decades ago that you stored away a week after you got it may have sentimental value but no one really wants it... that's a garage sale item maybe.
Here are the six categories of rightsizing a home.

1. Throw away - no one will want it or pay for it. You will be surprised how much of this you have!
2. Give away - there are two categories here
   a Give to a friend who has admired something or commented on it. I would add that often that wonderful table you love may or may not be a hand-me-down for the kids. I was shocked to find my daughter didn't even want a 150 year old, clawfoot, multi-leaf oak table that had been in the family since the 1800s. What you love they may or may not see value in!
   b. Give to Goodwill - remember you can get a dedution within IRS guidelines.
3. Garage sale - these are generally low end items that people can use for resale, manay people who attend garage sales buy things they think they can resale themselves. (Records, old utensiles, tools, knicknacks, etc.)
4. Consignment Shop - these are high end items -furniture paintings, etc = that would look good in other peoples homes. You can do this yourself on Craigs list or other on line places that takes time, effort and a certain amount of expertise. In addition you will have mailing costs or the problems of deliver with personal information in places you may not want it. Be prepared to get 50% of the sale price in a Consignment Shop.
5. Estate Sale - they do the work, you open your home and people come in any buy your goods. Sometimes this is hard to watch but it is less work and you will get less for it as the company that does the set up and the advertising, who also has a clientele will take a percentage of the return.
6. Auction - generally you will get 10% of the value of the goods but there is almost no work involved and your home is left out of the equation as the auction house does all the work,

We got rid of a housefull of items and put some things in the garage of our rental and left with four suitcases, two carry-ons and our dog Frankie. One of the bigger mistakes we make was shipping a pallet of boxes full of books. It took six months, and over $4500 with the shipping charges and the charges for the time in customs while we fillled out and mailed forms back and forth. The less you bring, the better. I hope this helps answer your question. Chip

Hello, I would ahve you speak with M. Grazia Colombo, here is her email address. mgrazia.colombo@leexe.it.
She is a licensed attorney and can help in the areas of Real Estate and Citizenshiip and VISAS.
I speak with her regularly. she speakes excelllent English. Let me know your experience.
Good luck, Chip Stites
Italian Correspondent
International living Magazine.

Dear Bob, thanks so much for the question. The Pocess of owning or renting here in Italy is very different than in the US. We look at this as seemless because our culture is designed to move quickly and easily. Not so much in the EU. Part of the reason, at least here in Italy is the banks are completlely responsible for their own loans. Partially because to them we (Americans) can just pick up and move home. The forclosure and resale of a home here takes a lot longer. So, as a resullt you will find the down payment, with fees etc is usualy about 40% to 60% of the purchase price. Also mortgages end or finish at age 75. So, if you are 65 you can only get a ten year mortgage. (I have heard that age 80 is avaialble). Also your agent is not your representative here, he or she represents her or himself, and there is no MLS service. Agents compete against each other they do not work together.

I would also consider the tax implications and if you need help on that I have an excellent resourse. If you reside in Italy for less than 183 days a year you are not taxed here and that can make a huge difference in costs. Italian taxes are higher but they also give you a lot more in return. The RE taxes are paid at closing, on the first home and there are no other RE taxes beyond that. RE taxes vary from Autonomus Region to Autonomous Region but in genteral it is about 0.25%.

I would suggest that your best choice is to travel here and visit where you think you might like to live. I often suggest considering climate and topography first. You suggested water, as opposed to mountains and warmer as opposed to cooler. So I would have you look at Puglia, on the bootheal, Basilicata in the arch of the boot, Calabria, on the toe and all of Sicily. That can be a lot of explortng., but it should also be a lot of fun. Southern Italy comes under the 7% tax offer ( a Flat tax of 7% for a decade) for new legal immigrants.

This should get you started and if you would like help with taxes and Visas I can put you in touch with professionals who can make the process a lot clearer. and easier in the long run. Email me at info@thelaughingretirement.com. The one thing I would suggest, is that you plan this as carefully as possible as the biggest mistake we make when we comtemplate something like this is to think that anything will work the same way here as it does in the US.

Let me know if I can be of further assistance.
Chip Stites, Italy International LIving Correspondent, Reiti Italy.

Dennis, take a good look at the northern half of Italy. From Florence or Bologna north to a line that goes through Venice and Milan to the west. If you go farther north most of the time you will love the climate but winters in the Dolomites and north of Lake Como, Lago de Garda, and Maaggiore can be cold and snowy.

Look carefully at the Provinces of Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Lombardia, and Piemonte. Italy is so mountainous that some parts of any mountanous province can be a lot colder but I think those four provinces are a good starting place.

Jess's answer is a good one and considering that Italy taxes by "residency" or those who are there more than 183 days a year, her Idea of going back and forth may be excellent for you!
Chip Stites, Italy Correspondent, International Living Magazine.

A great question, and thanks for asking. It is not hard to find alternative medicince in Italy. First many "traditional" doctors have some training in homeopathic cures that we would call allternaitive and at time my docs have suggested some "homeopathic" meds first to see if they would work. Also most don't know this but spa massages, and other treatments are available through the traditonal system... Italian docs are much more likely to embrace alternatives than a US doc. Chip

Tracy thank you for the questions. There are literally hundreds of mid-sized towns in italy depending upon your difinition of "mid size". We live near Rieti a town of 47,000. that is too large to qualiify for the 7% tax which should be a consideration Here is what I did and what I would suggest.

1. look at the climate you want to live in and match that the areas you are looking for.
2. Look for towns outsiide, 1 to 2 hours ,of large cities.
3. Make a list of those towns.
4. On your trip travel to those town.... let yourself get lost...literally. You will find a place that feels right.... and go from there.
   Chip Stites, Italy Correspondent, International Living Magazine.

HI Rebecca, that is a great quesstion. The exciting thing is that you have so many choices, the difficulty is exactly the same. I would suggest the following.

1. Norrow your choices by two things: 1. climate and 2, expat communities.
2. Do some reasearch into each and locate areas you think you might want to `stay in.
3. When you say 2 years or a year or two, you will need a VISA.... your passport will allow you 90 days to visit 2 to 4 places you might like move to, and to help you make a decision.
4. You will need a visa for that kind of stay.... I would suggest you speak with Grazia Colombo about the VISA Process. I dont know where you live but the consulate responsible for the state or county you live in will determine the time it takes to get the Visa based on their wait list for the interview you must do to get the VISA... here is Grazia's email address: mgrazia.colombo@leexe.it, She is a attorney and can help with both RE and with your VISA. She will charge you but will also help you make some critical decisions that will make your Italian travel desires much more doable.
5. If you stay longer than 183 days in a year, you will be responsible for italian taxes. Once you speak with Grazia, she speaks excelllent English, you may want to consider alternatives to "staying one or two years." Six months at a time will avoid the taxes, but not the VISA.
6. I would suggest an expat community, depending on your climactic desires. Bari and Puglia will be warmer an smaller. Florence will be coooler and much more touristy and very busy and hot in the summer. Rome with tourists is better approached from outside the city in my opinion. I could go on and on, but let's be practical and take this one step at a time. Please let us know how you are proceeding!
   My best, and good luck.
   Chip Stites, Italian Correspondant, International Living Magazine.

Helllo, P.A. and thanks for a great question.
I am going to suggest that you speak with a professional in the area. M Grazia Colombo, here is her email address: mgrazia.colombo@leexe.it. she will be able to help you with the "get Citizenship" while living here. I have a friend who did this and it took about a year and 3/4 and he had an attorney without whom it woud have been very difficult. I am assuming you have the requisit paperwork proof already in hand, and you know the area where your ancestors lived. When you start the process, or the area or town in which you start the process, will determine where you want to stay for multiple reasons one of which is taxes. If you try to move around while doing this it makes the process very very difficult so I suggest, from the experience of a couple who tried to move around and a couple who didn't that you know where you want to go before you come.
I know that sounds backwards but you will need to do some traveling here before the permanant move to locate the area you want to live in . Again I would speak with Grazia, she is an attorney, specializing in RE and VISAS. If she cannot help you in this let me know. She will charge you, but she will also save you from making costly mistakes.
Please let me know how you are proceeding. My best, and good luck.
Chip Stites, IL Italy Correspondant, International Living Magazine.

Hi, my name is Chip Stites, I live in italy and have been here for almost 8 years. I am International Living's Italian correspondent. I too have a friend who applied for Italian citizenship, had his paperowrk in hand and moved here before the paperwork was done. He submitted his paperwork immediatly in the province he wanted to live in and that shielded him from the 90 day rule. It took about two years more, or a year and a half to get his citizenship and his Italian passport but he has it.

I would ask first if you have all the paper work proving your ancestry as required?
Second, I would ask if you know where you want to live as the place where you apply, needs to be a place you intend to stay until the process is complete?
Third I would ask if you understand the tax situation that Italian residency would put you in?
Fourth, I would ask you if you have a guide to help you through this when you come as it is likely that you will need someone who speaks Italian and English to help you. So, I offer these two suggestions.

First here is the email of M. Grazie Colombo an attorney who can help you with the paperwork and with the process. Yes, I beleive there is value to being here but only when you have your ducks in a row. I.E. Paperwork, taxes, living place.
Paperwork expert: Her name again is Grazia Colombo and here is her address: mgrazia.colombo@leexe.it

For the taxes I would suggest Christian Gulizzi who is both a CPA in the US and a Commercialista in Italy and can show you compoarisons to help you make your choices. Italy taxes by residency not by citizenship so if you are here more than 183 days in a year, you are responsible for paying Italan tax which accoding to the tax treaty is subtraced from US tax. Here is Christian"s email: christian.gulizzi@gulizzi-consulting.com

If there is one thing I have learned over my almost eight years of watching other people move, ior attemmpt to move, it is that the more planning you do beforehand, the better off you will be in the long run.

I hope this helps and feel free to write directly to me at info@thelaughingretirement.com
Chip Stites, International Living correspondent for Italy.