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      Top Destinations:

      Whether you’re looking for fun and sun, a peaceful retirement, or the chance to earn some extra income, you’ve got a real world of opportunity open to you… In short, we’ve done our best to narrow down your best options, but only you can decide the right country for you.

      • Spain
      • Portugal
      • Panama
      • Belize
      • Colombia
      • Cyprus
      • Mexico
      • France
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      • Browse All Countries

      Best For:

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      • Safest Places For Retirement
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    • Budgets

      How Much Will It Cost You To Live Overseas?

      The only honest answer is, we have no idea. And neither does anyone else. The only one who can answer that question is you. Here’s the most important thing to understand about budgeting your new life overseas…

      Super Cheap

      • Chitré, Panama
      • Santa Marta, Colombia
      • Phuket, Thailand
      • Dumaguete, The Philippines

      Cheap

      • Medellin, Colombia
      • Boquete, Panama
      • Kyrenia, Cyprus
      • Hua Hin, Thailand
      • The Algarve, Portugal

      Affordable

      • Valencia, Spain
      • Cascais, Portugal
      • Las Terrenas, The DR
      • Pisa, Italy
      • La Rochelle, France
      • Mazatlán, Mexico

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        • Discover tips and strategies used by global property investing veterans

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        Toll-Free U.S. and Canada:
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        Home Countries Italy

        Bargain Real Estate And A Warm Welcome In Abruzzo, Italy

        Two Biggest Hurdles To A New Life In Italy… And How To Overcome Them

        by Lief Simon
        Oct 26, 2018
        in Italy, Offshore
        0 0
        Abruzzo. Italy. italian town with mountains in background green water in front

        Image Source: iStock/Freeartist

        Last week’s Live and Invest in Italy Conference proved to be an exciting, high-profile affair.

        Local news stations camped out at the hotel where we hosted the event—some planned, others unexpected—interviewing speakers and attendees… and the mayors of three nearby towns joined, as well, each trying to outdo the others’ red-carpet welcomes for our group.

        It was perhaps the biggest-deal reception we’ve received anywhere in the world in more than 25 years putting on conferences.

        Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to be there to enjoy it, and, now, hearing about the goings-on from our conference team, I’m feeling like I missed out.

        Italy has had my attention for years… though probably not for the same reasons it captures so many Americans’ imaginations.

        Specifically, what interests me is the effect demographics are having on this country… and the opportunities they are creating.

        From the mid-1980s until 2000, Italy had zero increase in population. Over the last 18 years, it has seen spikes of growth from immigration; however, in the last three years, the population has declined.

        Meantime, Italians countryside have been for years migrating from rural areas to the cities.

        The lack of population growth has combined with the ongoing migration patterns to create some seriously under-inhabited and, as a result, increasingly undervalued regions.

        In these places, country homes and farms are being offered for sale for a song.

        And it’s not just real estate that can be a screaming bargain. In some parts of the country, nearly everything is better than affordable.

        Italy has two faces. On one hand is Tuscany and the Italian Riviera, long-established brand-name destinations. Here the grand villas trade for multimillions of euros… and cities like Florence and Portofino cater to the world’s jet set.

        On the other hand is southern Italy… traditionally Tuscany’s stepsister. This part of this country is known as the cheaper alternative to chicer spots in the north.

        Which is precisely why we like it… and why we chose to base last week’s conference here… specifically in Pescara, Abruzzo.

        For me, Abruzzo is the best of Italy… because it has everything the recognized best of Italy (that is, Tuscany) has to offer… but nobody’s paying any attention. This means lower prices and fewer tourists… two of my favorite things anywhere.

        Abruzzo offers both coast and mountains. In winter, you can ski in the morning and be sitting at the beach enjoying a glass of wine in the afternoon.

        It also offers dozens of quaint villages where you can embrace the quintessential Italian country living experience. A lifestyle that’s stress-free and filled with one great meal and bottle of wine after another? What more could you want?

        Buy a place with some land—easy to find and right now one of Europe’s great bargains—and you could even grow much of your own food.

        Of course, to be successful in that kind of lifestyle, you’ll need to learn to speak Italian. Even most of the staff at the hotel where we held our event last week didn’t speak English. You can certainly find service providers in the area who do, but, day to day in this part of Italy, you’ll be speaking Italian.

        Day to day you’ll also be in the middle of one of the world’s oldest active civilizations, meaning history abounds. You could spend your time exploring nearby villages or take short trips to Rome or Venice… or, in season, the ferry across the Adriatic to Croatia…

        I could get into that way of life.

        Of course, Italy isn’t all good pasta, cheap farmhouses, and centuries of fascinating history. It also comes with bureaucracy to make Napoleon proud. Papers and stamps, papers and stamps…

        The biggest bureaucratic hurdle to consider is residency… and whether or not you should try to establish it. It’s not difficult to qualify for residency in Italy. The trouble is that, when you become a legal resident, you also become a tax resident.

        Become a legal resident of Italy and you’re considered a tax resident even if you spend less than the typical standard of 183 days physically present in the country.

        The other snag to Italian country living is the country’s approach to taxation.

        People complain about taxes in France, but I’d say that the situation is potentially more onerous in Italy. In Italy, income taxes are heavy…and can be complicated.

        In addition to worldwide income, residents are liable for tax on financial assets held outside the country. This wealth tax is charged at two tenths of a percent (.2%); real estate you own outside the country is taxed at slightly more than three quarters of a percent (.76%).

        If you’re a retiree with a modest income and little in the way of assets dreaming of a new life in Italy… you’re probably good.

        If you’ve got big income (earned or passive) and portfolios of assets (real estate or otherwise), Italy might make more sense as a part-time option.

        Regardless, I’d say the lifestyle you can get for the price right now can be hard to ignore.

        Lief Simon

        Tags: 'Italy''real estate''residency'
        Share83Tweet52
        Lief Simon

        Lief Simon

        Lief Simon has lived and worked in 7 countries on 5 continents and traveled to more than 75 countries. His real estate investment career began with a $5,000 down payment on a three-flat building in Chicago. Less than three years later, Lief sold the building for a leveraged return of 3,000%—$150,000 in profit after closing costs and commissions.

        From there, he turned his attention overseas and has bought property in 24 countries including France, Croatia, Portugal, Ireland, Belize, Spain, Argentina, Cyprus, Romania, and beyond. Thanks to his decades-long career as a global property investor, Lief has built a multi-million-dollar portfolio that includes rental properties, significant land holdings, and 7 personal residences.

        Lief has established residency in 3 countries and acquired a second passport from Ireland.

        In 2008 Lief and wife Kathleen Peddicord made the most important investment of their lives—a 215-acre oceanside finca, known as Los Islotes. There, on Panama’s largely undiscovered Veraguas coast, they’ve installed underground electricity, water, and internet and built a forever family home that sits at the heart of their ultimate vision: a gold standard private residential community for those in search of a true safe haven escape.

        Lief’s latest book, “Cowboy Millionaire—The New American Pioneer,” collects all the wisdom he has learned in three decades of living and investing outside America.

        He offers advice on international diversification in his twice-weekly Offshore Living Letter and monthly Simon Letter dispatches. For real estate investment opportunities, check out his monthly Global Property Advisor service.

        If you’d like to meet Lief in person, join him for one of our upcoming in-country conferences. You’ll find further details here.

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          Super Cheap

          • Chitré, Panama
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          • Phuket, Thailand
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          Cheap

          • Medellin, Colombia
          • Boquete, Panama
          • Kyrenia, Cyprus
          • Hua Hin, Thailand
          • The Algarve, Portugal

          Affordable

          • Valencia, Spain
          • Cascais, Portugal
          • Las Terrenas, The DR
          • Pisa, Italy
          • La Rochelle, France
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