Part one · 2 steps
Visa & residency
Start the Elective Residence Visa (Visto per Residenza Elettiva / ERV) path
Italy's route for retirees. Plan on roughly $2,999/month of provable income — pension, Social Security, dividends — and expect the consulate to want it documented. The current read:
From our Florence research
As of 2026 the stated minimum stable passive income is ~€31,000/yr for a single applicant (~€2,580/mo; shown here ~$2,950/mo) and ~€38,000/yr for a couple, from pensions/Social Security/investments/rental income — savings alone don't count. Pathway: apply at your home US consulate before moving, then get a permesso di soggiorno in Italy. Caveats: a strict no-work clause, heavy documentation, and US consulates frequently demand well above the floor at their discretion. Renewable, leads toward long-term residency/citizenship.
Read the full Florence profile →Get key documents apostilled + certified-translated
Birth/marriage certificates, background checks — start early; it's slow, and every residency application wants them.
Our visa paperwork guide →Part two · 3 steps
Healthcare
Map your care in Florence
Know where you'd go before you need it — the hospital for something serious, the specialist, the pharmacy that speaks English. Here's our current read:
From our Florence research
Italy's public SSN is consistently ranked among the world's best and is low-cost. Careggi University Hospital in Florence is a large world-class teaching/referral center for acute and complex care; private options (e.g., Ulivella Clinic) cut wait times. English-speaking doctor networks (Medelit, Doctors in Italy, private GPs) serve the expat community, but in the public system English is not guaranteed and waits can be long, so most expats add private insurance.
Read the full Florence profile →Know what Medicare does — and doesn't — cover abroad
Original Medicare generally doesn't cover care outside the US. Whatever your plan becomes, it has to answer that gap.
Medicare abroad, explained →Compare international / expat health insurance
See what international health plans actually cover — and what they cost.
Part three · 5 steps
Money & taxes
Pressure-test your Florence budget
A comfortable month in Florence runs about $3,873 for a couple, at current exchange rates. Build your own version on top of that base — your rent tier, your healthcare, your flights home — and see what's left over.
Build the real monthly number →Understand US taxes as an expat in Italy
You still file US taxes abroad, and FBAR applies once foreign accounts pass $10,000. The country side matters just as much:
From our Florence research
Italy taxes residents on worldwide income at progressive 23-43% rates. The well-known 7% flat tax for foreign pensioners does NOT apply in Florence — that regime is limited to towns under 30,000 residents (Florence is ~360k). A US-Italy tax treaty prevents true double taxation and US Social Security is generally taxable only in Italy, but expect ordinary Italian rates here, not the bargain southern-village deal. Get cross-border tax advice.
Read the full Florence profile →Set up low-fee international money transfers
Bank wires quietly cost 3–5% in bad FX; specialists are far cheaper.
Have someone check the retirement math before you commit
Plan day-to-day cash + card access (and a backup card)
Check your cards' foreign-ATM fees before you go, and carry a backup card on a different network in case one gets swallowed.
Part four · 4 steps
The scouting trip
Book the Florence reconnaissance trip
Not a vacation — a rehearsal. Rent in an ordinary neighborhood for a few weeks and live a normal week: groceries, buses, a doctor's appointment, a quiet Tuesday. Getting there and back:
From our Florence research
No year-round nonstop flights from the US. Florence's own airport (FLR) is small and short-haul/European only; a summer-seasonal Delta route runs from Pisa (PSA, ~1 hr away). Realistically you connect through a European hub (Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam) or fly into Rome (FCO) or Milan and take the ~1.5-hr high-speed train to Florence SMN. Plan on a long travel day to/from the US.
Read the full Florence profile →Compare trip insurance for the scouting trip
Read the safety picture for yourself
Florence sits under a US State Department Level 2 (“exercise increased caution”) advisory. Check the current one before you book, then weigh it against the on-the-ground picture:
From our Florence research
Very safe by violent-crime standards — Florence scores among the safest major Italian cities (Numbeo safety index ~58). The real issue is petty theft: pickpocketing surged (~1,034 reported cases, roughly doubled year-over-year) around tourist crush points like Ponte Vecchio, the Uffizi, and SMN station. Standard big-city precautions suffice.
Read the full Florence profile →Test the season, not the postcard
Every place has a month the brochures skip. If you can, scout in the worst one:
From our Florence research
Inland Mediterranean/humid-subtropical: hot, muggy summers (often 32-36C/90s F, little breeze in the valley) and cool, damp winters (lows near 2-4C/upper-30s F, gray and rainy). Pleasant spring and fall. Not a warm-all-year beach climate — there is a real, chilly winter.
Read the full Florence profile →Part five · 6 steps
The move itself
Rent first — live a full season before you even think about buying
The single biggest regret-saver. The market isn't going anywhere.
Book a short-term furnished rental for your landing
Give yourself 1–3 months to find the right neighborhood.
Decide what to ship, store, or sell
Shipping a household is expensive; many movers regret over-shipping.
Re-home your US mail before you go
Banks, the IRS, Medicare — the mail keeps coming after you leave. Keep a US address you check from anywhere, or hand the whole job to a service.
Sort pet import + airline requirements early
Timelines for vaccines and paperwork can be months.
Our pet-move guide →Scan and cloud-back-up every key document
Passports, prescriptions, insurance cards, the marriage certificate — one folder you can open from any phone, anywhere.
Part six · 4 steps
Settling in
Find your people in Florence
Loneliness is the #1 reason people move home — build the community before you build anything else. What's already there:
From our Florence research
Large, long-established Anglo/American presence — Florence is home to ~58,000 foreign residents (~14% of the population), US study-abroad campuses, and an old art/expat scene. Easy to find English-speaking community, but integration still rewards learning Italian.
Read the full Florence profile →Join the expat community before you arrive
Start the conversations months before the flight.
Our community guide →Set up a local SIM + home internet
If your phone's unlocked, an eSIM can cover you from day one; sort home internet once you have an address.
Start the language — even 20 words changes everything
Italian is what your daily life will run in — the clinic front desk, the market, the neighbors. A head start pays off from day one.
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