Part one · 2 steps
Visa & residency
Start the Elective Residence Visa (Residenza Elettiva) 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 Lucca research
Elective Residence Visa for the financially independent living on passive, non-work income (pension, investments, rental) from outside Italy. Stated minimum ~EUR 31,000/yr (~$2,950/mo single) as of 2026, with roughly +20% for a spouse (~EUR 37,400/~$3,550/mo for a couple) and +5% per dependent. Working in Italy is prohibited. Consulates often demand income well above the floor plus proof of suitable Italian housing, and decisions are discretionary by consulate, so approval is far from guaranteed; renewed annually at first. Income figures as of 2026.
Read the full Lucca 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 Lucca
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 Lucca research
Italy's SSN public system is high-quality and inexpensive once resident (register via ASL Toscana Nord Ovest; modest annual voluntary enrollment fee). Lucca's main hospital, Ospedale San Luca, handles acute and routine care. English-speaking doctors exist but aren't the norm, so many expats add private insurance (~$50-100/mo) for faster specialist access. For complex or world-class care you travel ~30-45 min to Pisa (Cisanello/AOUP teaching hospital) or ~1.25 hr to Florence (Careggi). Acute coverage locally is solid; specialized oncology/cardiac often means Pisa or Florence.
Read the full Lucca 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 Lucca budget
A comfortable month in Lucca 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 Lucca research
Critical: Lucca does NOT qualify for Italy's 7% flat-tax regime for foreign pensioners, which is limited to towns under 30,000 people in eight southern regions (Lucca is ~89k and in Tuscany). As an Italian tax resident you're taxed on worldwide income at standard progressive IRPEF rates (roughly 23-43% plus regional/municipal surtaxes), including your foreign pension. Italy taxes residents on worldwide income. A US-Italy tax treaty exists and the Foreign Tax Credit prevents most double taxation, but US citizens still file with the IRS on worldwide income. Note: under the treaty US Social Security is generally taxable only in Italy for Italian residents. Get cross-border tax advice before committing.
Read the full Lucca 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 Lucca 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 Lucca research
Nearest airport is Pisa (PSA, ~30 min) with Florence (FLR, ~1.25 hr) close behind; both are mostly European/regional. There are no direct flights from PSA to the US, so reaching the US means one stop (via a European hub like Frankfurt/Munich/London, or Rome FCO/Milan). Realistically a long travel day (~12-16 hr door-to-door to the East Coast). Excellent regional rail offsets in-Europe travel.
Read the full Lucca profile →Compare trip insurance for the scouting trip
Read the safety picture for yourself
Lucca 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 Lucca research
Consistently rated among Italy's safest cities; violent crime is rare. The realistic risk is petty theft/pickpocketing in tourist-heavy zones and during festivals. US State Dept advisory is Level 2 (Exercise Increased Caution) for Italy as of 2026, matching France/Germany/UK and driven by general terrorism/civil-unrest caution, not any Lucca-specific threat. No internal movement restrictions.
Read the full Lucca 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 Lucca research
Sub-Mediterranean: hot dry summers (highs ~30-33C/86-91F, July-Aug warm and crowded) and mild but real winters (Jan highs ~10C/50F, lows near freezing, damp and often gray with rain). Lovely spring and autumn. Not a year-round-warm beach climate; expect a genuine cool, wet winter.
Read the full Lucca 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 Lucca
Loneliness is the #1 reason people move home — build the community before you build anything else. What's already there:
From our Lucca research
Lucca punches above its size (~89k) as a magnet for English-speaking expats and retirees from the US, UK, Canada and Northern Europe, drawn by its refinement and walkability. Active InterNations/Facebook groups and integration services exist. Still a smaller, more dispersed community than Florence or the big hubs; numbers are in the hundreds, not thousands.
Read the full Lucca 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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