The 4 Best Reasons for a move to Italy

If you are looking to work abroad or have dreams of retiring in a beautiful country then you are hopefully thinking about Italy. It has long been on the tourist route of travelers for its weather, food, and history. It is wonderful for all of those things but it is also a great place to live.

It seems like a place that would be good only for vacations but would be a tough place to live. The reality is that Italy has a number of things going for it as a destination to move to and start living there. There are pros and cons to every country and there is no such thing as Utopia. This means that Italy does have some warts. However, the benefits of living there outweigh the cons. In this article, we will go over several reasons Italy makes a great place to live.

1 - Healthcare

Italy has a healthcare system that is best described as being Medicare for all. There is a system in which doctors and healthcare practitioners are in private business, but then send the bill for services to the state. This makes the state like the insurance company that pays claims but doesn’t run the system. Doctors are free to decide the best course of therapy without interference from the government telling them what to do.

The system works extremely well with preventative care being the focus. As a result, the population is among the healthiest in the world and they have excellent results from their healthcare system. It is paid for by taxes so there are very few out-of-pocket expenses to be paid.

However, as a foreigner, you won’t be able to use the system as Italians do. You will be required to have some form of global health insurance to pay for treatments and doctor's visits.

The benefit is that you will be getting excellent care with much better outcomes due to the quality of healthcare in Italy. Doctors have all the same equipment and education as you find in the US, but with an even better approach to treating a patient and not the symptoms.

2 - Education

If you plan to move to Italy with your family then you can take advantage of an excellent education system. Public schools are as good as many private schools in other parts of the world. In some senses, it seems old-fashioned, but this is because the way that they educate children isn’t just about making them good workers, but also teaches them how to learn.

You’ll find your children learning about philosophy from a young age and also doing a lot of art and music. This isn’t to teach them how to become musicians or philosophers when they are adults but gives them critical thinking skills that also expand their minds.

Once they graduate from high school and are going to university they will continue to get a fantastic education and at little cost to you. You won’t need to save tens of thousands of dollars or more to pay for your education. And they won’t have to take out student loans to get a degree.

Universities are publicly funded so it is affordable for anybody to attend. As long as their grades qualify them then they can get a degree without worrying about how to pay for it.

3 - The Dolce Vita

Italians are masters at the work-life balance. They know that work is simply a means to an end. Yes, they work hard but they don’t live to work like in some countries. Instead, they work to live.

Companies are required to give their employees weeks of paid vacation. There are also frequent breaks for holidays so there are even more days off that don’t count toward your vacation time.

Even during the course of the workday, there is always time for family and to relax. There is a long pause at lunch so they can go home and enjoy a home-cooked meal with their family. Then they can relax and digest after lunch before heading back to work.

4 - The quality of the food

Good food is life to the Italians. Not because they are decadent and insist on the best because they are spoiled. They eat the best food because it is good for both body and soul.

This means that you will get incredible meals at restaurants but also access to the best ingredients to cook at home. Markets are packed with fresh produce that was just picked plus incredibly fresh seafood and delicious meats. Cured products like prosciutto and cheeses round out the delicacies.

Conclusion

Italy can be a bureaucratic nightmare at times and make little sense. Luckily, after spending the day getting loads of documents stamped you can unwind with a glass of wine and look at the amazing architecture and forget all about it.

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