Moving Abroad (again)
A year and nine months ago I moved from Qatar back to the United States. I came back exhausted. I was exhausted from the dust storms, the lack of fresh air and the tension of going to battle on Qatar’s roads, and the rigidity of a culture I wasn’t use to.
I could have used years of being back home.
It’s so easy in Santa Cruz. Living at my mother’s house, having fresh air daily and the plentitude of organic food and gorgeous landscapes, and the laid back “anything goes” atmosphere. It’s a great place to recoup—but being present for my father’s dying process and other challenges meant it was not all idyllic.
I didn’t even give myself 2 years there before undertaking an international move…again.
I chose not to remain in the comfort zone and instead, head out on my own again.
This time I had no employer paying for it. So what were the costs of moving to Italy?
Cost of moving to Italy
Visa
$68 fingerprints & FBI background check
$50 photocopying all docs for consulate
$660 obtaining rental in Italy to satisfy consulate requirement
$700 obtaining int’l medical insurance to satisfy consulate requirement
$50 trip to San Francisco Consulate
$124 Consulate fee
_______________
Total: $1,652
Cat
$76 microchip
$40 Rabies vac
$80 two vet appointments
$30 calming product for airplane
$38 USDA authentication
$9 pee pads for cat carrier
(already owned a cat carrier)
____________
Total: $273
Flight
I did a one-way business class with miles but it was not “free” due to taxes and extra luggage and cat fee.
$470 Swiss Air taxes
$100 Swiss Air pet fee
$400 Swiss Air extra luggage fee
______________
Total: $970
Extra luggage
I used “Send My Bags” in order to send two extra pieces.
$377 Send My Bags cost
$40 two Sterilite “foot lockers”
$9 lashing cords for the foot lockers
___________
Total: $426
Other small costs were rolls of Gorilla Tape and clear packing tape. I already had lots of bubble wrap and brown wrapping paper left from my move home from Qatar, and lots of good quality tubs with lids from the things I’d stored before my move to Qatar. My storage costs are free thanks to my friend Jessica.
Earnings from selling things
$120 ipod and android phone
$150 furniture
$375 yard sale
$9,200 car
Let’s take a second look at the car sale. I bought the car (2007 4×4 Toyota Rav 4) when I got back from Qatar. I had it only 18 months before selling it. (I loved it and did not want to sell it, but the sacrifices we make to live in Italy!) I paid $15,500 for it and 18 months later was only able to get $9,200. That means I spent $6,300 to have the car for 18 months. Total insurance cost on for those 18 months was $1,530. (It needed no repairs during that time and I’m going to omit the cost of oil changes and gas)
Looks like it cost me $7,830 to own a car for 18 months ($435 a month.)
Yikes, I’m not liking those numbers!
Clearly I can’t count the car sale as any kind of “earning”, and the gains from other sales were very minimal.
In conclusion, the main expenses for my move to Italy came to $3,321
Subtracting the selling of the gadgets, furniture and the yard sale, the move to Italy cost $2676
I guess that’s not too bad. In the past I have spent $2,000 to move between Colorado and California, although that was with furniture and this is without.
For information on the legalities once you arrive in Italy, go here
Ciao Chandi,
Thanks for putting together this article but there are several questions I have about living there.
You neglected to mention how you are planning on surviving in Italy. Do you have a job, did you need to get a work or study visa? Did you take money with you? How did you secure an apartment? What type of medical insurance did you get?
Any information would be greatly appreciated.
Regards,
Gina
Hi Gina,
Thanks for stopping by. I try to keep my posts tight and focused and I figured it would get too long if I went into the types of visas and the story of getting my apartment rental. The visa I got is an ER visa and the apartment I found after spending about 50 hours online seeking one, and then another 50 hours communicating by email in Italian with the owner of the one I found. I grabbed the least expensive international insurance I could find as I know it’s highly unlikely that I will use it. I saw it as just something I had to do for the consulate requirement. The people who get my newsletter received some of this info in the past few months. Feel free to sign up for that!
Grazie mille Chandi
Also, Gina, I’ll try to do some posts about the Visa and housing!
Was it difficult to obtain the ER visa? How much money did you need to show that you had in savings (if any)? Do you plan on working in the future? If so, can you keep us updated on how difficult the work visa process was?
Hi Sally,
Yes, I’d say that “difficult” is an apt word to describe my experience overall with the process. The million dollar question is, as you asked, “how much savings, and how much monthly income is enough?” The consulate does not specify this. Keep in mind they want to see evidence of monthly income as well as savings. Word on the street, for monthly income, is that two to three thousand a month for an individual should be OK. For savings, I’ve not run into any numbers being bandied about, but clearly the more the better.
Thank you! 🙂
THANK YOU! I’ve been trying to estimate costs for my cat and have had a hard time finding information. This is so helpful.
You are most welcome. As you are making your plans feel free to ask me questions!
Hi Chandi,
What were you doing in Doha? We lived there several years ago and our daughter and her family (husband German, 2 kids American/German) have lived there for almost 9 years working for on a government project.
What is an ER visa? We live in Arezzo. Where are you located?
Nancy
Ciao Nancy, thanks for contacting me. I was working at a college teaching history. It was a fascinating experience and I am so glad I did it. There are lots of positives I got out of it– despite coming home very exhausted!
ER = Elective Residency
I am just outside of Lucca. Let me know if you’ll be in this area! How do you like Arezzo?
This is such a handy guide for anyone considering to move to Italy. I wouldn’t deny it – I’ve had dreams of moving to Italy. It’s such a beautiful place and to call it home would be a dream!
Thanks for giving the detailed price information. Also I love your cat! <3 Hope you two are living a great life in Italy now!
Great post! We don’t own any pets. Didn’t realise cats can also add so much to bills. Will share this with anyone who wants to move to Italy. Useful to make an informed decision.
Moving from home to another country always has challenges. It is really commendable of you to embark on this. I loved the details given by you. A very good source of information and resource.
All the best to you. It is not easy to move all your belongings and life to different places. Expenses are just one part of it. There are so many other challenges. Here is to a new adventure.
Really useful and well documented information. Thank you.
Hi Chandi!
Thank you for your thorough explanation on how to obtain a visa in Italy. Next month, my family is planning to move to Lucca. We plan to send a few book boxes through the post office. Did you need to pay a fee once your boxes arrived in Italy?
Hi Victoria,
Welcome to Lucca! Join my Lucca Newcomers’ Happy Hour group on Facebook!
I did not send through the postal system and I don’t advise that. I advise using Send My Bags: https://www.sendmybag.com/paradiseofexiles
Grazie!
Italy is a beautiful country. Thanks for sharing your story.
Hi Chandy
It is wonderful to discover your blog! I used to live over in Venice, then Rome for about 4 years total while studying Art and Architecture, then teaching English. I still have a wonderful group of friends between Ostia and Lago Bracciano, and elsewhere… I hope to move back to Italy to “retire”, whatever that really means. In California i study rural Italian real estate as a hobby (I am a professional builder/remodeler here in the SF Bay Area, so I work through project ideas for places i will never buy, but it is fun). Chandy, I still do not understand how to get there legally as a resident. Are the chances of getting residency better if one buys property? Does anyone specialize in helping ex-communitari to pursue residency? Keep up the great blog! Thank you – Greg
Hi Greg,
Great to hear that my posts are useful to you! Here in Italy, buying property does not help with getting residency, or being able to stay legally. Start by looking over the criteria listed by the Italian consulate in San Francisco to learn about the types of visas that are available. Once you are here with a visa, utilize the free services at INAC for assistance. See this post of mine about it. Alternately, some lawyers here specialize in helping Americans get visas and they charge I think around 2,000 Euro. If you want a contact for that, feel free to email me.