A U.S. citizen has few quest.

[arsenal9]

Hi, i am a 33 year old male, no kids,no wife and just want to leave the states and look for a more relaxed and stress free environment. i have never been to italy but have heard great things about it. i was looking at palermo and abruzzo but if anyone can suggest other places to live where its mountains and the ocean i love water it would be great. also how do i obtain residency permit, work permit and i know i dont need a visa with my U.S. passport but inorder to stay there for a year or more what permits do i need? and also for a single person how much money do i need to put away each month if everything is controlled and just live a normal quite life? thank you for all your help

[synthia]

You can only stay for 90 days total without a visa in countries that operate under rules set out in the Schengen Agreement. Italy is one of those. If you go to Europe, you can only spend 90 days total in all the countries, then you must leave for a non-Shengen country and stay away for 90 days.

To actually move to Italy and stay, you will need a visa, which will probably have very strict requirements. To work you will need a work permit, which will be governed by the same rules that govern the rest of the EU countries. An employer will have to prove that there is no citizen of the EU that can perform the job for which you are being hired. So, unless you have some very special skills, the chances of obtaining a work permit are going to be extremely slim.

The first thing you need to do is check out all the different visa types to see if there are any for which you qualify.

[arsenal9]

[QUOTE=synthia;61259]You can only stay for 90 days total without a visa in countries that operate under rules set out in the Schengen Agreement. Italy is one of those. If you go to Europe, you can only spend 90 days total in all the countries, then you must leave for a non-Shengen country and stay away for 90 days.

To actually move to Italy and stay, you will need a visa, which will probably have very strict requirements. To work you will need a work permit, which will be governed by the same rules that govern the rest of the EU countries. An employer will have to prove that there is no citizen of the EU that can perform the job for which you are being hired. So, unless you have some very special skills, the chances of obtaining a work permit are going to be extremely slim.

The first thing you need to do is check out all the different visa types to see if there are any for which you qualify.

wow u know so much.

[synthia]

You need to get specific information from the Italian government before you do anthing else. Because it may be next to impossible for you to move to Italy, and you might as well find it out now. By the way, how is your Italian?

[Bevdeforges]

The best place to get all the details about a visa for Italy is the Italian Embassy/Consulate that covers your part of the US. (Usually the information is available online - just Google "Italian Consulate in US")

Though each country in Europe retains their own immigration system and these do vary a bit, the general requirement is that you have to have a "reason" for applying for a long-stay visa - usually (just like the US) either family ties or work. There's also the option of coming as a student, but you'll be expected to pay tuition out of your own pocket and probably won't be allowed to work (or only on a very limited schedule).

Speaking the local language is a big advantage in the visa process (not to mention in the job hunting process). Normally, to get a work visa, you need to have a job offer in hand before you apply. Last I heard the Italian job market may be tougher than most - unless you have some skill or experience that is in demand and not available in the general population.

I'd strongly suggest visiting a few countries you're considering before getting too far into the idea of applying for a job or a visa. I think you're one of the first to refer to Italy as "more relaxed and stress free" - but who knows? (Be aware, too, that a country will appear very different to a tourist than to a resident.)
Cheers,
Bev

[LaDonna]

Hello,

My husband and I will be moving to Todi, Italy for a year in 2009. We leave on December 31st of 2008 and arrive on January 1st of 2009...We rented an entire villa that has 3 apartments and a pool. We are renting out the 2 apartments upstairs. One of the apartments which might interest you is the 1 bedroom apartment we have available for $750 USD/mo...utilities included except for the month of January and December..then an additional gas fee will be charged per usage. We have some pictures of it on homeexchange.com...you can do a search on Italy..then Todi...I think it might be the only property that comes up in that town. If you are interested in an arrangement of some sort...we would be open. We would like to rent the 1 bedroom apt for the entire year to one person. That way there is less work on our part. Just being selfish. If we have to do 2 stints of 6 months ..then that is also an option.....

We are so excited to be going...and can hardly stand ourselves...it is all we talk about....we only have 2 months and some days left before we leave...it's getting down to the wire and we are scrambling to get everything done...but we will....

Hope to hear from and hope you make the trip...

LaDonna

Originally Posted by arsenal9

Hi, i am a 33 year old male, no kids,no wife and just want to leave the states and look for a more relaxed and stress free environment. i have never been to italy but have heard great things about it. i was looking at palermo and abruzzo but if anyone can suggest other places to live where its mountains and the ocean i love water it would be great. also how do i obtain residency permit, work permit and i know i dont need a visa with my U.S. passport but inorder to stay there for a year or more what permits do i need? and also for a single person how much money do i need to put away each month if everything is controlled and just live a normal quite life? thank you for all your help

[arsenal9]

Originally Posted by Bevdeforges

The best place to get all the details about a visa for Italy is the Italian Embassy/Consulate that covers your part of the US. (Usually the information is available online - just Google "Italian Consulate in US")

Though each country in Europe retains their own immigration system and these do vary a bit, the general requirement is that you have to have a "reason" for applying for a long-stay visa - usually (just like the US) either family ties or work. There's also the option of coming as a student, but you'll be expected to pay tuition out of your own pocket and probably won't be allowed to work (or only on a very limited schedule).

Speaking the local language is a big advantage in the visa process (not to mention in the job hunting process). Normally, to get a work visa, you need to have a job offer in hand before you apply. Last I heard the Italian job market may be tougher than most - unless you have some skill or experience that is in demand and not available in the general population.

I'd strongly suggest visiting a few countries you're considering before getting too far into the idea of applying for a job or a visa. I think you're one of the first to refer to Italy as "more relaxed and stress free" - but who knows? (Be aware, too, that a country will appear very different to a tourist than to a resident.)
Cheers,
Bev

thanks so much for taking the time and responding to me. Yes i will do some more research and i ll see about other places i have in mind. thanks for your response. take care stay well

[arsenal9]

Originally Posted by LaDonna

Hello,

My husband and I will be moving to Todi, Italy for a year in 2009. We leave on December 31st of 2008 and arrive on January 1st of 2009...We rented an entire villa that has 3 apartments and a pool. We are renting out the 2 apartments upstairs. One of the apartments which might interest you is the 1 bedroom apartment we have available for $750 USD/mo...utilities included except for the month of January and December..then an additional gas fee will be charged per usage. We have some pictures of it on homeexchange.com...you can do a search on Italy..then Todi...I think it might be the only property that comes up in that town. If you are interested in an arrangement of some sort...we would be open. We would like to rent the 1 bedroom apt for the entire year to one person. That way there is less work on our part. Just being selfish. If we have to do 2 stints of 6 months ..then that is also an option.....

We are so excited to be going...and can hardly stand ourselves...it is all we talk about....we only have 2 months and some days left before we leave...it's getting down to the wire and we are scrambling to get everything done...but we will....

Hope to hear from and hope you make the trip...

LaDonna

thank you so much for your help. i would be leaving most likely around the same time but i just dont know if it would be italy since the language and work permit might be a problem for me. Anyway if anything happens i ll let you know by end of novemebr. tx again and good luck

[LittleItaly]

If you're looking for mountains and the sea, add the region of Liguria to your research list. It's home to the Cinque Terre, and many other lesser-known towns along a beautiful mountain coast. The climate is like California, but from what I've seen rents cost about half what they do in San Francisco or LA. I'm afraid I don't know much about the permits and visas you'd need though. Good luck!

[fabfabri]

Originally Posted by arsenal9

Hi, i am a 33 year old male, no kids,no wife and just want to leave the states and look for a more relaxed and stress free environment. i have never been to italy but have heard great things about it. i was looking at palermo and abruzzo but if anyone can suggest other places to live where its mountains and the ocean i love water it would be great. also how do i obtain residency permit, work permit and i know i dont need a visa with my U.S. passport but inorder to stay there for a year or more what permits do i need? and also for a single person how much money do i need to put away each month if everything is controlled and just live a normal quite life? thank you for all your help

Ciao.
Italian writing here.
As you referred to a more relaxed life i would suggest to go south. Iwould think Puglia is a good choice.
But be aware that, find a job there can be a serious problem, and, though is cheaper than big cities, your dollar is very weak now.
I visited california last year and i felt -nearly- a rich man.
Another option for you is to find a job as english teacher. There's always need 4 those.
Think it over...