The Best Places to Live in Italy -Quality of Life

Happy New Year to all. I found a great article in "Il Sole 24 Ore" of December 29th 2008 on the best places to live in Italy and thought I would share with those interested...

The research done by the newspaper for the 2008 rating of provinces with the highest quality of life is as follows:

1. Aosta
2. Belluna
3.Bolzano
4.Trento
5.Sondrio
6.Trieste
7.Siena
8.Gorizia
9.Piacenza
10.Parma


The province of Florence is placed at number 12.

The parameters determining high quality of life for the research are : standard of living, business and employment, services/air quality/health, crime, population, leisure time. Not surprisingly, there is a definite relationship between a higher quality of life and living in the smaller and medium sized towns.

As for any research study, you have to make up your own mind. For instance while the quality of life in a small town in the province of Siena may be high, you may be at a disadvantage if you want to find work as a manager of a big company. Also I could not find education as one of the important parameters on the study which I find very important.

The best advice I can give someone who wants to move to Italy is to research, research and do more research. Visit the town or towns first and repeatedly during different times of the year and if you can, try to live in the town renting a place first before moving there. Also do not give up your job in your native home before getting a contract for work in Italy. The unemployment rate is extremely high.

That is my two cents!