Moving To Sicily Italy: Your Burning Questions Answered

Thinking of moving to Sicily, Italy? Join us as we share our personal experiences and answer your burning questions about life on this beautiful island.

Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, is a treasure trove of unique history, natural beauty, and vibrant culture. From the majestic Mount Etna to the pristine waters of the Aeolian Islands, the island’s landscapes are a testament to its rich history. Its warm climate, delectable cuisine, and diverse heritage make it a dream destination for many.

If you are considering a move to Sicily, it’s a decision that can profoundly enrich your life. However, it’s essential to understand the practicalities of island living, including the cost of living and adapting to a slower pace.

Croce and Carol Amato, esteemed veterans on living in Sicily, provide invaluable insights for those contemplating a move.

▶️ In this video Croce and Carol Amato address key questions such as:
• What factors should I consider when deciding to move to Sicily?
• How does the cost of living in Sicily compare to other Mediterranean destinations, Europe, and the USA?
• What are the challenges and rewards of living in a slower-paced environment?
• How can I best prepare for a move to Sicily?

Whether planning a move or simply exploring the possibility, this opportunity to learn firsthand about Sicily is invaluable.

Understanding the cost of living and adapting to local customs can help you make an informed decision about moving to Sicily.

Join us to discover if this Mediterranean gem could be the perfect next chapter in your life.

▶️Video Chapters:
00:00 Moving To Sicily Italy: Your Burning Questions Answered
00:18 Living in Sicily Before Citizenship
00:59 Nearby Cities and Villages
01:51 Buying a Car in Sicily
02:48 Comparing the Cost of Living: Sicily vs Texas
03:40 Ordering a Burger in Sicily
04:35 Solar Panels in Sicily
05:02 Currency Exchange and The Euro
05:24 Legal Team Recommendations for Moving to Sicily
06:16 Language Barrier in Sicily
07:37 Cost of Living in Sardinia vs Sicily
08:02 Medicare and Social Security
09:02 Visa and Citizenship Process
09:42 Medical Care for Diabetics in Sicily
10:28 Public Transportation in Sicily
12:35 Bombola Costs and Car Expenses
14:02 Car Insurance and Accidents
15:17 Short-term Rentals in Sicily
16:00 Proximity to the Beach
17:13 Minimum amount of House rent
18:10 Banks in the Carini area
18:26 Why would you need radiators in Sicily?
19:33 About Mount Etna volcano

Moving To Sicily Italy

If you’re interested in Sicily, the cost of living, and practical aspects of life in Sicily, you’re going to love this video. We do a deep dive into the questions and answer your questions from our video, The Honest Cost of Living in Sicily, Our Personal Breakdown.

So get ready for the first one because Giselle wants to know, how long have you lived in Sicily and did you move there before getting your citizenship? Well, I got my citizenship way back in 2006 before we moved to Italy when your father died.

We went over to Sicily to take care of your mom because she couldn’t stay alone and so I went through all the hoops. At the time, we were living in Florida, and I dealt with the consulate in Miami and had to fill out all the papers and provide marriage certificate because I’m a citizen by marriage. Croce was born and raised in Sicily in Italy. And so yes, I was a citizen before I moved to Sicily.

Nearby Cities and Villages

DR says, I’m interested. Could you share some names of cities close by there? So what would be some towns or villages close to Carini or Palermo? Well, the one close by is Toretta, Capaci, Cinisi, Mondello, Sferracavallo. Yes. Tommaso Natale. Okay. Partinico. Partinico, yes, that’s a bigger one, and Terrasini. Terrasini, yes, but we really love that whole area. We love the west side of the island. We haven’t really explored the east side.

We haven’t gone over there and those are some things for us to do. Yes, on our next trip back we’re going to explore Catania and Taormina and all these other places. But for right now, near where we are, those are some of the towns. Thank you for asking.

Buying a Car in Sicily

They have a question if we buy the car in Italy. Yes, we did. It was a 2009 Toyota Yaris. Yes, and how much did we pay?

We paid about €6,500, and it’s a semi-automatic. Semi-automatic and that was in 2022 when we bought that car. So it’s got really good mileage, right, on diesel. And there are other questions about the car, and we’ll get to those in a few minutes. Yeah. We never would ship a car from the United States, would we? It’s too expensive, and you can get some really good deals over there.

I never learned to drive a manual car, a stick shift, never had to learn. Croce, you really didn’t either because you got your driver’s license in the U.S., so we really never had the need to ever learn a manual transmission. So we always look for semi-automatic or automatic, so that’s what we did. Yes.

Comparing the Cost of Living: Sicily vs Texas

Janet says it would cost much more in Texas. Would you say it would be about half of your cost for one person? Well, we did a video, a side-by-side comparison of Sicily versus Texas, weighing the pros and cons of retirement in Sicily so I will link that. But just to give you an idea, the rent that we pay in Sicily as compared to Texas, Sicily is actually 60 percent cheaper. And it’s all furniture.

Yes, it’s all furnished, fully furnished, and we found that place online. We were in Texas back in 2022 before we moved and we found that apartment, and we didn’t contact them online. We waited till we got there and called and made arrangements to see it and all that, and it worked out. You know, we’re very grateful.

Ordering a Burger in Sicily

I got this question, and it made me chuckle a little bit, and it’s funny. John wants to know, why on earth would you order a burger in Sicily when you have so many local delicious dishes? He said, bizarre choice, and he’s right.

I mean, it is kind of weird when you just listen to the video. But the backstory is, I’m a diabetic, and I had been enjoying all the Italian fresh foods, seafood and veggies and the local fruits and all the local fair, wonderful items. I had been enjoying that for a year, and we went to this place to eat.
And their local favorite was actually the bacon cheeseburger, and the waitress highly recommended it, so I tried it, and that became my favorite. Of course, I don’t eat it with the bun, but that’s just my personal preference because of my health condition. But made me laugh a little bit, but yep, good question.

Solar Panels in Sicily

Lisa asked the question, if we have solar in the area where we live. The answer is yes. There is solar panel, and we have it right across the street where we live, and behind us as well, and I see quite a bit all over the town.

Yeah, people really utilize solar panels on their roofs. The Sicilian sunshine is so bright, and they’re taking advantage of it.

Currency Exchange and The Euro

Valarie asked, what’s the Euro? Since Italy joined the European Union, they changed the currency to the Euro, and there is no longer Italian Lira.

So what’s the exchange rate right now? $0.92. So $1.00 in the U.S. is equal to €0.90 cents in the Euro.

Legal Team Recommendations for Moving to Sicily

Allen Payne had a question. He asks, do you have a legal team suggestion to help us get started with the process? He is interested in coming over to Sicily for a long-term stay, and we highly recommend Pete and Chris in Italy. They’re in southern Italy near Calabria, or in Calabria near Catanzaro, and they have a team of professionals, a network of people that help folks get relocated over here. So that channel is called Super Savvy Travelers.

So that’s who we recommend.

We also have a friend in Catania from the channel called You, Me, & Sicily, Alfred Zappala, and he is a lawyer. He’s been in Sicily many, many years, but he’s from the Boston area, and he can give some good information to you.

Language Barrier in Sicily

Compu1er79 says, I was wondering if you could provide some information in regards to the language. Can you get by with English and learning some very, very basic Italian? You could get by, but I don’t think you would thrive. You really need to connect with the locals, right? I mean, there’s apps and such like Duolingo, and you can use Google Translate.

It even has the picture app associated with Google Translate where you can focus on a menu that’s written all in Italian, and it will tell you exactly in English what it is. It’s powerful, no doubt. I mean, it’s a great, great help, but you get really tired relying on those software apps.

You can take 10 minutes a day on YouTube, find a channel, find several channels that you can practice and get your vocabulary up. Just add vocabulary words every day. Try to find some locals in your area to meet with and practice.

Just be aware that if you don’t know the basics about asking questions for directions and pricing and just being confident with a small amount, that it will set you back. And you definitely want to connect with locals, too. So, people will accept you.

Some people do speak English, but not the majority, I have found. Right.

Cost of Living in Sardegna vs Sicily

MissRed had a question. She asked, does anyone know if the cost of living is the same or more expensive in Sardegna? In Sardegna, it’s actually cheaper than Sicily. Isn’t that something? Yes.

And we have friends that live there, and they have told us that, which is shocking because Sicily is very affordable. But yes, it is less expensive than Sicily.

Medicare and Social Security

Franco wants to know, do you still have to pay for Medicare for the USA? Now, Croce turned 65, and you got the card in the mail, right, for Part A? Yes, I did. I got the card – Part A. They sent it to you automatically? Yes.

He didn’t sign up or ask for it. They just automatically sent it in the mail. Now, we do have an appointment scheduled for next month regarding Part B, because we found out that there’s a penalty if you don’t sign up for Part B when you apply for your Social Security, which you’re going to in the next month or so, because we’re planning on retiring in Sicily very soon.

He’s ready to do that. But if you apply for Social Security, and you want those checks to come monthly, if you don’t sign up for Medicare Part B, there’s a penalty for each month that you delay. We don’t know the ins and outs of it yet. We have an appointment scheduled, but we’ll let you know. We’ll keep you updated. Thank you for that good question.

Visa and Citizenship Process

Diane Bailey asked, do you have the ERV, the Elective Residency Visa? I’m trying to see what the Houston Consulate is requiring for passive income, as they all require different amounts for some reason. We are citizens. I’m a dual citizen, so is Croce, but he was born and raised in Italy, so we don’t have to deal with visas.

So our situation is different than those of you trying to get visa and trying to get citizenship. I went through the citizenship process way back in 2006 from Miami Consulate. Yeah, we didn’t have to deal with visas, but we wish you all the best in your journey.

Medical Care for Diabetics in Sicily

Tas says, my husband is a Type 1 diabetic. How has your experience been for care? He is seeking citizenship. And I say very good so far. Yes. We’ve been to the doctor, both of us. Right. I’ve been to the dentist.

We have not been to a hospital or had emergency care, but the care that we have had has been very good.

Now, I have heard mixed reviews, mixed things about the hospitals. Some people have had mediocre care, but it depends on the physician, depends on the group that you go to. So yeah, like any other country. I do recommend the video that we share the pros and cons because we do the comparisons in detail, and that might help you there as well.

Public Transportation in Sicily

Lorna has a couple questions. Lorna Church asks, what about apartments? Do some of them come furnished? What about local transportation?

And I say to that, there’s plenty of local transportation in our town, Carini, Sicily. And any medium-sized town is going to have a bus system, and there’s usually a train station. I don’t know what the population stipulation is, the limit to where they decide where to put the train stations or not, but our town does have really good public transportation. And she asks, what about apartments? Do some of them come furnished? Yes, they do.

In fact, the first one we got was fully furnished. Now, we did buy some things for our own personal comfort. There was plenty of seating, comfortable seating, but we wanted a recliner, so we got a recliner.

We got a few blankets because we like blankets to snuggle up on the couch, just talking or watching TV or whatever. We got a few things, but for the most part, all of the major essentials, furniture, linens, blankets, everything was there. It may not be the case for every place that says “furnished” because over there, when they say furnished, they mean a full kitchen.

Now, whether they mean furniture or not, that remains to be seen. You have to read the listing, but sometimes apartments are rented without a kitchen, and you have to go and get one. I was shocked at that. It’s just different, different culture. I wasn’t used to that.

Because you don’t rent anything in the United States without light fixtures, without a kitchen provided because that would be unfinished, that would be an unfinished place. But over there, the basic is called regular and “furnished” is a kitchen.

But yes, they do have fully furnished with even coffee pots and pots and pans and linens and everything. So yes, there are plenty of places that are fully furnished. And you can watch the home tour video because I share the different websites that you can go to, and I go into detail about where I found our villa.

Bombola Costs and Car Expenses

Ponkelina said, I was shocked by your bombola costs, and bombola is the gas tank. Do you have a small bottle, she asks. Our bombola was a medium size, and they come large as well.

And that’s the cost. Well, the cost that you listed was for the refill, not to buy the bottle. So maybe that was — maybe we should have clarified.

So thank you Ponkelina for asking because that was just the refill for the gas refill, was the 29 Euro that we listed.

Okay. And then she also asks, also the car cost, was that just for the gas alone, the 70 Euro? Yes, that was for the gas, which was diesel for us monthly. As he mentioned, we have a Toyota Yaris, and it gets great mileage.

So even though Sicily, Italy is more expensive, the gas and diesel cost more per gallon or per liter than the U.S., because we had such a good economy car, and it was semi-automatic, and just great mileage, we actually spent less. So our budget was much better in Sicily. So we spent a lot less money, 70 Euros, and we ran everywhere.

Right. And we did not economize just because of diesel costs, not at all. We went anywhere we wanted to go, and we paid 70 Euro per month, and here it’s well above 120.

Car Insurance and Accidents

So COVID PRO mentions, car insurance seems quite expensive. What is your car’s worth approximately? He says, my car in Finland is maybe 12,000 Euro, and full insurance is about 600 to 700 Euro per year. So he wants to know, what’s our car’s worth? Our car is worth about 6,500, and the insurance is about 900 a year.

Right. 75 a month. Right. So his range is between 600 and 700 per year in Finland. Yes, it is higher. It’s a little bit higher than the United States, but I don’t know what that’s attributed to. I know they go off of horsepower for the engine. They, you know, gauge the price based on that. So I’m not sure.

I know in Sicily, with the narrow streets, and just the way people drive, there are a lot of scratches, and dings, and accidents, and rear-ends. I know there are here too in Texas, but there just seems to be a lot of cars with dings and dents over there. You don’t see many that are totally clean without a ding or a dent, do you? But thank you for that good question.

Short-term Rentals in Sicily

Esbier wants to know, are short-term rentals easy to find, and within that $1,500 rental range, or are there only yearly rentals? No, there is a short-term rent. It’s called transitorio. Okay.

Yes. That’s short-term leases, like seasonal. Transitorio is the word you want to look for on those websites, and it can be upwards of three to six months, but sometimes they just rent for high season.

Sometimes in the middle of the winter, when things are really slow, they’ll cut a break and reduce the price, and do a three-month term, or even 30 days. Yes. But you can find short-term. Thank you for that.

Proximity to the Beach

Steven wants to know, are you close to the beach, and was your apartment furnished? Well, we already answered the apartment furnished. Yes, we’re not going to get anything that is not fully furnished, with furniture, and pots and pans, and everything. So yes to that.

And are we close to the beach? We are very close to the beach, about seven, eight minutes. Yep. Seven, eight minutes, and it is gorgeous. I’ll tell you, nothing like it.

We are not landlocked. I know in a previous video, I mistakenly said we’re landlocked here in Texas. But Texas is so huge, and it’s hours and hours and hours to get to the tip, to get to the Gulf Coast in Texas. So I feel up here in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, I feel like I’m landlocked, because there’s no water in sight for hours. So I said that the other day, and someone corrected me, one of our viewers, and I thought that was cute. But yeah, she’s right, absolutely.

But we’re close to the beach, and that salt air, and the fresh breeze coming off, and the beautiful sun shimmering on the water, just gorgeous. If you want to see an example of that, watch the video with Chiara, our niece, and Domenico. We do an interview of them, and that’s a really sweet couple. So you may want to check that video out.

Minimum amount of House rent

So Lizbeth K. wants to know, is that 600 Euro for rent for the month? For the month, correct. Yes. The first place we got, 600. Now we did have to pay 600 for security deposit to get in. Yes. Yes. And we got that back later.

That was actually our last month. So it was 600, security deposit, 600 for the first month’s rent, and then the last month, they used the security deposit. So we didn’t lose a dime. And of course, we left it in pristine condition. And so yes, that was per month, and that’s definitely doable.

You can find places that are not as big for a lot less. If you want to live in town, in the city center, historic center, you can get smaller places, one, two bedroom, or even studios. They’re very affordable. Yeah. They charge like around €300, €350 for furniture. Yeah. With furniture. That’s awesome.

Banks in the Carini area

Ell Miller asked, how are the banks in the Carini area? Back in 2022, we had Intesa SanPaolo, and it was a very good bank for us to work with. Yeah. They were very friendly. We walked in with all of our documents, and we were done in an hour. Yes. And it was very good experience. And they have a lot of ATMs around.

Why would you need radiators in Sicily?

Lucy wants to know, why would you need radiators in Sicily? You would be surprised. The winters get quite chilly, and the houses, for the most part, are cement block. Right. And they are not insulated.

So even if it dips down into the 40s or high 30s, inside, you’re going to feel like it’s 10 degrees cooler. A lot colder. Yeah. And it’s a little damper. Without insulation, it really makes a big difference.

So we lived in northwest Florida, in the Pensacola region, for 21 years. Yes. And people thought that we were in the tropics. Oh, you’re in Florida. It’s hot all year round.

But we had our heat on in northwest Florida between three to four months out of the year, because the temperatures dipped. And we were right on the Alabama line back then, when we lived in Florida. So all of Florida, it’s a big state, is not the same. And Sicily can get really chilly in the winter.

About Mount Etna volcano

Last but not least, we have Miranda Koggan says, Are you serious? Mount Etna, the volcano, is covering all of Sicily with ash.

Well, they really go through it on the east coast of the island. Catania, and the surrounding towns and areas, it can be dangerous to drive with the ash. It’s spewed all over. People have to clean up. The air quality is poor.

But Sicily is a big island, and we are between four and five hours west of Mount Etna. Right. So we don’t even see the smoke. We don’t get ash. We don’t see the smoke. We are not affected in the least by Mount Etna. Right.

The next video you need to watch is the comparison of retiring in Sicily versus Texas, the side-by-side comparison.

And if you didn’t watch the video that these questions came from, The Honest Cost of Living in Sicily, you need to watch that. Because we go into full detail to answer everything.

Thank you so much for your questions. You ask, and we answer. Take care, everyone. Thank you. Arrivederci.