From three Italy moves — what genuinely shortened the time to feeling at home. From experience, Italy takes about twice as long as anywhere else. These ten things shortened it considerably.
Indirect air conditioning is not air conditioning.
Italian units aimed at the ceiling never cool a room below 26°C — and bedrooms typically have none at all. Install direct AC in your bedroom first, then the living room, before your first July.
2
Public healthcare is only as good as the doctor answering the phone.
A medico di base who picks up, schedules, and builds a referral network is the real asset — not just the coverage. SSN contributions are tax-deductible and your spending is automatically tracked via your Tessera Sanitaria.
3
Find a commercialista before tax season finds you.
If you live in Italy, you file taxes in Italy — the variable is whether you walk in prepared or spend three visits gathering what you should have brought the first time. Start at Prima dell'Appuntamento on athomeinfriuli.com.
4
Thank the people who got you here.
The neighbors who explained the trash schedule, the realtor who saved your closing, the official who bent the rules once — a small gesture lands differently in Italy than anywhere else. We bring California wine from a place we used to live. It costs almost nothing and is never forgotten.
5
Run two banking systems in parallel.
An Italian bank account is non-negotiable for F24 payments, Telepass, and any service requiring an Italian IBAN. Pair it with Wise for international transfers and home-country access.
6
Insurance first, cameras second — do both.
Cover your home, car, and personal liability with a local broker, then add a Wi-Fi camera with motion alerts and a phone app. Knowing your home is quiet while you're traveling is worth every euro of the monthly cost.
7
Powerline adapters beat thick Italian walls.
Plug one near your router, one in the dead zone — wired-quality internet through existing electrical wiring, no drilling required. Cheaper and more reliable than mesh in century-old stone construction.
8
A VPN is expat infrastructure, not a luxury.
U.S. government portals, brokerage platforms, and streaming services all restrict or block foreign IP addresses. A reliable VPN keeps your digital life intact from day one.
9
Two apps make Italian driving and parking stress-free.
Telepass gets you through toll booths without stopping — essential when your driver's seat is on the wrong side of the ticket machine. EasyPark lets you pay by the minute, extend remotely, and stop the timer when you leave.
10
Know where the emergency rooms are before you need one.
The Emergenza Friuli app shows real-time ER wait times across the region — a non-life-threatening situation with a choice of hospitals becomes a five-minute decision instead of a three-hour wait. Most Italian regions have an equivalent. Find yours now.