Hi,

Considering a small village in Tuscany, what will be the monthly expenses for two retired people, not eating out and having already purchased a house please?

I am looking for expenses on:
- food
- electricity
- water
- gas
- heating
- internet
- tv
- phone
- property taxes (being the first and only property, is it an exemption?)
- health insurance contribution
- 1 car insurance

Thanks

First, welcome to the Italy forum! If you have any questions about the site contact either of the mods, Lorna and Mitzyboy or myself as the concierge for Italy!!

Secondly, how long is a piece of string?! Some things will be uniform, like satellite tv, telephone (loads of different plans though) and internet, the rest all depend on where you are, what you will be living in, what you like to eat etc. etc. Give us a bit more info about some of the categories and we can be a bit more precise with info. What I pay for gas in the centre of Florence will be totally different to someone on top of a mountain in the north....so no use to you unless you are my neighbour.

Thanks TestaRossa

Ciao labus,
I can't tell you about Tuscany, but I can tell you about 'average' costs for a retired couple on basic state pensions. Own home, so no mortagage, rent, but we do have condominium charges. Our expenses are probably fairly typical of semi-rural village living:
Condominium - Euro 32 per month
Car parking space - Euro 20 per month
Telecom Internet broad band - Euro 16 per month
Telecom phone line - avarage Euro 55 per month
Enel electricity - average Euro 90 per month (Donna C is washing machine and hot water freak)
Gori water supply company - average Euro 10 per month
Municipal rates - Euro 321 per annum; no ICI property tax now.
Car Insurance Euro 450 per annum
Car Possession tax Euro 145 per annum
Bottled gas - about Euro 300 per annum
Food shopping - average about Euro 300 per month. Produce some of our own greens and olive oil. Get lots of greens, potatoes, rabbits, from relatives. Can vary according to whether or not no. 3 son is self sufficient, or having breakfast/lunch with us.
Have to frequently dip into savings to finance hatches, matches, despatches, birthdays, onomasticos, and new shoes.
Oh, forgot to mention, my next home is already paid for.
ciao for now,
'o nonno

That's good for bottled gas. About the same for electric as I pay a month with ac so you must be using it like you say!!! My mains gas is around €4k a year so a massive difference and why I suggest you give more info. How many rooms, type of heating, well or municipal water, etc. .

Thanks a lot Onnono. Adding everything up it seems that around 700 euro/month would be OK for a retired couple.
Of course there are differences in each households, as conditions differ. I was thinking of having a 2 bedroom appartment or house, but finally the sqare metres count when you need to heat or cool the house.

Could you tell me somethin more please:
we are EU citizens and from the reply I received from the Consulate it seems that we could contribute to servizio sanitario nazionale and be eligible for the health care. I don't know if this is 100% true, but if it is and you do the same, as a retired couple, could you tell me please how much is the monthly fee?

Here is the reply from the consulate:
an EU citizen can move and live in Italy. The process starts there in the city you choose to live in. Once you have an address you must go to register yourself at the COMUNE (municipaly) and they will then explain how to contribute to the National Health Plan.

Hi TestaRossa. €4k a year is a big, big spending. Are you in a cold area of Italy and you have to use heating all year round please?

The heating cost will depend on number of square meters you heat and how many hours per day.
We were using the heating for around 6/7 hrs a day, gas for cooking and hot water for 200m2 and our yearly gas bill was above 2,000 euro.Just read that from July 1st, the price of gas has gone up by 3.2%.
Ellectricity is another cost, we paid 1,700 e last year.We just got the rubbish tax for this year and got a schock, it jumped from 677E to 888 E. per year.
Well, Berlusconi cut the ICI property tax and now the local comune has to raise the money by raising the rubish tax by over 30%.
Regarding the TV licence, not many Italians pay it I undertand and it costs us I believe over 100 E per year.

Here is a link that might help clarify a few things about the health service.
http://ukinitaly.fco.gov.uk/resource...inistry-health

Not really, I'm in Florence in an independent 3 bed house with high uninsulated ceilings and lots of windows. Winter is nov to march but it was a little longer this year but my bills are roughly that every year. Only heating water and the hob now!

Expensive I agree with Testarossa on prices, Tuscany is one of the most expensive places to live in Italy.

Thanks a lot Isakat for your contribution.
Probably an apartment with hot water radiators, maximum 125 m2 living area would be cheaper when it comes to gas and electricity costs.

Are you in a city or a village please? Location seems to be an important factor. I have information from Monza, appartment 50m2 and they pay 135/month for water/electricity/gas.

Thanks a lot 37100.

Ciao tutti, well of course I was bound to forget something. Of course I forgot the TV licence of Euro 105 per annum.
Our appartment is about 100 square metres, with gas fired central heating, which we use January thru March from about 18:00 to 20:00, and use a Euro 42 gas bottle every 5/6 days in that period. The rest of the year the same bottle lasts us about 6 weeks for gas hob cooking. Hot water cistern is electric, hot water for drinks is electric, ovens are electric.
I have not including in the annual budget the cost of petrol for the 500 runabout; nor the outrageous expenses of my own Merc. which I finanace from my savings.
Re National Health, never paid anything since I started working here in the 60's
although obviously have paid INAM and INPS contributions, either as an employee, or as self employed. I now pay a 4 Euro ticket on my prescriptions about once every 2 months. Just paid out a large amount however for private dental treatment. Italian NHS dental services are abysmal.
Water is GORI acqueduct.
ciao for now,
'o nonno

Ciao onnono, thanks a lot again for your input.
Just to clarify please: do you heat the appartment with the gas from the bottle only? And is it enough to burn 2 hours a day and it keeps warm the whole day?

Re: health - we never worked in Italy, we just want to retire early to Italy using EU citizenship. That means we are self suficient, but want to contribute to servizio sanitario nazionale through monthly payments and benefit from the health system. The consulate hinted that it is possible, here is the answer:

an EU citizen can move and live in Italy. The process starts there in the city you choose to live in. Once you have an address you must go to register yourself at the COMUNE (municipaly) and they will then explain how to contribute to the National Health Plan.