Forget buying cheap homes in Italy and living the Dolce Vita. That used to be the way – retirees and expats snapping up houses for just €20,000.
But I recently discovered that lots of the UK pensioners who are escaping Brexit Britain by moving to offbeat regions in Italy have opted for a much more convenient option: super-low rents. And I mean – really low. Like barely €200 a month.
Villages and towns in deep southern parts of Calabria, Basilicata and Sicily are packed with Britons looking for year-round sunshine. In the sleepy Sicilian village of Raffadali, renowned for its premium pistachios, I met John, a 72-year-old former gardener who two years ago sold his home in Leeds, packed his suitcases (and his dog), and moved here.
“At first I wanted to buy something cheap, tiny, with some furniture and even though prices of homes on sale are incredibly low, I did not want to go through the hassle of dealing with paperwork, deeds and paying notaries,” he told me, sipping an early morning espresso at the central bar.
John found out that many of the flats and buildings in the historical centre were being rented practically for free.
“I picked a three-bedroom home with a terrace overlooking the nice green fields around here, fully furnished. And guess how much I pay? Just €150 per month.”
My jaw dropped and I nearly choked on my pistachio cream-filled cornetto.
I quickly did the maths and realised John was paying €1,800 a year to live in beautiful Sicily. That’s what Romans pay per month to rent a one-bedroom flat way out in the suburbs. I can’t imagine how much it would be to rent a similar property in the UK.
“I’m living the idyllic dream for free – and saving a lot on my pension,” says John. “I enjoy free sunshine and I never turn on the heater, not even in December.” He then goes on to tell me that many pensioner friends of his have made the same move, relocating to an under-the-radar, cosy Italian village and renting a home they could only conjure in their dreams. It’s one way of avoiding the cuts in the winter fuel allowance.
In the village of Soverato, along Calabria’s quiet Ionian coast, I came across another pensioner who, for just €200 a month, was living in a four-bedroom rural cottage just outside the historic centre. Sheep graze in the surrounding lush countryside and old farmers plough the land.
Erik, 81, a former engineer from Brighton, told me that in 2020 two heart attacks had made him reassess his priorities in life.
“I wanted to be happy and live in a nice place where it’s warm, people are friendly, the food and views are great, and cost of living is low,” Erik told me one evening as we were strolling along the promenade. The beaches are stunning in Soverato, with turquoise-clear waters. Few crowds, too. Each day, together with his wife, Helen, he either goes for long walks in the hills or to the beach.
“What’s not to love? I’m tanned year-round – back in the UK I was always so pale I looked sick.”
He introduced me to three other Brit pensioners who had moved to Soverato. All of them were renting.
One of them, Richard, a 74-year-old former bank employee from London, gets new bed sheets and towels from the owners, and the kitchen was fully equipped including a Nespresso machine. The rent is €300 a month, but his four-bedroom cottage in Soverato comes with an olive grove, fruit trees and a panoramic verandah.
“My wife and I came here to find peace. We’ll never buy this house as we don’t want the burden of ownership, but we’ll never go back to the UK either. We’ll live this way until we die: paying our monthly super-low rent,” said Richard.
I looked around: the view from his patio looked out across the sea, all the way to the shimmering horizon, and I could smell the scent of lemons and mandarins.
Silvia Marchetti is a freelance writer based in Rome
