Moving from Canada to Italy As A Single Mom With One Toddler.
Posted by crsi00210@reddit | expats | View on Reddit | 36 comments
I’ve been researching Italy for a few years, and I’m at the point where I’d really like to hear from people who have actually made the move and settled there long-term — especially other Canadians or non-EU residents who moved to Sicily or Piedmont. I also briefly considered Switzerland but went with Italy due to more affordability.
Why I want to move: •I’m looking for a slower, more grounded lifestyle focused on family, dogs, and nature. •I want a place with real community values, fresh food, and a calmer daily rhythm. •Healthier, more natural living •I have several large working dogs, and I’m drawn to the dog culture. •I’d like to find a simpler lifestyle and peace than stay in a system that feels rushed and expensive. •The warmer climate is also a big factor — I’m tired of full, long Canadian winters but there’s still access to snow if I want it.
Areas I’ve researched so far: • Piedmont: Orta San Giulio, Gozzano, Asti, and Madonna del Sasso. These seem affordable, organized, and family-friendly while still surrounded by nature. • Sicily: Towns like Ragusa, Modica, and Cefalù. They look ideal for community life, and lower living costs.
What I’ve already looked into: • Visa options: elective residency, digital nomad, and self-employment routes. • Cost of living, housing availability, and healthcare access in both regions. • Dog regulations, transport, and access to vets and green space. • Cultural and lifestyle differences compared to Canada — especially the pace, bureaucracy, and community interaction.
What I’m hoping to hear: • How did you make the move and what type of visa did you start with? • How difficult was it to find housing and integrate into the community? • What do you wish you’d known before you arrived? • How long did it take before you really felt “settled” in Italy? • What has daily life actually been like — bureaucracy, costs, and friendships?
I’m looking for real settlement stories from people who built a life there: what went right, what surprised you, and what you’d do differently.
CarliniFotograf@reddit
I’m from the US, but my family are right from Italy. I wanted to move to the Mediterranean, so I chose Croatia over Italy. I’m in Istria, right on the Adriatic Sea next to Italy. Istria looks very Italian, as this used to be part of Italy. But most Croatians speak fluent English which I liked, cause I speak just a little Italian. Also Croatia is very safe with hardly no crime. Plus it’s beautiful here!
As I know from my large Italian family and friends and also all the Italians I’ve met over here. Most speak very bad English or none at all. Hopefully you speak fluent Italian, if not you better start taking classes or maybe consider a place like Croatia where most people speak fluent English.
TravellingAmandine@reddit
Is Croatia really cheaper than Italy? I’ve heard stories of Croatians doing their shopping in Italy due to rising prices after the introduction of the euro.
crsi00210@reddit (OP)
Very, very interesting. A huge factor into my decision was that Italy is actually more affordable than here, I’ve never even considered Croatia for anything in my life.
TravellingAmandine@reddit
In the north I would also look at Trieste. Sicily would be even more affordable as you can buy fruit and vegetables (and olive oil!) from local producers. For you as a single mum I would be worried about isolation in Sicily, as it is a bit cut off from the rest of Italy, but the friendliness of the people makes up for it in my opinion. It might be a culture shock though. I recommend a book “Children of the Volcano” by a British author who moved with her 2 daughters (as a single mum) to the aeolian islands (Sicily) and talks about her experience of living there for roughly 10 years (spoiler: her children are now grown up, went on to to study in the UK, and she has just bought a house and moved back to the island).
CarliniFotograf@reddit
It’s beautiful here and for me as an American is very affordable. Allot of Italians come here on holiday. Plus there is an Italian minority here. All the signs are in Croatian and have it in Italian as well. Plus most Croatians also speak Italian and English too.
CarliniFotograf@reddit
I’ve never heard that before. I don’t know any Croatias that go to Italy for that reason. But I sure see allot of Italians over here. I’m in Istria and the cost of living for me as an American is very cheap. My friends in Italy, Austria, Germany all tell me when they visit how cheap Croatia, Slovenia and the rest of the Balkans are compared to the rest of the EU.
TravellingAmandine@reddit
Interesting. I have Croatian colleagues and they tell me they often go to Trieste for grocery shopping. Perhaps Istria is different because it’s right on the border (they are in Zagreb). Also, everyone who holidays in Croatia (eg Split) remarks how expensive it is compared to Slovenia and northern Italy. I have the chance to move to Zagreb with work but prices (and winter pollution) is what keeps me away. Maybe Istria is the best of both worlds. What’s it like in terms of taxation? Any tax breaks?
CarliniFotograf@reddit
Split is a tourist destination, just like Dubrovnik and is a little more expensive than the rest of the country. Your colleagues drive to Trieste from Zagreb. That’s a 4 hour drive with gas at $6 a gallon would be very expensive grocery’s. We have Spar super market and it’s very fair priced. I’m in Pula. We also get tourists in the summer. For me as an American, the cost of living here is very cheap.
FrauAmarylis@reddit
Are you fluent in Italian?
Fo you like inefficiency in daily life? Eating dinner at 10pm? Showing up to a business during open hours and it’s closed? Unreliable internet? Public toilets with no seat? Rampant theft? Crazy drivers?Astronomically high taxes- 50% income tax?
crsi00210@reddit (OP)
genuinely 6–7 of the things you listed are issues we face here in rural canada, & aren’t actually issues for me; i know italy has its quirks like any other country, but i’m not too concerned about that side of things — i really am more interested in what daily life feels like once you’ve settled in longterm.
Crafty_Try_423@reddit
I’m curious what is it about rural Canada that you’re escaping to Italy to avoid? Usually this is an important question. People in Boston or NYC who want the “slow life” and are escaping the rat race don’t understand that people in correspondingly large cities in Italy are also in a rat race. It’s not like what you see in Under the Tuscan Sun or whatever.
Your story is kind of interesting if you’re living in rural Canada, cause I would expect that life is already kind of slow there (in part for some of these reasons - like unreliable internet and businesses - but also because of harsh weather I’d guess).
I don’t have experience to share because I haven’t moved permanently yet. I guess I’d say that for the time I did live there, the inefficiencies of daily living were pretty annoying. And also, where I lived there wasn’t really a “slow life” except among those quite poor, and then it wasn’t by choice.
What I experienced during my recent trip (vacation) was that Italians are developing a very different attitude towards foreigners. Because of the vast influx of them, I’d experience Italians treating me with some disdain until they realized I’m Italian too. I was traveling with my non-Italian friend, so they’d hear English and assume I’m foreign. Once we started speaking, this attitude shifted. This happened multiple times but was much more noticeable in the small Tuscan towns and in Rome.
crsi00210@reddit (OP)
this is the kind of feedback and hands-on personal experiences i am looking for. thank you.
Fit_Caterpillar9732@reddit
The person you’re replying to doesn’t have personal experience about immigration as they said. Unlike us others who have immigrated successfully, some of us several times.
You seem to live in a fantasy, if you think the “EU” has one government and that you need to escapee Canada of all places because this magical “EU” has “sane” politics. Each of the 27 countries have their own politics, political systems and a lot of problems which you’d know if you’d ever opened a newspaper /news site in the “world” section. Do you know what parties currently form the Italian government, and what their politics are? Id you do, pray tell what seems “sane” or “stable” about them?
Crafty_Try_423@reddit
Just to clarify, I did immigrate to Italy. I moved there and back (due to life circumstances) and desire to move there again, if I could find a job there.
But the rest of your statement I agree with and it is stuff I have said many times. People escaping one country’s politics most often have no real idea of the target country’s politics. It’s very easy to think things are better when you’re in blissful ignorance of the day-to-day. Just like people escaping the “rat race” of a big city are unaware that big cities in Italy are also a rat race. Everyone wants to live in a charming little town on their big U.S. salary, LOL. It’s a charming idea to live a simple life when you have a million-dollar cushion in the bank. 🤷🏻♀️
crsi00210@reddit (OP)
If you have so much experience why can’t you just reply to what the post actually requests instead of assuming everyone knows less than you? Am I taking a citizenship exam or asking for personal experiences?
If you can’t provide helpful, or useful information that pertains to what I’m asking for then go be hateful elsewhere. This person may not have immigrated, but they spent time, and gave me their personal experiences, which is exactly what I asked for.
TravellingAmandine@reddit
Very few people eat dinner at 10pm, in the north they don’t even let you into a restaurant at 10pm, so that’s BS number 1. Unless you live somewhere very rural broadband and fiber are available and cheaper than in the Uk. Nobody in Italy seats on a public toilet. Rampant theft is again pure scaremongering: in London I am constantly watching my bag and phone, in Sicily I sleep with the windows open. Taxes on employment income are high (mostly social contribution), but you get a safety net that is just not available in other countries (in Uk statutory sick pay is a joke), and we don’t know how OP is planning to fund her stay.
crsi00210@reddit (OP)
Little things like internet are cheaper there, than here as well. And some places here also don’t have internet. 🤣 Least of my concerns. Theft is also least of my concerns the crime rate is less than here. I don’t sit on a public toilet seat in Canada either.
People think they’re being helpful, but a lot of these things are just irrelevant lol.
ihavenosisters@reddit
What kind of visa do you plan on doing this?
crsi00210@reddit (OP)
there are a couple of visa options that would work well for us but I’d really just like to hear personal experiences from people who made the move. I’m more concerned about integrating into the lifestyle longterm as a foreigner.
averysmallbeing@reddit
I don't recall a single mother visa personally. Not to mention somebody else's comment about you needing the father's consent to just move him to Italy.
crsi00210@reddit (OP)
Then i guess it’s a good thing you don’t know everything about me. I didn’t ask about any of those things. Having kids has nothing to do with any visas — but it has everything to do with integrating into a new life in a new country as a parent, which is basically the only thing i was asking about.
averysmallbeing@reddit
It has everything to do with everything, and it sounds a lot like you're not 0lsbbin
crsi00210@reddit (OP)
it sounds a lot like you’re assuming you know everything i have done, considered, researched and the steps i have already taken — which you don’t, because my post was vague, i only wanted personal experiences. you’re not entitled to my entire life story and immigration plan.
Californian-Cdn@reddit
Yes or no. Do you have a legal right to live and work in Italy?
crsi00210@reddit (OP)
and it sounds like you have no relevant experience with nothing relevant to contribute.
CarliniFotograf@reddit
If you have direct family there, like a parent or even grandparents you may qualify for an Italian passport. I’m from the US, now in Croatia, but going to work on getting one as my father’s family are from Italy.
Johnbmtl@reddit
Most of the replies that you are getting have nothing to do with your question. Your best bet might be to ask the same question in r/expatsitaly
CheeseWheels38@reddit
Do you have family there? I think a lot of people idealize "family-oriented" while forgetting that when they arrive, they're not going to magically become part of that family/community. Family first is great when you're looking for a job and half your aunts/uncles are mangaging hiring somewhere, less so when they don't.
crsi00210@reddit (OP)
i do have family there, but i mean a bit deeper than just straight forward “family”. the lifestyle itself feels more community driven — like people actually live together instead of just side by side. in canada everything’s so individual, rushed, and convenience-based.
the major areas im considering are slower, social, and people still value things like sharing meals, greeting neighbors, and letting kids just be kids. it’s different.
Resident_Theory_8584@reddit
People are downvoting you, but I get it. It helps if you speak the local language and get involved in the community and show you're also there to help back and want to assimilate. I'm a mom in Japan, and I speak Japanese. We just went to a festival the local daycare holds and it was a good time. The parents were very friendly, and I made friends with another mom. So yeah, definitely get involved! My son goes to the local daycare and he's 2 (we moved when he was 1) and he's saying words and short phrases in both languages now. My son also has become tidy and has good manners for a 2 year old. I just try and do what the daycare teaches him so that it's consistent, and him going there has been great because he's learning to play and socialize with the other kids. It's a small daycare, 9 kids total. So if you're a busy parent I recommend finding a good daycare and good schools.
Frying-Dutchman-@reddit
I hope you understand your definition of a happy family differs from the one Meloni speaks about.
Fit_Caterpillar9732@reddit
How gracious of you to have “briefly considered Switzerland “, where it’s quite impossible to get a work visa which you must have to immigrate.
Your fantasies about “community” are not the right starting point. Do you have a university education and work experience that an Italian wmployer cannot find among the 450 million EU citizens? Are you fluent in Italian?
Lefaid@reddit
Is there a father trying to be in the picture? That will shut down any move you are considering.
North_Artichoke_6721@reddit
Your best bet is likely to work for a company that has offices in your home country and your target country and then ask for a transfer after a couple of years of experience.
Having corporate sponsorship makes everything easier, from the visa to the logistics of getting your furniture and other items overseas.
What kind of career are you in or looking to be in?
Jolly_Conflict@reddit
Definitely enroll in Italian classes now if you aren’t already fluent in :)
Evie_Th@reddit
We don’t live in Italy, we are based in Switzerland, but I can’t recommend Lavagna and Chiavari enough! We visit several times a year, and every time it feels like coming home. The towns are incredibly family-friendly and super safe, both day and night. People here are so warm and welcoming, making it easy to relax and enjoy. The sea is crystal clear, awarded the Blue Flag for cleanliness. In the summer, the markets are overflowing with fresh fruits, vegetables, and fish every single day. Truly a little paradise on the Ligurian coast! 🩵
sorry for the off-topic comment, I just couldn’t resist recommending these gems!