the perfect countries to live better

Beach in Tunisia (generic) – Photo by Ansa Foto

It’s not just young people who are leaving Italy. According to the latest edition of the Migrantes Foundation Report, those over 65 registered in the Register of Italians Residing Abroad (Aire) have increased by 103.5% from 2006 to the present day.

Retirees, of course, emigrate for different reasons than children, and choose countries with favorable tax treatment for foreigners who transfer their residence. And in some cases life is better than in Italy.

Retired Abroad: Favorite Destinations

Among the favorite destinations are Tunisia, Portugal. The Repubblica newspaper interviewed witnesses who explained that they had moved thanks to favorable economic and social conditions.

Quiet living conditions

“When you come to Tunisia, if you leave, you miss it. There is a sky that is different from ours: as I speak to you the night is coming, there are incredible colors,” Roberto, 72, retired manager of Monte dei Paschi di Siena, told La Repubblica .

There is also the testimony of Enrico, a 75-year-old Inail retiree, who recounts an uncivilized Rome: “In my city, Rome, if you have to cross a crossroads, people continue to pass, they don’t even pass late. This is not the case in Portugal”.

Advantageous taxation

Other retirees told La Repubblica of favorable economic conditions, better than in Italy. “When I moved to Vila Real de Santo Antonio (Portugal), the taxation of foreign pensioners was zero. From 2021, it has risen to 10% due to contestation from northern European countries, in particular Sweden and Finland. But living here is still practical, also because the average Portuguese salary is between 800 and 1,100 euros”.

Even in Tunisia, continues Repubblica through the voice of the interviewees, taxation is favorable: “Here you pay 4.5%, in Italy I would pay around 40%. And the cost of living is one-third that of Italy.”