Portugal has long been the favorite destination of the French wishing to expatriate for their retirement. But it is about to be dethroned by another European country, which has many advantages, in particular with regard to purchasing power …
If Portugal has long been the flagship destination of expatriate French retirees, it may well be dethroned by another European country, just as pleasant and at the cost of living much lower than within France …
Portugal has long had the wind in the sails with French retirees, who found an advantageous taxation there and a lower cost of living. But there is another European country which is increasingly appealing to expatriates. Already more than 37,000 French people are registered in the embassy register as expatriates. It must be said that the place has many advantages: a pleasant climate, a pleasant living environment, a geographic proximity to France, and above all, lower prices than in France, especially in the real estate sector.
Depending on the platform Green acresthe French spend an average of 428,000 euros on average for a very large house of around 260m², or less than 1,700 euros put it square! In comparison, the average price per square meter in France, all regions combined, is around 2408 euros, according to Seloger.com. An average that increases exponentially in Paris and in many large cities.
In this country, taxation has also become even more advantageous than in Portugal. Since 2019, foreign retirees, from the private sector, which have been settling in small cities with less than 20,000 inhabitants can be taxed there just 7 % on their retirement pension against 10 % in Portugal. By extension, retirees can therefore benefit from better purchasing power.
But where is this Eldorado who has already won over many French people? This is Italy! Thus, to benefit from the above -mentioned advantageous tax regime, it is necessary to be a new Italian tax resident and settle in poorly populated places such as Sicily, Calabria, in Abruzzo or Campania.
French retirees also find almost as much appeal in the south of Italy, more rural, as in the north, more city. Depending on the platform Green acresthe five favorite regions of the French have two located in the south of the country, Sardinia, in fifth position, and the Puglia, at the top of the ranking.