Perugia

Low rents and house prices, student rooms among the cheapest in Italy, transport and groceries at average levels; a car is almost essential for those living in the villages. The historic centre costs more than the districts but remains affordable.

An affordable, slack market: the historic centre for students and those who want to live on the acropolis, Elce and Monteluce near the university, cheap Fontivegge around the station, residential Madonna Alta and San Sisto, the villages for families. ERP managed by ATER Umbria, university halls by ADiSU Umbria.

Registry office and CIE by appointment at municipal offices and the village branch offices; waste by GESENU with scheduled door-to-door collection and collection centres; drinkable water from Umbra Acque; the Mercato Coperto and the Pian di Massiano market; Corso Vannucci for shopping; the Augusta and San Matteo degli Armeni libraries.

To enter with a dog, cat or ferret you need a microchip, an EU pet passport or health certificate and a valid rabies vaccination. Mandatory registration in the regional pet register, lead at all times and a muzzle to hand. Pets allowed on trains under Trenitalia rules and in apartment buildings by law.

Rules depend on who is arriving: EU/EEA/Swiss citizens (no visa, registration with the Comune after three months), non-EU citizens for stays up to 90 days (Schengen rule, type C visa where required) and for long stays (national type D visa and a residence permit within eight working days of arrival).

Urban buses by Busitalia Sita Nord, the automated Minimetrò from Pian di Massiano to the centre (Pincetto) with seven stations, public escalators from the car parks up to the acropolis; Perugia Fontivegge station with slow trains to Rome and Florence; San Francesco d'Assisi airport at Sant'Egidio.

Euro, cards accepted almost everywhere, a legal cash limit. Anyone living in Italy for most of the year is tax resident and taxed on worldwide income under three IRPEF brackets; specific regimes exist for the self-employed (forfettario), inbound workers, foreign pensioners and new residents. Contributions go to INPS; annual return with the 730 or Redditi form.

The city comes under USL Umbria 1's Distretto del Perugino (with Corciano and Torgiano); the Azienda Ospedaliera di Perugia, run in partnership with the University, is a high-specialty hub. In the city you book and pay co-payments at the CUP desks of the hospital and neighbourhoods, at FarmaCup pharmacies and online on the regional portal.

Non-EU pensioners enter with the elective residence visa, EU pensioners through free movement; public healthcare is accessible by compulsory or voluntary registration. Optional 7% regime on foreign income for those moving to small southern municipalities. Cheap houses in villages, services concentrated in cities.

A regional-capital economy: Region, Province, municipality, hospital and universities are the main employers; in the private sector Perugina-Nestlé, agri-food, textiles and clothing, services and retail weigh most. A narrow skilled job market; regional employment rate close to the national average.

A VAT number (partita IVA) from the Agenzia delle Entrate for freelancers; for businesses the Comunicazione Unica to the Registro delle Imprese, which also notifies the Agenzia, INPS, INAIL and SUAP. Main forms: sole proprietorship, SNC/SAS, SRL and SRLS, SPA. Compulsory PEC, annual chamber fee, e-invoicing. Invitalia incentives; non-EU citizens need a self-employment permit or the investor visa.

Two public universities: the State University (1308), with departments spread between the centre, Elce, Monteluce, Borgo XX Giugno, Sant'Andrea delle Fratte and Santa Lucia, and the University for Foreigners at Palazzo Gallenga, teaching Italian and the humanities to international students. ADiSU Umbria runs grants, halls and canteens.

A municipality of 162,000 residents, among Italy's largest by area, capital of Region and Province, with no elected sub-districts. Perugino as the local speech, patrons Saint Constantius (29 January), Saint Herculanus and Saint Lawrence; the Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria, the University of 1308 and the University for Foreigners.

At almost 500 metres on the acropolis, Perugia has cold winters with fog in the valleys and occasional snow, hot but breezy summers with cool nights. Good air quality compared with lowland cities; monitoring by ARPA Umbria. Rainfall spread through the year, heaviest in autumn.

A medieval and Etruscan acropolis around Corso Vannucci: Fontana Maggiore, Palazzo dei Priori with the Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria, the Collegio del Cambio, the Rocca Paolina, the Etruscan Arch and Well. Low visitor numbers except Umbria Jazz (July) and Eurochocolate (autumn); UNESCO-listed Assisi twenty minutes away, Gubbio, Spello, Trasimeno, Todi and Orvieto for day trips.

Torta al testo flatbread, strangozzi, cured meats and chocolate; the Percorso Verde at Pian di Massiano and the hills around the city for running and walking, Lake Trasimeno half an hour away; Perugia football at the Curi and top-flight volleyball at the PalaBarton; evenings between via dei Priori, piazza Danti and Corso Garibaldi.