Turin

Turin is among the cheapest large Italian cities: rents and purchase prices are well below Milan, Rome, Florence and Bologna. Winter heating and, for drivers, parking and the ZTL weigh more. Outside the centre rents fall quickly.

A broad market, less tight than Milan's, with much supply in 1960s–70s buildings. The centre and Crocetta are the dearest; San Salvario and Vanchiglia the student districts; Barriera di Milano and Mirafiori the cheapest. Social housing through ATC Piemonte Centrale; student residences through EDISU.

Registry procedures by appointment through the municipal portal (TorinoFacile) and the national CIE agenda. Waste handled by Amiat with door-to-door collection and, in the centre, card-operated ecoisole. Good tap water (SMAT) and «toret» fountains. Informagiovani and municipal desks for newcomers.

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).

GTT runs one automatic metro line, a network of trams and urban buses and the metropolitan rail service (SFM) with Trenitalia. Tickets and passes are loaded on the BIP card. Caselle airport is linked by train to Porta Susa and by bus. Central ZTL in the morning hours.

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 whole city falls under ASL Città di Torino (head office at via San Secondo 29), which runs four city hospitals; the Maria Vittoria hosts a DEA with an emergency department. At corso Bramante 88 is Città della Salute e della Scienza, a university hospital trust created by merging three regional reference hospitals, among them the Molinette.

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 manufacturing economy in transition: automotive and components, aerospace, ICT and business services, banking, publishing, research. The job market is slower than Milan's but living costs are lower. Coworking spaces and incubators cluster between the centre, Aurora (OGR) and Lingotto.

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 large public universities: the Politecnico di Torino (engineering, architecture, design, many master's degrees in English) and the University of Turin (all other fields, with campuses across the city). EDISU Piemonte runs grants, residences and canteens. San Salvario, Vanchiglia, Crocetta and Aurora are the student districts.

Turin is divided into eight circoscrizioni and is the capital of the Metropolitan City. Italian is spoken; Piedmontese survives as a family language. The patron saint is John the Baptist, a city holiday on 24 June.

Continental lowland climate at the foot of the Alps: cold, damp winters with fog and temperature inversions, hot summers. In the cold months Turin is consistently among the Italian provincial capitals with the most days above the PM10 limit; Arpa Piemonte publishes a bulletin and anti-smog measures.

A city of museums (Egyptian, Royal Museums, Cinema at the Mole), Baroque squares and UNESCO Savoy residences. Two or three days are enough, best in spring or autumn. The Torino+Piemonte Card and the Abbonamento Musei cover most sites. Events: Book Fair, Torino Film Festival, Artissima, ATP Finals.

Piedmontese cuisine and a tradition of coffee and chocolate, aperitivo in the central squares and San Salvario, large parks along the Po and the Dora, mountains an hour away. Historic markets, two stadiums, many free things: the hill, the Murazzi, exhibitions at OGR.