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Two Sicilian Towns, Two Different Lives: Siracusa vs Noto for Expats

My New Life in Italy

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📖 The Italy Retirement Blueprint — everything you need to make this move, in one place, in plain English. Taxes, visas, costs, healthcare, where to live. 18 chapters. Instant PDF download.
👉 https://opil.gumroad.com/l/ANewLifein...

Portugal ended its expat tax deal. Spain is taxing foreign buyers. Greece is expensive. Malta is tiny. Sicily has been sitting here the whole time — with the Mediterranean, 2,700 years of history, and one of the best retirement tax deals left in Europe.
In this video I take a deep look at two of the most beautiful towns in Sicily for Americans thinking about retiring in Italy or moving to Italy from the USA — Siracusa and Noto. I cover the real cost of living in Sicily, what expat life actually looks like in both towns, the Italy 7% flat tax regime explained, and which town suits which kind of person.
Whether you're comparing Italy vs Portugal for retirement, looking for affordable places to retire in Europe, or trying to figure out the best towns in southern Italy for expats — this video gives you the honest picture.

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Chapters:
0:00 Intro — Why Sicily right now
2:00 The Italy Retirement Blueprint
3:16 Siracusa — costs, lifestyle, honest caveats
6:06 Noto — the 7% flat tax town
9:40 Which one wins?
10:36 Outro

If you're researching how to retire in Italy on a US pension, what the Italy elective residency visa requires, how the 7% flat tax works for American retirees, or simply where to live in Sicily as an expat — this channel covers all of it. New videos every week on Italian taxes, visas, costs, healthcare, and the best places to live in Italy for Americans and other expats moving abroad in 2026.

17 Comments

@ANewLifeinItaly Creator 4 months ago Pinned

📖 Everything covered in this video — and 17 more chapters — is in The Italy Retirement Blueprint.
Taxes, visas, cost of living, healthcare, where to live. Plain English. No fluff. The complete guide I wish existed when I started this journey.
👉 Get your copy: https://opil.gumroad.com/l/ANewLifeinItaly
👥 Join the community: https://www.skool.com/italy-relocation-planning-club-4251
📋 Not sure if Italy is right for you? Take the free questionnaire:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSflZEo7LqpFfmP0HAZ1dUrtgycz8q2lmd93wm-vZmYi2z3arA/viewform

@Sezfluffy 2 months ago

I lived in Siracusa for 6 montjs and it totally stole my heart. I began to live again. Its wild and crazy but it ix like a siren calling u back

@anniesshenanigans3815 4 months ago

I am at the end of my 40 day exploration. Truly wish I could have spent more time there. I loved it!!!

@KANAKAJA 13 hours ago

Good information. Ps bro fix the mic, hard echo rookie mistake.

@rafcurry396 5 hours ago

Ortigia is actually very expensive, and the properties are not good value for your money. Eating out is quite pricey there too. As for Noto, property prices are also catching up.

@tammyneal9762 4 months ago

Thank you for these videos. You do an incredible job giving details and thorough research. Ironically today I watched your video about not buying until you spend close to a year in a place. Which we completely agree with. Then a video popped up about a couple that bought a house in a small mountain town in Sicily having never been out of the US… ever. They had a 6 day trip and bought a house. I’m happy for them and hoping it works out but I wish they had found your site first. My husband and I are planning on retiring in 3 years and making the jump to slow travel and find our home in Sicily.

@Mme.Plumski 4 months ago

Siracusa is where Sicily first stole my heart. It's top of my list for places to live. It has everything you mention plus a dash of the unexpected, where things veer sometimes into the surreal or very slightly mad. I love it for that. Noto is on the books for October this year. I've just come back from 10 days in Trapani and Marsala - Marsala was a lot more lovely than I imagined and probably the friendliest I've encountered in Sicily, which is saying something.

@colourgrouppainting4281 1 month ago

...." you have 17 tabs open on your screen..." yup

@arnoldkiel7670 6 days ago

your Siracusa-footage is NOT Siracusa. Why?

@lilivdl 4 months ago

Thanks❤

@tommysmith5479 4 months ago

I've been to both and my choice would be Siracusa: not because Noto is is no good (the heart of Noto is beautiful) but because Siracusa offers more. Yes, it's a bit more expensive, but there is also more of everything. I'm still pondering Lecce vs Siracusa - but I think both will be great.

@tradesmenlife 4 months ago

The 7% doesn’t really matter if you’re US citizen because you still have to pay the difference to the US so whether you pay 23 to 30% in the US or Pay in Italy, either way, you still have to pay

@BackyardBeardMan 4 months ago

Hey, do you know anything about the company Simplex Domus?
I want to buy a property thru them, they seem legit, but do you by any chance know anything about the company?

@pennypeyton1908 4 months ago

What about the Adriatic side of Sicily??

@kerder8660 4 months ago (edited)

Malta... Hehehe just saying... Very expensive...been there... Been in siracusa catania & palermo... Missing noto.. But the summers... Water... Etna...