Magic Towns Italy

Discover Sara’s journey from Chicago to Milan, from studying Italian to building a new career, and why the city won her over.

Luca: [00:00:00] Hi Anna Anna: Hi, Luke. Luca: Hi. A quick quiz before we start the episode. Anna: Oh, no. Not again. Luca: Sorry. So if I told you that the town in Italy where house prices have risen the most over the past 10 years is 12 minutes from Lake Garda, would you believe me? Anna: Mm, I mean, not sure about Lake Garda specifically, but everyone says Italian property has been falling for a decade. Luca: And they are right, but that town is up 80%. So both of those things are true, and that’s what we’re talking about...

Tim Epstein shares why he moved to Lake Garda before Brexit, built a new life in Italy, and ultimately chose to leave the expat dream behind. As mentioned during the show, Tim is also selling his properrty in Toscolano Maderno! Listings are the links below. https://www.casa.it/immobili/53977401/ https://www.idealista.it/immobile/35689869/ https://www.immobiliare.it/annunci/129230480/

Discover key insights on navigating Italian property purchases and renovations as Jan shares her experiences and advice. Avoid common pitfalls!

Discover how Jan navigated the challenges of buying and renovating a house in Italy, uncovering the allure of Puglia and crucial lessons learned.

Discover essential tips and tools for living in Italy in the latest Magic Towns Italy Podcast episode. Learn about the unique cost of living calculator!

Explore the differences in school performance in northeastern Italy, featuring top schools and INVALSI testing insights on the Magic Towns Italy podcast.

Explore insights on buying property in Italy with Luca and Justin. Discover challenges foreign buyers face and tips to navigate Italian real estate.

Justin Mavity is back in the studio — this time in person, with wine — to talk through the two things foreign buyers get wrong in Italy: the money and the paperwork.

At 24, Jasmina Wanders left the UK for Italy with no guarantees and a beginner's grasp of the language. First Mantova for a master's in historic architecture, then a leap most Italians warned her against: south, to Noto in Sicily, where she now works as an architect after sending her portfolio to studios across the country. This week she tells Anna what the move actually took. Converting a student permesso into a work permit before the deadline. Living without a car in a place that demands one. Watching Noto's property market reshape itself as tourism and the 7% pensioner tax regime pull in foreign buyers. And the quieter shift underneath it all: learning, in a place that runs on comu veni, si cunta, to stop daydreaming about another life and start living this one. A conversation about bureaucracy, belonging, and why the south rewards the people brave enough to bet on it.

Discover the ins and outs of banking in Italy with Magic Towns Italy podcast's latest episode. Join Luca and Anna as they chat with Revolut's Jeffrey Chanseau about opening accounts, saving on fees, and more.

Discover an inspiring journey of cultural integration on the Magic Towns Italy Podcast. Join us as Joe Reagan shares his adventures in revitalizing a remote Abruzzo community.

Discover the expat lifestyle in Malta with insights from Gill and Boba. Compare living in Malta versus Italy on the Magic Towns Italy podcast.

Discover the surprising truths about Italy's rail network in this week's episode of Magic Towns Italy. Explore what data reveals about connectivity, debunking common myths of train travel in Liguria and beyond.

Discover Italy's top regions for public healthcare, with insights into how data reveals surprising leaders in quality and access.

Discover Jaid Newstead's inspiring journey from Toronto to Bari, Italy, as she navigates challenges and embraces new beginnings in this engaging interview.

Discover where expats settle in Italy beyond Rome and Milan. Explore the charm of smaller towns popular with Americans, Brits, and more on our latest podcast episode.

Discover Shelby Canon's inspiring journey from a restless nurse in Michigan to finding her true home in Florence, Italy. Listen to her story now!

Discover the latest Italian legal update that could reshape your retirement plans. Learn how a simple change expands the 7% pensioner tax regime, offering more town choices for retirees.

Luca: Happy Saturday everyone. Welcome back to the Magic Towns Italy podcast This week we have a special guest. Justin Curtis Mavity. He’s been a real estate agent, one of the very few qualified, licensed, real estate agents from America in Italy. After 10 years in the country, he has a lot to say about buying a property, which areas to pick, which areas to avoid. You can just hear straight in his words now. Nice to meet you Justin. Justin: You as well. Luca. Luca: I think it would be interesting to start from how you got to Italy. Justin: In 2017. I had been a teacher for about 15 years. I was a music teacher, in a public middle school in a suburb of Denver. And I’d always had this love of Italy. I’d been on several vacations before, and in fact, that’s how I discovered Bologna . We [00:01:00] stopped in Bologna and I said, wow, this place is magic. I studied Italian for a year, a whole year, and before I kind of started getting my feet under the ground and I could be, you know, functional. In Italy, Luca: Did you have a network or did you just pick Bologna because you liked it when you visited? Uh, Justin: In Denver we have an Italian friend, Lucia, who is from Bologna. And so that was, uh, that was the connection. At least there was somebody, uh, that I could reach out to in case of, emergency. Luca: So you’ve been there for the best part of 10 years? Justin: Yeah. For the best part of 10 years. It’s changed quite a lot, honestly. I mean, when I first came to Bologna, it was. It was a touristy city in the summer, of course, but not as much as Florence or Rome or Milan in the last few years, especially after COVID tourism here has exploded. It’s, it’s noticeable. And then of course, you know, May and July are just, just chaos if you’re in Piazza Maggiore at this point. Yeah, Luca: That still doesn’t explain how you got into real estate here, right? Justin: So, real estate in the United States was always going to be my backup plan, my, my second career, I started so [00:02:00] young, I could have retired at 52. Uh, I’m gonna be 45 this year. Luca: Go 81. Justin: Yeah, go 81. Exactly. After I got my feet on the ground here, I, of course had to do the, the teaching English thing like many of us do, you know, to get by and to feed yourself and to pay the rent. That was a several years long process just to even get into the real estate course here and get started. It was already something that was in my mind to do. And so when I came here, I thought, gosh, this is a supernatural fit. I mean, I’m an American. This is something I wanted to do. There is nobody basically doing this here that I know of. Luca: Huge gap. Justin: Yeah, absolutely. I got my real estate license in the spring in May of 2023. And I’m sure you guys are a bit familiar with this process, that you have to do the, the written multiple choice exam and if you pass that, then you need to go onto this oral exam in front of a panel of experts and a live audience. I passed that and I thought, gosh, I’m gonna get picked up by, by anybody. So I went to all the big agencies in town and they’re like, you can answer phones and do translations. Luca: Really? [00:03:00] Justin: Wow. That’s all. That’s all we can do with you. And then you can work. But I did find a small local agency. They didn’t quite know what to do with me either, but at least the...