So what does it take to move to Italy?

Long-term Visas.

For people wishing to stay in Italy for more than 90 days, a long-term visa is required. Here’s what I know about this so far:

You need to call and book an interview with the Italian consulate in your city (Atlanta, for us). Before doing so, you need to be sure that you have all of the proper documents. This includes a passport that does not expire sooner than 3 months PAST the time you plan to return to the United States. In my case, my passport expires July of 2025, so that would not pass, even though we plan to return in June. Simply requesting a renewal is also not so easy, as they are now taking upwards of 10+ weeks even when expedited. So I need to call the passport office and hope to get an appointment within 10 days of my next international travel date. Once I go in, I must request a second passport. If all goes well, they will renew my current one so that I may turn it into the immigration office, and issue me a second, so that I am able travel in the meantime. When (you like that? WHEN, not if) we get past this first step, here’s what else we need… based on what I have gathered from internet searches, call with immigration lawyers, and just asking around:

Application forms, proof of sufficient funds, proof of accommodation, round-trip airline tickets, a letter from the aviation company stating that they cannot book a return private charter flight a year in advance for Vannah, travel insurance, a letter stating why we seek admittance into the country for a year, 4 new passport photos, our current passports (good for 3+ months after returning home), a complete travel itinerary including travel dates, agenda, etc, and if you are self-employed: An income tax return, a copy of company's bank statement from the past 6 months, and a copy of the business license… at least that’s all I know so far. And then comes the question of how will I legally work with Italian companies? Apparently they award a small number of “Italy Freelancer Visas” each year, and it’s quite difficult for Americans to obtain, or at least that is what I’ve read.

From visaguide.world:

Unfortunately, you cannot apply for an Italy self-employment visa anytime.

Italy has an immigration policy in place when it comes to how many work visas is will issue on a yearly basis.

This immigration program is called a Decreto Flussi (translated to “Flow Decree”). Every year, the Italian government opens the Decreto Flussi for a few months. That is the only time that non-EU nationals can apply for an Italian work visa. With the Decreto Flussi, Italy offers seasonal and non-seasonal work visas as well as self-employment visas.

However, there is also a set quota of how many visas they will issue.

Once Visas are obtained, we must apply for a resident permit, called A permesso di soggiorno, within 8 days of arrival at a local post office in Italy. The forms are in Italian and are rather confusing, plus depending on the type of permit we obtain, we’ll need to submit supporting documents (tax return or other proof of income, lease for a house in Italy, etc.).

Needless to say, I’m trying to learn Italian.