Rome is the Eternal City of crumbling ruins, carb-heavy cuisine, and ancient alleyways clogged with Vespas. But 2024 brings surprising news: Rome is cheap… well, relatively.
In a world where living costs are ballooning, Rome stands out in 8th position in the ranking of 42 global capitals compiled by comparethemarket.com. This placing on the “most affordable” list, sandwiched between Melbourne and Mexico City, is chiefly thanks to housing prices, which have crept up a mere 9.1% since 2015.
For digital nomads, this is bellissimo news. The slower rise in living costs, paired with the seductive blend of history, chaos, and caffè, is shaping Rome into one of Europe’s coolest lifestyle cities. While enjoying Trastevere’s ivy-draped terraces or Testaccio’s unpretentious trattorias, you can still sip an espresso for €1.20, and have enough left for an aperitivo. Added to which utilities are manageable, public transport is cheap (but beware, it is unreliable), pasta is plentiful and delicious, and a bottle of wine can often cost less than a bottle of water.
Co-working spaces in once-pricey districts like Prati or Monti are now offering competitive monthly rates that are attracting creatives and remote workers. So, while Rome might not yet rival Lisbon or Budapest in the digital nomad hall of fame, it’s getting close with its affordability - and who wouldn’t want to Zoom from a rooftop with a Colosseum view?
Pamela McCourt Francescone
Executive Editor
