Moving to Macerata (or Civitanova Marche): A Complete Guide

A native Italian’s honest guide to moving to Macerata and its coastal alternative Civitanova Marche, from rent and hospitals to taxes, schools, and real daily life.

My sister and her family are my connection to Pesaro. My connection to Macerata is my late father, who lived in the province for over a decade. And, I guess, a woman I dated in my very early twenties.

My uncle and I used to go fishing together in Civitanova Marche. He still does. I’m the jerk who left for other ports.

So these two cities sit in my head as a slightly awkward pair. Macerata is a hill I associate with someone I loved and lost, and with a summer when I was twenty-two and didn’t know anything yet. Civitanova is the smell of the port in the late evening and the rod in my uncle’s hand. Who, by the way, is an absolute legend on the pier.

Pesaro made it easy to write that first guide. Macerata makes me slow down. Which is probably fine. You should slow down before this decision, too.

Most people who ask me about moving to Macerata are asking two questions at once, and they don’t always know it.

The inland, university-town, opera-in-summer, lunch-at-the-agriturismo version of the province is Macerata city. The shoe-factory, beach-umbrella, volleyball-arena, eat-the-fish-you-just-watched-get-unloaded version is Civitanova Marche. They sit twenty-two kilometers apart, share a hospital network, and belong to the same administrative province. But they aren’t the same place, and they aren’t even a similar place.

This guide is the second city-level deep dive I promised paid subscribers in the Moving to Le Marche article. Pesaro was first. Macerata is next, with Civitanova Marche appended as the coastal alternative for anyone who wants the Adriatic at their doorstep rather than twenty minutes away.

What follows is over 8,000 words covering both cities: neighborhoods, rent prices, property costs, taxes, healthcare, schools, jobs, bureaucracy, climate, internet, social integration, transport, and a 60-day setup checklist. Same structure as the Pesaro guide. Different facts.

If you’re only going to move once and you’re serious about doing it right, read both cities’ sections even if you think you already know which one you want. I’ve watched more than one person arrive convinced they wanted the beach and then discover they actually wanted bookshops.

Paid subscribers get the guide as a downloadable PDF and ePub below, so you can take it with you on your phone/tablet/e-reader, or simply print it.

By way of preview, here is the table of contents:

• Introduction

• What Macerata Is

• What Civitanova Marche Is

• The Climate

• Where to Live in Macerata

• Where to Live in Civitanova Marche

• How Much It Costs to Live Here

• Buying Property Here

• Internet and Connectivity

• Jobs and the Local Economy

• Taxes

• Your First 60 Days

• Healthcare

• Schools, Families, and Special Needs

• Speaking English

• The Expat Community

• Safety and Integration

• Getting Around

• Cultural Life

• Fitness and Outdoor Life

• Food

• What These Places Lack

• Day Trips and Nearby Towns

• Seven Mistakes People Make

• Which city is right for you?