This U.S. couple scored ‘gold dust’ visas to work in Italy. Here’s how

Musicians Zeneba Bowers and Matt Walker quit their jobs at the Nashville Symphony, sold their Tennessee home, ditched their possessions and moved to the village of Soriano nel Cimino, 50 miles north of Rome – all within just a few weeks. (Matt Walker / Zeneba Bowers via CNN Newsource)

People around the world dream of relocating to Italy live the “Dolce Vita” dream.

But for many, that dream remains just that – a dream – because of one major stumbling block: immigration.

Like every other country, Italy has strict rules on who can and can’t move there. Some foreigners can get passports through their Italian ancestors. Others take advantage of an “elective residency” visa, which allows people to immigrate as long as they have a certain amount of passive income (roughly C$55,000 a year from investments or property). Holders of this visa are banned from working.

For those who want to move but need to work the options are extremely limited – working visas to Italy are like gold dust.

But for those who manage to snag them, a lifechanging experience is in store.

In November 2019, musicians Zeneba Bowers and Matt Walker quit their jobs at the Nashville Symphony, sold their Tennessee home, ditched their possessions and moved to the village of Soriano nel Cimino, 50 miles north of Rome – all within just a few weeks.

All they brought with them were their four cats and their instruments: a violin for Bowers, and Walker’s cello.

“We wanted a fresh start, a place where we could enjoy more pleasure in life and quality time,” says Walker. “Back home we had a hectic work schedule and wanted to quit our symphony jobs while we still enjoyed it.”

The U.S. – and the American lifestyle – no longer suited them.

“In the U.S. there’s a high cost of living compared to quality of life. There’s the gun culture and the overarching mentality behind it, the preponderance to violence.

We no longer wanted to live in such a country,” says Walker, 55.

Abandoning the American dream

In the US, always being busy is seen as a virtue, adds Bowers, 51 – but in reality, having a packed schedule is stressful. “Even though in the U.S. people say that family is important, nobody can afford to take time off to be together,” she says.

What’s more, they wanted a new challenge – and they wanted it immediately.

“When we looked ahead at our future, it seemed possible that we might continue to repeat the same thing year after year. We loved playing orchestral music, but we wanted to leave when we were at the top of our game, not after we entered retirement,” she says.

They had already carved out a second career, self-publishing guidebooks about Italy and Ireland. Now it was time to take the leap.

So they bid farewell to the American dream.

The couple had little time to mull over and plan their move across the Atlantic. They had to grasp the opportunity of applying, and obtaining in record time, an Italian work visa as self-employed artists, which they say is rarely granted.

In September 2019 they hired an immigration lawyer, and applied at the Italian consulate in Detroit on Sept. 17.

Just two weeks later, they were the owners of “lavoro autonomo” (self-employed) visas – traditionally regarded as practically impossible to acquire. That year, Italy awarded around 3,000 of the visas worldwide. Today, that number is closer to 500.

“We believe the reason we were successful was because we both had strong credentials in addition to our positions in the orchestra, including running our own chamber ensemble and being Grammy-nominated performers and producers,” says Walker.

“We had a long list of big name musicians that we had performed and recorded with over the years, extensive experience performing and producing concerts, and a significant public and press acknowledgement of the same. We feel very lucky.”

Having a specialist lawyer do the application also helped, they believe.

Those lucky enough to get a self-employed visa must use move within three months or lose it. “We had to quit our jobs, sell everything we owned, sell our how and prepare four cats for international transfer, to leave on November 19,” says Bowers.

Back to the country

The couple chose Soriano nel Cimino, surrounded by forests of chestnut trees and porcini mushrooms, after visiting the area in February 2019, during one of their many Italy trips, on the suggestion of a friend.

Located in the Tuscia area once roamed by the ancient Etruscans and dotted with catacombs, the village is located midway between Rome and Viterbo. On weekends it lures Roman day-trippers, hikers, wild boar and mushroom hunters. The couple immediately fell in love with the peacefulness and simple life.

In April 2019 they had already bought a small, 500 square foot apartment for 26,000 euros (C$40,000). A few minutes from the town’s piazza, it has a terrace – where the couple would play music to fellow residents during the pandemic lockdowns. It’s that terrace, with its view of the town’s medieval Orsini castle, that first attracted them.

Sprucing it up was straightforward. They spent a further 17,000 euros (C$,000) doing minor upgrades including knocking a wall down to make it open plan, installing a gas line, and adding a pellet stove – their only source of heating in winter. They also had to furnish the apartment.

The only Americans in town

Even though the couple were completely out of their comfort zone when they landed in Soriano nel Cimino, Bowers and Walker say they now feel more comfortable than they have ever before.

“Here in Italy we lead a better lifestyle with a higher quality of life, we have a better mental and physical health, a new outlet for our artistry and creativity. We’re happier and feel better. And it’s also much, much cheaper compared to the States,” says Walker.

Moving from Nashville (population 1.3 million) to a quiet village of barely 7,000 locals came with many challenges.

Uprooting and setting up a new life entailed trying to manage two businesses (music and travel planning) during and after a pandemic, and coping with the uncertainty and stress of meeting their obligations as immigrant workers who regularly need to show proof of income to Italian authorities to keep their work permits, which they must renew every two years.

Three months after their arrival, the pandemic hit Italy and their income froze. To kill time during lockdown, they sat on their balcony each night and played their instruments for the villagers.

Mind you, they had a lot to be getting on with.

“Most of our time was spent cleaning and sorting through the previous owner’s possessions. It is fairly standard here in Italy that when you buy a house, you get whatever is left in it, which can include furniture, clothing, personal items, even food from the previous owner. We still have some of her leftover Christmas cards,” says Walker.

Four years on, the couple have dived into their new life. They have created a musical quartet with a local soprano, performing at village festivals, chestnut food fairs and weddings around Italy.

The couple have also started a new business, organizing itineraries for visitors craving to discover bucolic Italy. They have also written a memoir about their Italian adventure called “I Can’t Believe We Live Here.”

“There are no other U.S. expats here, which is another reason why we love Soriano nel Cimino. We have great neighbors and the villagers are really friendly,” says Bowers. “During the lockdown the elders would bring us fresh veggies from their plots, eggs and homemade wine.”

The couple plans to eventually apply for Italian citizenship when they retire – by that point, they believe they will have been living in Italy enough years to be eligible. Non-EU citizens must be resident for a decade before they can apply.

But for now, the future looks bright.

“Everything we own is in this country, we spend our money and earn our income here. It’s our home now,” says Bowers.