Any American and British out there?

What has been your reaction to the most controversial issues in 2016, namely Brexit and the election of Trump as the new President of the United States?

The UK and the USA: They are the two countries whose people love Italy the most and dream of moving to the “Bel Paese”, according to statistics collected in recent years by Gate-away.com. Is there any risk that all will change? The data say no! In fact, it seems that those events have given a new boost to the number of people looking for a second home in Italy as some citizens are unhappy with the current situation in America and Britain.

The “Trump effect” has turned Italy into an even more coveted destination

The demand for properties for sale in Italy from USA is growing so much that in the period ranging from January to October 2016 Gate-away.com recorded an increase of 50% compared to the same period in 2015.

A trend that was even more reinforced in November thanks to the “Trump effect” which benefited several countries, Canada in particular, but also Italy as one of the best places to live or retire. This is also confirmed by Google Trends.

Do you know exactly what happened? US election 2016 push many anti-Trump voters to look for a new life overseas. Our data reports that a considerably large number of American citizens asking for properties for sale in Italy come precisely from pro-Clinton states, first of all California, New York, New Jersey, Illinois and Washington. This coincides with Google Trends data if you analyse ‘How to move to Italy’ searches. They show that the interest from states that supported Hillary, mainly New York and California, and those where Trump won only by a minimum margin over the rival, namely Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida, surged in those days just before and after the American election.

Also the number of queries for ‘Moving to Italy’ on Google Trends significantly increased from 9 to 10 November, reaching a level only similar to a period of time in 2012 which corresponds to the week just before the re-election of Barak Obama.

Comparing the two queries, we note that the number of searches for ‘How to move to Italy‘ was initially influenced by an impulsive reaction to the election of Trump but declined afterwards. Instead, the one for ‘Moving to Italy’, more aimed at finding information on the procedure, also registered a sharp increase but was more constant over time, with several strong peaks even in the period following the elections. This means that ‘Moving to Italy’ is a query used by people who have already acquired the basic information thanks to operational and conscious research activities, not due to the emotion of the moment and more motivated by a desire to assess the actual move and receive in-depth information.

Google trends

Do you belong to this group of people too?

Who are the Americans thinking to move abroad after 2016 US presidential election

Which profiles hide behind the keyboards of these computers?

We think that a good portion of the people who hunt for information on ‘how to move to Italy’ and ‘moving to Italy’ on search engines are not only fuelled by their passion for the ‘bel paese’ and their dissatisfaction with Trump’s election, but also by the Italian spirit that flows in their veins. In fact, according to our report conducted on data gathered in 2015, 30% of the American citizens who searched for a home in Italy on Gate-away.com had a surname of Italian origin. Also according to an official census made in 2016 by the United States Census Bureau, 6% of the US population is composed of Italian Americans (about 19 million), making it one of the largest ethnic groups in the country. According to the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) though, the number of Americans of Italian descent is over 20 million. And it is precisely in the above-cited states, in particular New York, Pennsylvania, Florida and California, that the highest number of Italian Americans is concentrated according to the data from NIAF.

Despite Brexit, the British continue to dream of a place in the sun in Italy

It seems that not even Brexit could unsettle the demand for Italian properties. As we previously forecasted, not even the latest international political events were able to weaken the passion of the British for a place in the sun.

Italy still remains one of the best destinations for a second home for the British. The post-Brexit data collected by Gate-away.com are more than encouraging: the number of requests received from January to October 2016 is 22% higher than that for the same period in 2015, with London as the British city with the highest demand for houses for sale in Italy. After Brexit, in fact, it seems that the Italian city of Milan is taking the place of the English capital as the new European cultural, financial and fashion centre. As many of the Italians who now live in London are returning to Italy, Milan in particular, also the interest of several international investors is shifting from London to this city.

Even the average budget is increasing, at about € 312,000, while Carovigno and Ostuni in Apulia (the most popular Italian region) registered as the most favourite Italian towns in the four months after the British referendum.

Are you happy with the results of the British referendum which took place on June 23 and the election of Trump? If not, Italy will welcome you!

If you’re looking for an alternative to USA or UK, in Italy you will definitely find the perfect place if you love to start your day with a good coffee, enjoy pasta for lunch, drive a Cinquecento through narrow alleys, admire the breathtaking Italian architecture and eat a pizza for dinner. What more could one ask for?

Do you have something to say about this topic? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.