‘It's a disaster’: How Brits in Italy are being hit by drop in value of pound

The British pound experienced a record 37-year low against the dollar on September 24th, following on from a months-long fall in its value.

Though the Bank of England has managed to prevent a “material risk” to the country’s stability by buying government bonds, UK markets remain highly volatile and the slide in the value of the sterling seems to have already caused the price of goods and services in the UK to climb.

That’s in the UK, but how about Britons living in Italy? 

Last week, we asked our readers to tell us how they’ve already been affected and what they expect the ongoing impact of a weak pound will be on their lives unless the currency bounces back.  

READ ALSO: Climate zones: When can you turn your heating on Italy this winter?

We received answers to our survey from all corners of the boot, from Bolzano, Trentino Alto-Adige to Oria, Puglia. 

The overwhelming response was that the pound’s drop in value in Italy will negatively impact the lives of UK nationals in Italy.

Expectedly, most respondents pointed to unfavourable exchange rates as being the most negative consequence of the sterling’s slump, with many expressing concern about having to transfer savings from a UK account to an Italian one. 

“For the moment, it is a disaster; I can’t even think of making a transfer of pounds into euros,” said one reader living in the capital, Rome. 

Another Briton, Carol Lewis, living in Collazzone, Umbria, had similar worries. She said: “All my pensions are paid in sterling. It is making what was already a bit tight financially post-brexit even tighter.”

“Combined with increased costs generally, we are having to cut back a lot on extras and be more careful about how we spend our money.”

Alison Reith, from San Salvatore Monferrato, Piedmont, also acknowledged that the pound’s weakness was putting Brits at a serious disadvantage when transferring money from overseas. 

However, she also pointed the finger at soaring living costs in Italy, admitting that it’ll be difficult to “pay for petrol, food and heating” this winter and “cuts on all costs” will sadly have to be made.  

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: How much are energy prices rising in Italy this autumn? 

While sharing that expense cuts were in the cards for the cold season, many readers told us how they were trying to overcome their recent money-transferring adversities.

Julius Vloothuis, 75, living in Naples, described money transfer platform Wise, formerly known as Transferwise, as somewhat of a “saving grace” – the website allows clients to move money practically free of charge and sends out alerts when the market has favourable exchange rates.

On a similar note, Dennis, living in Rome, advised fellow countrymen to “act as an investor” and watch the exchange rates on a regular basis.

While most readers were reasonably concerned about the pound’s downswing, some responded to our survey by saying that the event would have little impact on their lives. 

Leslie Whitehouse, a retired teacher living in Bolzano, said that “unless massive, a fall in the rate of pound sterling against the euro will not affect my life”. 

Similarly, Iain Gosling, 73, told us that, having “bought a block of euros last year via [currency exchange service] TORFX”, rate fluctuations haven’t really affected his family thus far. 

Finally, some The Local Italy readers confided that they were actually quite happy with the pound dropping in value.

George Newman, 32, from Viareggio, Tuscany said: “Great, buying a house in the UK now and earning in euros. Tax cut to stamp duty too!! Winning!”