Florence vs Ljubljana for couples
Florence, in Italy, and Ljubljana, in Slovenia, are about 360 km apart. Every figure below comes from the data behind our city pages: an estimated monthly cost for a couple, tax tier, annual climate, safety, healthcare, internet speed, language and residency rules. Florence leads on healthcare and residency rules; Ljubljana on cost, safety, internet speed and getting by in English.
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Side by side
Source: the datasets behind our city pages. Cost is our model estimate (a country-level cost index scaled for city size); tax tiers are assigned by hand from each country's top marginal income tax rate and overall tax reputation; temperature from the Open-Meteo archive (2019 to 2023 averages); rainfall from TerraClimate (1991 to 2020 normals); safety and healthcare are our own country-level estimates; internet from the Ookla Speedtest Global Index; English from the EF English Proficiency Index; residency from our hand-reviewed residency dataset (not legal advice); short-stay entry from the passport-index dataset.
Factor by factor
Cost of living
Ljubljana is cheaper: we estimate about €2,840 a month for a couple living centrally, against €3,313 in Florence. That is €473 a month, or 14%, less.
Taxes
A tie: Italy and Slovenia both sit in our high tax tier.
Climate
Florence is 5°C warmer on average over the year: 16°C against 11°C in Ljubljana. Florence is drier, with about 798 mm of rain a year against 1,403 mm in Ljubljana (43% less).
Safety
Ljubljana is the safer pick: Slovenia scores 80 out of 100 on safety, 23 points above Italy (57).
Healthcare
Florence has the stronger healthcare: Italy scores 76 out of 100 on healthcare, 6 points above Slovenia (70).
Internet
Ljubljana has faster home internet: about 110 Mbps median fixed download against about 70 Mbps in Florence.
Language
Main languages: Italian in Florence; Slovenian, English in Ljubljana. English goes further in Ljubljana (good English) than in Florence (limited English).
Residency and visas
Long-term residency for people from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland is easier to obtain in Italy (comparatively open) than in Slovenia (possible, with conditions). The cheapest self-funded income route we track starts at about $2,718 a month in Italy and $3,725 in Slovenia. Citizens of the EU, EEA and Switzerland have freedom-of-movement or simplified residency rights in both. For short visits, 93 of 198 passports can enter Italy visa-free and 93 can enter Slovenia.
Which one fits a couple
If one of you puts healthcare (76 against 70 out of 100) and residency rules (comparatively open against possible, with conditions) first, Florence comes out ahead. If the other cares more about cost (€2,840 against €3,313 a month), safety (80 against 57 out of 100), internet speed (110 Mbps against 70 Mbps) and getting by in English (good English against limited English), Ljubljana does.
Climate can pull the two of you apart too: a partner who wants warmth leans toward Florence (16°C on average), while one who minds the heat leans toward Ljubljana (11°C), and whoever minds rain will prefer Florence (798 mm a year against 1,403 mm).
OurNextCity has each partner answer 12 questions privately, then ranks Florence, Ljubljana and 913 other cities for both of you at once.