Florence vs Monaco for couples

Florence, in Italy, and Monaco are about 307 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 cost; Monaco on tax, safety, healthcare, internet speed and getting by in English.

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Side by side

FactorFlorenceMonaco
CountryItalyMonaco
SizeMid-sized: 250,000 to 1 million peopleSmaller: under 250,000 people
SettingNear the coastCoastal
Est. cost for a couple€3,313 a month€4,088 a month
Tax tierHigh taxZero or very low tax
Average temperature16°C17°C
Rainfall798 mm a year814 mm a year
Safety57 / 10090 / 100
Healthcare76 / 10085 / 100
Internet (median fixed)~70 Mbps~200 Mbps
Main languagesItalianFrench
EnglishLimited EnglishGood English
Long-term residencyComparatively openComparatively open
Self-funded income routeFrom $2,718 a monthNone tracked
Visa-free short visits93 of 198 passports93 of 198 passports

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

Florence is cheaper: we estimate about €3,313 a month for a couple living centrally, against €4,088 in Monaco. That is €775 a month, or 19%, less.

Taxes

Monaco has the lighter tax load: Monaco is in our zero or very low tax tier, Italy in our high tax tier.

Climate

Monaco is 1°C warmer on average over the year: 17°C against 16°C in Florence. Rainfall is similar: about 798 mm a year in Florence and 814 mm in Monaco.

Safety

Monaco is the safer pick: Monaco scores 90 out of 100 on safety, 33 points above Italy (57).

Healthcare

Monaco has the stronger healthcare: Monaco scores 85 out of 100 on healthcare, 9 points above Italy (76).

Internet

Monaco has faster home internet: about 200 Mbps median fixed download against about 70 Mbps in Florence.

Language

Main languages: Italian in Florence; French in Monaco. English goes further in Monaco (good English) than in Florence (limited English).

Residency and visas

Both are rated comparatively open for long-term residency. Italy has a self-funded route from about $2,718 a month in income; we track no income-based route for Monaco. For short visits, 93 of 198 passports can enter Italy visa-free and 93 can enter Monaco.

Which one fits a couple

If one of you puts cost (€3,313 against €4,088 a month) first, Florence comes out ahead. If the other cares more about tax (zero or very low tax against high tax), safety (90 against 57 out of 100), healthcare (85 against 76 out of 100), internet speed (200 Mbps against 70 Mbps) and getting by in English (good English against limited English), Monaco does.

Size differs too: Florence is a mid-sized city (250,000 to 1 million people) and Monaco a smaller one (under 250,000 people). Florence is near the coast; Monaco is coastal.

OurNextCity has each partner answer 12 questions privately, then ranks Florence, Monaco and 913 other cities for both of you at once.

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