Do Software Engineers in Milan Really Have It Worse Than Those in Zurich?
7 honest observations from Milan in 2026: 30-year-olds on €2-3k/mo sharing flats, family economics, and why remote work at 20-30% tax is the smart play for Italian devs.
I spent last weekend in Milan, a city I know well and lived in for 5 years.
Here's a few random observations.
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Key Takeaways
- Many 30-year-old Milanese devs earn €2–3k/month, share flats, have no kids, no fancy holidays — effectively a student lifestyle.
- Community often outweighs money for those who stay; food, family, routine matter.
- Only privileged Italians can afford kids in Milan without parental support (property, childcare, income).
- Remote work is the play: €70–90k/year as a freelancer paying 20–30% tax, or €100–200k at 30–35% with impatriati regime.
- Moving to Zurich or Warsaw won't solve all your problems — every choice has trade-offs.
1. 30-Year-Olds Live Like Students
Many of my ex-uni friends make €2–3k/month, share a flat, no kids, no fancy holidays, no balling.
This is the Milan software engineering reality for those who stayed in Italian companies. Even at "senior" Italian-market roles (€45–55k gross), you're looking at ~€2.8–3.2k/month net. That's before rent, which in Milan runs €700–1,200 for a room in a shared flat.
| Milan dev life stage | Typical reality |
|---|---|
| Junior (0–3 yrs) | €1,600–2,100/mo net, shared flat |
| Mid (3–7 yrs) | €2,300–2,800/mo net, shared flat or tiny studio |
| Senior (7–12 yrs) | €2,800–3,500/mo net, 1-bed if lucky |
| Big tech Milan (rare) | €4,000–6,000/mo net, comfortable |
Compare to Zurich where new grads easily clear CHF 5,000+/month net and you see the gap.
2. Pressure Is Less
People work, but the stakes are lower, and — given how little you're paid — you don't stress much about it (hopefully).
There's a real upside here: Italian tech workplaces tend to be less cutthroat, more relaxed, more social. Long lunches are normal. Nobody is checking Slack at 10 PM. The flip side: career growth is slow, compensation ceilings are low, and "ownership" culture is underdeveloped.
If you optimize for a calm work life and you're fine with modest compensation, Milan delivers. If you want to compound skills and comp, it doesn't.
3. Life in Italy Isn't Necessarily "Bad"
3a. Community can outweigh money
One of my €2k/mo friends told me:
"Why move abroad chasing higher pay if here I like my job, my routine, food, I'm close to family and friends, and I don't need luxury?"
Legitimate answer. Not everyone needs to optimize for savings rate and career velocity.
3b. There's pros and cons to every choice
Leaving Italy isn't a miraculous cure. If you leave, you'll likely get more and better paid career opportunities — but you'll also have to build a life from scratch in another place, with all the challenges that entails.
Food in Italy is also the best quality/price ratio in Europe — genuinely. A great dinner out in Milan costs less than a mediocre one in Zurich or London.
| Trade-off | Milan | Zurich / Warsaw / Amsterdam |
|---|---|---|
| Career velocity | Slow | Fast |
| Network to grow in | Limited in tech | Dense, global |
| Food quality/price | Top-tier | Lower (esp. Zurich) |
| Community/family proximity | Strong | You rebuild from zero |
| Savings rate | Low | Moderate–High |
| Climate + lifestyle | Excellent | Varies |
4. Only Privileged Italians Can Afford Kids
If you don't have parents nearby who can help you out, in most cases you can forget about it in Milan.
The math:
- Milan family flat (2-bed): €1,400–2,200/mo rent
- Nursery (asilo nido privato): €600–1,100/mo per child
- Typical dual-income Italian couple with decent tech jobs: €4,500–6,500/mo net combined
After rent + one kid, you're left with €1,500–3,000/mo for everything else. It works, but barely. Add a second kid and you're stretched.
The comparison: in Warsaw or Vilnius, two big tech salaries = €10,000–15,000/mo net, with nursery at €300–500. See Warsaw vs Zurich cost of living.
5. The Richer You're Born, the Better Italy Is
That's actually the case for most of Western Europe.
If your parents can get you an apartment in the city you work in, that's a huge advantage. In general, it's hard to build wealth in Italy because:
- Jobs don't pay much
- Taxes punish high earners (see the Italian tax scam analysis)
- Cost of living isn't low
- Property ladder is essentially closed to first-time buyers without family help
This is why Italian devs with no family wealth who want to build financial independence should seriously consider geo-arbitrage or moving abroad.
6. Drugs (and What They Say About a Society)
From what I see anecdotally, drug use is more common among 20/30-year-olds in Western Europe than Central/Eastern Europe.
- CEE: people are largely excited about the future — they want to build, enjoy growing prosperity, and are generally more forward-looking
- Western Europe: society is more static, opportunities are limited, self > starting a family — people lean more toward escapism
It's a generalization, but it tracks with broader economic indicators: GDP growth, optimism surveys, birth rates. When the economic and career ladder is visibly going up, people behave differently than when it's stagnant.
7. Remote Work Is the Play
For Italian software engineers, this is the most practical takeaway.
Path A: Freelance for Italian/European clients
You can make €70–90k/year as a freelancer in Italy paying 20–30% tax using the partita IVA forfettario regime (up to €85k revenue at 5–15%, depending on tenure) or ordinario with smart deductions.
Path B: Remote employee for a foreign company
You can make €100–200k if you max out your search (e.g., jobs listed on EuroTopTechJobs.com), and even keep income taxes below 30–35% if you've spent 2+ years abroad (impatriati regime).
The math comparison
| Path | Gross | Effective tax | Net | Location flexibility |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italian dipendente | €55k | ~43% | €31k | Low |
| Forfettario freelance | €80k | ~15% | €68k | High |
| Remote foreign + impatriati | €120k | ~30% | €84k | Very high |
| Remote foreign (standard) | €120k | ~42% | €70k | High |
Going remote for a foreign client can literally double or triple your net income while keeping your Italian life. This is arguably the single highest-ROI career move for Italian devs in 2026.
See how to land 100k+ fully-remote dev jobs and working from Europe on a US remote salary.
The Honest Conclusion
All in all, working in Italy — or any other European country — comes with pros and cons.
Moving to Zurich or Warsaw won't solve all your problems and make your life perfect.
My goal is to research and build content and tools to help engineers in Europe discover opportunities. Deciding how to act on that is personal.
In the end, we're all sharing a similar experience on this planet — the highs and the lows, the happy and miserable moments, they're all always going to be there.
The "dream lives and outcomes" only exist in the social media profiles of content creators better than me at marketing.
FAQ
Do software engineers in Milan really earn only €2-3k per month in 2026?
Yes, that's the median reality for Italian-market roles. A typical mid-level software engineer at an Italian company (non big tech) earns €40–55k gross, which nets to roughly €2,500–3,200/month after Italy's ~40–45% combined tax and social security burden. Senior engineers at Italian companies rarely clear €4,000/month net. Only big tech Milan offices (Amazon, Microsoft, Nutanix, a handful of others) or remote-for-foreign-clients work pushes this meaningfully higher.
How does Milan compare to Zurich for software engineers financially?
Zurich offers roughly 2–3x higher net take-home for comparable roles. A senior engineer at a normal Swiss company in Zurich nets CHF 5,500–7,000/month (~€5,800–7,400), vs €3,000–3,500 net for a comparable Milan role. Big tech Zurich reaches CHF 18,000+/month gross at senior levels. Cost of living is higher in Zurich (~30–40%), but not enough to offset the salary gap. See Milan tech career guide and Zurich guide for detailed numbers.
Can Italian software engineers realistically afford kids in Milan in 2026?
Only with significant help or two above-average incomes. A single-income tech family in Milan (€55k gross) can barely afford one kid after rent, childcare, and food. Dual-income tech couples in Milan (€90–110k combined gross) can comfortably afford 1–2 kids but not easily buy property. The reality is that most middle-class Italian families rely on grandparents for childcare and on family property inheritance for housing. Without these, the Italian tech career path is essentially incompatible with having a family in Milan.
What's the best tax setup for a software engineer in Italy in 2026?
For most, the forfettario regime + B2B contracts with foreign clients. The forfettario allows flat 5% tax (first 5 years) or 15% (after) on up to €85k revenue, with simplified accounting and limited deductions. For higher earners, ordinary regime with proper deductions or the impatriati regime (50% income exemption if returning after 3+ years abroad) are strong. Always consult a commercialista — optimal structure varies with your specific situation. See beyond 500k freelancing tax optimization.
Is it worth moving from Milan to Zurich as a software engineer?
Financially: almost always yes, especially for big tech roles. Lifestyle: mixed. Moving to Zurich typically 2–3x your savings rate and opens big tech career doors. But you trade Italian food, family proximity, weather, and social density for Swiss quiet, efficiency, and nature. Younger/career-focused engineers benefit most; those with deep Italian roots often prefer staying and going remote. The strongest move for many is Zurich for 3–5 years, then optionality (return to Italy with savings + impatriati, or stay long-term).
Should Italian software engineers consider Warsaw or Lisbon instead of Zurich?
Yes, especially if you value lifestyle + savings combo. Warsaw big tech pays €70–120k gross with ~15–20% effective tax on B2B, delivering savings comparable to Zurich with lower cost of living and (arguably) a more fun 20/30-something lifestyle. Lisbon doesn't have big tech density, but remote work from Portugal under the IFICI / old NHR regime can be very tax-efficient. See central Europe software engineers deep dive and best lifestyle cities for developers in Europe.