A — THE FAMILY LEDGER · COST OF LIVING
Four people, one island burn rate.
Crowd-sourced market data, July 2026. A three-bedroom in the city centre, childcare, and the everyday line items that define a family burn rate. Illustrative figures for a family of four.
MONTHLY LINE ITEM
CAGLIARI
LONDON
RATIO
Rent, 3-bedroom city centre
€1,300
€4,300
3.3×
Full-time nursery, per child
€350
€1,900
5.4×
Groceries, family of four
€650
€920
1.4×
After-school sport or music classes, per child
€40
€120
3.0×
Family of four, all-in (rent incl.)
≈ €3,900
≈ €8,800
2.3×
A London family burn rate buys the same life in Cagliari twice over — with the beach thrown in for free.
B — SCHOOLS, HEALTHCARE, AND THE VILLAGE
The infrastructure of childhood is already here.
You are not building family life from scratch on a frontier. You are plugging into systems Italians have run for generations.
SCHOOLPublic school is free and starts early — scuola dell’infanzia from age 3, primary from 6. Instruction is in Italian; young kids absorb it in months, and a bilingual childhood is the quiet bonus of the move.
INTERNATIONALCagliari has international and bilingual school options if you want English-track continuity — at a fraction of London or San Francisco fees.
HEALTHCAREResidents register with the SSN: a family doctor for you, a dedicated pediatrician for each child, and emergency care that never sends a bill.
THE VILLAGEKids can roam here. Piazzas, beaches, and a culture that treats children as everyone’s business. The island is one of five Blue Zones for a reason.
REALITY CHECKBureaucracy scales with the household: codice fiscale, residency, and school enrollment for every member. Budget real weeks, and enroll before the September term starts.
C — THE FAMILY RUNWAY CALCULATOR · RUN YOUR OWN NUMBERS
Your household. Your city. The difference, live.
Move the slider, pick where you bill from today, and add the kids. All figures are annual, in € equivalents, after tax and social contributions. Sardinia assumes Cagliari family living costs and the forfettario at ≈20% all-in; above €85k it assumes two earners, each under their own partita IVA.
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€40K€170K · 2 × €85K CAP
EXTRA BANKED IN SARDINIA / YR
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≈ {{ yearsFundedLabel }} years of family runway, funded by one year of billing.
Cagliari, Sardinia
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Estimates. Sardinia uses the forfettario (67% coefficient, INPS ≈26%, 5% substitute tax) and Cagliari family living costs; {{ cityName }} uses a typical self-employed effective tax rate and local family costs. Not tax advice.
