I spend 2 months in Italy every year with my kids. I love how differently children are raised there.

• Marcela D’alterio is a 43-year-old mother of two children aged 7 and 5.
• She said Italy offers a better quality of life for children during the summer.
• Financially, she said it is cheaper for her to live in Italy for the summer than in New Jersey.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Marcela D’alterio. It has been edited for length and clarity.

Five years ago, my husband, our two young children, and I decided to spend two months in Italy over the summer.

My husband is from Italy, and his family was still living in a small town in the south of the country, in the Naples region.

That summer, I quickly discovered that the quality of life in Italy was much better than in the US — and significantly cheaper.

Ever since that initial visit, we’ve been living in Italy for two months every summer.

We feel part of the community

Everything in Italy is geared toward community. People live in each other’s pockets, and being around other people is simply part of everyday life.

Here, children are active members of the community. We’re often out with friends late into the evenings. Rather than putting them to bed and finding a babysitter, they come along with us to everything we do. They aren’t expected to be kept hidden away.

They’ve learned to interact with people who are different from them, such as older people and children they meet on the street who don’t speak English.

Life is simpler in Italy

In Italy, my kids spend two months of the year outside, in the sun and in the water, with friends and family.

I know that so many children and teenagers in the US are struggling with their mental health, and I often wonder if part of the solution might be as simple as getting outside in the sun and talking to people.

My kids don’t have phones or game consoles. Their fun happens in nature and starts with their imaginations.

When we do have special days out in Italy as a family, the cost is much cheaper than in the US. One of our favorite things to do is visit beach clubs, which cost us about $16 for the whole day. All the beaches near us are free to enter and park at.

I want my kids to be global citizens

Growing up in South America, I have always believed it is important for my children to understand that the United States is not the center of the world.

I don’t want my children visiting other countries one day and being difficult because their food or drink order isn’t prepared the way they would have had it in the US. I want them to appreciate other cultures and understand how people in other parts of the world live.

By living in Italy for a significant amount of time each year, they are learning that the world is much bigger than the US. Once based in Europe, we can easily access other countries, as flights are relatively affordable. So far, we’ve been to Spain and England and have explored other regions of Italy.

It’s cheaper than staying in the US

A couple of years ago, we started thinking about putting my kids in summer camp instead of going to Italy for the summer.

But then I started doing the math.

Camp for both of my boys would cost us $4,400 for the summer. That figure doesn’t take into account the cost of any of the trips or additional activities offered.

Although the camps keep them busy, most activities take place inside buildings rather than outside in the sun.

When they’re not in camp, we would also pay a fortune during the summer to entertain our kids.

Just going to the closest beach — which you’d assume would be a cheap day out — costs $15 per person to get onto the beach and $30 to park.

Here in Italy, we don’t have to pay for our kids to have a memorable summer. The beach, the outdoors, and the community give them the best two months of their lives every year.

I can work remotely, as can my husband, so we can continue earning money while we’re here. We use credit card points to pay for our flights.

For the first three years we came, we rented an apartment, and it cost us about $3,000 for the two months — less than the cost of summer camps.

But two years ago, we decided to buy a property instead, based on the fact that we knew we’d continue to come every summer.

For us, coming to Italy every summer isn’t just about giving my kids a better quality of life — it’s a smart financial decision too. We’d be spending a similar amount during the summer if we stayed in America.

We’d like to retire in Italy

My husband and I are both working toward early retirement in Italy — we love it that much.

Once we have a passive income stream we can depend on — about $5,000 each month — we hope to live in Italy permanently.

For now, spending two months there every summer gives us a little taste of the life we hope to have one day. It’s become more than just a summer holiday for our family — it’s a way of life that gives us more time together, a stronger sense of community, and a quality of life we simply don’t want to give up.