With a high tourist season sealed by hundreds of Italian presences, especially in the most sought-after resorts on the Kenyan coast, from Watamu to Diani, from Kilifi to Lamu, the desire on the part of those who have approached Kenya as tourists and have been seized by the fateful ‘Africa-sickness’, or at least are convinced of having contracted the syndrome, despite having seen (and understood) only a hundred millionth of what the entire continent represents, could not help but come back to the fore.
If, as the great writer Ryszard Kapuscinski, whom we are wont to quote, ‘it is only for the sake of convenience that we call it Africa, in reality Africa does not exist’ because it is a collection of so many microcosms, a holiday of one or two weeks in a sub-microcosm such as a seaside resort on the Indian Ocean or a wildlife park in the savannah, should not be indicative of such a strong affection as to lead an adult to consider moving to that land.

Because it does happen, and this is evidenced by the dozens of requests through our email inbox and the social networks we manage (especially the Italians in Kenya group on Facebook).
Every day we receive questions about ‘what life is like in Kenya’ or whether or not it is easy to find a job, or even whether one can live on an acceptable pension or renting one's own flat in Italy.

Some did it in past years, some continue to do so. Many try it and after a few months or years return to Italy, while others have now settled down.
If we can give you some advice, first, assess well why you want to change your life, identifying Kenya as your new destination.
‘It's too easy to run away when everything is askew’ someone used to say, years ago, and he also made us a song whose refrain repeated “leave, but don't expect a party”, in the sense that they are not roses and flowers, and that the vision of a holiday then hides all the problems of a foreign country and moreover of a difficult continent, however fascinating and futuristic or, as we say today, “developing”, to cancel that “third world” that sounds like all the expressions that the good-naturedness of the facade is scrapping. We could also say ‘differently poor’ or something similar.
We have always recommended to those who really want to move to Kenya, a period of adaptation that is not a holiday, and secondly to consider a change of life only if one has a sum of money to settle down. There are no longer any destinations where you can arrive without a nest egg in your pocket and hope to live hand-to-mouth or find something to do without getting caught up in the yoke of bureaucracy, permits and rules.
And that nest egg, with each passing year, has to be larger and larger.

To be self-employed, for example, you need an initial investment of around 80,000 euros, and a work permit, valid for 2 years, costs 4,000 euros. If you then think you can work as an employee, perhaps in your profession, be aware that from 2024 a work permit as an employee costs exactly twice as much, i.e. 8000 euros for 2 years. Few employers would hire a foreign employee at these costs, unless the employee is an important professional with an already high and amortisable salary, e.g. a titled chef, or a designer with a respectable CV, or a professional in fields where Kenyans are not yet competitive.
Don't listen to those who assure you that you can work in Kenya without permits! In the most likely case, they are ‘easy-going’ people used to doing things across the board, trusting in one of the most corrupt countries in Africa. But many cases of compatriots arrested and expelled from Kenya tell a different story. So do those who advise you to open a company with a Kenyan citizen, and name the shares after him. Even this system, though advocated by many, will get you nowhere, especially not guarantee that you will be able to stay safely in Kenya.

‘I want to live in Kenya’ is easier said than done, in short. Unless you have some money put aside and you make investments and plans with good reason, and not just because you are ‘Africa-sick’.
Everything else can be new and exciting, but only if there is a lot of brains first.