On #2, €1800/mo rent including utilities sounds pretty absurd! Is that in a particularly desirable city center, or with some unusual arrangement (e.g. furnished short-term rentals?). The Italians I know here in Copenhagen have mentioned rent prices closer to €700-900 for a 1-bd back in Italy, when complaining about how expensive Copenhagen is in comparison (€1800 would even be high for Copenhagen, though; it's more like €1000-1300 here).