As far as I know, Italy is not the happiest country, considering the services/costs ratio. Services in general are all expensive, quality of life not very high. Apart from italian food and sunny weather, in our opinion living in Rome is not easy. We're a couple, both workers, our current expenses can be condensed like this:

Rent: 2 rooms, 100 sq.mt. apartment with separate kitchen, bathroom and balcony, €1000/month
The fee includes heathing and building cleaning/maintenance. We live in a popular medium-level district (Tiburtina) half way from popular (and cheaper) suburban areas and more expensive centric districts.

Utilities: Gas + electricity between €30 - €40 month,

Internet: €20 / month

Cell phones: €20 - €30 / month (no telephone line at home)

Food: In two we spend €150 / month, we eat out very rarely.

Transport: €40 / month (we both use unlimited annual subscription, the cheapest for metropolitan area transport) for two people.

Car (I pay this alone): gasoline €40 / month + taxes €15/month depending on the car size + insurance €25 / month

Health: in Italy public hospitals are free, but in practice are good for urgencies only. For private health care you should consider an average €30/month for a person with no particular problems (dentist once a year, flu once a year, small accidents and the like). Dentists and in general health specialists are particularly expensive in Italy, starting from €150 for a single check.

Entertainment: We like live music a lot, and we go to a live concert every week, ranging from €40 - €60 / month per capita. No cinema (very rare), no disco. Maybe go out for dinner once every 3 months.

Dresses: I'd say €20 - €30 / month approx. for each of us.

Total for a person: €775 circa, ranging from a minimum of €650 (limiting expenses a bit, maybe not having a car) to a €800 max.

Hope to be helpful.