For a few years now, dozens of town councils in Italy have put up for sale numerous homes starting from one euro. This initiative aimed to repopulate many of the villages that are increasingly empty in the country. However, acquiring any of these homes had its fine print. And the majority of the houses offered required a comprehensive or structural renovation, so the person who wanted to move had to contribute all the expenses associated with the renovation process, notary fees, remodeling plan, etc.
These problems did not prevent Meredith Tabbone, a financial advisor in Chicago, from moving to Sambuca di Sicilia. To do this, she acquired one of these houses “for one euro” and, between the comprehensive renovation and all the associated expenses, He got his dream home for just over 443,000 euros.
A dream life in southern Italy
According to what they tell us from CNBC, Tabbone was researching his family background until he realized that his great-grandfather was originally born in Sambuca before moving to the United States. Realizing that she had Italian blood and, later in 2019, when she found out about the home auction, decided to lean towards acquiring one of these properties.
To make your property official, had to contribute about 5,900 euros to the city council. In addition, he also bought the house next to his door to carry out a comprehensive renovation of the house, expanding the space.
Among all the expenses associated with the property, Tabbone invested about $475,000 (about 443,474.25 euros at the exchange rate). In her process of learning Italian customs, she stated that in this country, she generally worked with slower deadlines than what she was accustomed to in Chicago as a financial advisor. To all this we had to add the COVID-19 pandemic, which slowed down the reform process even more.
According to the media, this less frenetic pace helped him appreciate the customs of the Sicilian community even more. In fact, as he says, socializing has become one of the most important parts of Tabbone’s life in Italy. “It’s part of the culture here to go out every day and be around people,” he says. “And if that’s your thing, this is certainly the place to be.”
This change of scenery gave Tabbone a very different perspective on reality. “I’ve started to think differently about how I’m building my business, and maybe not focus my life on work, but on personal fulfillment in general,” she said.
By focusing less on his busy work, Tabbone has had the opportunity to give yourself more time and pursue new goals. “I’ve tried to be as efficient as possible with my time when I’m in Chicago, and I’m definitely learning to say ‘no’ to a lot more things,” Tabbone admits.
According to Tabbone, the only thing he regrets about this “one euro project” is not having opted for such a life much sooner. “If I could do anything over again in the purchasing or renovation process, I would have learned to be more patient and enjoy the experience from the beginning,” he says.
Just like Tabbone, many more people have signed up for this initiative, such as Gary and Tam Holma couple also from the United States who went to live in Italy, spending much less (about 160,000 euros in total). For many people, moving to southern Europe has meant a radical change in their pace of life. Getting together to go out, having fantastic cuisine and savoring life calmly and passionately, are some of the treasures we have on this side of the planet.
Cover image | The So