A WOMAN has ditched a life in “superficial” Los Angeles and purchased her “dream” 17-room home in Sicily for around $30,000.
Kiki Leigh, 28, decided to make the move to the medieval village of Mussomeli, Italy, after growing tired of the fast pace of life in LA and the staggering cost of some homes.
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A woman has purchased her dream home in Italy for just over $30,000Credit: SWNS
The property has 17 rooms and a terrace (pictured)Credit: SWNS
It required some renovations as it hadn’t been lived in for decadesCredit: SWNS
Re-plastering and rewiring was neededCredit: SWNS
The home became a passion project for the 28-year-old LA nativeCredit: SWNS
After hearing about cheap, abandoned houses being sold off in the region, she jetted off to Italy and immediately fell in love with the spacious home and its stunning terrace view.
Kiki, who works in fashion public relations, has so far spent around $104,000 on renovations and hopes to move into the property permanently next summer, after her visa has been approved.
Once her home is finished, it will have four bedrooms, four bathrooms, a bar, a spa, and a library.
She estimates that a similar property in LA would cost upwards of $3 million, making for quite the steal.
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Additionally, the 28-year-old has been welcomed by all of the locals in the town with open arms, making her move across the Atlantic seem “easy.”
“I was drawn to Italy because of the lifestyle. I love the long lunches and slower pace; it’s so much more fulfilling,” Kiki said.
“It also gave me the opportunity to purchase my dream home for an insanely low price.”
“I bought a 17-room home for 27,000 euros; it checked all of my boxes,” she continued.
“It was spacious and full of natural light, but the terrace is what sold me.”
Still, the property wasn’t perfect since it hadn’t been occupied or maintained for decades.
“It hadn’t been lived in since the 90s, so it had peeling walls, a leaky roof, and mold,” Kiki explained.
“I’ve spent 90,000 euros on renovations; it’s been rewired, re-plastered, and all of the flooring has been replaced.”
Despite being far from loved ones, Kiki says the pros outweigh the cons.
“I miss my family, but it’s not that hard to persuade people to come to Sicily,” she said.
Escrow and mortgage increases explained
What’s an escrow? Why did my mortgage payment go up?
Escrow accounts are set up to help homeowners cover insurance, property taxes, or other home-related expenses.
If you have an escrow, part of your monthly mortgage payment goes towards the account.
The escrow management company then uses the money in the escrow account to pay for taxes and insurance when those payments come due.
Essentially, the escrow bundles these other charges with your monthly principal payments, making them easier to manage. This is meant to make homeowners less likely to default on their payments.
If the government’s annual valuation of your home determines that your property taxes will go up, the escrow payments can spike as well, meaning that even those with fixed mortgage payments can find themselves forking over more cash every month.
“I’ve made so many amazing friends, from local people to foreigners from all over the world.”
“The local community is so warm and kind — they’ve made the move here so easy.”
“People are so friendly, I’ll get messages from people I don’t know saying ‘welcome to the town, you’d never get that in LA’”, Kiki added.
Kiki decided to leave her hometown behind as she was fed up with the fast pace of life in the Californian city.
“A lot of the culture is geared towards networking; it’s quite superficial,” she argued.
The 28-year-old had traveled to Italy several times before, and after falling in love with the slower pace of life, decided to move there permanently.
In LA, she was paying $3,000 a month for rent on an apartment, and the cost of living was extremely high, so she was also attracted to the lower costs of living in Italy.
Kiki had previously read articles about Italy’s one euro house scheme, where abandoned houses are sold off for an extremely low price, but always thought it looked too good to be true.
However, she then saw a TikTok where a woman revealed that in Mussomeli, Sicily, there are houses for sale for around 30,000 euros ($34,768).
The homes also needed far fewer renovations to be done to them than the dilapidated one euro houses.
Excited, Kiki jetted off to Sicily, and in June 2024, after viewing around 30 homes, put an offer on the 17-room home for just over $31,000.
The rundown property ticked all of Kiki’s boxes, as it was spacious, full of natural light, and had a stunning view out on the terrace.
The deal took seven months to close, and in January 2025, the property was finally hers.
Kiki hired a team of builders a few weeks later, who got to work redoing the floors, re-plastering the walls, and rewiring the electrics.
She has also purchased a custom-made kitchen and a bar, which she is waiting for the builders to install.
“It’s all going to come together in the next few months,” she said.
In March 2026, she was able to stay in the property for the first time.
She is currently living between Mussomeli and LA, and once all of the renovations are complete, Kiki plans to make the big move.
“I’m hoping I’ll be able to move over permanently by the end of the year; it’s a waiting game at the minute,” she said.
Kiki currently works remotely, but once she has settled into her new life in Italy, she plans to get a job locally.
“I have local friends who have an olive grove and too much olive oil that they don’t know what to do with, so I might collaborate with them on a business selling olive oil to North America,” she noted.
Kiki isn’t alone in her international move either.
A couple last year wanted to “escape higher prices” and now own two homes for only $75,000.
Another pair went to one of Europe’s cheapest places, and their monthly expenses for two fell to just $1,500.