I Bought a Cheap Home in Sicily and Moved From LA. Renovations Aren’t Easy.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kiki Leigh, a 28-year-old originally from Winnipeg, Canada, who is relocating from Los Angeles to Mussomeli, Italy, after buying a house there. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I’ve traveled to Italy several times, but I had only been to Sicily once prior to living there. Sicily is completely different than other parts of Italy.

I fell in love the first time I went in 2022, and I just wanted to get back.

The people and the culture charmed me, and the natural beauty is unbelievable. There are volcanoes, there’s crystal blue water, there are flowers, there are palm trees, there’s so much life in the people and in the land itself.

At the time, my life was still very much in Los Angeles; I was in a relationship, and had a lot of work and social obligations.

The tipping point for me was when I saw Lorrah Minton’s video about buying cheap homes in Sicily. I was like, “OK, so this really is possible.” I already knew that I loved it here, so I want to explore what that would look like.

After I saw Lorrah’s video, I was there within two weeks. I thought it made too much sense not to at least go and check it out — worst-case scenario, I have a beautiful vacation in Sicily and no harm, no foul. But very quickly, I fell in love.

I instantly felt at home in Sicily

My mom came with me, and as soon as we got to town, we went to lunch, and the owner of the restaurant came out and introduced himself, because in a small town like that, if you’re a newcomer, you stick out like a sore thumb.

He approached us at our table and asked, “Where are you from? Are you on vacation? What are you doing here?”

I said, “We’re on vacation, but going to look at some houses.” He said, “Come back to my restaurant at 7 p.m. I’m going to shut the restaurant down, and we’re going to go to dinner somewhere else.”

He took us to this different restaurant in town, just a few minutes away, and while we were sitting at dinner, he introduced us to all of these different people. I met my architect that night. I met doctors who work at the hospital. I met people who work at the bank.

These people were so kind and so helpful, and this is exactly the kind of community that I want to be in if I’m going to be making an insane move 5,000 miles away from everything I’ve ever known.

Obviously, there’s risk in buying a foreign home in a place where you don’t know the language yet — and I’ve never done a renovation before — but it felt like I at least had this sense of community to fall back on. If I need something, I know that I can just go and ask the guy who owns the café, or go to my neighbor and ask them a question. I don’t have to feel like I’m alone.

The community is much warmer in Italy than LA

On a social level, the culture in Italy is so, so different than LA.

LA is very networking-forward in social settings. The first thing people ask you is, “What’s your name, and what do you do?”

Here, people ask you, “What’s your name and where are you from?” They want to know about you.

The people here are very welcoming, warm, curious, and kind, and it’s a completely different social experience. It feels far less superficial.

LA is filled with a lot of superficial relationships, a lot of, “Oh my God, let’s hang out,” and then you never hear from that person again.

Here, there’s a stronger sense of community. My neighbors bring me fruits to my doorway when they have extra from their countryside house, or when I’m walking down the street, people will pass me in their cars and wave.

I would go five years living in an apartment in LA and not really know anything about my neighbors. In Italy, you know everyone, and it’s a beautiful thing. It feels like that human connection that we’re supposed to have, but we don’t really have anymore in some places like LA.

The pace of life is definitely a lot slower. So I can understand that sometimes when Americans and people from other countries come here, the pace is a little too slow for them.

But it’s fine. I think it’s nice to have to surrender to the pace of a place that you’re in. And I think it’s also a great lesson in control — or lack thereof.

My house used to be five different units — now it’s one big home

I had a completely different idea of what my life was supposed to look like and what it was supposed to be.

It was some far-off dream that maybe someday, when I’m retirement age, I’ll finally move to Europe and buy a house and live out the rest of my days. Once I realized how realistic buying this house was — obviously, it’s not easy, but it’s not impossible — I did it sooner.

I wanted something special, and I wanted something that was a project.

The house I purchased is 4,300 square feet. It’s four bedrooms, four bathrooms, and 17 rooms total.

Originally, the house was separate units, like hundreds of years ago, then combined into one. I have seven doors to the house, five of which have addresses, but they all lead to the same house.

I paid 27,000 euros [about $31,115] for it in June 2024, and the renovations could come out to about 90,000 euros when renovations are done in June or July of this year.

For comparison, in my last apartment in LA, I was renting a one-bedroom in Echo Park and paying just under $3,000 a month.

I chose to buy this house because I didn’t want just somewhere where I can come and chill, cook dinner, and sleep. I wanted a home where I could entertain, where I could host all of my friends from Canada and from LA, and this house was exactly that. It’s perfect for entertaining, and, at the same time, a place for me to relax.

It’s been an awesome experience that I’m going to look back on. It’s not been easy all of the time, nor should it be.

I think the world would be a better place if everyone were able to spend as much time immersing themselves in a different culture and learning different ways of life.

I’m really grateful that I trusted my gut and went for it.