The first time I came here to Sicily, it was because I decided I wanted to
have my own "Eat, Pray, Love" moment.
I knew from the moment that I landed that I loved it here.
I loved the feeling that I felt when my feet touched the ground, but also from the very first moment
I recognized how welcoming the people were.
Sicilians are the most loving and welcoming people I've ever encountered
on my travels.
I am Stephanie Synclair, I am a 41 years old.
I make $80,000 per year, and I currently split my time between Atlanta,
Georgia and Sicily, Italy.
I worked in corporate America for about ten years.
In 2009, I left and started my
own business as a consultant, and that's where I really made
a little bit of money.
I knew it was time to quit corporate America, when I was sick of people telling
me when to take a lunch break.
I wasn't hungry at 12.
I didn't want to take lunch until 2.
I wish it was deeper than that.
I'm so sorry guys. That really is it.
I feel so ridiculous.
But that, like, I was like, that was huge for me.
I don't want to eat at 12.
So yeah, I come here quite often in between Atlanta and
Sicily, usually about once a quarter and every summer for at least a month at
a time. One of the hidden benefits of starting my own business was
the fact that I could work from anywhere, which gave me more time to
travel and do so with my son.
No, I don't have any euro.
No peach for me.
Oh, gracias.
The best money lesson I have ever learned is to stop spending money on stupid
stuff. Financially, it's more important to actually be wealthy than to look wealthy
when it comes to basic living expenses.
Power bill, water bill, those things.
For three months I paid less than I pay for one month in the United States.
I may go grocery shopping here and spend
€60. It's no way I can walk in a Publix in the United
States and not spend over $100.
That's the truth. That is ridiculous.
Here we have a whole chicken cut
into pieces for
€2.95. Here is
a container of milk.
It is €1.
Okay. Take a look at this cheese.
You get a really big chunk of blue cheese for
€3.48 a loaf of bread
here. Whether you're getting it in the grocery store or from the bakery, runs
$0.90. And it's so fresh, so good.
A pack of 20 eggs here,
€3.89 a bottle of water.
This is two liters.
It's $0.39.
My internet in Italy is €50 a
month, and my internet in Atlanta is
$150. One of the biggest expenses that I do have
is renting a car for one week.
In the summer you may pay €800, whereas one
week right now is about €139.
So it's a huge difference and it fluctuates depending on the season.
I was looking for a house in Atlanta, and for what I know I should have been able to get for that
amount of money I no longer could get.
And so I just kind of figured maybe it's time I start looking elsewhere.
And I started looking here in Sicily.
I paid $62,000 USD for this home.
All in my renovation costs are $21,000 USD.
Welcome to casa mia.
Come on in. This is
my dining room, which is always the center of an Italian home.
And this is my master bedroom.
I'm not quite done decorating it yet, but my favorite feature are these
original Italian tile floors.
Aren't they beautiful?
My other favorite feature of this bedroom would be this amazing balcony.
Can you imagine waking up in the mornings and having breakfast out here?
We are now here in my study and as you can see, it is full
of antiques. But I want to show you my favorite part here is an antique desk that I
got locally.
Yes, it's a real work desk.
It was €390.
Here in Italy, antiques are not their favorite so you can get them
extremely affordably.
Off this study is this huge balcony.
As you can see, we have balconies off every room.
But this one is special because it actually wraps around the house.
This is what sealed the deal for me.
This beautiful rooftop terrace with amazing views of the
city as well as an amazing view of the countryside.
I plan to retire here in Sicily because it is much more affordable to
retire here.
Currently, if I look at the numbers, for me to retire in the United
States would be over $2.5 million that I would need.
And to retire here, I would only need about $450,000.
I can actually comfortably live here full time,
shop, travel, eat out regularly for
$18,000 per year and that's having a little
money left over.
Sicilians are just special to me for so many reasons.
Of course, the friendliness is one, the hospitality.
Once people know you're in their community and part of the community, they
do take you in and on as family.
I don't even know my neighbor's name at home.
Actually, in the States, I don't even think I know my neighbor's name.
I know their face.
I know their cars.
But now that I think about it, I know more about my neighbors here in Sicily than
I've ever known about my neighbors in the States.