She’s living the American Dream — in Italy.
When Stephanie Synclair, 41, ditched corporate America and began her own business, she was excited for the flexibleness to set her own schedule.
But after taking her first trip overseas — the Atlanta-based mother snagged a $250 sale fare to Palermo, Sicily, traveling to the island on a whim — Synclair realized that she could live anywhere on the planet if she desired to.
“I knew from the moment I landed that I loved it here, and it was almost like home for me,” Synclair, the founding father of the tea company LaRue 1680, told CNBC.
She loved it a lot that she bought a house in the traditional port city for $62,000, making Palermo her home away from home.
“I at all times said I could see myself living here, nevertheless it was more so in a dream way,” she explained. “I never actually saw myself buying a house here. I don’t know that I actually thought it was possible on the time.”
After mortgage rates dropped throughout the pandemic, Synclair had looked into buying a house back within the States, but once they rose again in 2021, the associated fee of homes in locations she preferred skyrocketed to $800,000 — much higher than her $450,000 budget.
“I began looking outside the country for just what was available,” said Synclair, who later stumbled across a Facebook group of Americans who had moved to Europe.
“It really was more so just curiosity, just looking. I don’t think in that moment that I knew it will actually result in a purchase order.”
She sought out an actual estate agency that sells properties at reasonably priced prices, finding her Italian dream home — three-bed, two-bath, 4,000 square feet — in November 2021 and shutting on it the next March.
While it needed some renovations, she’s only spending an estimated $21,000, which can allow her to show the garage right into a lounge and bar, while adding one other bedroom and toilet.
“It was very vital for me to maintain the architectural details on this house, just like the historic floors, and to not try to alter the partitions or the arches,” Synclair explained. “This home is no less than 500 years old that we all know of. It was remodeled possibly 100 years ago, and the floors are no less than 100 years old, and so they’re still kicking.”
Synclair, who earns $80,000 per yr, said her living expenses overseas are minimal. In comparison with her Atlanta expenditures — $2,635 for her three-story rental home, Wi-Fi and utilities and a further $1,165 for automotive payments and gas — she spends just below an estimated $1,400 total on utilities, food, subscriptions and insurance in Sicily.
In Sicily, necessities are inexpensive in comparison with Georgia — it’s made saving her hard-earned money much easier.
Synclair didn’t get serious about savings until her 30s, feeling like she “needed to make up for lost time” in her 20s, during which she barely saved.
“I live greater than comfortably on my current salary, even with Atlanta being rather a lot pricier than it’s here in Sicily, because I live for nearly nothing here,” she said.
While she splits her time between the states and Europe, traveling overseas every 12 weeks or so, she hopes at some point to quiet down in Sicily full-time and retire for less expensive.
“If I used to be to retire in the US, I would wish no less than $2.5 million to retire comfortably. That’s taking today’s inflation in consideration,” she explained.
“But by retiring here in Sicily, I only need about $450,000.”
Crunching the numbers, Synclair projected she would only need about $18,000 per yr.
She prefers Sicily for its culture — “you really get to live,” she said, quite than orient your life around work — although she’s still trying to select up Italian.
“Overall, I believe that what Sicilians do appreciate is that we’re here to find out about their customs and their cultures,” she said.
“I’ll at all times be an American on foreign land — I’ll at all times be an outsider,” she added. “And I believe that’s really vital to recollect whenever you’re coming into others’ cultures.”
She’s living the American Dream — in Italy.
When Stephanie Synclair, 41, ditched corporate America and began her own business, she was excited for the flexibleness to set her own schedule.
But after taking her first trip overseas — the Atlanta-based mother snagged a $250 sale fare to Palermo, Sicily, traveling to the island on a whim — Synclair realized that she could live anywhere on the planet if she desired to.
“I knew from the moment I landed that I loved it here, and it was almost like home for me,” Synclair, the founding father of the tea company LaRue 1680, told CNBC.
She loved it a lot that she bought a house in the traditional port city for $62,000, making Palermo her home away from home.
“I at all times said I could see myself living here, nevertheless it was more so in a dream way,” she explained. “I never actually saw myself buying a house here. I don’t know that I actually thought it was possible on the time.”
After mortgage rates dropped throughout the pandemic, Synclair had looked into buying a house back within the States, but once they rose again in 2021, the associated fee of homes in locations she preferred skyrocketed to $800,000 — much higher than her $450,000 budget.
“I began looking outside the country for just what was available,” said Synclair, who later stumbled across a Facebook group of Americans who had moved to Europe.
“It really was more so just curiosity, just looking. I don’t think in that moment that I knew it will actually result in a purchase order.”
She sought out an actual estate agency that sells properties at reasonably priced prices, finding her Italian dream home — three-bed, two-bath, 4,000 square feet — in November 2021 and shutting on it the next March.
While it needed some renovations, she’s only spending an estimated $21,000, which can allow her to show the garage right into a lounge and bar, while adding one other bedroom and toilet.
“It was very vital for me to maintain the architectural details on this house, just like the historic floors, and to not try to alter the partitions or the arches,” Synclair explained. “This home is no less than 500 years old that we all know of. It was remodeled possibly 100 years ago, and the floors are no less than 100 years old, and so they’re still kicking.”
Synclair, who earns $80,000 per yr, said her living expenses overseas are minimal. In comparison with her Atlanta expenditures — $2,635 for her three-story rental home, Wi-Fi and utilities and a further $1,165 for automotive payments and gas — she spends just below an estimated $1,400 total on utilities, food, subscriptions and insurance in Sicily.
In Sicily, necessities are inexpensive in comparison with Georgia — it’s made saving her hard-earned money much easier.
Synclair didn’t get serious about savings until her 30s, feeling like she “needed to make up for lost time” in her 20s, during which she barely saved.
“I live greater than comfortably on my current salary, even with Atlanta being rather a lot pricier than it’s here in Sicily, because I live for nearly nothing here,” she said.
While she splits her time between the states and Europe, traveling overseas every 12 weeks or so, she hopes at some point to quiet down in Sicily full-time and retire for less expensive.
“If I used to be to retire in the US, I would wish no less than $2.5 million to retire comfortably. That’s taking today’s inflation in consideration,” she explained.
“But by retiring here in Sicily, I only need about $450,000.”
Crunching the numbers, Synclair projected she would only need about $18,000 per yr.
She prefers Sicily for its culture — “you really get to live,” she said, quite than orient your life around work — although she’s still trying to select up Italian.
“Overall, I believe that what Sicilians do appreciate is that we’re here to find out about their customs and their cultures,” she said.
“I’ll at all times be an American on foreign land — I’ll at all times be an outsider,” she added. “And I believe that’s really vital to recollect whenever you’re coming into others’ cultures.”
