*Atlanta may be where Stephanie Synclair is based, but the American woman is finding happiness overseas with the home she purchased in Italy.
Chatting with “CNBC Make It,” Synclair detailed how a trip to Palermo, Sicily on a whim resulted in her buying a home there for $62,000.
“I knew from the moment I landed that I loved it here, and it was almost like home for me,” the LaRue 1680 tea company founder said about the port city.
Although she loved Palermo, the thought of actually finding residence there seemed more like a fantasy than reality for Synclair.
“I always said I could see myself living here, but it was more so in a dream way,” she said about her home away from home. “I never actually saw myself buying a house here. I don’t know that I really thought it was possible at the time.”
It wasn’t until the pandemic (and the lessening mortgage rates that came with it) that Synclair thought of buying a home. However, when mortgages rose again in the States in 2021, with homes on her radar exceeding her $450,000 budget, it was time to look in a different direction. Enter a Facebook group of Americans who moved to Europe Synclair later came upon.
“I started looking outside the country for just what was available,” she said. “It really was more so just curiosity, just looking. I don’t think in that moment that I knew it would actually lead to a purchase.”
Once Synclair found a real estate agency that sells properties at affordable prices, the search was on. In November 2021, the 41-year-old business owner found her three-bed, two-bath, 4,000-square-foot Italian dream home. Months later, in March 2022, Synclair closed on the residence.
Despite the housing being a fixer-upper with some renovations needed. Synclair revealed that she only spent an estimated $21,000. As a result, she managed to turn the garage into a living room and bar, while adding another bedroom and bathroom, the New York Post noted, while highlighting Synclair’s desire to maintain the home’s original look.
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“It was very important for me to keep the architectural details in this house, like the historic floors, and to not try to change the walls or the arches,” Synclair shared. “This house is at least 500 years old that we know of. It was remodeled maybe 100 years ago, and the floors are at least 100 years old, and they’re still kicking.”
Compared to Atlanta, looks like Synclair got the better deal. The matriarch, who makes $80,000 annually, shells out $2,635 for her three-story rental home, Wi-Fi and utilities in Atlanta and an additional $1,165 for car payments and gas. In Sicily, she revealed her living expenses are minimal with just under an estimated $1,400 total on utilities, food, subscriptions and insurance spent in Sicily, where necessities are less expensive.
“I live more than comfortably on my current salary, even with Atlanta being a lot pricier than it is here in Sicily, because I live for almost nothing here,” Synclair said.
With thoughts turning toward the future, Synclair is hopeful to one day settle down fully in Sicily and retire for much. Currently, she divides her time between the States and Europe, traveling overseas every 12 weeks or so.
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“If I was to retire in the United States, I would need at least $2.5 million to retire comfortably. That’s taking today’s inflation in consideration. But by retiring here in Sicily, I only need about $450,000,” Synclair stated, projecting that about $18,000 per year would be what she would need if she crunched the numbers.
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