A transition from bustling Los Angeles to a quiet town in Sicily may seem like an unusual choice for a career-driven 28-year-old. But for Kiki Leigh, it's been the best decision she's ever made.
After 15 years in LA, Leigh was ready for a change. But she didn't know it would lead to a complete overhaul of her life, settling down in a town of only 10,000 people who don't speak English.
Leigh began exploring the idea in 2024, feeling restless in her routine and life in LA.
'I was living "a successful life,"' she told the Daily Mail. 'But I wasn't really feeling fulfilled, and I was honestly burnt out and drained.'
Leigh, who works in public relations in the fashion industry, admitted that while she felt like she was doing 'everything right' on paper, there was still something missing.
She knew she needed to make a change, but it wasn't until she was scrolling on TikTok one day that she stumbled across a potential way forward.
'I saw this woman saying she [bought] this dilapidated house in Italy for 60,000 euros - it was a humongous house, beautiful, and it's historic,' she said.
Leigh began researching the idea and discovered the one euro house scheme - an Italian initiative designed to combat rural depopulation by selling abandoned, dilapidated houses.
In early 2024, Kiki Leigh realized she felt as though something was missing and began fantasizing about making a big change in her life.
The program was launched in 2017 to help boost local economies and attract new residents to towns and villages with a declining population. Buyers were required to renovate the properties within a specified timeframe.
Within two weeks of seeing the clip, Leigh booked a trip to Sicily - she had been there once before and loved it.
'I love Italy as a whole, and I thought, "Maybe this is what I'm looking for,"' she told the Daily Mail.
While Leigh admitted that jumping from her chaotic LA life to renovating a house in a country where she's not a native speaker is still stressful, she is comforted by knowing that, at the end, she will have something to show for it.
Once she landed in Sicily, Leigh was drawn to Mussomeli, one of the small towns, and toured between 30 and 40 houses, which cemented her decision to buy one.
'I was like, "Yeah, I definitely want to do this,"' she recalled. 'And so I ended up finding one house that I put an offer on. It was rejected.'
But, just 15 minutes later, the real estate agent called her back with good news - she had found her dream house for 27,000 euros ($32,000).
While it wasn't part of the one-euro house program, she couldn't resist the home.
The home took seven months to close, with Leigh returning late January 2025 and beginning construction in February, budgeting between 100,000 and 150,000 euros ($118,000 to $178,000)
Leigh booked a trip to Sicily within two weeks of seeing a TikTok of a woman who bought a house in Italy
Leigh said she has 'completely fallen in love with the town and the people, which I never expected in the beginning'
'Mussomeli is one of the towns that offers one-euro homes,' Leigh said. 'The initiative has been very successful locally, and there are now very few of those properties remaining.'
Leigh said the 4,300 square foot home with a whopping 17-rooms looks like it is 'from the medieval ages' - and with an age of around 600 years, she's not wrong.
'It was like a really beautiful house,' she said. 'Kind of like a dream come true.'
The home, which Leigh bought in full, took seven months to close.
'Once my offer was accepted, I placed a ten percent deposit, with the remaining balance paid at closing approximately six months later,' she explained. 'Typically, closings here take three to six months.'
'Some homes are heavily deteriorated and have been uninhabited for decades while others are fully renovated,' Leigh added. 'As a result, prices can range from approximately 5,000 to over 150,000 euros ($6,000 to $178,000).'
'That said, the most commonly bought and sold properties typically fall anywhere within the 5,000- to 30,000-euro range ($6,000 to $35,500).'
Leigh returned in late January 2025 to begin construction in February, budgeting between 100,000 and 150,000 euros ($118,000 to $178,000).
While Leigh admitted that jumping from her chaotic life in LA to renovating a house in a country where she's not a native speaker is still stressful, she is comforted by knowing that she will have something to show for it at the end
Leigh didn't need to open a local Italian bank account, as all payments were made through the international money transfer service Wise.
Leigh has since learned Italian and plans to live full-time in her renovated house.
The LA local previously lived in a mix of rented apartments and townhouses in West Hollywood and Koreatown, where she paid between $2,750 to $3,000 per month in rent.
As someone who loves hosting, Leigh can't wait to be able to properly entertain guests in her new house.
'I've always loved hosting and organizing dinner parties,' she explained. 'But renting in Los Angeles rarely comfortably allowed for that.'
'I'll finally have the room to create environments I've always dreamed about,' she added,' including a spa and a bar within the house—features that simply aren't possible in most rental properties.'
She's also looking forward to showing off her new village.
'I've just completely fallen in love with the town and the people,' she gushed to the Daily Mail.
'I definitely thought that this was going to just be something that I was investing in and a fun project and somewhere that I would come just to chill out.
'But to be honest, my social life there is more full than it ever was in LA. It’s like,the community there is so welcoming. And I’m just so grateful that I was able to find a place like this.'
Leigh, who has Irish citizenship,is currently in the process of getting her citizenship to the EU.
At the moment,she visits Italy on a tourist visa,where she stays for one to three months at a time.
'Although,I wish I could stay longer,'she added.'I've gone back and forth several times in the last year to manage the renovation.'
She hopes to set up a business in Mussomeli,either focusing on olive oil or a store that can help serve the local community.
She hopes to move to Sicily permanently，with construction on her 17-room abode slated to be finished by June。
'My plan is to use the home as a private residence and be there pretty much full time，'she said，adding that she wants to'be able to host my family and friends and get to show them this place that I love so much.'