By Silvia Marchetti, CNN – The rising cost of living in America has been hitting households hard in recent years, with many struggling to make ends meet. One US family has become so frustrated by the situation that they’ve decided to pack up their lives and move to a town in the deep south of Italy.
Chris and Jennifer Tidroski from Prescott, Arizona have joined the growing number of US citizens who’ve bought a neglected home in an underpopulated Italian village for a song in search of a slower-paced life.
Cost of living impact
In 2021, the Tidroskis purchased a house in the historical district of the village of Latronico in Southern Italian region Basilicata for 26,000 euros (around $27,274) and have since spent an extra 50,000 euros ($52,450) on renovating it.
“Our goal is to relocate in the next year or so as soon as the house is ready and we get our visa, together with our seven-year-old daughter Lidia. We want a brighter future,” Chris Tidroski, a 49-year-old former osteopath who now teaches bowling, tells CNN.
The couple say that the cost of living in the US has become too high, especially when it comes to healthcare.
Having both worked in the sector they say they’ve seen costs spiral over the past decade, and aren’t hopeful that things will improve.
Chris explains that the political polarization in the US has been a contributing factor in their decision to relocate to Italy.
“We don’t like the political landscape in the States: it’s laughingly ridiculous,” he says. “There’s a shift too far in both directions, no middle ground anymore. We can’t relate.”
Being able to reconnect with his Italian heritage was also a trigger for change for Chris, whose great-grandfather migrated to the US at the end of the 1800s from a village near Latronico.
Bargain property
The Tidroskis decided to travel to Latronico to take a look at the available empty dwellings in 2021, after reading about its housing scheme – local authorities launched an online platform, Your House in Latronico, to help owners meet buyers – in order to lure expats to the picturesque hilltop town.
“We picked Latronico, because of the advertisement. It had never occurred to us to buy a house overseas, but I loved the idea of the program and the prices were surprisingly low,” says Jennifer, 37, who is also an osteopath.
After viewing some properties in the town, they opted for a two-bedroom home, measuring 125-square-meters, which came with a patch of land, and can be accessed by car via the old district.
The sale process had no unfortunate surprises and went very smoothly, says Chris, who flew to Italy to sign the paperwork later that year.
Since purchasing their Italian home, the couple have upgraded the floors, and given the kitchen, dining room, bathrooms and bedrooms a facelift.
They’ve also installed new roof tiles a heater, air conditioning, updated the plumbing and repainted the exterior walls shiny yellow.
The Tidroskis explain that the renovation work has taken longer than they expected, mainly due to a shortage of builders in Italy.
Over the past three years, Italian households have been receiving government-approved tax credits of up to 110% for green upgrades, triggering a “renovation frenzy” across the country.
