NY Couple Bought an Italian Home for $13,000 After Leaving the US
Cassandra Tresl and Alex Ninman left New York City, relocated to Europe, and purchased a house in Abruzzo, Italy for just $13,000.
A New York City couple abandoned the high cost of urban American life and found a dramatically cheaper path to homeownership in southern Europe. Cassandra Tresl and Alex Ninman made the leap in 2020, initially moving into Tresl's grandfather's home in the Czech Republic before setting their sights on Italy, where they closed on a property in the Abruzzo region in 2022 for just $13,000.
Their story reflects a growing wave of Americans reconsidering the financial and lifestyle trade-offs of big-city living, particularly in the post-pandemic era when remote work opened geographic possibilities that earlier generations rarely had. For Tresl and Ninman, the move was less about escape and more about discovery — the couple described finding "a different way of life" entirely.
Read more Annuities Moving Into 401(k) Plans: What Workers Need to Know →
Abruzzo, a rugged and largely rural region on Italy's Adriatic coast, has attracted bargain-hunting foreign buyers in recent years, partly due to Italy's broader one-euro and low-cost home initiatives aimed at repopulating depopulating villages. While the source does not specify whether this property was part of such a program, the $13,000 price tag aligns with the kind of deals available in Italy's less-trafficked interior communities.
The couple's two-year European transition — first Czech Republic, then Italy — suggests a deliberate, staged approach to expatriate life rather than an impulsive decision. That methodical planning may offer a template for other Americans weighing whether an overseas move is financially and personally realistic in today's economic climate.
Continue reading at US Top News and Analysis.
