I Left The U.S. And Bought A House In Italy For $13K
Cassandra Trestle, 33, relocated her family to a small hilltop town in Abruzzo, Italy in 2023, purchasing a house for €11,500 in cash and spending an additional €15,000 on renovations. She details the dramatically lower cost of living in rural Italy compared to the US, including affordable childcare (€60/month vs $3,000/month in Seattle), quality food, and the lifestyle benefits of working remotely while prioritizing family and personal freedom over career advancement.
Summary
Cassandra Trestle moved to Abruzzo, Italy with her family in 2023 after previously living in New York from 2015-2019, where she worked for a tech startup while paying $2,000/month rent in Brooklyn. The decision to relocate was catalyzed by the birth of her daughter in 2020, prompting the family to reconsider their future. They purchased a hilltop home in a traditional town at 1,100 meters elevation for €11,500, with an additional €15,000 spent on renovations, primarily plumbing ($3,000). The small town location offered authenticity without mass tourism, distinguishing it from popular regions like Tuscany.
The financial benefits are substantial: preschool costs €60/month compared to $3,000/month in Seattle; utilities (electricity €150, water €70, Wi-Fi €13, phone lines €12 each monthly) are minimal; and weekly grocery spending for a family of three plus four pets is approximately €120. They own a Fiat 600 purchased for €1,000 in cash as their primary vehicle.
Cassandra maintains employment through remote work with a New York-based tech startup and has taken on a marketing position with an Italian travel company, earning less than previously but valuing her time quality more highly. The family also owns a rental property in the countryside purchased for €17,000 plus €15,000 in improvements, generating approximately €1,000/month. She emphasizes the lifestyle shift—slow living, reduced stress, and freedom from monthly mortgage or rent obligations—over career ambition. The primary sacrifice is distance from family and friends in the US, though they plan continued visits.
Key Insights
- Cassandra claims that living in a small Italian town forced her to slow down and recognize that 'nothing is that important' and that 'a lot of things can wait and a lot of things can be done without the stress and the pressure'
- She states that preschool costs €60/month in Abruzzo compared to $3,000/month in Seattle—a 50-fold difference—making childcare substantially more affordable in rural Italy
- Cassandra notes that owning the house outright in cash creates a psychological sense of relief and freedom, allowing her to avoid being 'tied down to a traditional job' and explore other creative income options
- She argues that the quality of food and agriculture in Italy is substantially better than the US, to the point where her family feels 'bloated' when eating in the US after adjusting to European food standards
- Cassandra reports that her overall relationship with career and work has 'changed drastically,' realizing she may not care as much about career advancement as others do, prioritizing time and happiness instead
Topics
Transcript
[0:01] We are currently living in the Abbruta region of Italy. It is about 3 hours east of Rome and about 2 and a half hours from Naples. Living in a small town has forced me in the best way possible to slow down and really understand that nothing is that important. >> A lot of things actually can wait and a lot of things can be done without the stress and the pressure. [0:32] The fact that we were able to buy a house all in cash, honestly, at that time felt unbelievable. The house that we ended up buying was listed at 13,000, but we ended up purchasing it for around €11,500. My name is Cassandra Trestle. I…
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