logo
I've moved from LA to Italy to renovate a £23,000 crumbling medieval house with 17 rooms - it was the only way to get on the property ladder

I've moved from LA to Italy to renovate a £23,000 crumbling medieval house with 17 rooms - it was the only way to get on the property ladder

Daily Mail​16-07-2025
A woman has moved across the world to renovate a 600-year-old medieval Italian home because house prices in her hometown have 'skyrocketed'.
Kiki Leigh was stunned by the local property market when she came across a tiny Italian town called Mussomeli, where historic homes were going for 'the price of a handbag'.
The 28-year-old snapped up a 17-room pad for just £22,800 (€27,000) - a fraction of the estimated £367,000 the property would have cost in Los Angeles, where Kiki has been living.
Although the move across the world is daunting, Kiki is embracing the challenge and throwing herself into renovations.
Kiki, originally from Winnipeg, Canada, said: 'It started as a bit of a wild idea. I had always seen news stories about cheap homes, but never seriously considered it.
'I'd been living in the city for years, surrounded by constant pressure to chase a version of success that didn't actually fit me. Life felt expensive, overstimulating and a little soulless.
'I experienced a lot of loss and pain and, when I finally picked my head up and really looked around, I realised I wasn't living in a way that felt true to me and I wasn't even sure why.'
Kiki said that when she stumbled upon the property, she took the opportunity based on a 'gut feeling' - in search of a 'more grounded way to live'.
Having looked for a home before, Kiki called the real estate prices in LA 'laughable', and said even in her home country Canada the prices had 'skyrocketed'.
She said: 'I was working hard, doing well, but owning a home, let alone a dream home, always felt out of reach.
'I couldn't justify spending half a million dollars on something that didn't feel special. Then I realised that, for a fraction of that, I could own a literal piece of history. The maths just started to make sense in a way that North America never did.'
At some points, Kiki was paying the equivalent of £1,830 a month for a one-bedroom apartment.
She said, 'That didn't include parking or peace of mind, let alone castle views and cobblestone charm. Rent felt like a monthly punishment for staying somewhere I wasn't thriving. It wasn't sustainable long-term, financially or emotionally.'
The bustling lifestyle of LA, where influencers and celebrities flock in swathes, was another reason Kiki wanted to leave.
While living in the US and Canada, Kiki was at points paying the equivalent of £1,830 a month for a one-bedroom apartment. Pictured: The renovation of Kiki's 600-year-old home
'In LA, everything felt like a rush - fast food, fast fashion, fast success,' she said. 'In Mussomeli, time feels expansive.
'I'll be cooking more, walking more, talking to neighbours, hosting dinners instead of scrolling. My daily life will be rooted in connection, creativity and calm.
'I'll still be working and creating, but from a place that nourishes me. It's not about slowing down completely, it's about being intentional.'
So far, Kiki has spent £42,185 on renovations to the 600-year-old pad. She said: 'This is a historic home, the kind of place that reveals new surprises behind every wall.
'To me, this isn't just a house, it's an experience, an art project, a home base for my future and a way to live life a little differently. So, I'm more than happy with the investment.'
With the money she's saving, Kiki plans to build a spa with a jacuzzi and sauna and a full bar, because she wants it to be 'a little magical'.
Kiki estimates the total cost will land somewhere around £101,250 -£118,140.
'I want it to feel like the ultimate home for peace and tranquility,' Kiki continued. 'A place where I can bring all my loved ones together and experience something special and rare.'
To add to the quirkiness, Kiki is building a library as a homage to the home's previous owner, a Sicilian scholar and professor.
'It felt only right to preserve that legacy and create a space where books, ideas and conversation are front and centre,' she said.
The new homeowner now splits her time between Sicily, LA and Canada while renovations continue, but she is almost ready to move in full-time.
Once the remodel is finished, she estimates she'll save £2,200 on outgoings each month.
Kiki explained: 'Rent alone is already eliminated,' said Kiki. 'Groceries, utilities, dining out - everything is more affordable here.
'And I don't need to pay to escape chaos, I just step outside and I'm in a 14th-century fairytale.
'This house felt like a chance to take something forgotten and make it beautiful again. There's a kind of romance to that.'
Kiki urged others to take a leap of faith in similar situations, arguing that 'life doesn't have to follow the script'.
She said: 'You don't need a five-year plan, a perfect timeline or anyone's permission to build a life that feels good.
'I bought an old, crumbling house in a tiny Sicilian town with no real plan beyond "this feels right" and it's led to more freedom, joy and community than I could have imagined. The life I've built here feels amazing.'
For work, she is continuing her career in fashion PR, but she added: 'Once my home is completed, I plan to start a business here.
'What business exactly, I'm not entirely sure, but I have a few ideas that I'm working on. I'm just healthier mentally, physically and spiritually than I ever was in North America.
'It's truly remarkable what this town has given me, and the version of myself I've been able to return to because of this journey.'
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Carrefour to sell Italy business, reports improving sales growth
Carrefour to sell Italy business, reports improving sales growth

Reuters

time9 hours ago

  • Reuters

Carrefour to sell Italy business, reports improving sales growth

LONDON, July 24 (Reuters) - Carrefour ( opens new tab, Europe's biggest food retailer, has agreed to sell its loss-making business in Italy to food and drinks manufacturer NewPrinces Group ( opens new tab as part of a strategic review kicked off earlier this year. The sale of Carrefour Italy, which operates 1,188 stores but made a 67 million euro ($78.85 million) operating loss last year, will help boost Carrefour's growth, profitability and cash generation, the French-based retailer said in a statement. The deal gives Carrefour Italy an enterprise value of around 1 billion euros, Italy-based NewPrinces Group said in a separate statement, and should close by the end of the third quarter subject to regulatory approval. Carrefour also reported stronger second-quarter sales as price cuts helped to attract more inflation-weary shoppers particularly in France, its biggest market. Overall, Carrefour's second-quarter sales grew 4.4% on a like-for-like basis from a year earlier, building on 2.9% growth in the first quarter. In France, like-for-like sales returned to growth for the first time since 2023, up 2.1% compared to a year ago. "Volumes declined at a historic rate after the wave of hyperinflation in 2022 and 2023, but we are seeing a gradual recovery in purchasing power, which is evidenced by volumes increasing [in the second quarter]," Chief Financial Officer Matthieu Malige told journalists on a call. Carrefour plans to keep lowering prices in the second half as it tries to keep improving its competitive position, Malige added. The group's first-half sales totalled 46.559 billion euros, up from 44.863 billion euros a year earlier. "Carrefour's business saw a clear acceleration in the first half of 2025, driven by the momentum in its three core countries: France, Spain, and Brazil," Carrefour CEO Alexandre Bompard said in a statement. However, Carrefour's profitability remained under pressure, with its first-half operating margin falling to 1.6% from 1.8% a year ago. ($1 = 0.8498 euros)

Uber dials up new fights with plaintiffs lawyers
Uber dials up new fights with plaintiffs lawyers

Reuters

time11 hours ago

  • Reuters

Uber dials up new fights with plaintiffs lawyers

July 24 (Reuters) - (Billable Hours is Reuters' weekly report on lawyers and money. Please send tips or suggestions to opens new tab.) As it grapples with a slew of lawsuits from passengers, ride-hailing giant Uber is again taking aim at members of the plaintiffs bar, accusing an attorney in one case of misusing confidential information and suing another group of lawyers for allegedly filing fraudulent personal injury claims. In a lawsuit, opens new tab filed on Monday in federal court in Los Angeles, Uber said a group of lawyers had conspired with medical providers to create and submit artificially inflated medical bills. Uber's complaint alleged 'unscrupulous personal injury attorneys" were sending clients to medical providers for unnecessary or unrelated medical treatment in a kickback scheme designed to generate fraudulent injury claims. "As this lawsuit shows, we won't hesitate to act when we uncover misconduct on our platform," said Adam Blinick, who leads Uber's state and local public policy team for the United States and Canada. Uber said 'fraud and legal abuse raise costs for everyone.' Igor Fradkin, an attorney named as a defendant in the case, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a separate case, Uber asked a U.S. judge last week to stop a lawyer from allegedly using and sharing confidential corporate information produced in a series of lawsuits by passengers alleging they were sexually assaulted by the ridesharing service's drivers. Uber accused, opens new tab lawyer Bret Stanley of misusing internal policy materials in the litigation in connection with other cases Stanley is pursuing against the company over vehicle crashes. In a filing, Uber said it was "facing the risk of competitive harm from the repeated improper disclosure" of protected business materials. The company has denied any wrongdoing in the lawsuits. Stanley, in a statement to Reuters, disputed Uber's allegation that he breached a so-called protective order in the litigation, and said he will respond to the claims in court this week. Uber's fights with plaintiffs lawyers go back years. A federal judge in Manhattan in 2016 faulted Uber for authorizing what the court called an 'intrusive and clandestine' effort to dig up dirt on a plaintiff and his lawyer in a price-fixing lawsuit. More recently, Nevada's highest court in January rejected an effort by Uber and a political action committee called Nevadans for Fair Recovery to cap the contingency fees that lawyers can earn in civil lawsuits in the state to 20% of the amount their clients' recover. Uber was a key backer of the ballot initiative, which would have amended Nevada law and taken effect in 2027. Opponents said the fee cap would have been the most restrictive in the country. The state high court in its ruling said the ballot initiative suffered from "misleading and confusing" language. Uber is also a plaintiff in at least two other lawsuits filed this year against attorneys and firms in federal courts in New York and Florida alleging personal-injury related fraud. The American Association of Justice, a trade group for trial lawyers, accused companies of targeting their adversaries in the plaintiffs' bar out of desperation. 'When bullies can't win on the merits, they resort to intimidation tactics against those who dare to stand up to them," the group told Reuters. There are other recent examples of companies turning the tables on the lawyers who sued them. Manufacturing giant 3M in June accused several attorneys in a lawsuit in federal court in Kentucky of pursuing fraudulent claims in the hopes of pressuring the company to settle. An early hearing in that case was scheduled for Thursday. In March, plaintiffs law firm Simmons Hanly Conroy defeated a lawsuit in federal court in Chicago by plastic pipe maker JM Eagle that accused it of 'systemic fraud and misconduct' over hundreds of asbestos personal injury cases. Simmons Hanly said in a statement at the time that the firm would "not be intimidated by unwarranted legal attacks designed to smear its reputation and derail its pursuit of justice for victims of asbestos exposure." -- Lobbying activity related to President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful" tax-and-spending bill, his shifting tariffs and other administration moves helped fuel a banner second quarter for some law and lobbying firms in Washington. Ballard Partners, which has ties to the Trump administration, appeared to be the biggest winner. The firm said its federal lobbying revenue for the second quarter of 2025 rose more than 300% compared to the same period last year, and was up 47% from the first quarter, reaching $20.6 million. -- French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte turned to Alexandria, Virginia-based law firm Clare Locke for their defamation lawsuit in Delaware alleging right-wing influencer Candace Owens has waged a lie-filled "campaign of global humiliation" against them by repeatedly claiming that Brigitte Macron is a man. Lead counsel Tom Clare did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding his firm's involvement. Clare in a press release said that this "lawsuit is about bringing that truth to light and seeking justice for the Macrons by holding Ms. Owens to account." Owens did not respond to Reuters' request for comment regarding the Macrons' lawsuit. Clare Locke was founded in 2014 by Clare and his wife, Libby Locke, both of whom were formerly partners at Kirkland & Ellis. The firm was co-counsel to Dominion Voting Systems in the voting machine vendor's lawsuit against Fox Corp that netted a $787.5 million settlement in 2023. -- In the year leading up to its merger with U.S. law firm Kramer Levin, global firm Herbert Smith Freehills recorded its highest-ever revenue and profits. The firm increased revenues by 4% to 1.358 billion pounds ($1.84 billion) and grew profits by 9.5% to 486.9 million pounds ($659.26 million) in the fiscal year that ended April 30, it said on Thursday. The firm in June combined with New York-founded Kramer Levin as part of an effort to expand in the U.S. legal market. Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer has 2,700 lawyers globally. Other large global firms with UK roots pointed to their U.S. growth when they reported financial results this week. Linklaters on Tuesday said U.S. profits grew by 57% last year, and Clifford Chance on Wednesday reported an 18% increase in U.S. revenue. Read more: New law firms bank on 'boutique' edge Clock ticks for Jackson Walker, US Trustee in ethics case involving ex-judge Litigation funders get a boost in budget bill drama, court wins ($1 = 0.7386 pounds)

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store