The 29-year-old guy couldn’t afford the house in the US, so she bought in Italy

Ohio is native Lauren Scott29, lived in Los -Angeles for 10 years, working as a freelancer in the film industry when she decided that she was ready to buy the house. At the time, Scott lived in a studio apartment and paid $ 1,175 rent.

Scott started searching in 2019 and wanted to stay less than $ 400,000. But then the COVID-19 pandemic came in early 2020, and it found that every time it offered a proposal for houses in the city.

“I didn’t think I could buy in California, and even more so, Los -Andgeles, which I called home for so long, and it really sucked,” says Scott CNBC.

Scott realized that the purchase in California was close to the impossible, so she started looking for other states such as Florida where her family lives. She quickly realized that she would not be able to find a job that fits her current lifestyle.

Scott was also disappointed with the quality of life in the US and aimed at Mexico, Portugal and Italy because they all had a weather like California.

A dispute between locals and expans Due to the increase in housing costs, Scott quickly rejected Mexico and Portugal. Therefore, it focused on the properties in Italy. She put a $ 50,000 budget and made her home hunting.

“I did not fly and bought the sight invisible that I do not recommend,” Scott says. “I turned to many agents and just paid someone to do everything for me.”

After a few weeks of search, Scott found a two -bedroom, same -to -oole coilmus for an hour beyond Florence. She could walk and use public transport that was a great priority for her.

“I didn’t want to deal with the car, because I’m not there full -time and just staying in the mountains, and this opinion made me feel super in the world,” Scott says.

Townhaus was on the market for 32,000 euros or 34 905 US. The previous owner told her that the price was set low because the boiler with hot water would need repair.

“She left him completely furnished and just wanted to go out and move to another part of Italy, but there were problems with the sale of the house,” says Scott. “I was very lucky because there is nothing wrong with this, except for the need to replace this part of the house.”

Scott paid a full price of $ 34,905 and an additional $ 4,200, or $ 4,581 by closing.

Not wanting to exhaust her savings, Scott provided a $ 20,000 personal loan from a local bank to help buy the house according to the documents considered by CNBC.

Scott closed in Townhaus in August 2022 and flew to see it for the first time in November and says that when she first arrived, she was overcome by emotions.

“It was just a surreal feeling. I couldn’t believe I owned the house in the 20th because I didn’t think it would happen. I think I was crying too,” Scott says.

Scott’s initial plan was to rent him, but she realized that he did not want to deal with problems that may arise with tenants or short -term tenants.

“The cost of just having it is empty, probably exceeding renting and making someone break something,” she says. “I’m somehow protective over my home.”

Scott visits Italy twice a year and uses the Townhaus as a holiday home, but is currently trying to provide a digital visa to Nomad to stay in the country for a while. In 2024, Italy launched its “Visa for remote workers”, By allowing an annual residence with the ability to update highly skilled professionals so that they work remotely as employees or as self -employed freelancers.

“I hope that at some point in the next year I can officially move, but if I end up in the States, I plan to use it as a more retirement plan because I know I will not be able to retire in the US,” she says.

“I think about it as a long -term investment to leave the US as a freelancer, it actually concerns because I don’t always have healthcare, I don’t have 401K, and I can’t afford to invest, so I think I can know what I have something safe and a place where I can call when I get older.”

Scott says that although she was excited when she could buy the house, the feeling was bitter because she was able to do it only on the US borders – the countries where she was born and grew.

“It saddens me because what is holding me here is my parents. I don’t want to move around the world, and then he’s unable to see my family much,” she says. “It is sad to know that my parents can buy a house and my grandparents can also, but with inflation it is no longer so accessible for my generation. I don’t think it’s fair for our generation and those who follow us.”

Scott still lives in Los Angeles, now in a one-room apartment, where she pays $ 1,695 a month, including parking space. It is also still freelance, but went to the creation of content and work on social media.

And although she tries to find out how much time she spends in her home Italy, the only thing that Scott knows exactly what she does not plan to buy a house in America.

“It’s hard” no “because I believe that having one property is a blessing, but everything can happen,” she says. “I do not want to completely demolish my savings or go to the debt to buy the house here, especially with the state of the country.”

Convert to USD were made on March 2025 1.09 USD. All the sums are rounded to the nearest dollar.

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