To reconnect with her family's history, Meredith Tabborn first decided to buy and renovate a cheap house in Italy. After more than four years and nearly $500,000 spent, she gained a new perspective on her work, life, friendships, and happiness through her 1 euro trip to her hometown. It's done.
Taborn, 44, is a financial advisor in Chicago. In 2019, she learned that the Italian town of Sambuca di Sicilia was auctioning off abandoned properties for as low as 1 euro, or about $1.05.
At the time, Tabone was researching her family's history and realized that her great-grandfather was born in Sambuca before starting a new life in America.
Meredith Tabborn spent about $475,000 on her dream home in Sambuca di Sicilia.
Mickey Todiwala | CNBC Make It
The coincidence was “incredibly good” and she took it as a signal to bid.
Tabborn won the bid and spent 5,900 euros, or about $6,200, to take ownership of the house. She also purchased the building next door to hers and over the next four years managed local staff through extensive renovations.
Tabborn spent a total of about $475,000 on his dream home in Italy.
The Chicago native quickly learned that the Sicilians were working on a slower schedule than what she was used to in the United States. Additionally, the coronavirus pandemic delayed progress on the renovation by years.
However, she came to appreciate the slower pace of life, which allowed her to settle deeper into the Sicilian community.
If travel was normal, I would always come here to sightsee and meet other expats. Instead, I was spending time with local people and their friends who were renovating my home. ” she says.
Socializing is now a big part of Tabborn's life in Sicily, where she says it's easier to make friends than in the United States. “It's just part of the culture here to go out and be with people every day,” she says. “And if you like that, this is definitely the place to be.”
Meredith Tabborn made close friends with locals and fellow expats in Sicily.
Mickey Todiwala | CNBC Make It
Taborn has a busy schedule as a financial advisor and running her own business, and spending time in a different culture has given her a new perspective.
“I started thinking differently about how I built my business, and maybe instead of focusing my life on work. [but] It’s just about personal fulfillment in general,” she says.
By focusing a little less on work, you'll have more time and energy to pursue personal goals now, like visiting countries around the world, instead of putting them off until later.
She brought home a new perspective on work-life balance. “While in Chicago, I've tried to use my time as efficiently as possible, and I'm learning to say 'no' to more things,” Tabborn says.
Although the non-work-based lifestyle was a learning curve, Tabborn says it was “something I needed and it's been really good for me.”
To this day, Tabun says his only regret about the 1 Euro project is not embracing a slower pace of life sooner.
Meredith Tabone said she had never undertaken a renovation project like this before, but was inspired by her father's work as an architect.
Mickey Todiwala | CNBC Make It
“If I could do anything over the purchasing or renovation process, I would have been more patient and enjoyed the experience from the beginning,” she says.
At the end of the day, Tabborn says, “I've never felt like this wasn't the place for me, the project I wanted to work on, or the community I wanted to live in.”
Conversion from EUR to USD was performed using the OANDA exchange rate of 1 EUR to 1.05 USD on October 18, 2023. All amounts are rounded to the nearest dollar.
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