When Julianne Russell was just 26 years old and living in Belfast, she decided to take an unusual approach to getting onto the property ladder.
In 2007, the Anglo-Irish man bought an old house in a village in southern Italy, where the average house price in Northern Ireland was €35,000 (£30,000), according to the current mayor. It was said to have cost £230,000.
Thirteen years later, Russell purchased another one as a legacy for future generations of his family.
The now 42-year-old accountant for a construction company has bought his first property in the historic center of Irsina, a quiet rural village in Basilicata. She was one of the first British buyers to discover this idyllic location.
“I was only 26 years old and one of the youngest members. It’s a very relaxed, sleepy culture, so some people thought it was a bit strange, but why did I get so interested at such a young age?” I don’t know why, but I really loved the culture,” Russell said. I.
She occasionally rents a two-story, two-bedroom apartment with a terrace. The apartment is close to the cathedral and the bars and restaurants of the main square, a maze of cobbled alleys and golden-brown stone buildings.
In 2020, Russell purchased a one-bedroom home next door, which she recently renovated and keeps for herself and her family.
“I’ve never been too price-oriented. I bought to experience the local culture and way of life. For me, it wasn’t really about the increase in the value of the property. It’s about the culture. , to share it with my family and pass it on to my nieces and nephews,” she says.
Russell did not want to reveal how much he spent, but said that although prices have increased since 2007, the cost of restoration is still within acceptable limits.
Nicola Morea, the mayor of Irsina, said historic homes in the center now cost around €130,000 (about £112,000). The price of restyling also increased from 800 euros per square meter in 2007 to 1,600 euros.
Russell’s only constraint is a full-time office-based job in the UK. She takes short trips to Italy about seven times a year and takes longer trips in the summer.
“For me, it’s like a peaceful haven where I can completely switch off, especially since work can be so stressful at times.”
Russell jokes that he may have planned to retire early at age 26, but in the long term he hopes to spend at least three months a year at Irsina.
Russell says the village has given him the opportunity to spend more quality time with his parents and extended family.
“There’s a lot of sense of family being together since 2007,” she says. “I can never travel alone. So my siblings, nieces, and nephews all travel with me often.”
Russell discovered Irsina during a tour of Italian villages and fell in love with its rustic medieval atmosphere.
“Something about Irsina’s historic center just sold it for me. It wasn’t commercialized, it was very authentic, and there were great landscapes and views. Southern pace of life. is slower than in the north.”
Russell said she hopes her nieces and nephews will grow up there, interacting with 4,000 locals in Irsina’s melting pot of expat communities, from British to American to Belgian.
“When I first went to Irsina, I didn’t speak any Italian, but I made friends…and we still keep in touch. There is a strong sense of community among all the foreigners who have bought homes. . Everybody tries to help each other, ”she says.
Russell says she never wants to lose the southern charm that makes Irsina unique.
She says she feels comfortable in Italy because the climate is warmer than in Ireland and the Italian culture is very similar to her own.
“A mother is a very important person to a family. At restaurants, you can see children going out with their families,” she says.
“We don’t even have an English menu. That’s the only way to learn the language and immerse yourself in the culture. We don’t want to have the same things as back home.”