CNN
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Even before they fell in love with each other, Irene and Tom White were already head over heels in love with Italy.
The American couple, who have been married for about 18 years, have spent a lot of time separately and together in the European country over the years, with Irene returning regularly for month-long visits.
“I just had a passion for Italy,” Irene told CNN Travel. “I have made many Italian friends all over the country.”
The Boulder, Colorado-based couple had long dreamed of buying a house in Italy, gazing wistfully in the window of a real estate agent they had visited many times.
But it wasn’t until around 2016 that they began seriously pursuing this prospect, focusing on areas near the Susa Valley in northern Italy’s Piedmont region.
After about a year of active searching, Tom, who previously worked in action sports, stumbled upon an online property listing for a 400-year-old tower used as a holiday home in the medieval village of Exilles and became interested. I was intrigued.
tom winter
Tom and Eileen White purchased a house in the Italian village of Exilles in 2017.
Since there was no address listed, he decided to head to Exilles, about a meter’s drive from Turin, and try to find the place himself.
Upon arrival, Tom was immediately impressed by the village of approximately 250 people and immediately sought out the unusual home.
After talking to some local residents, he was able to find the owner and convince him to sell the land.
“They met us the next day and bought the house on a handshake,” explains Eileen, who runs a real estate consultancy.
They bought the tower in October 2017 for 19,000 euros (about $21,000).
The couple said they faced some minor issues during the sale process, particularly with opening an Italian bank account, but were able to overcome this hurdle with the help of an Italy-based lawyer.
Once the sale was finalized in early 2018, Tom flew from the US to Italy, “picked up the keys over pizza in Turin” and began the process of turning the four-story house into a vacation home suitable for him and Eileen.
“We arrived in a snowstorm, so everything was gray and dark,” he says. “This village is very lively in the summer, but very quiet in the winter.
“I fell into a strange kind of despair. [I was thinking]”Oh, what have I done?”
Fortunately, a visit from a friend lifted his spirits and he focused his energy on ripping out the old carpet and linoleum and cleaning the house in preparation for renovations.
“The old oil stove ran for about five minutes,” he recalls.
tom winter
The couple say they have been welcomed “like family” by the Exiles local community.
Once Eileen arrived and the couple found an architect for the project, they quickly warmed up to the locals. They were surprised that they chose to buy a house in Exiles, close to Gran Bosco National Park.
“The big question was, ‘Why are we here?’” Eileen explains. “This is a real working village where people live off the land and there is a thriving trade in vegetables, fruit and potatoes.
“Then they’d ask, ‘Why here?'” And we just kept saying, ‘Because this is a magical place.’ ”
The Winters said the renovations took about six months and totaled about $94,000.
“At first it felt livable,” Tom explains. “But we modernized it and made it really nice.”
They converted the first floor of the house, which previously had a small bathroom with just a sink and toilet, into a large bathroom with shower and laundry facilities.
We also replaced the staircase with an open staircase to bring more light into the property and added a new hot water system powered by a pellet stove.
Additionally, the Winters built a new kitchen with a balcony on the second floor of their home, and converted the old kitchen into a living area.
“It’s a very small place,” Tom added. “There’s only so much you can do. So it’s a very easy process compared to some projects where people get involved.”
Since purchasing the property, which they named Torre Piccolo, the couple, who visit Piedmont four or five times a year, have built strong friendships and received a generous welcome in the village.
“The people in the village accepted us like family,” says Eileen, recalling when they were first known as “Lee Americani.”
They have since purchased a second property in Exilles and say the strength of the community is a big part of the village’s appeal.
“Everyone was incredibly kind and patient with us,” Tom says. “They appreciate that we love Exilles. They are very proud of their little village and rightly so.
“It’s an interesting place, surrounded by a beautiful balance of nature, and it’s very well preserved. So they should be proud.”
The couple have developed a close friendship with the home’s previous owner, whom Irene describes as one of her “best friends in Italy.”
“Her son had just had a baby, so we went to see him,” she added. “A great friendship was born from this purchase.”
Since few people speak English in the asylum, Irene and Tom have enrolled in an immersive language course at a language school and have made great efforts to learn English.
However, the Winters admit that Irene has learned the language more easily over time, and it has not gone unnoticed among locals.
“I was telling them I was going to language school for a few weeks,” Irene says of a recent conversation with her neighbors.
tom winter
The Winters spent about $94,000 renovating the five-room Torre Piccolo.
“And the first question was, ‘Why isn’t Tom going?’ He needs it more than you.”
Although they are very enamored with Exilles, they admit that there are aspects of life in a small Italian village that they have to adapt to.
“We’ve come to understand that if you go to the grocery store at 10 a.m. on a Tuesday, it might be closed because the store has its own business hours.” says Irene.
“Sometimes you go to a restaurant at 8 o’clock at night and it’s closed because your family has a birthday party. So you just have to understand and adapt.”
The Winters say the slower pace of life has made them less “rigorous” about things.
“It’s a good adjustment. It allows me to slow down and be a little more relaxed about the process,” Tom says. “And it was so beautiful. We really lose connection when we go there.”
The Winters said they would eventually like to be able to spend half the year in Piedmont, but they don’t have long-term visas and tourist visas only allow them to stay for 90 days at a time.
However, Tom believes it will be a long time before they are ready to consider permanently settling in Italy, noting that they want to keep their US property.
“I don’t think we’re there yet,” he said, adding that there are some things about life in Italy that he finds “difficult” to deal with permanently.
“It’s tough for me to have to work full-time in the notorious Italian bureaucracy and have our taxes affect us. I mean, the ongoing conversations we’re having… [about] How does it work? ”
For now, the Winters are working to spend four to five months a year in Italy, and say they hope to take their cat with them and spend more time planting their garden.
The couple say they are sometimes asked for advice by other American families who want to move to Italy, but they always advise them to take their time and find the destination that is best for them. ‘s was ideal for them, but pointed out that “it’s not.” It’s not right for anyone. ”
“The dreams that people have found of ‘under the Tuscan sun’ are really, really wonderful,” says Eileen.
“Well, if you have a dream of living in Provence. Or if you want to go to Tuscany or somewhere in Spain, then go for it.”
“Stop just talking about it. Let it happen. But I encourage people to seriously find their own space.”
Tom echoes this sentiment, stressing that while he wouldn’t advise anyone to buy a house on a handshake, he’s excited about how things are unfolding.
“That was the beginning of the idea.” [that we thought] “Maybe we can do something fun,” he says. “But what really struck us was how much of an investment it became in our souls. And how kind the people were.
“ROI is truly a human experience. It exceeded any expectations we ever had.”