Ciao! Welcome to Americana in Sicily. I’m Maggie, and I’m so excited to share our family’s adventure of relocating from Colorado to the picturesque landscapes of Sicily.
I am an avid world traveler and fell in love with Italy over 20 years ago while attending culinary school (ie drinking a lot of wine) in Florence. I’ve returned multiple times, and with each visit, my love for the country, the food, the culture, and the history has grown deeper. Around the time the €1 houses became popular, something inexplicably drew me to Sicily, like a magnet pulling me toward a place I’d never been. I started working with a realtor to find a house, but then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. I’m adventurous, but buying a house in a foreign country, in a city I’d never visited was a little too much for my Type A personality.
I finally visited Sicily in the summer of 2022 and knew I was in the right place. Although it was new, it felt like home. I returned that fall and had a whirlwind house-hunting experience – 22 properties in two and a half days. But I found the one, an apartment overlooking the mountains and the ocean. After some trials and tribulations, I closed on the property in March 2023. At first, I thought I’d visit occasionally and use the property as a short-term rental until I was ready to retire 15-ish years from now.
But…plans change, and I’m excited to give my children a live-abroad experience with language immersion, exposure to rich cultural experiences, and a broader worldview. My 13-year old isn’t quite as thrilled, but I know one day she’ll look back and appreciate this opportunity… maybe….
This blog is to keep my friends and family updated on our adventures, misadventures, the growing pains of moving to a foreign country while learning the language, and the steps along the way to show my daughters that we can do hard things.
I’m excited for you to join us as we turn this dream into a reality!
by Blue-IT Technologies 