What it takes to transform a 600-year-old fixer-upper into a forever home

Millions of Americans live abroad. While the census doesn’t track them, the Association of Americans Resident Overseas estimates that 5.5 million Americans live outside the country. How they got there is its own story.

For Kiki Leigh, it was fate. One day, scrolling on TikTok, Leigh came across a video of a historic home in a medieval town in Sicily. Within a week, she booked a ticket.

“I flew there to this town that I had never heard of called Mussomeli,” recalls Leigh. “And I was off to the races.”

After touring some 20 homes, she ended up putting an offer on one for 27,000 euros.

“The first order of business was to learn, in Italian, construction terms,” said Leigh, who arrived speaking very little Italian. “I didn't want to end up with bright purple floors and green walls that weren't supposed to be, so it was definitely out of necessity.”

After years of renovations, she’s hoping to move in at the end of this summer. Leigh has been documenting her journey on TikTok and Instagram.

Click the audio player above to hear the rest of Leigh’s story.