Bargain for 8000 francs US pensioner buys cheap house in Italy to live longer
Because life expectancy is higher in Italy, a 72-year-old American is moving to southern Italy. But there are other reasons why he bought a bargain house in a deserted village.
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- US-American Bingwa Thomas is emigrating to Italy.
- He has bought a house in the south of the country at a bargain price and is now hoping to live longer.
- But the longer life expectancy is only half the story of why the 72-year-old is moving.
At home, he has already "passed his sell-by date by two years", says Bingwa Thomas. The 72-year-old American has just bought a small house in the small town of Latronico in the south of Italy. 110 square meters at the bargain price of less than 7800 francs.
But the price only played a minor role, he told CNN. What Bingwa Thomas also hopes for is a longer life. "Life expectancy in Italy is 82.7 years, in the USA 79 years," he says. And for "a black man, it's only 70 years". In Italy, he could now get ten extra years.
Longer life expectancy is not the only advantage
Of course, it's not just the last few years that play a role in life expectancy. Moving to the southern Italian province in old age does not make up for having previously lived in the hectic USA for seven decades. The fact that he simply wants to live longer is only half the truth.
Bingwa Thomas, who comes from Kansas City and currently lives in Los Angeles, doesn't see his longer life expectancy as the biggest advantage. He has been involved in aid projects in Africa for decades: "I can travel to the African continent much faster from Italy," he explains his thoughts on CNN.
Leisurely pace of life
He also saves a lot of money by buying the cheap house, which he now wants to invest in his social work. In addition to the surcharge, he calculates that it will cost 19,000 francs to renovate the house.
Thomas wants to turn it into a kind of art center and breathe new life into the village of Latronico. Artists have often played a role in the revitalization of communities through their creativity.
However, Bingwa Thomas is in no hurry to do this. He prefers to come to terms with the new pace of life in Latronico, which he likes very much, even if it is rather sedate compared to his previous lifestyle. But "it gives me more of what is important to me and what should come first for every living being - life itself".
