Faced with the upcoming return of Donald Trump to the presidency of the United States, some Americans are considering leaving their country. A migratory flow that the village of Ollolai, located in the heart of Sardinia, in Italy, intends to capture, reports CNN.
“Are you exhausted from world politics? Are you looking to adopt a more balanced lifestyle while offering yourself new opportunities? It's time to start planning your European getaway to the magnificent paradise that is Sardinia,” writes the municipality on the website it recently launched, intended to encourage foreigners to come and settle there. To do this, it offers houses for… 1 euro.
A number of inhabitants halved
“We really want the Americans to be the first to be concerned, and we are going to focus on them,” the mayor, Francesco Columbu, told our colleagues. We obviously can't bar people from other countries from applying, but Americans will get a fast-track process. We are banking on them to help us revive the village, they are our winning asset.” It must be said that Ollolai desperately needs new blood: only 1,150 inhabitants live there today, compared to 2,250 last century.
The mayor explains that he has set up a special team to guide interested people through each stage of the purchase, from organizing tailor-made private tours of available housing to finding contractors, builders and managing the documents required. A strategy that is clearly paying off, since the site has already received 38,000 requests for information, mainly from the United States.
Slashed prices since 2018
This is not the first time that the municipality has tried to attract new residents with attractive housing programs. In 2018, the town hall began selling empty and dilapidated properties for a symbolic 1 euro. She then began renting work premises for the same amount. Since last year, it has also offered a program aimed at digital nomads. So far, four Americans have been accommodated in fully equipped accommodation for 1 euro. In return, they simply had to create something for the community, like a piece of art or a book.
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But the renovation projects aren't going as well as local officials hoped. Since 2018, only ten houses have been sold for 1 euro and renovated, deplores Francesco Columbu. “The village remains half empty, we still have around a hundred unoccupied cheap houses potentially for sale, ready to move in,” he says. We have them all mapped and cataloged, and soon photos will be online for buyers to view.” The municipality also offers ready-to-occupy houses, some of which are furnished, for prices of up to 100,000 euros.
