If paying $2 million for a house, buying $4 coffees and spending $13 on avocado on toast for the rest of your life is enough to make your stomach churn, a small Italian city is offering you a deal of a lifetime to escape the insanity once and for all.
Located in the centre of Italy and home to only 2,700 people, the quiet town of Candela has come up with an enterprising idea in the hopes of revitalising its streets and increasing their population to at least 8,000.
Spearheaded by mayor Nicola Gatta, the outlandish initiative is offering people – whether they be foreigners or Italians – money to relocate to the peaceful, picturesque town.
“This is how it works: 800 euros ($1242 AUD) for singles, 1,200 euros ($1863 AUD) for couples, up to 1,800 euros ($2795 AUD) for three-person families and over 2000 euros ($3105+ AUD) for families of four to five people,” Stefano Bascianelli, the mayor’s assistant, told CNN.
There are only three requirements you need to fulfil to prove to the town you are worth of receiving their money: firstly you must move to Candela (obviously), you must rent a house there, and you must hold a job earning over 7,500 euros ($11,644 AUD) per year.
But if you need a little more convincing to drag you away from the inefficient public transport system and disastrously slow internet speeds in Australia, consider this: Candela is only two hours away from Naples, one hour from the nearest beach in Puglia, is located in farming country that hasn’t seen any crime in the last 20 years and is packed with stunning architecture, winding streets and mouth watering food.
“I work each day with passion and commitment to bring Candela back to its ancient splendour,” said Gatta. “Up until the 1960s, travellers called it ‘Nap’licchie’ (Little Naples), for its streets full of wayfarers, tourists, merchants and screaming vendors.”
As the Australian property market – especially those of Sydney and Melbourne – slowly makes its way out of its biggest boom in history, many residents have been struggling to make ends meet in expensive, volatile conditions, and most people couldn’t think of anything better than escaping to Europe.
But in what’s a major drawback to the dreamy Italian town, we have some disappointing news: we can confirm Candela does not serve avocado on toast.
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