An Australian family is ditching the Gold Coast for Tuscany, saying the brutal cost of living at home has made staying put impossible.
Krysti-Glory Gallo and Ricardo Parata are preparing to move their family to Lucca, Italy, in February 2027 after snapping up a three-bedroom terrace for €205,000, about $330,500.
Their goal is simple: cash out of Australia, wipe their mortgage and get their life back.
The couple bought their Gold Coast home in 2023 for $525,000 and expect to sell it for about $1 million next year.
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After paying out the remaining mortgage, they estimate they’ll be left with about $450,000 in equity, enough to buy their Italian home outright and live debt-free from day one.
For Ms Gallo, the decision was easy.
“We realised moving overseas was a better option than staying in Australia when my wage no longer covered our mortgage,” she told the Daily Mail.
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Krysti-Glory Gallo and Ricardo Parata, along with their two sons, are moving to Italy to escape Australia’s rising living costs.
The family had been staring down about $600,000 still owing on their home loan, with Ms Gallo saying the full cost of the mortgage over 30 years would have blown out to about $1.295 million.
“Knowing that no matter how much equity we had in our house, we were unable to use it whilst the cost of living continues to rise,” she said.
“We now take that equity to another country, have zero mortgage, and have 100 per cent equity from day one.”
Despite bringing in three income streams and earning about $150,000 to $160,000 a year, the family said they were still spending at least $120,000 annually.
Ms Gallo said the pressure had pushed her husband into working two jobs, including nights, weekends and travel, yet the family was still counting every dollar.
“Ricardo is working two jobs, one full time and the other means nights, weekends and travel, yet we’re still checking our bank accounts before we buy the necessities,” she said.
“It was either continue to whinge about our situation or find a solution and the solution was in front of us the whole time.”
They’ve purchased a €205,000 (about $330,500) three-bedroom terrace in the historic Tuscan city of Lucca.
The couple says life in Italy will be dramatically cheaper, estimating they could live on about €45,000 a year, or around $72,500, if they own their home.
In TikTok videos documenting the move, Mr Parata said the family wasn’t chasing a higher income, but a better life.
“We aren’t replacing our lifestyle for income reasons, we’re replacing our lifestyle so we can actually enjoy our life,” he said.
“The income is just another bonus.”
Ms Gallo says they were attracted to the home due to its proximity to shops, other amenities and the local school.
He said while wages in Italy were lower, the much cheaper cost of living meant families could get more out of what they earned.
Their new home in Lucca is a like-for-like swap in terms of bedrooms and bathrooms, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms across three levels.
But unlike their Gold Coast townhouse, it also comes with a 30sqm garden.
“We actually have more land in Italy now with a decent yard for our kids,” Ms Gallo said.
The home has already been renovated, with roofing, plumbing, electrical and heating work completed, although the family plans to update the look to suit their style.
The couple expect to sell their current home for about $1 million later this year.
While it wasn’t in their first-choice suburb, Ms Gallo said the location ticked every other box, including being close to shops, amenities and the local school.
“It had everything we needed and it is ready to live in right now,” she said on TikTok.
“It’s literally a five-to-10 minute bike ride to the suburb we were originally looking at and the children can still walk to the local school.”