I quit my job, divorced my husband, and moved to Italy to retire. I miss my kids, but I'm happier and healthier here.
She's visited more than 50 countries, but one city stole her heart: Palermo, on the island of Sicily.
Sheahan told Business Insider she's happier, healthier, and saving more money in Italy.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Cindy Sheahan, 64, who retired from real estate in 2017 and left Colorado to travel abroad. In 2025, Sheahan settled in Palermo, Italy. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
In 2017, I was at a crossroads. A lot of people I knew were dying, and I started thinking: You really don't know how many days you get or what's promised to you.
I figured I'd start traveling abroad. My company was kind enough to let me take a sabbatical while I sorted out my world. It turned out to be a mistake for them, because I decided I wasn't coming back.
Once I stepped out the door and visited places I had only dreamed of and ate food I had only read about, it was ridiculous to think I was going to go back to my "normal life."
I wasn't getting any younger. I figured I could always work again if I wanted to. But right now? I wanted to climb a waterfall in Cambodia and ride a motorbike in Vietnam.
So I quit my job, retired, and divorced my husband. We had 30 years together and raised our amazing kids. But I didn't want just to walk the dog, play pickleball, and tend a garden. I wanted a bigger life.
I thought living abroad would be temporary, but I was wrong
After the divorce, I moved into a small apartment in Colorado with a monthly rent of $1,700. I still have it and rent it out to traveling nurses abroad.
In the beginning, I thought I'd travel the majority of the year, come back to the States, and live a "normal" life there for one month a year.
For some time, I did that. I've visited nearly 50 countries, including Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Madagascar, Turkey, Cyprus, and the more popular spots, like France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Greece.
After being a mom to four kids, it's amazing to travel alone. Eating, sleeping, and reading when you want to is nice. You can go back to the same restaurant twice or visit a museum. You have no one to apologize to or explain yourself to.
I remember sitting on a bench in front of Picasso's famous painting Guernica in the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid. Who knew I could sit and look at it for half an hour without anyone saying: "Oh my God, can we go? Are you done?"
It was a sense of freedom that was incredible.
The US was no longer for me
After seven years of full-time backpack and hostel traveling, I was ready to set up a home base. I wanted to put my toothbrush on my own sink and put my clothes on a hanger somewhere.
I knew I didn't want to live in the US anymore. Not only did I feel empowered abroad, but I also felt that the US no longer aligned with my values.
I wasn't into the US's overconsumption. With the divisive political climate and the ridiculous gun culture, there was no way in hell I'd live there after experiencing a more peaceful life in so many other countries.
Palermo, Italy, has my heart
In 2022, moved to Portugal on a retirement residency visa. After about 11 months, I realized I could apply for Italian citizenship through ancestry, and the process would be faster in Italy than in the US. That was a game changer.
For some time, I explored different parts of Italy, trying to determine where I wanted to live.
I lived in a small medieval village in Umbria, and visited Bologna, Milan, Torino, Rome, and Florence. Then I went to Palermo, a city on the island of Sicily, and it hit me: I had found my soul city.
Palermo is a feast for the senses. There's laughter, joy, noise — it's completely lovely.
I moved to the city in October 2024. I didn't want to live in the suburbs — though living in the outer areas will always be less expensive and, in some ways, more authentic. So, I chose to live in the city center.
I live in an area where I can walk for about 15 minutes and be at a cathedral, the gardens, or in the neighborhoods where all the restaurants, markets, and festivals happen.
Palermo has a vast and active expat community. I feel safe in my neighborhood.
I have a good friend who lives by the local train station, about a 30-minute walk from my apartment. I walk back from her house all the time late at midnight, and there's no stress — I'm not walking with my keys in my hand.
My apartment is about 1,100 square feet, and I pay around $800 monthly plus a $100 condominium fee.
It came completely furnished and is gorgeous. I have three sets of French doors that open onto three separate balconies. The floors are terrazzo with border patterns, and there are medallions on the 12-foot-high ceiling. My bathroom is spacious, which is hard to find in Italy, where showers are often the size of a phone booth.
The apartment building dates back to the early 1930s. Although it is old, compared to some other buildings in Italy, it feels relatively new.
Life is more affordable in Italy
I couldn't afford my lifestyle if I moved back to the US. I receive $1,500 a month in Social Security. It's not enough to cover rent in Denver, but abroad, it easily covers my housing and much more.
Daily expenses are affordable in Palermo. I love that I can go to the grocery store and not break the bank. You can buy tomatoes, eggplants, zucchini, sun-dried tomatoes, and everything else for a song.
Healthcare is also much more affordable in Italy. In 2024, while traveling in Tunisia, I broke my foot. When I returned to Italy, I had two sets of X-rays and two appointments with an orthopedic specialist, and the total cost was less than $150.
At the time, I wasn't even on the national healthcare system. Now that I'm an Italian citizen, I'm fully covered, which means there's no charge for general care. If I need to see a specialist, like a dermatologist, I might pay around $40.
I am happier in Italy than I'd ever be in the US
Living in Italy, I make a new discovery every day. That sense of wonder and joy has become a regular part of my life.
I feel like I outgrew a lot of people and places in the US. Don't get me wrong, I desperately miss my friends and family, especially my kids. But they're all able to travel, and they'd much rather visit me somewhere fun than grab a drink at a bar in Denver.
My quality of life has improved in Italy. I walk almost everywhere, so my blood pressure, weight, and cholesterol are in better condition. I eat better, I've made new friends, I've cut down on expenses, and most importantly, I'm happy.
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We're building it through my nonprofit Rightfooted Foundation International, which is focused on empowering that message that disability doesn't mean inability, as well as helping children and adults born without arms and various disabilities. Aviation is just one of our four programs. Another is providing a tool that helps people without arms get dressed on their own since it's the difference between independence and dependence. We have some ambitious goals. I'm hoping to become the first woman with a disability to fly around the world in a small aircraft in 2028. There are so many places around the world where having a disability has such a strong stigma. Children are hidden at home. People with disabilities aren't given a chance to go to school. They don't get to have a job. Some aren't seen as candidates for marriage or family life. We want to shift that. This flight around the world is going to show that if I can fly a plane with my feet, we should not hold back other people with disabilities. When you don't get to see the world, you have a limited perspective. The moment you see there's more, it opens up your world to possibilities. For instance, when I travel on my own, it's a great feeling of not just seeing another destination, but also the act of doing an international solo trip. Even the small things, like carrying luggage, requires a creative solution. Sometimes, it's scary not to have anyone to lean on, but when you put yourself in a bit of a scary position, it stretches the best version of yourself. Last March, I was on a long international flight sitting in economy plus. I couldn't use the table for eating a meal. The flight attendant thoughtfully brought out a huge tray—the one that holds meals in the top part of the cart—and put it on the floor in front of me, and we made a makeshift table. Solo travel is a celebration of these moments. When you have a physical disability, people often feel like they don't have the luxury of travel, but it's not true. I encourage people to not shy away from the things that scare them, and instead embrace them and see they can be great experiences. Face your fears and it can change your life.
