This family is moving to Italy because they are tired of the United States.

As dozens of Italian cities sell old houses at low prices, foreigners who rush to buy them often seek a place with constant sunshine, a place to relax, or just to live their Italian dream.

But one American family decided to do it in order to start a new life far from the United States. In2019, the Dokins family - Nadine,59 years old, her husband Kim,61 years old, and their children Lorenzo,29 years old, and DeNae,27 years old - bought a charming house in the town of Latronico. This town with4,000 inhabitants is located in the southern region of Basilicata, inside the pristine national park of Pollino and surrounded by hot springs. They were delighted after reading a CNN article about Latronico's initiative to sell cheap houses that are already suitable for living, not ruins for just one euro or slightly more. The city promotes available properties on a special website.

Reading an article in her home in El Paso, Texas, Nadine Dawkins, a former military officer and businesswoman, felt a connection to her ancestors. Her great-grandfather was Italian and came to America in the19th century. "After hearing stories from my grandmother, I always felt a connection to Italy," she tells CNN Travel. "When I served in this region many years later, I vowed to come back. Several years later, my husband and I brought our children to see where they came from." Her Italian ancestor adopted an American name when he arrived in the United States: Clint Jeffrey. Nadine does not know much about her great-grandmother Lucinda, who was a slave on a plantation in Arkansas when Jeffrey bought her and "spent the rest of his days with her," she says. "Unfortunately, I have no additional information about Lucinda. All I know is that she was a slave, and he bought her. My grandmother and great-grandmother never told me anything about her. I think it was because of the horrors of slavery and its memories that affected them, because, of course, being born in the1800s and early1900s was a difficult time for all black people in America."

The family decided to leave the U.S. in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd. "It showed the world how we, Black people in America, have been treated for centuries," says Nadine. "All the racism, all the division, all the hatred that the previous administration brought with it caused an 'exodus' of Black people from America who have the means to do so. Mainly, police violence against Black people, mass shootings by domestic terrorists, and just the general hatred in this country - that's why we are leaving the U.S." Their decision follows Nadine's 30-year military career, while Kim Dockins works for the U.S. government. The family will soon move to Panama and then cross the Atlantic to Latronico.

Nadine doesn't know exactly where her ancestor is from, but buying one of the cheap houses in Latronico seemed like a good way to reconnect with her roots. "I was in the middle of the night during Covid, with plenty of time to read, when I came across a CNN article. We immediately emailed Deputy Mayor Vincenzo Castellano and looked at real estate listings online. We didn't expect it, but he got back to us the next day. We set up a video call, and he sent us a video of our chosen house. That sealed our fate: we bought the house without seeing it, without visiting Italy," she recalls. The Dockins are grateful to have found their dream team in Latronico - Castellano and his assistant Mariangela Tortorella, who helped them navigate the sales process and found local firms for the restoration and furnishing of their home. In fact, they trusted Castellano, who launched a housing sales program, so much that they gave him power of attorney for all technical matters, as well as for translating the purchase agreement into English.

Their house in the historic district of Latronico needed some minor renovations to suit their needs, although the exterior received a fresh coat of paint. This three-story house belonged to the "upper class," as Nadine describes it, a woman who elegantly furnished it with antique furniture.

The family hired Castellano as their real estate manager. Doing everything on their own would have been difficult. "I could see the problems I would face myself - for example, the language barrier. They acted as the main initiators." Nadine wants to enhance language exchange by teaching local young people English as soon as she moves to Latronico, and she intends to help draw more attention to the village. "We love the people," she says. "We've never met a mean person; everyone offers coffee. Once, we met a local in a store and became best friends - he invited us to his home for espresso, even though I don't drink coffee."

During their visits, the Dokins appreciated the slow-paced lifestyle, sitting on the porch and watching people stroll by or listening to cats fighting in quiet alleys. They plan to spend six months a year in Italy (using the "90 days out of every 180 days" rule that non-EU citizens must follow), and then apply for a permanent "elective residence" visa, which requires a certain annual passive income. The rest of the time, they intend to spend in Panama. Ultimately, they want to obtain Italian citizenship.

Upon arriving in Italy, Nadine hopes to start tracking down the true identity and origins of her Italian ancestor. She has no idea where exactly in Italy he is from, but she keeps an old photograph of him in a massive wooden frame. Regarding Lucinda—whose last name was likely the name of the plantation where she was enslaved—Nadine believes that "Black American history is lost" or has been erased from American culture. "We need to leave America, so we are leaving. The U.S. is a divided and very frustrating country, voting rights are being taken away, and Black history is being erased. I'm tired of it," Nadine says. Meanwhile, Kim mentions that the only issue in Latronico was overcoming the language barrier and getting used to the isolation. "People are patient with me using a translator every time, and the village is in a remote location, so you really need a vehicle to get around beyond the places accessible on foot," he says. "But the wonderful thing is that even at night you can leave your keys in the door. It's a quiet, safe place that gives you peace of mind."