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Ben Morris visited Sambuca di Sicilia, dubbed “Italy’s little America”, to investigate a seemingly incredible €1 home scheme, but he quickly discovered a catch

A travel vlogger who visited the beautiful Mediterranean island of Sicily to investigate a €1 home scheme quickly came across a major “catch”. A wave of reports advertise small towns in Italy flogging vacant properties for as little as €1 (just 85p in today’s money).

It’s a phenomenon that comes on the back of a reported rural exodus. Young Italians have been increasingly drawn to city life, leaving stunning villages to empty out as their ageing populations dwindle.

Around 25 municipalities are said to be offering the €1 homes, betting that renovated and occupied properties will be more lucrative; second homes come with tax bills.

Ben Morris visited the commune of Sambuca di Sicilia, Sicily, dubbed “Italy’s little America” due to the influx of US property buyers, to investigate. On his self-titled YouTube channel, Ben spoke to a local estate agent about the scheme.

She explained: “So, when they launched the first project, then there has been three: €1 houses, €2 houses, and €3 houses.”

The estate agent went on to say: “The rules are more or less always the same. You have to do an offer of at least €1, €2 or €3, but you know that the higher offer will win the house.”

Returning to Ben’s narration, he stated: “So there’s the catch in Sambuca. Although houses do go on the market for €1, they usually get bid on for up to €5,000 (about £4,200).

“However, the town that we’re going to visit after this actually has houses that you can straight up buy for €1. No catch. And there’s actually places available now.”

Ben then spoke about the home of Meredith Tabbone, who bought hers for €5,000 and later bought the home next door. However, her renovations set her back a whopping $446,000 (about £333,000).

Later, he set off in search of a no-strings-attached €1 home in the town of Mussomeli. Ben met up with a woman named Natalie, who said she’d show him a range of homes, including two that cost just €1.

Once he entered one such property, it was immediately visible that the house needed a lot of work. Ben was advised to only walk on the edges of the floor as he ventured through the property for “safety” reasons.

After he inspected the seemingly dilapidated two-level property, he commented: “And that is exactly why so many of these homes are being sold for so cheap. You’re going to need to do renovations and spend money to make it livable.

“You also have the responsibility to make sure your house doesn’t fall down and like kill your neighbour or something.”

Natalie also explained that, in addition to this, the buyer would have expenses to close the sale. Ben said this was another “little catch”, adding that you’d have to pay for notary fees and certificates.

Speaking previously about the scheme, 1eurohouses.com said in a statement, as reported by the Independent: “We do not need new constructions and new overbuilding.

“The strategy to improve the housing environment and reclaim our cultural identity is to revive the small abandoned centres or to redevelop buildings in a state of abandonment, with a story that is our history.”

There’s more than meets the eye with this picture-perfect market town, jam packed with independent shops and an idyllic river meandering through, as rowing boats pass by

Away from the hustle and bustle of London life, just a little further down the Thames, is a much quieter tow where people are flocking for an escape into independent shops and riverside walks.

With a real sense of vibrancy about it, this Buckinghamshire town is being put on the map as it continues to evolve into a cool and quirky hotspot for the capital’s commuters. Not just that, but for people wanting a day trip that feels a lot more wholesome and doesn’t cost quite as much.

Marlow is one to watch, especially for those looking to relocate out of the city. Its location along the River Thames makes for a peaceful spot, which could compare to the likes of Richmond or Cambridge, where people can hire both rowing boats and self-driving boats to explore the town from the water.

What makes it most recognisable to passers-by or those travelling through is its eye-catching suspension bridge which spans the River Thames, joining Buckinghamshire with Berkshire. It first opened in 1832 and has been somewhat of a landmark for the area ever since, as a distinctive feature that helped the town to grow as an inland port.

High Street

The charming town is made up of historic streets with listed buildings and an abundance of independent boutiques, cafes and bistros, adding to the atmosphere of the place. But above all, it’s Marlow’s High Street that has received the most considerable amount of attention. Recently, when it was dubbed the best in the UK.

Estate agent Knight Frank named the UK’s best high streets after the property experts took a look at some of the streets that offer the most charm, and this was their favourite. Their focus was on the areas that home buyers were flocking to, and Marlow came out as a seriously desirable spot that they described as both “charming and lively”.

Matt Davies, partner at Knight Frank, said: “We tend to see a slightly younger buyer base in Marlow, driven in large part by its outstanding educational institutions, including grammar schools such as Sir William Borlase’s.”

There’s an endless amount of unique little shops selling clothing, gifts, homeware, stationery and more. Some of the standout stalls include the gift shop Twenty Three Living, The Marlow Bookshop, URU Home and Saddle Safari, all joined by an array of local pubs, cafes, galleries and salons.

Marlow has also made a name for itself in the realm of food, with high-end chefs operating out of the area and it being home to Michelin-star cuisine. Celeb chef Tom Kerridge runs a pub in the heart of the town named The Hand of Flowers, a short walk off of the high street, which stands as the only UK pub to hold an impressive two Michelin stars.

A customer described their experience at the highly acclaimed pub on TripAdvisor. They said: “Service was excellent from the minute we arrived, and the atmosphere in the restaurant was great. We’d highly recommend!”

And of course, like any higher-end high street, it’s home to The Ivy and other high street chains such as Zizi, as well as having smaller bistros and traditional pubs to choose from.

Research has named the best place in the UK to raise a child, thanks to a number of factors from the variety of countryside spaces to lower than average house prices

Raising a child in the modern world is a demanding task, and there are lots of big decisions parents-to-be need to make to give their offspring the best chance in life.

One of the most important factors is where to live, and parents will be seeking somewhere with a balance between safety, education quality, childcare costs, plus outdoor spaces to raise free-range kids.

To give parents a hand when making this life-changing choice, Outdoor Toys has created an index of the best places to raise a child in the UK for 2026, and its research looked at a huge number of factors. These included the number of child-friendly attractions, crime rates, and the percentage of schools with a good or outstanding OFSTED rating. This gave each town and city a child raise-ability score out of ten, and the overall winner scored an impressive 7.32.

Sheffield in South Yorkshire took the top spot thanks to offering double the average amount of green space per person . It also has relatively affordable childcare costs of £918.33 per month, which is below the UK average of £1,128 per child without government support.

Housing is also a major factor for growing families, and according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), the average house price in Sheffield stands at £222,000. This is below the UK wide average of £270,080, and far below areas such as the south east at £379,000.

Green spaces that can be enjoyed around the city include the Sheffield Botanical Gardens, which includes colourful flowers and plants from around the world, some of them kept in huge Victorian greenhouses. Outside, kids can wander the endless trails, spotting statues, fountains, and other pretty features.

Graves Park is another spot that’s much-loved by families. It has two playgrounds, woodlands, lakes, and much more to explore, while Kelham Island Museum is a fun day out where kids can learn all about the area’s industrial heritage in an interactive environment.

Second place in the rankings was Milton Keynes, its score boosted by the fact it offered the widest range of child-friendly attractions. MK residents enjoy 31 kid-friendly attractions per 100,000 people, 11 more than the study’s average, meaning families who live in the city certainly won’t get bored.

While Milton Keynes lost some ground due to its costly childcare – an average of £1,416 per month – it offered large amounts of green space per person as well as a high percentage of schools OFSTED graded as good or outstanding.

Swindon came in third place, in part due to having the lowest crime rate in the study at 68 per 1,000 people. It also offered average childcare costs of £900, below the UK average, while two-thirds of its schools had good or higher OFSTED ratings.

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