After a long time of constructing companies, designing buildings and touring, Edward Krueger Connors Jr. reached an surprising conclusion in his early 80s: staying put not made sense.
“I was bored of America,” Connors tells NCS Travel.
In January 2026, simply weeks earlier than his 81st birthday, the Vietnam War hero, architect and former gymnasium proprietor relocated alone to southern Italy, leasing an condominium in Lecce, a baroque metropolis within the Puglia area that he now calls his “perfect Goldilocks city.”
Connors’ determination was pushed by a rising sense of restlessness. Retirement didn’t go well with him, and he says the tempo and path of life within the United States not felt proper. After promoting his residence in Venice Beach, he set out on a two-month journey by means of Europe, trying to find a spot that matched the way in which he needed to stay now.
The move additionally revived a long-deferred dream.
Back on September 13, 2001, Connors had been scheduled to fly from Los Angeles to Rome to purchase a Twelfth-century medieval citadel close to Orvieto — a basic Italian hill city within the Umbria area — full with 10 acres of vineyards. Like all worldwide flights that week, his was canceled following the September 11 assaults.
Having served within the army, Connors believed the United States was at battle and determined it was no time to go away. He invoked the pressure majeure clause in his contract and terminated the acquisition settlement. He has since returned to Orvieto a number of occasions and says he would have accomplished the deal had he made that journey.
“September 11, 2001, changed my life,” says Connors, who grew up in Nebraska. “That was a life-changing event for me. I’ve always admired Italy’s beauty and lifestyle, so once again I’m exploring the dream I had 25 years ago of living in Italy.”
This time, the dream appears to be like totally different.
Connors, who has by no means married and has no kids, says he not needs the accountability of proudly owning a big property or making long-term commitments. Instead, he opted for a six-month lease close to Lecce’s historic heart, selecting flexibility over permanence.
He says the prospect of dying doesn’t scare him. He stays lively, walks a minimum of 10,000 steps a day and intently displays his well being.
“I’ve had a full life and am not worried about dying alone,” he says. “I had triple bypass open heart surgery in 2008 and was ready to die then, so I feel like I have a second life now. I have not spent time in the hospital since then. My father had the same surgery at the same age and lived until he was 96, so I have genetics going for me, which is huge.”
After a busy profession, slowing down proved troublesome. In 1980, Connors opened the primary franchised Gold’s Gym within the United States, finally serving to develop the model to 704 places worldwide earlier than exiting in 2004. He additionally labored as an architect, designing dozens of buildings and landmark constructions in California.
But by age 80, he says boredom had set in, compounded by discomfort with modifications he noticed round him.
“I realize I was part of the ‘franchise world,’ but the ugliness of suburban America with all the food franchises is something that depresses me and I wanted to leave behind for a while.”
Lecce was not an apparent selection. Connors selected the town with out visiting first, appearing on the suggestion of a good friend. After leaving the United States, he spent two months touring by means of Europe, contemplating choices within the Czech Republic, Poland, the United Kingdom and Portugal — the vacation spot that was initially high of his record.
“Though Lisbon had been my first choice, the hilly landscape and the lack of public transportation throughout Portugal, unlike the Italian train service, made me feel I would be ‘trapped’ in one city and unable to explore the rest of Europe easily,” he says.
Climate was additionally a deciding issue.
“I worry about falling at my age, and snow and ice are my enemies. Only three areas in the world have weather like L.A., and one of them is the Mediterranean coast.”
Southern Italy finally checked essentially the most bins. Lecce’s flat panorama, rail connections and proximity to Brindisi airport appealed to him, as did the climate.
“Much of the vegetation is similar to Southern California, so the area seemed even more familiar,” he says.
He now rents a furnished one-bedroom condominium with a balcony for $1,100 a month, together with utilities and Wi-Fi. A former neighbor from California — now an American expat and actual property dealer in Lecce — helped him discover it.
Connors says a comparable condominium in Los Angeles would price $3,000 a month, $4,500 in San Francisco and $3,500 in New York City.
Lecce, typically known as the “Florence of the South,” fits his every day rhythm. He spends his mornings writing and his afternoons strolling, reflecting and exploring.
Those writing hours are devoted to tasks drawn from his life experiences. He’s beforehand revealed a memoir, “The Three Muscleteers,” by which he displays on his recipe for achievement.
“I write that life is half about fate — luck — and half what you do with it, execution,” he says.
He eats out a number of occasions every week and says arriving early at eating places — earlier than Italians usually dine — has helped him meet different Americans.
He describes the town as neither too large nor too small, a distinction to current visits to London, Lisbon, Rome and Paris, which confirmed for him that enormous cities not enchantment.
“I get bored easily, and at my age, I can’t see committing to living somewhere for a long time unless I were to buy something in Lecce with friends. I’ve had a dozen homes in my lifetime and know they can be a lot of work, not something I want to be bothered with at age 80.”
If he had been to purchase property, Connors says he would take his time and analysis rigorously.
“And this is Italy, where, according to one of the Italians I spoke with … ‘everything is broken, and it’s impossible to get anything fixed!’”
Owning one other residence, he says, not holds a lot enchantment.
“I’ve had nice homes, nice furniture, nice cars. All that stuff has lost interest for me. I’ve been there, done that. When people ask, ‘Ed, where do you live?’ I point to my suitcase and briefcase. I guess I’m like a millennial, I live for the moment, for experiences.”
Connors has traveled to Europe practically yearly for the previous 62 years, starting with a one-month journey at age 18. While primarily based in Lecce, he plans to go to components of Europe he has not but seen or needs to return to, together with Naples, western Italy, Ireland, the UK and the Netherlands.
“Taking a trip to Marrakesh, Malta or Athens from Italy also interests me. A Mediterranean cruise is one of the few things on my bucket list I haven’t done.”
For now, he says, Lecce is residence — however solely for so long as it feels proper.
“Unless I buy something in Lecce with one of my friends, I don’t think I will live here forever, but who knows, just taking it a day at a time.”