The pandemic’s enforced period of no travel led an American couple to rethink their life and retire to sunny southern Italy. Seventysomethings Glenda and Randy Tuminello from Spokane, Washington, retired in December 2022 to Polignano a Mare, a dazzling white, cliffside town in the Puglia region, renowned for its stunning beaches and turquoise waters.

The pandemic outbreak, they say, forced them to reconsider longterm life projects, and look for a tax-friendly spot where they could make the most of their Italian dream. “We had originally planned [pre-Covid-19] to go spend a year in Italy, celebrating retirement. But then Covid struck and during those two ‘no travel’ years we began to rethink our original plans,” Glenda Tuminello, a, a former high school math teacher and home designer, tells CNN Travel.