After decades of building businesses, designing buildings, and traveling, Edward Krueger Connors Jr. came to an unexpected conclusion in his early 80s.
“I was tired of America,” Connors told CNN Travel.
In January 2026, just weeks before his 81st birthday, the Vietnam War hero, architect and former gym owner moved alone to southern Italy, renting an apartment in the baroque city of Lecce in Puglia, which he now calls “the perfect Goldilocks city.”
Connors’ decision was prompted by a growing sense of insecurity. Retirement didn’t suit him, he says, and he felt the pace and direction of life in the United States was no longer right. After selling his Venice Beach home, he set off on a two-month trip through Europe, looking for a place that fit his current lifestyle.
The move also revived a long-deferred dream.
Back on September 13, 2001, Connors was scheduled to fly from Los Angeles to Rome to purchase a 12th-century medieval castle near Orvieto (a typical Italian hillside town in the Umbrian region) with 10 acres of vineyards. Like other international flights that week, his flight was canceled in the wake of the September 11 attacks.
Connors, who had served in the military, believed the United States was at war and decided it was not the time to retreat. He invoked the force majeure clause in the contract and canceled the sales contract. Since then, he has visited Orvieto several times and says he would have completed the transaction had he done so.
“September 11, 2001 changed my life,” says Connors, who grew up in Nebraska. “It was a life-changing event for me. I have always admired the beauty and lifestyle of Italy, so I am exploring the dream I had 25 years ago to live in Italy again.”
It looks like the dream is different this time.
Ms. Connors, who has never been married and has no children, said she no longer wanted the responsibility of owning large properties or making long-term commitments. Instead, he chose flexibility over permanence and chose to rent for six months near Lecce’s historic center.
He says he is not afraid of the premonition of death. He has always been active, walking at least 10,000 steps every day and closely monitoring his health.
“I’ve lived a full life, so I’m not worried about dying alone,” he says. “I had triple bypass open heart surgery in 2008 and was prepared to die at that time. So now I feel like I’m living a second life. I haven’t spent any time in the hospital since. My father also had the same surgery at the same age and lived to be 96. So I have the genetics and that’s a big deal.”
After a busy career, I’ve found it difficult to slow down. In 1980, Connors opened the first franchised Gold’s Gym in the United States and eventually grew the brand to 704 stores worldwide before exiting in 2004. He also worked as an architect, designing dozens of buildings and landmark structures in California.
But by the age of 80, he says, coupled with discomfort with the changes in his surroundings, boredom set in.
“I know I was part of the ‘franchise world,’ but the ugliness of American suburbia with all the food franchises was depressing to me and I wanted to get away from it for a while.”
Lecce was not the obvious choice. Connors chose the city on a friend’s recommendation without visiting first. After leaving the United States, he spent two months traveling through Europe, considering options to the Czech Republic, Poland, England, and Portugal. Initially it was at the top of my list of destinations.
“Lisbon was my first choice, but due to the hilly terrain throughout Portugal and the lack of public transport unlike Italy’s railways, I felt ‘trapped’ in one city and unable to easily explore other parts of Europe,” he says.
The climate was also a deciding factor.
“Falls are a concern at this age, and snow and ice are the enemy. There are only three places in the world with a climate like Los Angeles, and one of them is the Mediterranean coast.”
In the end, southern Italy ticked the most boxes. Lecce’s flat landscape, railway connections and proximity to Brindisi Airport were appealing to him, as was the weather.
“A lot of the vegetation is similar to Southern California, so the area seemed even more familiar,” he says.
He currently rents a furnished one-bedroom apartment with a balcony for $1,100 a month, including utilities and Wi-Fi. A former neighbor from California, now an American expat and real estate agent in Lecce, helped him find it.
Connors said a similar apartment building in Los Angeles would cost $3,000 a month, $4,500 in San Francisco and $3,500 in New York City.
Lecce, also known as the “Florence of the South,” fits perfectly into his daily rhythm. He spends his mornings writing and his afternoons walking, thinking, and exploring.
Those writing hours are devoted to projects drawn from his life experiences. He previously published a memoir, The Three Muscleteers, in which he reflected on his secrets to success.
“I write that half of life is fate, or luck, and half is what you do with it, execution,” he says.
He eats out several times a week and says arriving at restaurants early, before Italians usually eat, has helped him meet other Americans.
He says the city is neither too big nor too small, in contrast to recent visits to London, Lisbon, Rome and Paris, where he confirmed that big cities are no longer attractive.
“I get bored easily and at this age I can’t decide to live somewhere for long, unless I’m with friends and buying something in Lecce. I’ve owned about a dozen houses so far and I know it’s hard work, something I don’t want to bother with at 80.”
If she were to buy a property, Connors said she would take the time to research it carefully.
“And this is Italy. According to one Italian I spoke to…’Everything is broken and it’s impossible to fix anything!'”
Owning another home is no longer very attractive, he says.
“I had a nice house, nice furniture, nice cars. I lost interest in all of that. I’ve been there and done that. When people ask, ‘Ed, where do you live?’ I say, ‘Ed, where do you live?’ I point to my suitcase and briefcase. I guess I’m like a millennial, I live for the moment, I live for the experience. ”
Connors has traveled to Europe nearly every year for the past 62 years, starting with a month-long trip when he was 18 years old. While based in Lecce, he will visit parts of Europe he has not yet seen or would like to return to, including Naples, western Italy, Ireland, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
“I’m also interested in traveling from Italy to Marrakech, Malta and Athens. A Mediterranean cruise is one of the few things on my bucket list I haven’t done yet.”
For now, he says, Lecce is home, but only for as long as it feels right.
“I don’t think I’ll live here forever unless I buy something in Lecce with some friends, but I’m just going to take it one day at a time.”
