She quit her job and moved to Tuscany after 50—and what happened next completely transformed her life. Linda Meyers shares how starting over in Tuscany changed her health, mindset, passion, and sense of purpose.

After 26 years as a kindergarten teacher, Linda made a bold decision with her husband, George: leave behind the familiar, move to Tuscany, and create a completely new way of living. Today, she is the co-owner of Cook in Tuscany, where she combines authentic Italian cooking, community, movement, healthy food, and a slower lifestyle that has transformed her physical and mental well-being.

In this inspiring conversation with Vincent Ferguson of Six Weeks to Fitness and VINCE Magazine, Linda shares how she broke free from an unfulfilling routine, rediscovered her passion, improved her health, and built a thriving life and business in Italy.

You’ll hear Linda discuss:

• Why it’s never too late to start over
• How mindset can change the direction of your life
• The health benefits of simple, high-quality food
• Why passion matters as we get older
• How Tuscany changed her relationship with food and sugar
• The importance of movement, nature, gratitude, and community
• What traditional Tuscan grandmothers can teach us about healthy eating
• Why small changes can lead to a completely different life
• Her advice for anyone in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond who feels stuck

Linda’s message is simple but powerful: we are never too old to be happy, make a change, or create a life that gives us more energy, purpose, and joy.

Stay to the end for Linda’s memorable advice on what you can do this week to add more life to your years.

Full Episode Transcript

Interview with Linda Meyers

Meet Linda Meyers

Linda Meyers is the co-owner of Cook in Tuscany and a former kindergarten teacher who, after 26 years in the classroom, made a dramatic midlife change with her husband, George. In this conversation with Vincent Ferguson, she discusses reinvention, mindset, passion, food, movement, community, and why it is never too late to create a more fulfilling life.

From the Classroom to Tuscany

Vincent Ferguson: Hello, everyone, and welcome to another special interview presented by Six Weeks to Fitness and VINCE Magazine. Today I’m joined by Linda Meyers, whose story is a powerful example of courage, reinvention, and discovering that it’s never too late to create a more fulfilling life. After teaching kindergarten for 26 years, Linda came home one day and asked her husband, George, a life-changing question: What would happen if we quit our jobs, sold our house, and moved to Tuscany?

Vincent Ferguson: More than 15 years ago, they did exactly that. Today, Linda is the co-owner of Cook in Tuscany and La Chiusa Tuscany, a boutique hotel in Montefollonico, as well as other cooking schools, an olive oil farm, and a lavender farm. Along the way, she rediscovered her passions, embraced a healthier and happier way of living, and built a loyal community of people inspired by her journey. Linda, thank you so much for coming on Six Weeks to Fitness.

Linda Meyers: Thank you for having me. I’m very excited.

Vincent Ferguson: You are living the life.

Linda Meyers: I would say I am definitely living my dream. When I look at it, I can’t believe it sometimes. I have to pinch myself. I made a huge change not just in my physical environment, but also in my health and my mental health. It’s a whole new makeover.

Vincent Ferguson: Where did the courage come from to do this?

Linda Meyers: I think I just closed my eyes and jumped.

Vincent Ferguson: You took the leap, and you had a husband who took the leap with you.

Linda Meyers: Yes, he did. In the beginning, he kept his business and we still had our house in Virginia. My daughter was a huge part of it from the beginning, too. People ask me all the time, ‘I could never have that kind of bravery or courage.’ But I made lots of mistakes, and that’s okay. You learn from those and you keep moving forward. If you want to go, you need to keep going.

Vincent Ferguson: Why are so many people afraid of making mistakes?

Linda Meyers: I think they’re afraid because they don’t want other people to think they have failed. I don’t call it failure, but they think of it that way. People can get very complacent and think, ‘Well, this is all I get. I’m just going to smile and move on.’ But that’s not true. At any age, we can reinvent ourselves. My daughter was a nurse; now she owns cooking schools around the world and helps with the hotel. My husband sold his business and came to work here. Now he’s a farmer. One person’s change can create a ripple effect throughout the whole family and friend group.

Why Tuscany Changed Everything

Vincent Ferguson: Why Tuscany?

Linda Meyers: We had visited here on vacation several times, and I had come to cooking schools in Italy. There was just something about it. It all clicked. I felt very happy here. The views are beautiful, and it’s a very peaceful, calm lifestyle that leads you to a different mindset. Life is simpler. And then there’s the food. The food is extremely healthy.

Linda Meyers: It changed our health immensely. We moved to a diet without preservatives, chemicals, or hormones. We know where our food is coming from. I’ve lost an enormous amount of weight. We’re active and engaged in life. I really think it boils down to slowing down, eating right, and finding things that ignite your passion.

Vincent Ferguson: Did you have any friends there?

Linda Meyers: No. I didn’t know anybody. I stayed here for about two and a half months by myself. My husband and daughter came with me in the beginning, and then I stayed alone. I had been a mother, a teacher, an Air Force wife, and a daughter, but I don’t know if I had ever really been about Linda. For two and a half months, I found out all about Linda. There were tears because I wondered, ‘What did I do?’ and smiles because I thought, ‘Yes, I did it.’

Linda Meyers: You really get to know yourself when there’s no Wi-Fi and no TV. When you go out for a walk, you start talking to yourself. I tell people it’s important to take a moment. Maybe you can’t take two and a half months. Maybe you get a week. But you need a moment when you’re outside in nature, quiet and alone with your thoughts, so you can figure out what you want to do. It’s there. You just have to find it. Once you find it and start moving, there is no stopping a determined person.

Breaking Free From an Unfulfilling Routine

Vincent Ferguson: Do you feel that visiting Tuscany was the moment when you realized this was where you wanted to be?

Linda Meyers: I knew there was more. I felt there was going to be more to my life, like I was going to have a second life. I had fallen into a terrible routine. My two children were off living their lives. We had the big house, the cars, and the vacations – the regular things. But there was no more excitement for life. I had gotten into a routine. George worked late hours, we’d stop and get fast food, then you start gaining weight and feeling bad about yourself. It’s a roller coaster of a bad routine.

Linda Meyers: I knew that routine had to be broken, and I knew for me it had to be broken in a very big way. I love food, so a cooking school where we could enjoy really good food was my thing. You might be a painter who doesn’t paint, and maybe taking a painting class will ignite your passion. For me, it was all about food. When you sit at the table with people from anywhere – any culture, young or old – we all have stories. We’re all on the same playing field, and we get to engage with other people’s lives.

Growing Cook in Tuscany

Vincent Ferguson: You now have people coming to Cook in Tuscany from all over the world.

Linda Meyers: Yes. We have people from the United States, Canada, Australia, South Africa, all over Europe, and this year we have people coming from the Middle East.

Vincent Ferguson: How did you spread the word and grow Cook in Tuscany?

Linda Meyers: It started with a little Facebook page about 13 years ago. I typed, ‘Hey, I’m here. I’d love to show you around.’ I consider myself one of the OGs of moving to Italy. I expanded because it ignited more passion and people wanted to experience other places. Right now, I have 28 people here at the hotel doing the cooking school.

Linda Meyers: We talk a lot about food and about getting away from the middle of the grocery store. Find your local farmers. Find good beef and good eggs. It makes a big difference.

Vincent Ferguson: Are a lot of people coming from the States to experience this?

Linda Meyers: Yes. This week almost everybody is from the States. I’m from Louisiana, so I can relate. I was the mother who bought all the prepackaged snacks. Fourteen years ago, I was stopping at fast-food places, picking up dinner, eating on the way home, and going to the mall. I didn’t know better. I can only do better when I know better.

Food, Ingredients and Better Health

Linda Meyers: I talk about wheat and olive oil and the importance of quality ingredients. I eat pasta every day. I eat bread, but I’m eating it made from good ingredients. We make fresh pasta, and our grocery stores are full of good pasta made from einkorn wheat or stone-ground ancient grains.

Vincent Ferguson: This sounds almost like a health retreat. It has done so much for your health.

Linda Meyers: It has done an enormous amount for my health. When I think back 13 years, this wasn’t who I was. I believe with every fiber of my being that when you start making even small changes, it opens up a whole different world. I wasn’t a health nut. Now I don’t eat unless I know where my food is coming from.

Linda Meyers: I know where my meat, eggs, and vegetables are coming from. At first it might take a couple of weeks to find the right sources, but then it becomes very easy.

Vincent Ferguson: Most people here in the States don’t know where their food is coming from.

Linda Meyers: That’s true, and I have a different outlook on food now. But it isn’t just about food. The food has made me healthier, and I think more clearly. Entertaining people and having wonderful conversations with people from all over the world has increased my life. I’m telling you, I added years to George’s and my life. There’s no doubt about it.

Linda Meyers: Before, we were just going through life – dinner on Friday, HomeGoods and Walmart on Saturday, cutting the grass and cleaning the house. Now we visit different cultures, go out, and meet people from all over the world. We don’t have to settle into a routine. When things start feeling routine, we find something else to do. We try to stay active.

From a Hobby to an International Business

Vincent Ferguson: Did you know when you first moved there that you were going to start a business?

Linda Meyers: When I first came, it was really about changing the routine of our lives. I had always enjoyed cooking, being in the kitchen, dancing, and having a fun time. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew I would do something there, but I didn’t know it would become what it has become. I thought it might be a hobby – come for a couple of weeks, go back, then return. Now there’s Cook in Tuscany, Cook in France, Cook in Mexico, and Cook in Sicily.

Vincent Ferguson: Are those franchises?

Linda Meyers: No. We own them. When I go, or my daughter or husband goes, we’re there when you’re doing the classes. We’ve expanded the same idea into different cultures so people can experience something different.

Mindset, Positivity and Making a Change

Vincent Ferguson: It sounds like you’re surrounded by positivity and a can-do attitude.

Linda Meyers: Absolutely. I can’t tell you how important it is to change the way you think. Everything that happens has a positive side. We can look at it the way we want, but it’s all based on your mindset. If you choose to be happy and positive, most of the time you will be. We all have bad days.

Vincent Ferguson: And some environments have a lot of negativity.

Linda Meyers: That’s why changing the routine is so important. If the negativity is outweighing the positive, it’s time to make a change – a big change. Negativity affects your physical health, mental health, and overall well-being. Who wants to live like that? Life is too short.

Vincent Ferguson: It seems your change impacted not only you and your husband, but your family as well.

Linda Meyers: Absolutely. My sister comes here all the time, and other family members visit. But I would say the biggest change was me. I got out of the routine and went on this journey. I want to be positive. I want to have a good life. I want quality time, not quantity time, and that’s important.

It’s Never Too Late to Reinvent Yourself

Vincent Ferguson: You went from 26 years as a kindergarten teacher to making this enormous change. What do you say to people in their 40s and 50s who feel stuck and are afraid to make a big change?

Linda Meyers: Whether you’re 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, or 80, it’s the same advice because we’re never too old to be happy. You’ve got to make a change, and that means changing your mindset. Start looking at things a little differently. One change turns into two changes, and two changes turn into three.

Linda Meyers: You can’t force yourself to do something that doesn’t make you happy. People tell me, ‘I have family. I have grandkids. I can’t leave them.’ I have a grandchild too. I wasn’t leaving anyone; I was bringing them with me. There’s an airport in every city. You can visit me and I can visit you. But if I don’t keep living my passion and making changes, I’m not going to be good to any of you.

Linda Meyers: Change has to come from your mindset first. Little changes can make a huge difference. Take a walk. Get out in nature. I go outside every day because just standing still, taking deep breaths, can change your outlook on the rest of the day. Sit outside and eat your lunch. Listen to the birds, the crickets, and the wind. It centers you.

Finding Your Passion Again

Vincent Ferguson: You mentioned something very important: passion. How important is passion?

Linda Meyers: Passion is the most important. That’s what drives you to do what you do. It’s like a rebirth. I loved being a teacher, but my passion wasn’t there anymore. I needed to reignite something. For me, it was food, entertaining, and enjoying my time.

Linda Meyers: In the beginning, it was hard. My husband laughs and says, ‘Everybody wants your now. They forgot that 13 years ago you were working hard and trying to figure it out.’ But the passion of creating something for myself and my family, and enjoying every day, kept me going.

Linda Meyers: Moving to Italy might not be your passion. It might be making pizzas. Take a local cooking class, learn how to make pizza, build an oven, and invite your neighbors over. Maybe it’s ceramics. Go take a class. Give it a try. You might have to try 10 things. Think about what you wanted to do when you were 10 or 12 years old. It could be anything. Passion is what drives you to the next day.

Vincent Ferguson: So many of us don’t have that passion for the work we’re doing. We’re just going through the motions.

Linda Meyers: Exactly. I can’t handle monotony. Every day is different for me, and that’s what keeps me moving.

Balance, Gratitude and Simple Italian Food

Vincent Ferguson: How do you stay balanced and avoid burnout?

Linda Meyers: First of all, I enjoy what I do, and that makes a difference. I also like to travel. We take time in the summer or winter to travel and do things personally, not just for the business. My children are here often, and my daughter lives here full time. I love that we get to spend a lot of time together.

Linda Meyers: I also practice gratitude. Several times a day I tell myself, ‘I’m so grateful for my life. I’m grateful for this.’ Sometimes it’s something small. I really concentrate on being grateful because I truly am.

Vincent Ferguson: And the food you’re eating – you can actually enjoy the taste.

Linda Meyers: It’s delicious because it’s simple. In North America, we often associate Italian food with a long time in the kitchen, lots of oregano and lots of garlic, but that’s not really what Italian food is. It’s very simple – maybe three to five ingredients. We can make pasta in five minutes. We hand-roll it, and that’s part of the enjoyment. Sauces are quick. When you start eating better and feeling better, you start researching more, and then you start eating even better.

A Different Relationship With Sugar

Vincent Ferguson: What’s your feeling about sugar?

Linda Meyers: Who doesn’t love something sweet? We use sugar in some of our classes, but I think we over-sugar ourselves in North America. One difference here is that we don’t have as much prepackaged food. I remember opening children’s lunchboxes during my last year of teaching and seeing snack cakes, premade sandwiches, potato chips – very little that was natural.

Linda Meyers: Here, there are fewer prepackaged snack cakes and they’re expensive. It’s flipped: fruits and vegetables are inexpensive, while junk food is more expensive. I don’t eat a lot of sugar. I’m from Louisiana, and my mother always had a fresh cake or pie on the counter, so I do like something sweet at the end of a meal. But a piece of cake here might be a little sliver, not a huge chunk. My taste buds have changed.

Vincent Ferguson: So you’re not craving a lot of sugar.

Linda Meyers: No, I don’t crave sugar. I don’t drink alcohol or caffeine. I don’t drink coffee. I drink herbal tea and water, so I don’t crave sodas and things like that. I also make things fresh. I make slice-and-bake cookies with good flour, good sugar, good butter, and fresh eggs.

Linda Meyers: There’s nothing wrong with eating a cookie. My God, it’s life. You just don’t need to eat 12 cookies.

Linda Meyers: I call it the chocolate chip cookie analogy. You could eat a whole sleeve of grocery-store cookies and never truly feel satisfied because you’re mindlessly eating them. But if you make a really good cookie, or buy one from a good bakery or farm stand made with quality butter, eggs, and chocolate, one may be enough because you feel satisfied. When you eat good, high-quality food, you don’t eat as much.

Learning From the Tuscan Nonnas

Vincent Ferguson: You work directly with local grandmothers and teach traditional Tuscan cooking. What can people learn from them?

Linda Meyers: The nonnas – the grandmothers – are really the teachers. I teach people how to make bread and crostata, but the nonnas are the stars of the show. They bring centuries of food knowledge. Before prepackaged food and big grocery stores, they grew things, made fresh pasta, baked their own bread, and made cakes rather than buying them.

Linda Meyers: If you really want the authentic thing, you have to go to the person who’s authentic, and that’s them. George, Whitney, and I are there to host and help, but the nonnas are the ones teaching the classes. Everything we make is something you can go home and make.

Linda Meyers: We also teach people how to look at quality – how to read a label on canned tomatoes, for example. You can get quality food in the United States, Canada, Australia, and elsewhere. I’ve seen more people going to farm stands, homesteading, and returning to more natural ways of eating because they want their families to be healthy.

Linda Meyers: You also have to use the resources around you. I tried for weeks to make sourdough and failed miserably. It isn’t my thing. But there’s probably someone in your neighborhood who makes excellent sourdough. Find that person and support them.

Movement and Bringing the Lessons Home

Vincent Ferguson: People come for the experience, but it sounds like many go home and actually change.

Linda Meyers: They do. People tell me they’re teaching their grandchildren how to make pasta, making crostata for breakfast, or baking fresh bread. Some people come simply to tour and have a great time, and that’s fine. But many go home and change the way they look at food.

Linda Meyers: They also don’t realize how active we are. We’re up and down, dancing in the kitchen, walking to the village, and going up hills. Even when I’m traveling and I know I’m overindulging, I put in my AirPods and walk. I build movement into my day because I can’t go back to where I was. I need to keep going in the right direction.

Linda Meyers: Just because you’re on vacation doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy yourself. Eat the cheesecake, but balance it with some good activity.

Vincent Ferguson: Movement.

Linda Meyers: Absolutely.

Inspiring Others to Take Their Own Leap

Vincent Ferguson: You’ve built a loyal social media community. Do you think your story is what makes people connect with you?

Linda Meyers: I try to interweave my journey with positivity and mindset because you can’t be positive without the right mindset, and you can’t start a journey without positivity and the right mindset. They go together.

Linda Meyers: When people come here, something in them says, ‘Wait a minute.’ My daughter changed her life and came to work here full time. My husband changed his life. People look at me and say, ‘Seriously? You really just did that?’ It ignites something in them.

Linda Meyers: I’m just a casual person in tennis shoes, shorts, and a T-shirt. People start asking, ‘What could I do?’ One woman who came here was a painter. Now she owns a gallery. She told me it inspired her to realize, ‘Really? I can do that?’

Linda Meyers: Sometimes people need to feel like they have the okay to go. Nobody actually needs permission from anyone, but sometimes seeing someone else do it makes them believe they can do it too.

Vincent Ferguson: And you’ve grown considerably since those early days.

Linda Meyers: The first time I did this, I had 10 people. Now we have multiple properties and experiences, and every week I have anywhere from 25 to 32 people here.

Vincent Ferguson: You’re changing people’s lives as well.

Linda Meyers: That was a very unexpected and delightful outcome. I never dreamed anybody would really care what I was doing, go home and do something differently, or that I could inspire somebody to make changes in their life. I’m very grateful that I can do it, and I take the responsibility very seriously.

How to Connect With Linda Meyers

Vincent Ferguson: How can people learn more about you and Cook in Tuscany?

Linda Meyers: We have a very big social media presence under Cook in Tuscany, and people can also find me under Linda Meyers. Our website is Cook in Tuscany. Anyone can email me as well. I answer emails all the time, and I’m happy to provide information.

Adding More Life to Your Years

Vincent Ferguson: Before you go, I have one final question. If someone watching or listening today could change just one thing this week to add more life to their years, Linda, what would you tell them to do?

Linda Meyers: Immediately, turn on some music and dance like nobody’s watching. It can change your mood just like that. I don’t care who’s watching me. I just came off a cruise ship, and while I was walking with my earphones on, people were watching me because whatever music was playing, I was moving.

Linda Meyers: If you’re feeling a little down or you’re in a rut, turn on something you like. You don’t have to get in front of a mirror. Just stand there and get some movement going. You’ll start feeling some energy. You’ll start singing, and suddenly you’ve listened to three songs and you’re all over the house singing and dancing.

Vincent Ferguson: Regardless of who’s looking at you, you’re not thinking about anything else.

Linda Meyers: Who cares? Really, what do you care what they think of you? There are going to be naysayers no matter where you go. But most of those naysayers have never left their backyard, so don’t take advice from people who aren’t going where you’re going.

Vincent Ferguson: I agree 100 percent. That’s a great way to end our conversation. On behalf of Six Weeks to Fitness, Body Sculpt of New York, and VINCE Magazine, I want to thank you for coming on the show today.

Linda Meyers: Thank you so much for having me.

Vincent Ferguson: And to everyone watching or listening, thank you for joining us on Six Weeks to Fitness. If you enjoyed this conversation, please like, subscribe, and share it with someone who could benefit. If you prefer to listen on the go, the Six Weeks to Fitness podcast is also available on Apple and Spotify. Until next time, I’m Vincent Ferguson, and that’s Linda Meyers of Cook in Tuscany. Stay healthy, stay strong, and keep adding more life to your years. God bless.

Linda Meyers: Ciao, everybody.