# I want move to Greece...Need cost of living and other advice



## unholygrail (Jul 30, 2013)

Hi, this is my first post on this forum. I'm really excited about the prospect of moving to Greece. I am from the US but I have a visa that allows me to reside anywhere in the EU. Right now i'm living in Eastern Europe.

I have a husband and a baby son. My husband is a stay-at-home dad while I work online as a teacher. 

My income is small by US standards but it's enough to live in Eastern Europe - about 1,500 euros ($1950) monthly after tax.

Is it feasible to live in Greece on 1,500 euros supporting a small family?

What are the cheapest cities? What does an average 2-bedroom cost?

I read that it's possible to rent a 2 room apartment (living room + 1 bedroom) for 350 euros. If this is true, then I believe it should be possible for us to move to Greece and be okay.

I'm really excited and I have 1,000 questions but the most important thing I want to know is what are some of the cheapest and safest cities to look into that aren't too touristy of course. I don't mind being far away from the touristy spots. And also if you think that this budget of 1,500 euros sounds realistic for living in Greece with a family. 

Thank you


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## concertina (Oct 18, 2012)

*greece*

To answer some of your questions,firstly though you must think for your health care, 3 people,you are not entitled to it here unless you pay in through your job,employer.You would have to pay privately,there are clinics everywhere here,private, to see a doctor,have tests done and they are not so expensive,for a GP 20 or 30 EURO maybe 60 70 for a specialist,a hospital stay and op would be a problem,although because I have spent the last ten years in and out of hospitals here I know all the best routes and good price good hospitals and specialists in many fields.Something like Gromits they put in childrens ears,in the uk now some hospitals make the children wear hearing aides because the hospitals have too many people,so they wait for a slot,here I paid for myself 150 in private hospital with my own specialist from another town.I think the most scary thing is the health care,your money is enough to live on if you are careful,very careful,perhaps with a garden to grow some fruit and veg etc..you want a solar panel for your hot water ,save money.Where you will live?we could write a book on that,do you want an Island,mainland,city,quiet,busy?village,tell us more exactly what you want.


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## The Grocer (May 30, 2010)

Well the first thing is stay away from Athens....that is expensive to rent etc. Consider areas like Patra / Kalamata, the latter certainly can offer good cheap housing. You could even buy a good 2/3 bedroom house under 200,000 euro, with land. Do a bit of work on a property and you could obtain property half that price. Rental prices are around the figure you state, (see Greekscape Real Estate,Mani Real Estate,Kardamili,Stoupa) for examples....


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## concertina (Oct 18, 2012)

*greece*



The Grocer said:


> Well the first thing is stay away from Athens....that is expensive to rent etc. Consider areas like Patra / Kalamata, the latter certainly can offer good cheap housing. You could even buy a good 2/3 bedroom house under 200,000 euro, with land. Do a bit of work on a property and you could obtain property half that price. Rental prices are around the figure you state, (see Greekscape Real Estate,Mani Real Estate,Kardamili,Stoupa) for examples....


Stoupa is very nice,also to tell people in case they dont know,Greece now offers 5 year visas to any nationality persons who buy a property for minimum of 250 EURO,in Spain its 500 I believe,I guess that is renewable every 5 years.Many Russians are grabbing at that offer and thousands have received visas,we had agents come to view our house on behalf of Russians.Putin has just been made an honorary citizen of Sparta.


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## johnallex (Jul 27, 2013)

The cost of living is in greece is 30% lower than other EU Countries. Economist has ranked it 22nd place in world quality of life index. Regardless of a few delays and with little lower salary range as compare to EU countries, Greece remains to be in good shape as far as economy and politics are concerned.
So you can go there and check out different online property services providers as there are many available dealing in EU only. I am sure you will get a good place there with low cost.


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## unholygrail (Jul 30, 2013)

Thanks for all the answers. I'm just looking through all the options and trying to make some big decisions. I just got a pay raise so that should make this move a little bit easier. Thanks again.


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## Marinos (Aug 15, 2013)

unholygrail said:


> Hi, this is my first post on this forum. I'm really excited about the prospect of moving to Greece. I am from the US but I have a visa that allows me to reside anywhere in the EU. Right now i'm living in Eastern Europe.
> 
> I have a husband and a baby son. My husband is a stay-at-home dad while I work online as a teacher.
> 
> ...



Would depend on where you choose to live as the cost of living varies
Tourist destinations are cheaper in the winter but this is offset by the heating costs

1500 a month in my opinion would be tight........... but it really depends on how frugial you are


I would suggest you narrow your questions to specific areas as its really difficult to pass any useful information


On a positive note VAT went down recently so prices have dropped for some food products


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## Vasiliskrin (Sep 2, 2013)

Grrece has as already mentioned before a relatively low living cost. Even in Athens the prices for renting or buying a flat have plummed during the last 2 years. For example a rooftop apartment (retire) of 70 square meters, with 2 bedrooms costs 350 Euros/month.


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## rebartrees (Jul 18, 2009)

I thought that this kind of ad is not acceptable in this forum


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## aliland (Jul 19, 2013)

Hi, you don't say much about what type of area you fancy? Perhaps if we knew why Greece, we could offer better advice. For example, I make about 900 euro a month, my husband is out of work, but we rent a lovely 3 bedroom house in a beautiful village a 40 minute bus ride from thessaloniki. If neither you or your husband speak Greek fluently, it would be a terrible idea to put your kids in a state school anywhere near here, as parents really do have to help a lot with homework. There are some brilliant bilingual schools, but I'd say they were out of your budget. As far as health care goes, its probably quite easy to solve. Most state school kids attend frontisterias - which are afternoon/ evening schools to improve their English. As a teacher, you should be able to find one where ever you live. Although the rules change regularly, you get a stamp for each day you work, even if you only go for an hour! As summer is long, you need at least 4 stamps a week to cover your family. Check out what you need, but you can probably cover all your families health insurance quite easily by teaching for an hour a day, and as many English/American people are leaving, its quite easy to find this sort of work if you are already a teacher. 
So I'd say schooling for your children is the biggest problem - don't assume they will pick up Greek in no time and be fine, homework is a heavy burden which needs parental guidance here. Once you choose where is best for your kids, other things will fall in to place.


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## bilion (Oct 25, 2013)

Really it comes down to where you want to live. You could escape with very low rent if you live in small cities (or islands for that matter). But health insurance could be an issue, especially for your family. 1500 for 3 people is enough (but not a lot), of course it depends on the standard of living you are used to.


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## jaypeg (Nov 21, 2013)

Any ideas on how much money you need per month to get by on in Greece? Is it cheaper than most other Euro countries?


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## concertina (Oct 18, 2012)

*greece*



jaypeg said:


> Any ideas on how much money you need per month to get by on in Greece? Is it cheaper than most other Euro countries?


hi jaypeg,it all depends on your lifestyle and where you want to be.food prices are starting to come down and rents,always seems to be clothes sales.You would need private health insurance if you are not employed here,travel costs are way cheaper than uk,cars cost dont they.fresh food is way way cheaper at the weekly open markets,you can fill your trolley up,cheap fresh fish there too.wages are low here as are ukI think,but life can be as cheap as you want it to be,having a garden to grow vegies and having chickens helps.


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## concertina (Oct 18, 2012)

*greece*



displaysandexhibi said:


> I have a husband and a baby son. My husband is a stay-at-home dad while I work online as a teacher.


hi you need to be more specific,where you want to be etc..you can see from other posts many answers to your question,otherwise we are going over the same ground.


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