Living in Crete

[Phillippa & Lee]

Hi, we are planning to move to Crete within the next two years. We have chosen Crete as we understand that it has the largest expat community of the greek islands.
Please can anyone who has already moved over there please tell us about where are popular areas to move to, we want to feel part of a community with year round shops and services available.
Many thanks x

[disney21]

hi there, I dont live in greece, but we are considering it too! we have been to Crete a couple of time and have noticed that agios nikolaos seems to be very popular with expats and has many shops, it is beautiful! hope that helps!

[dp1]

Originally Posted by Phillippa & Lee

Hi, we are planning to move to Crete within the next two years. We have chosen Crete as we understand that it has the largest expat community of the greek islands.
Please can anyone who has already moved over there please tell us about where are popular areas to move to, we want to feel part of a community with year round shops and services available.
Many thanks x

Hi folks, sorry for a slow reply but I only just joined this forum. My wife and I are living in Western Crete, close to the city of Chania. Probably the most popular area for expats to move to is between Chania and Rethymnon, in an area known as the Apokoronas. There is a large British expat community there, in the villages of Plaka, Kokkino Horio, Kalyves and Almerida. Most of these villages have year round services but on a smallish scale. Probably the most active one in the winter is Kalyves as there is also a local Greek community which requires shops and services. Most of these villages are within half an hour's drive of Chania where you can find all the services you need year round, including good local supermarket chains called Marinopoulos and INKA, and also branches of LIDL. If you have any more questions about life here please post here and we will give you any advice we can.

[hallowseve]

Originally Posted by dp1

Hi folks, sorry for a slow reply but I only just joined this forum. My wife and I are living in Western Crete, close to the city of Chania. Probably the most popular area for expats to move to is between Chania and Rethymnon, in an area known as the Apokoronas. There is a large British expat community there, in the villages of Plaka, Kokkino Horio, Kalyves and Almerida. Most of these villages have year round services but on a smallish scale. Probably the most active one in the winter is Kalyves as there is also a local Greek community which requires shops and services. Most of these villages are within half an hour's drive of Chania where you can find all the services you need year round, including good local supermarket chains called Marinopoulos and INKA, and also branches of LIDL. If you have any more questions about life here please post here and we will give you any advice we can.

Long story short, I work for the US Government and have an opportunity to apply for a position in Souda Bay, Crete. Housing and utilities will be covered but I don't know if I can afford the rest of living expenses on my salary. Can anyone tell me what might be a good approximate cost for all the following in Crete????

Cell phones
Home phones (we might not get a home phone since we can talk to family in the US over the internet... we can use cell phones otherwise.)
Groceries for 2 people
Internet (highspeed/broadband.. he'll being taking online classes and using software to write music)
Cable/Satellite
Gasoline for 1 vehicle

Thank you in advance. I've officially applied for the position and think I have a very good chance of getting it. I can still turn it down if I figure I might have a hard time supporting my husband and me. We're planning on him not working because we know it will be tough for him to find work. If he does we want it to be a plus... not necessary. We are going to work on getting rid of as much debt as possible before we come, if we come. We are paying off our wedding which is the biggest part of our debt. We're getting married Friday and right after the wedding/honeymoon I'm going to work in Bahrain for 60days which is a great opportunity to save money we won't be spending on me being here.. and to put the extra money I'll be making in the bank and hopefully use to get our debt down to a minimum. I'm such a planner and scared to death that we'll get over there and I'll realize I've bitten off more then I can chew and have us struggling to survive.

~S

[dp1]

Originally Posted by hallowseve

Long story short, I work for the US Government and have an opportunity to apply for a position in Souda Bay, Crete. Housing and utilities will be covered but I don't know if I can afford the rest of living expenses on my salary. Can anyone tell me what might be a good approximate cost for all the following in Crete????

Cell phones
Home phones (we might not get a home phone since we can talk to family in the US over the internet... we can use cell phones otherwise.)
Groceries for 2 people
Internet (highspeed/broadband.. he'll being taking online classes and using software to write music)
Cable/Satellite
Gasoline for 1 vehicle

Thank you in advance. I've officially applied for the position and think I have a very good chance of getting it. I can still turn it down if I figure I might have a hard time supporting my husband and me. We're planning on him not working because we know it will be tough for him to find work. If he does we want it to be a plus... not necessary. We are going to work on getting rid of as much debt as possible before we come, if we come. We are paying off our wedding which is the biggest part of our debt. We're getting married Friday and right after the wedding/honeymoon I'm going to work in Bahrain for 60days which is a great opportunity to save money we won't be spending on me being here.. and to put the extra money I'll be making in the bank and hopefully use to get our debt down to a minimum. I'm such a planner and scared to death that we'll get over there and I'll realize I've bitten off more then I can chew and have us struggling to survive.

~S

Hi,

well just to give you some idea of costs, we run a small car (Fiat Panda) for gasoline costs of not more than 20 euros per week. You can get a satellite dish and receiver set up here by an English company who specialise in that, for a one off fee and then you can receive a lot of free satellite channels which show a lot of American films and series (though if you are living on the base I'm not sure what the costs would be and what their policy is on satellite/cable installation. they may even have their own setup there already). We have a home phone line and broadband connection which together costs us up to about 80 euros for two months including some calls. Cell phone costs vary but you can get an idea if you look for the website of the cell phone company which has the best coverage here. It is called Cosmote and their website is cosmote.gr. It will probably come up in Greek but I think they also have an English language page you can link to off their home page to get an idea of costs.
As far as groceries are concerned, that varies a lot depending on what you are buying. If you are on a budget there is a very good chain of supermarkets here called Marinopoulos which sell all the usual groceries at competitive prices. Also, there are superb street markets here on different days of the week in the middle of Chania which sell fresh produce, fruit and veg. etc for very reasonable prices. I don't know(obviously!) what your salary will be but if you are getting housing and utilities included and you salary is ok there should be no reason why you can't afford to live here. Also, eating out here is very reasonable. It is possible to eat out here quite well, if you stick to the local Greek food which I personally think is delicious, for between 20 and 30 euros for two people. If you get a taste for the local wine( which is honestly not great) and the local spirits (raki and ouzo) then even an evening out for a drink is cheap, as is the price of the popular beers brewed in Greece, Amstel and Mythos. Sorry all the prices are in euros but that's the currency here!

[hallowseve]

Originally Posted by dp1

Hi,

well just to give you some idea of costs, we run a small car (Fiat Panda) for gasoline costs of not more than 20 euros per week. You can get a satellite dish and receiver set up here by an English company who specialise in that, for a one off fee and then you can receive a lot of free satellite channels which show a lot of American films and series (though if you are living on the base I'm not sure what the costs would be and what their policy is on satellite/cable installation. they may even have their own setup there already). We have a home phone line and broadband connection which together costs us up to about 80 euros for two months including some calls. Cell phone costs vary but you can get an idea if you look for the website of the cell phone company which has the best coverage here. It is called Cosmote and their website is cosmote.gr. It will probably come up in Greek but I think they also have an English language page you can link to off their home page to get an idea of costs.
As far as groceries are concerned, that varies a lot depending on what you are buying. If you are on a budget there is a very good chain of supermarkets here called Marinopoulos which sell all the usual groceries at competitive prices. Also, there are superb street markets here on different days of the week in the middle of Chania which sell fresh produce, fruit and veg. etc for very reasonable prices. I don't know(obviously!) what your salary will be but if you are getting housing and utilities included and you salary is ok there should be no reason why you can't afford to live here. Also, eating out here is very reasonable. It is possible to eat out here quite well, if you stick to the local Greek food which I personally think is delicious, for between 20 and 30 euros for two people. If you get a taste for the local wine( which is honestly not great) and the local spirits (raki and ouzo) then even an evening out for a drink is cheap, as is the price of the popular beers brewed in Greece, Amstel and Mythos. Sorry all the prices are in euros but that's the currency here!

Thank you so much!!!! This is exactly what I needed. No worries on the Euros. I've been using an online converter to get use to it. I will be living OFF base so the cable info is great.

You really helped me out a lot. thanks!

[christosandkim]

Originally Posted by Phillippa & Lee

Hi, we are planning to move to Crete within the next two years. We have chosen Crete as we understand that it has the largest expat community of the greek islands.
Please can anyone who has already moved over there please tell us about where are popular areas to move to, we want to feel part of a community with year round shops and services available.
Many thanks x

It depends what you are looking for! Western Crete (Chania) has a large expat community ,but it is more expensive for buying a property.The East of Crete is the cheapest for buying property. Agios Nikolaos is a good place to start out in renting while you look around .The south coast is very nice and off the tourist track more but most of the expats there are Germans rather than British.I have lived in many different areas of Crete and I know it well so if you need advice on any particular place let me know and I will try to help.Good luck with your move.Wherever you chose, Crete is a wonderful island with a good expat community wherever you go.

[Dannyward]

hi, can anyone tell me what is involved in moving to Greece or where to get the information.
I.E. work permits etc? Thanks

[christosandkim]

Originally Posted by Dannyward

hi, can anyone tell me what is involved in moving to Greece or where to get the information.
I.E. work permits etc? Thanks

If you are from an EU country then you do not need a work permit.The best thing to do is to go over for a holiday and if you find a job ,stay and if you dont, go back! iI went out for a holiday when I was 18 years old and just never really came home again.i have been backwards and forwards a few times over the years but I always end up going back.If you stay longer than 6 months then you will need a residence permit which you can obtain from your local police station.you will need to open a bank account and have enough money to live on if you are not working.The life in greece is fantastic but wages are a lot lower than in the UK.Good luck!

[kriti]

There is a website called 'Living in Crete' that answers all your questions on paperwork etc. as well as having lots more info about living in Crete and Greece


Regards Dora