Hard to get adjusted Americans here living in Greece?

Question

Hi, my family and I want to move to Greece ...Can you please tell me how life is tehre is Greece if you moved from another county. Please let me know good and bad , thanks so much :)

Answer 1

If you want a city life and don't fancy Athens - try somewhere else on the mainland.  It depends on the individual how you adapt - life is NOT easy and nothing like you see on films or like life on holiday. Really do your home work before making the move - if you have kids then there are other things to consider. Also - job? what to do? Where to live? etc etc

Good luck - I've been here (from UK) for 20 yrs.

Answer 2

Everyone's experience of living in Greece and period of adjustment are different depending on where you're from, how familiar you are with the language and  how well you adapt to change. There are people who don't learn the language and speak only English, but the majority of bureaucracy, websites and services are in Greek.

There isn't a neat answer to your question since it depends on the individual person, so you won't find a right or wrong answer in this forum or anywhere. You can only know if it's "hard" or not by doing it yourself, and don't base your decision to move here on what you experienced on vacation -- reality is a whole different thing. Also, everyone's definition of "good" and "bad" are different, ie, what is "bad" to one person is perfectly "good" to someone else.

If you'd like to read about many people's experiences on one Website, you can go here:

http://livingingreece.gr

The articles are written by an American woman living in Greece for 11 years. On the site are not only her experiences, but commentators of all nationalities (some in Greece, some who were there and left) share their experiences about everything -- bureaucracy, settling into a home, getting married, shopping, prices, high cost of living, healthcare and hospitals, moving, learning the language, culture, holidays, salaries, working in Athens and the islands. More than that, she has a lot of valuable tips and instructions on how to make life easier.

There are cities on islands, but of course island life is different than mainland city life simply because some professions depend on tourism.

I hope that helped and good luck

Answer 3

there's approximately 80,000 Americans living in Greece mostly of Greek decent.  If you really want to move back to the mediterranean motherland, you need to really think long and hard about it.  I'm going to tell you right now, don't romanticize the idea of living in Greece.  It's not an industrial nation like the U.S. and job opportunity is scarce.  Especially if you live outside the major cities.  If you have children, would you want them to attend public school or have them attend a private American school??   Also, you will be confronted with the constant red-tape in Greece.  The cost of living is very high as well.  If you and your family are able to overcome these obstacles as well as others, then it will be worth it in the end.