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Welcome Mel

Did you speak Greek when you moved to Greece? Is it complicated to learn?

Julien

No, I did not speak Greek aside from the customary hellos and thank yous.  My husband, although Greek, is extremely fluent with this English.

I still (after 3 years) do not know Greek well, although I can read it much better than I can speak it or understand it when spoken to.  My mother-in-law is determined to make me a fluent speaker, so we'll see how it goes when we move closer to her.

I hope she's going to succeed!

How do we say: "Hello, how are you" in Greek?

Is it complicated to live in Greece when you don't speak Greek?

Ah!  Greece!  The home of God's gift to mankind- the Gyro sandwich! 

What is the average cost of living there?  Exchange rate?  stuff like that?

Yia sou, ti kanis?  Is how you say "hello, how are you" in Greek.

It would be complicated living here without speaking Greek if my husband wasn't Greek, although a lot of people do seem to speak at least some English.  The worst part is not being able to have conversations with my husband's grandmother and my father-in-law.

Cost of living here isn't too bad (at least, not compared to what I was used to in Tennessee).  Our apartment in Athens, which was pretty large (one bedroom and a large living room area, kitchen, bath) was 330 euros a month, and Athens is supposed to be highest.  On Kos we paid 265 euros a month for a similarly sized apartment, and here 190 a month (although this apartment is ever so slightly smaller).  Bread we get for 50 cents a loaf (fresh bread, that is) and veggies are oh so cheap compared to prices at the local Kroger in Nashville.  Gas is high, it costs us 20 euros to fill the tank usually.  Hopefully that gives you some idea as to the cost of living here.

Cool!  Now how much USD is in a Euro?

And how difficult is it to relocate there?  Where can I get info on the government (I have tried the net & found nothing useable and have asked the consulate, but no response and it was several months back).

Ok, got that done.  Looks like $1.2066 USD per Euro.  How many gallons (or shold I ask liters?) of fuel does your car hold?

My thoughts are for my vehicles.  My motorcycle is maybe 2 gallons (7.57L), my Bronco is 25.6 gallons (96.896L) and my work trailer has a spare tank that holds 75 gallons (283.875L).

Also, after viewing some of the stuff on the websites DD has, I think it's gonna be hard to move there.  The Greek don't appear to be very accepting of other nationalities. 

Hmm, we have a Honda Accent.  I am not sure how much the gas tank holds. =/  I'd say maybe 12 gallons?  It seems similar to the Toyota Corolla I had in America.  But of course here they do everything in litres and not gallons so that gets even more confusing.  The Bronco might be pretty expensive to fill, as well as the hitch.

As far as Greece being open to other nationalities, I guess it is about like America is right now.  I am not sure they would turn away an American, but I don't know what the rules are here now.  Since I am married to a Greek citizen I've had to go about this a different way than someone who just wanted to move here.  But unfortunately I don't know any websites to go to for better information on what you need.  If I find any, I'll let you know.

330 euros for a flat in the Greek capital? Well, Athens is much cheaper than Madrid! ( and Madrid is cheaper than Paris ...  I think the most expensive capital in Europe is London)

We currently pay 630 euros for 45m2 (in the town center)

Hello Melusina! I have a colleague in Athens whom I could put you in touch with if you ever felt like chatting in English. She has been living there for 13 years or so, is English and is also married to a Greek. I won't be seeing her again until September as the Parliament is closed for the summer recess, but if you're interested post a reply.
Now I'm off to check out your site.

That would be cool, Cameleon.  It is always good to chat with other ex-pats over here.  I think my email is available through my profile here if you want to forward it to her when you see her next.  No pressure though.  I know how it can be awkward to introduce yourself to new people.

OK, will do.

I have a 160 sq.ft. apt. for $350 USD.  I'm trying to figure the difference here....hmmm.
17.7 sq.m for $290 EURO?  Does that figure out correctly?

Lol, now you are getting into all sorts of math I can't even equate.  I'd say the apartment we lived in in Athens (the 330 euro one) was about 800 sq ft (maybe 750).

Actually I was off.  17.7 sq. yards.  14.87 m2, as it's 3.28 feet to a meter.  Square that and you get 10.7584 ft2 per m2.

Anyhow I figure my place is about $23.54 USD per m2.  The place you had in Athens is about $5.36 USD per m2.  DAMN, I GOTTA MOVE!!!!!!!! 

Then again, I can drive 15 minutes from my home in a town of 4,000 people and I can be in some moderately dense forest and camp as long as I wish (provided I don't get caught, otherwise I'm restricted to 14 days) with no charge for camping.

Well, one thing to remember.  The cost of living is better comparatively to the U.S., but salaries aren't as high here either.

And there are TONS of places to camp in Greece. =p

Julien wrote:

We currently pay 630 euros for 45m2 (in the town center)

We pay 930 CAD (500 € ?) for 80 m² in a nice place of Montreal... which is not expensive at all.