Hi, I was born and raised in the UK and I just spent two months living in a typical suburb of Athens. It was hell on Earth. Athens is the biggest s***hole I've ever lived in. Worse even than Thessaloniki (i spent a year there), yet another s***hole in Greece.

Nearly every Greek i spoke to also thinks the same about Athens so why your fiancee hasn't warned you about that awful place is a mystery to me.

The only reason i can think of to be in Athens is for work and money. In the case of your fiancee you can also add being close to relatives to that but that's not the case for you.

Work is available all year round in Athens which it isn't in other places. That's the only positive about athens i can think of.

Oh, perhaps there is one more advantage to Athens in that it isn't a police state like London is fast becoming. So there is a greater feeling of freedom there than there is in London.

The negatives are plentiful. Traffic noise everywhere you go, pollution, no parks to escape to, apartments packed far too close together and chaotically and the most useless police force i've ever encountered.

Believe me, the experience is totally different to a vacation on an island or even at a hotel in the centre of Athens.

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first of all i wish you good luck .

things to consider:
if you are bringing a pet and don't own an appt in athens, you'll have a hard time renting - it took me 3 months of searching and i only found 2 places that would accept the pet (the law states otherwise but i thought it's better to let the lanndlords know in advance)
2. try to take or prepare as much paperwork from the states. the greek public services are crammed in red tape.
3. if you are looking for a place near parks/green etc the rent will be much higher.
4. job wise prepare to be underpaid - unless you are transfering from the US to a local branch.
5. Insurance / medical you will have as soon as you start working. Emergency depts in hospitals won't nag you for insurance - you/ll get the treatment without the strictness of the US.
6. Dental is much much cheaper in Greece. if you have a problem with your teeth, save some $$$ and do it in Greece. a filling is about 40-50 euros and so is cleaning. a crown in the states cost me 1000-1200$ here is about 300euros.
7. transportation - cars even used ones can be expensive. if you are relocating for good look into (through the greek embassy) for a process regarding repatriation of greeks. you can bring your car and stuff tax free (this can be used only once)
8. children - education. The system here is TOTALLY different than over there. I would adivse to let the children (if you have any) study in the US somehow.
9. if your fiancee has greek citizenship-nationality when you get married you ll probably need to get your marriage 'recognized' in Greece so that you can use the tax relief. - if not she should probably need to get her parents birth certificates and some other legal papers to get the greek nationality (here citizenship goes not according to where you were born but if you are descended from someone greek) look into if you need a permit for yourself to be in greece for such an extended period of time
10. If you find any american ppl in greece clubs groups pls let me know . I never had any luck with that.
11. better food - produce. Forget what tomatos and zucchini tasted in the US. better flavor in greece.
12. Find a job soon. staying at home is gonna drive you mad. my wife lasted only 5 months and then she moved back to the states (now on the way for a divorce)

if you have any questions in particular, let me know

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00abuse