'living on lesvos/mytilini (or in greece at all)' Expat

living on lesvos/mytilini (or in greece at all)

Talk for and about Expats. Living in this Greece? Let others know about it. Want to live here? Ask questions! Expat Interviews

polly (24.215.229.222) -

if you are a real estate agent, please do not write to me. anyone who is an expat living on lesvos (or elswhere else in greece), please send advice: i'm thinking of moving there from new york. what is it like year round? i don't want to find myself with not even a cat to talk to in the middle of winter. nor do i want to find out, come january, i'm even colder on lesvos than i would be here in new york. i lived on koh samui for a while and nearly went mad from boredom, mainly because the expat community is made up of men whose interests in life don't seem to extend beyond sex (with vastly younger thai woman) and either drugs, beer, or both, and most of the thais are there to make a buck and move on. like i said, boring. so if anyone is out there who can give me a real sense of what it's like on lesvos off-season, year in, year out, i'd appreciate it. oh, and i'm australian, not american, if that makes a difference.

Reply #1 Alessandra (212.205.251.193) -

Hi I live in Eressos isle of Lesvos. I am Italian but lived in England for ten years. Life here is great Eressos is out of the track and very lively from april to november. The coldest months are january february and lots of rain in March. I have been living here for about two years now after I both a house six years ago . If you want more social life Mytilene is quite a pretty town. I have never been asked for sex by a man here so is pretty safe. No criminals you can still in the countryside leave the door of the car open.

I am not an estate agent but if somebody is interested I am in charge of a private sale for a friend. Is 5 stremmata of land with 3 renovated building with services, electricity water ect ect all in traditional stone building. Is a private sale and I can send photos. The owner wish to go back to Canada where her sons are. The price is 550 euro and she will come down on the price.

Well that it

Hope you move to the paradise isle soon

Alessandra

Reply #2 Natasya (71.32.242.8) -

Hi Polly,

I have not lived in Greece, but like you I may relocate there. I will be in Crete in November 2007 and then expect to go to Lesvos after that since my family is originally from there (I am greek-american).

I can't give you any advice, but if we both end up in Lesvos this winter (or whenever) I am sure i would be happy to make an english-speaking friend };>

Please feel free to e-mail me at kalliope93@aol.com if you like.

Reply #3 Yuva (199.67.203.142) -

Hi, Iam Yuva 27yr indian male relocated from london nearly 3months ago to Athens.

not sure about lesvos.. but life in greece can be sometime be borring as well. should admit, initial days in athens can be very diffcult special if you dont know anyone. good amount of expats are staying in athens. also, without knowing greek its might be diffcult to socialize with locals.

also, few basis expectation need to set correctly - your phone can take weeks, internet connection might take months, in general salaries are low compare to cost of living,..

hope we have googled on the same subject - few links for reference :

www.lesvos.com/

www.expatfocus.com/expatriate-greece

bottom-line : any place has its +ves & -ves.. its up to us to make most out of that experience.

if ever coming to athens feel free to drop line at iamyuva@yahoo.co.in

may be we can catch-up for coffee/drinks perhaps.

Good Luck..

Cheers, Yuva

http://iamyuva.freakin.nl/

• About Me

Reply #4 yuva (199.67.203.142) -

ofcourse any english speaking friends in athens welcome.. can reach me at iamyuva@yahoo.co.in

Reply #5 lise hayden (69.196.208.204) -

I go to Lesvos every year as I have found my roots there.I would like to rent something in Mytilini itself for a month, central, one bedroom type. I like to have sea views but they can be from a distance. Sometimes I think I'd like to buy. Other times, the freedom of renting seems more attractive. The problem is that I don't want to feel "touristy". I have stayed at beautiful places on Lesvos, but in the end my neighbours have been from Germany, Holland,etc.

Buy the way, I have learned the language and can finally communicate and converse on all subjects, albeit it is far from

perfect.

Any suggestion?

Reply #6 kathy (211.28.164.130) -

hay Alessandra

that house you were talking about is it still for sale coz me and my boyfriend are moving to mitilini in june and were trying to find a place to stay that is cheap and a nice place.We live in australia melbourne at the moment.

Add me my e-mail is greek_chick16_@http://hotmail.com

Im waiting to hear from u as soon as possible. thanks

oh by the way my name is katerina.

Reply #7 katy (85.75.103.243) -

Im 26 years old and have been living in petra lesvos for 7 years i speek greek although im a full english born n bred londoner , I absoultly love it here there is a fair amount of torisim from may till sept and its nice and chilled in the winter

if you have a car and can get around there is plenty to do , summer and winter

(oh lady in erossos no men asked you for sex because erossos is famous for its lesbian community greek and forian )

i am married to a local and have many greek and non greek friends the community is very welcoming warm and friendly ,

at the end of the day its not were you are its what you make of it , make friends and have fun dont and go insane from bordom and depression !!that goes for anywhere you live .Its safe hardly any crime clean and almost paradise beautiful ! hope to make a new friend if you do move near to petra mail me we 'll do coffee .

Reply #8 chris (85.73.106.135) -

Dear Polly, I made the decision to live in greece (eresos, lesvos) several years ago after spending a season here. I would advise that you do just that, come here, travel round, rent a house and see if the life suits you before you decide. Its quite a large Island with a small population so communities are separate and individual. You need to explore first. Mitilini is a beautiful city but built up, Kaloni is a large town, centrally situated and close to wild life and historical areas. Most of the seaside towns and villags have an expatriate community in addition to seasonal work and visitors which makes it easier to meet prople. The inland and smaller seaside villages are very small, very traditional, based on agriculture and a woman alone from another culture might not find it that easy to fit in.

The life here is paced as if 50 or a hundred years ago, quiet and slow. people live by the rhythms of the day (siesta) and seasons, they rely on themselves or neighbours to solve problems. Its very healthy, only seasonal vegetables but fresh and largely organic and lots of outside cooking and living because its often bright and sunny even when cold. If you like simple things, walking, beachcombing, handicrafts I think you will like it. There can be long electricity cuts and sometimes water cuts too. Postal communication is slow and don't expect quick internet access.

In my village there are lots of expatriates (not just lesbians) and we get together to have activities such as walks, trips to the hot springs, drawing workshops, meals out, greek lessons, anything we are into really. You can be as social or as withdrawn as you like. In the main though it is my experience that people here are very self reliant and do not depend on a busy social life.

So i hope that gives you some idea of what its like to live here. Think about why you want to come and what you are looking for. There are australians and americans here already but you need to consider the visa situation too. Contact me with more questions if you like. Good luck, Chris

Reply #9 Irene (61.88.131.148) -

I am from Australia and I have lived in Lesvos all seasons and there is plenty to do. If you are thinking of moving to this beautiful island DO NOT hessitate for one second. I have three properties which are available for rent. A two bedroom house in the capital Metilini, one in Thermi next to the beach and 15 minutes drive from the capital and a stone built 2 bedroom home in the village of Stavros 15 minutes drive from Vatera beach(10km long beach). All homes are fully furnished and reasonably priced. If interested contact me on iparaschos@hotmail.com Work is available everywhere if you are not lazy.

Reply #10 Lynne from Herts UK (Contact Member) -

My partner & I would like to move to Lesvos early next year & are loking for accommodation & advice on type of work available. Any help gratefully received.

Reply #11 yiorgos (85.72.88.118) -

if any one is looking to buy a house in eressos lesvos dont hesitate to get in touch you can see the houses on eressos virtual tours. good luck

Reply #12 Lavina from Mytilene, Greece (Contact Member) -

I just moved to Mytiline from the states for a Marie Curie Research Fellowship at the University of Aegean. I am trying to coordinate a community art project and would like to meet some more english speakers.

Reply #13 Lavina from Mytilene, Greece (Contact Member) -

my e-mail if you want to contact me is

lavinashahani@hotmail. com

Reply #14 George (210.8.162.128) -

Hi Polly,

Like you I'm also contemplating living on the island of Mytilene. Although I have never lived in Greece, I have visited the island and Greece in general on many occassions in all seasons. As all holidays are great I do wonder what it would be like to live there. I would love to get people's thoughts on the subject. I also wonder if there is many jobs available on the island, because I seem to hear from locals complaining that there are not many jobs around? Don't know if that is a reflection of the people or if it is factual.

If it means anything, I'm also an aussie - oi oi oi!

Good luck!

Reply #15 Theo (62.169.238.34) -

Hi Polly,

I was born and grown up there. I graduated from the Uni. of Athens

and Proceeded with my Msc in UK. After working for about 11 year in Athens it is my lifetime dream going back. Things are, at a great extent, like Chris said yet as it concerns Jobs I thing that there are good opportunities if y manage to join old tradition with contemporary trends. This requires lots of elbow gris and fruitful thinking, yet more important is if y are willing to take your chances. You do definatily gain a better quality of life

Reply #16 aphrodite (72.229.156.93) -

Hi Polly,

I just got back from Mytilene yesterday. I spent an entire month in Greece and by far Mytilene was my least favorite and I originally come from there (my parents, anyways ~ i was born in the states). If you don't have a car to get around, since the island is so big, you are stuck. I found it generally boring and would never even contemplate moving there. I would try thessaloniki which is much more beautiful, cosmopolitan and the job prospects are greater. Good luck in whatever you decide! Feel free to email me if you have any further questions or just to shoot the breeze. Geia sou,

aphro

Reply #17 caren (82.45.191.148) -

Hello all,

After years of wanting to escape from England, I've decided to look into moving to/buying a place in Lesvos - esp Scala Eressos.

There are very positive messages on this expat site, and I'd like anyone who is living there - or knows someone English speaking and friendly who lives there (or in Athens, who visits regularly) - to contact me: caren1st@hotmail.co.uk

I'd love to make some friends who are interested in meeting a new person, fresh from England, but willing to settle-in to local life as soon as possible. Maybe even learn the language, if there's any one patient enough or want to do a swap with one of my many skills.

I'm also ok about estate agents contacting me, if you have cheap beach/sea-front HOUSES for sale or rent-to-buy.

Best wishes,

Caren

Reply #18 Carlene Johnson (64.12.117.202) -

Does anyone know of any Sfingas's that live there? I am trying to trace the ancestry of a George Nicolas Sfingas that left there in 1907 for the US.

Reply #19 Cheryl (124.186.125.172) -

My husband's family are originally from Lesvos and we are moving from Australia early 2009 to prepare ourselves for the oncoming tourist season. We too are looking to rent a place with the view to buying a property and looking for jobs also. Any assistance or advice anybody can give as far as income potential and job prospects are concerned would be greatful. I need to learn the language. Also keen to meet up with english speaking expats living in Lesvos please drop me an email cjones28@bigpond.net.au.

Reply #20 Anna (16) from Budapest (Contact Member) -

Dear all,

Because of my studies, we (two persons) will spend 4 weeks in Mytilini. We will be there from half May till half June. We are now looking for reasonably priced accomodation.

The only two requirements we have are:

- reasonable price

- in or very close to Mytilini

Is it possible at all to find a house/apartment/etc. to just rent for a month? How much would that be?

The university wants to put us in a hotel apartment. However, this is very costly. The offer is a one room apartment (so that we do not have our own space) for about 700 euro for that period of 4 weeks. I find it a rather high rent. Therefore my question: is it possible to find accomodation in a regular house/apartment for this period of 4 weeks?

Many many many thanks for any bit of advice on this.

Have a nice weekend!

Reply #21 Inara (94.66.144.52) -

Hello!

I am from Riga, Latvia. Now I am on Lesvos Island, trying to find some job. Do you have some information about job possibilities here? I speak Latvian, Russian, English. Have University education. Could work as housekeeper, in kitchen as masseuse. Thanks, Inara My email: inara123@gmail.com

Phone: 6948553656

Reply #22 Inara (94.66.144.52) -

Sorry, I ment - in kitchen as kitchen assistant and also I am certifcied masseuse.

Reply #23 cattis (95.209.20.143) -

Hello,

does anyone here knows something about work in mytilini? I'm a swedish girl, 26 years and want to stay there for the summerseason. I can work as bartender, in a coffeplace or something else.

I'm happy if I will receive any advice how to get at job there.

thank you in advance

/Cattis

Reply #24 Yasmijn (87.212.213.131) -

Hello,

I really really need a job on Lesvos... Can anone help me?

My boyfriend lives there and i wanna live there with him.

I would be so greatfull!

Thanks!

Kind regards Yasmijn

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