I am a U.S. Citizen with plans to relocate to Athens in June 2010. I am interested in meeting others who have made this transition and who can tell me the 'real deal' with regard to residency and work permits, visa, etc. I will be in the city the week of Feb 12 and would welcome any advice or guidance. I look forward to meeting new friends! Thank you!

Teresa

Have a good search and read of this forum and you will find heaps of pros and cons. Also check out this guide before you come, it has a wealth of information. http://athensguide.com/

Good Luck.

This blog from californiakat is interesting too.

http://livingingreece.gr

I find that blog useful but very depressing...I guess because the little bit that I have read (about working here) seems very accurate does anyone know her personally? she sounds like the partner of an acquaintance of mine...

btw Assimilate are you a cyclist?

I will be interested in following your trip next month. Am considering like move~the forums/blogs are excellent to give you background but I will be interested in hearing your comments. Am single, female, in relatively good shape for 60+

Hello,

First of all I would like to wish you lots of luck and courage for deciding to move to Greece. I recently found a forum in Athens called Meet up, you will find many interesting people who are willing to help and from what I read they help you with work, they have meetings as well as social gatherings.

Hope this information was useful:)

kind regards
Kouklitsa

Yeah. I love cycling (roadie, although I do own a mtb and cx as well as the RB) and triathlon.

Hi,

Well, - West coaster been in Athens 3 years... about. Man if I was you I'd move to the islands instead of Athens. - that's first strait up advice. (I lived in Naxos 2 years) Unless your just addicted to city life for some reason, the islands and small coastal areas in Greece are really much more the poo of life then Athens itself. The only reason all these millions of people are here is for work, other wise they'd all go back to their villages in a heart beat.

I really don't know know what to say though, I don't know what I could have been told before I moved here from the US, what I would have asked if I had found this site then... *shrugs* You do what you feel, Good Luck and God bless.

Yeah, I remember reading her page before, year ago or something when I fist found it, yeah it's depressing and pretty true as far as I'd remember. & you better have either one hell of a go knock um dead aptitude along with your excellent Greek, o/r you need to have good paperwork behind you. You graduated with good papers in something and good looking CV and extra certificates (not my case) then I'm guessing there is a much better possibility for ya here. (maybe someone else confirms or denies that since Im just speculating THAT must be what it takes.

Anyway, I' married a Greek woman and I am now making a garden in athens and walking in the mountains around it and enjoying whatever so.

I love living here! I don't know if its because i'm single and don't have to navigate family life here, or because I grew up here (left for a few years and then returned by choice).

I could help point you to various networking sites around here, feel free to get in touch and I'll send you a list

Kouklitsa you mentioned the 'meet up' in Athens but I couldn't find it online, and wanted to pass it on to a friend thats just broken up in Athens. Is there a web address? While looking through I found a great one in London that looked fun and would be great for people planning on coming to Greece.

Hello Kiwi, here's the website. I like this site even though I don't live in Athens !!

http://www.meetup.com/

Thanks kouklitsa, it looks a great idea, she used to live in NZ as a kid and has broken up yet again with the same loser, and I was trying to suggest stuff to do in Athens to meet others.