Current situation in Athens

Hello Panni,in what way do you mean?Strikes continue,the migrant/refugee situation is a ticking bomb of course,I have not been down to the areas like Victoria Square where many people were living on the streets.There is a rather depressed atmosphere because no one is sure anymore of a future but I guess thats a world wide problem,I think even young people are now waking up to the reality that they will live very frugally in their twilight years as pensions are being cut to the bone.Visitors to Athens may encounter times when the transport employees are striking so best to check these things from time to time.Having said the above,Athens is a great place to visit,safe and fun,very lively in the evenings and so nice to sit outside until late and not encounter violence and drunken people causing trouble.No one should be afraid to come here in Athens for a holiday,just make sure you wear a bum-bag under your clothes with money,bank card etc..pick pocketing is rife,no bags on your back,they pick it so well that you will understand nothing,turn your bag round onto your front if you must have a back bag,long shorts with pockets get picked and you will be oblivious while its happening,I had my bag sliced with a blade when packed into the metro,then they put their hand in,lucky for me that I must have moved,I didnt understand until I saw it later cut.This of course is not peculiar to Athens,its everywhere.On the metro  particularly a gang working together will distract you while the others steal from you,so have your wits about you,where the bum bag under your clothes.I know many people who have been robbed blind.Please elaborate further if this does not answer your question.

Thank you so much for your help I'm supposed to be living and volunteering in Athens for eight months there are so many people in the uk advising me against it

Hi Panni,why do they advise you against it,I dont understand,if you have your yourself somewhere safe to live,your volunteer post secured then why the negativety from people?You wont be murdered in Athens,much more likely in London or lots of other places in the UK I think.Keep up constant communication with your family in the UK so they know your movements and address,dont hang about anywhere a bit suspicious looking,we must all remember this wherever we are on the planet,keep focused on safety and be wary of people to a certain degree,dont allow yourself to be in a vulnerable place or position,but this is one of the many rules of life which can take unfortunately, many years to fully sink in.We have got to know each a bit on here and  should you need any advise or help please ask,you are not alone.But Im sure you will be just fine and will have a wonderful experience here.

Thank you very much for your help I spose people just see the media put out bad stuff about greece

Wow Concertina!

First you paint the grimmest picture, then you say that it just wonderful in Athens, then you paint another grim picture and finally you seem upset that Paniboy is being advised not to come! Given just your descriptions, I would not want to come to Greece! But I think you paint a very unrepresentative picture. I have been in Greece 3 years now and have yet to see, feel or experience any of the grim stories you describe.

I have seen the poverty and street bagging, which is tragic though not atypical of cities abroad, but I have not seen or experienced anything threatening. I seen hundreds of women with backpack bags strolling carelessly all over town. You'd think they would stop doing this given the threat. As elsewhere, I have heard the subway announcements to beware of your belongings but have not seen or felt anything like what you described. I don't doubt what you describe happens, but the same things happens in Rome or Paris or London. If I ask about visiting London, nobody would describe the depressed areas and treat them as what is found in all of London or make grim generalizations from these. Same goes for the other european cities. In England it seems they have some kind of grudge against the Greeks that I cannot understand but that is another story. But it is why Panini is being advised not to come here. They seem to do their best to paint Greece in the worst light but I think this is all based on intraeuropean politics. Little if any of all this is true but then propaganda never paints a fair picture. 

These are bad times in Greece as a whole but i find that Greeks seem to weather them exceedingly well, those that have not left. The city is a happy place in spite of conditions that make all tighten their belts. Perhaps its shocking that you experienced being picked and I don't blame you for being upset from this, but still its not anywhere near typical nor does one ever feel insecure in Athens, even if one were to stroll thru the areas where the poor and the immigrants gather.  They do not threaten anyone that I have ever witnessed. If Paniboy has a job/income and is not concerned about €€, I think he will have a good time in Greece. There just are no jobs here to be found, so that would be the reason not to come. Otherwise spring is just around the corner and the fun times have already begun!

This exactly what I'm thinking I have money and an income I so desperately want the experience and I will be coming to Greece for sure I can't bloody wait I really can't thank you so much for your help and advice xx

HI Nickterman,its probably best and more productive to not pick other peoples posts to death,just give calmly and nicely your opinions by way of answer with regard to the members question,its not polite and you are being rude and dismissive of another persons opinion and thats not what this forum is all about,I notice you dont normally answer any members questions,you only reply when you want to seriously contradict and put someone down and Im sure lots of people dont come forward and reply to posts because someone like you will come back with a fine tooth-comb and be rude,you need to chill out.

If you like to travel see new things experience new places and are adventurous, you will have the best of times! And its not expensive to do all of this here!

And to tell you that a member of this forum was robbed on the metro last year from her back bag on the metro,she lost passport,bank cards,phone,money and more but as i said.. this not peculiar to Athens..I am so tired of you that I will never ever reply to any posts again,Im finished with this forum,you have been very rude before,now its all yours Mr Rudeman,America breeds rudeness.

I am so sorry to have offended you Concertina. I was simply responding to the impressions you give in your post and is not meant to offend you. I have a right to respond to your comments and I thought I did that respectfully. I did not contradict your experiences but I commented on them as is customary to do on a blog. I am surprised you reacted this way, but I am still sorry you are upset. I don't think you can expect to say things that others find debatable and not have the debate. Instead of reacting to my comments, you react to my commenting! That's not what is done on blogs. Discussion is what its all about. Don't expect anyone to behave differently. Did you see how Paniboy responded? Do you think he did not find my comments helpful? Ask him.

Your observations are inaccurate Concertina. I have made original posts but you have not looked at those. They were a bit further back in time when I got here. You had better chill out and reread my post and you will realize that I did not challenge your experiences. I discussed the impression you gave a foreigner wanting to visit Greece and I stand by my comments. Your intentions are not at issue but the impressions you give need to be fair and as a reader of your comments, as a new arrival in Greece, I did not think they were fair and I wanted Paniboy to know. I have the right to tell him that just as much as you do. I am sorry you feel hurt. There was no such intention. I really am. If you knew me, you would not think so badly of me, but that's what happens on blogs! I hope you will continue to write and challenge me!

I have taken tour groups to almost every city in Europe over the past thirty years and i can assure you that Athens is one of the safest of the cities.I retired two years ago and at 72 years am still fit and  cycle all over the city and take the metro and tram and have a backpack which I hand carry on the crowded metro.
I know of a few friend who have been pick-pocketed ,but as I advised my groups(who were American and Australian ,if you are carrying anything valuable then have a battered briefcase and nobody will even try to  steal from you.I help out with volunteers at Victoria Square and it is very safe during daytime hours .
Most of my friends are in my age group and are very mobile,we meet all over town travelling on the public transport and on one has been pickpocketed so far but we are a very thief conscious as we have mostly worked in tourism.I live in Thiseio and can safely way home from Psyrri and Gazii at 3am..
Paris,,Manchester,Dublin and especially Barcelona are much more unsafe.Another piece of advise is to take a shopping bag with you,maybe a cotton one of get one from Public or Notos or Attikon when you next buy something and put you bag into that,and in your bag have a few of the little wallets that you can buyat street stalls for 3-5 euros,they are great for your credit cards etc.
Last year we travelled for two months in India with a record nothing snatched from any of us.and that is a record for India and our combined dementia......
Nemesis

Concertina's comments have been very helpful to me. She presents a realistic picture, which is not easy to do, given the amount of negative publicity Greece receives. It's funny, but the months off and on that I have spent in Athens left me with an entirely different impression that the media gives. The impression has been that people are coping, and that the city is lively.
    Back in the '70s, New York went through a horrible economic downturn. The media showed the Bronx burning, City Hall bankrupt, graffiti on every train and bridge, and muggings everywhere -- even a serial killer named the Son of Sam. Well New York made it through. Athens doesn't have the strengths of NYC but it will make it too.
   I think the right attitude for a forum like this is to address problems that might occur if you live in Greece rather than to debate whether to live there or not. If you want a upbeat impression of Greece check out Matt Barrett's website. For a downbeat view, read Facing Athens by George Sarrinikolaou.

Dear Concertina, please don't abandon this site.  You are one of the most helpful people who always responds to the needs of others. You are very much appreciated. 

It is so easy to be misunderstood.  We all come from different experiences in life, different places, cultures, habits, generations. Some people can appear to be aggressive and rude, we read their words without seeing their faces and expressions.  Most likely they are not aware of how they come across.  Most likely they do not mean to be unkind.  The trend in some western countries is to speak your mind regardless of the feelings of others.  It is sometimes referred to as Free Speech!!  It would be nice if we cultivate sensitivity to others as with all our free speech we so often do not know what we are talking about and in haste or anger we sound off before looking in the mirror of our mind. Opinions are only that,opinions and not worth being offended by them.

Come back Concertina!  You are a source of information and experience in Athens. 

We love Athens and it is a great place to be!

PaniBoy,

I am quite new to Greece, and Athens. I come from clean green little laid back Tasmania (it is more like a village compared to here) I have been here since May last year, with my husband and 4 yr old son, and we have been loving it! although I have found the dynamics of living in a little unit challenging and miss my family....

Like you I was warned from many not to come, and the only one bad experience, which comes from my own naivety was having my wallet stollen by a group on the metro close to Monisteraki, I was on my own, they had to go through two zippers in my backpack to get to it, but yes I was distracted, a pretty sweet looking girl smiling at me saying some thing I did not understand, then another man asking me how to get to Piraeus, while two behind worked their magic, I could have kicked myself afterwards. Police said they are groups which work the metro, they are not Greeks they travel through Europe he said, and a lock up in prison if they get caught is a vacation for them with free food. He said they are rife, particularily around touristy destinations.

I loved, loved, loved the summer and the beaches, I love the markets and beautiful fresh produce. The interesting shops are awesome. I do find the beggars, and especially ones with really bad deformities very confronting, I have never seen anything like some of these poor souls before, the squares at one stage where thick with refugees however this has largely been sorted.

You're stay will be equivalent to about the length of time I have already been here for, I feel safe yet it's my first time living in a city, I am living in an area that is maybe not so ideal if you ask a cabi. I have not fealt threatened yet, most people have been incredibly generous and forgiving of my little bit of Greek, they have a laugh with me and give me a pat on the back, or even chocolate for my efforts ha ha ha!

I think you are in a great position to come and enjoy Greece, there is very little for you to be concerned about as your stay is short term, you do not need to worry about an income. Other's extend a hand to help when you are unsure, the smiles and warmth you will recieve from the majority will make you feel very welcomed to be here.

All the best with your move!

Nadine

Thank you so much for your help I'm looking forward to coming to Athens I'm a London boy and am pretty much street cred xx

Ha ha that is what I thought, that is why I added the bit about coming from little Tassie! so if I can come here from a place where we have no trains for public transport, no trollies just buses and cars. I think just quietly you will romp it in :-) 

Hahahahahaha I'm laughing my head off

Ha ha ha ha so you should be! oh and as far as the farmer thing blocking roads we where house bound for the days it was happening, we had planned to go away for a weekend, we just stayed home instead and saw it all on the news. There are two channels in English BBC and DW so you won't miss out.

Good morning from London just a quick hello really and hope you are well xx

All is fine this end! the weather is warming so bring your bathers and sunnies