Moving to Athens in 2-3 months & could really use some advice please!

Hey Joanne,

i feel you are freaking out a little bit about moving here but i can assure you Greece is a beautiful country and you can have the time of your life here. Given your boyfriend is Greek he will know the places to take you and he will introduce you to some people. It's not the best time to visit or move to Greece due to the whole crisis thing but still the beauty of Athens prevails. Dont expect too much organisation i have to say but hopefully the weather may balance that out. I did my MA in English Language Teaching in Warwick last year and will be going back to England in a few weeks for my graaduation. As for courses you are interested I can recommend CELT ATHENS where they have a Certificate of ELT to Adults granted by Cambridge uni. Otherwise, you can consider british council and hellenic american unin teacher training courses. I obtained CELTA in 2007 you can find it on fb and Marisa Constantinides is the director and tutor there. It's a good thing you are an English native speaker; maybe you could teach private lessons, I dont reallly know whether you can work in a private language school or not. Check these out and let me know whether you found anything interesting. Cheers Lina

Hi Lina

Thank you for your reply. I have looked at CELT and it looks like a good option. Do you teach privately in Athens?

Hi Girls

Welcome to both.

Lina I know you might prefer to teach english to native Greeks but would you teach greek to somebody like me.

I have been living here for 4 months and it's embarrising to say that i can't speak 5 word greek.

The least i can do is try but i need professionel help.

I would ofcause pay for your services.

to Miss Jacksons: i also moved from uk to here and there is a couple of things you have to get use to but very soon Athens will charme you away and you can live with the less efficient system.

Regards

Brian

hey guys,

Brian thank you for your welcome. im indeed considerin teaching greek to beginners so i would love to help you with your greek. if u r serious abt it we could have coffee an talk as to what you have in mind. its sad to be in a country where u dont speak the language, though i hope u did find warm people who spoke english..its also nice to hear athens has charmed u- i showed around my japanese friend in august and fell in love with my city again..

Joanne celt has interesting courses and marisa is one of the well-known teacher trainers in Greece. i teach in private language schools in the evening now but dont know if you can do that as u need to get permission to teach (i needed my degree from athens univarsity to get the permission), i would assume that offerin private lessons would be the thing for you..u still have some time to think abt it..

cheers,

lina

Thanks for your replies Brian and Lina

I'm glad I have found some people to talk through my concerns with. I feel equally excited and terrified at the prospect of moving to Athens - it's the language barrier that concerns me the most but I will just have to study hard!

Thanks again x

I can't offer advice about the language courses, but I moved to Athens in 2005 knowing very few people other than my boyfriend, but I found I made friends pretty quickly. I joined a couple of online forums which revolved around two of my interests - travel and music - and which had regular in-person meetings. In just a few months I had a pretty wide circle of friends and plenty of people willing to help me improve my Greek, while practising their English - and many people speak it quite well.

I'll recommend CouchSurfing, the Athens group is very active and I found it was a great way to meet people (and not be worried about making mistakes with my - at that point, non-existent - Greek).

Good luck with the move and in learning Greek. :-)

Thanks so much for the CouchSurfing recommendation - that site is brilliant!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hi ,
1. about isolated: living with your Greek boyfriend, and with an internet connection (to have a chat with your people back at UK), I dont believe you'll be isolated.
Offcourse you WILL need to do something with your time: that is study, or work.
beeing idle, or/and financialy dependent WILL make you miserable after your "honeymoon" (6-12 months).
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2. about not knowing Greek: Most of Greeks, aged 15-55 can speak English, from basics, up to excellent. So, to move around the city, do basic shopping, and basic chat with your new friends, you'll be OK.

Finding a job WILL be difficult. Unemployment is very high even among Greeks, speaking fluent English, and having Bachelor or Masters. Imagine with no Greek.
There are turism related jobs, but natives and Eastern Europe immigrants compete about those also, and many of those jobs are not in Athens, but in the islands.

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3. About english language qualifications: if you want to get hired in a private school as a teacher of english, you will need that, and always keep in mind the unemployment, the very low wage, and the extreme competition (already thousand of qualified and unemployed Greeks, perfectly able to do what you offer).

To be hired in a Public (state owned) school just forget it. Every person breathing air in this country (native, or not) has the same wish.


If you want to offer private lessons, qualifications are a matter of supply and demand. Clients will ask for them if you ask high hour-rate. If you are cheap, nobody will care for your diplomas beeing a native British.
Note that, private tutoring here, for most of the people in the business (clients and tutors), is a "black market" job.
Meaning, unregistered. No receipts, no social benefits, no contracts, etc ... I'm sure your friend will explain better.

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I'm Greek, leaving just a mile from Kallithea, and looking for a way out of this madhouse....


If I was your age, and comming from the eternaly rainy Britain, propably I'd also find Greece a nice place to be, so Welcome and enjoy it.
But, for people after their 30's, married with children, that have already spent tens of summers on the beautiful sunny beaches sipping frappe (meaning they dont find that so exotic as you propably will), I can assure you there are many better countries to raise a family, to work, to commute, etc.. (all those little things that only grandparents seem to care about)

thanks for your reply pimforpim. I can't wait to give life a try in Athens - it's better to regret something you have done then have not!

Hi there.  I just started seriously considering moving to greece.  and i found this forum.  I hope you went for it!  I moved to greece with a man, it wasn't the right man, however, i gained a lot of information about myself. 

Practical concerns will also be important, however, i think it is all about the attitude.  Maybe pimforpim needs a change and can only see the negatives at this time.  I can't imagine what it must be like to have such limited work options.

I grew up in Chicago and moved to San Diego where I have lived for over 20 years.  Been to greece many times, parents own property there.  I have always felt that greece offers breathtaking beauty and has incredible energy.  And, that in my opinion it is a third world country.  I say, keep your expectations baseline for third world mentality, remember to always be grateful for god's grace and offers of magesty and you will have a terrific time.   

Have to say, to call Greece a third world country is one of the most stupid things i've ever heard.

Hey guys,

I have just come out to Athens, I have a 6 weeks placement working on the restoration of the Acropolis. I am 21, and would love to meet up after work, as at the moment I have nothing to do in the evenings!

I hope the move went well, and that the teaching English is working out!

My email is todd.daisy@gmail.com,

Let me know if you are free to meet up. I am living in Neos Kosmos in a tiny rooftop apartment with a beautiful view!

Love Daisy, xxx

6 months after, I wonder if miss_jackson is now living in Athens.
Are you?
if yes, What are your first thoughts about it?

Hi Joanne,
   I am an American in Athens.
   What would you like to know?
sf

Kosta...it's definitely not third world. I'm American, moved to Athens in 2007 after visiting with my Greek-American boyfriend (now husband) in 2004. We inherited some properties including an apartment in Athens (anybody need a rental? Sounds like Daisy's, tiny rooftop penthouse with an amazing view in Zografou) and a big, crumbly manor house in Corfu, which is where we now live full-time (since 2007) with our 4-year-old daughter.

Employment is rough. The system is impossible to navigate without a Greek speaker (luckily husband's fluent). When I get frustrated, I call GR "second world." It's a mess, but we have running water

Good luck to all you brave new Athenians! Hopefully, Miss J will check in and give us a shoutout...hopefully, she's too busy w/all her new friends. Ain't nobody got a job, yo!

Hey!
I'm thinking of doing the same as I see Miss Jackson was earlier this year - moving to Athens. I have a plane ticket booked for late August.

My timing couldn't be worse, I know,and am also completely terrified. I don't even have a boyfriend to fall back on , but luckily I know a few people there! What do you guys think, given the situation, is it impossible to find a job right now?

I'm curious about Miss jackson too, how did you get on?

Hello
I'm also curious about Miss Jackson and how did it work out for her since I am just about to do the same - move to Greece to be with my boyfriend. Don't want to live with him yet tho, so will need to find some accomodation.. does anybody know about a furnished studio somewhere in Athens? Or Janttu aren't you looking for a roommate? ) I have a plane ticket booked for late September..
Oh, btw. I have found a quite cheap (tuition fees only 670 euros) program at a university , an all-year course of Greek language, so I really hope it will be as great as it seems. Either way it will be a way how to meet at least some people besides my bf and his family

Hi everybody!

I´m new at the forum and I had to post here. I'm an Environmental Engineer and in January 2009 I moved to Athens to work in a multinational company with a grant from the Portuguese government. I went there alone and I knew nobody. After the first week I was totally in love with the city, with the people, the language, the food, the sun, the blue sea...I returned last December and I miss it every single day. It was, for sure, the best 2 years of my life. Of course Greek culture may have some things that interferes with my nerves but the good aspects of it are far more relevant than the less good.
In the last few months I've been trying to go back to Athens but I've not been successful. Finding a job has been difficult. Therefore, I'll try to develop my professional activity in UK. I keep my hopes to go back at some point (if you are aware of any position, pleeeease let me know ! ).

Joanne, even if at the beginning you'll find so many things that you don't approve or like it, give a chance to Greece and its culture... it may be a lifetime experience for you.

I wish you the best luck and hope everything turns out to be amazing for you.

Regards,

Ana

Hello, my name is Wayne Roselt.
I am currently living in Johannesburg, South Africa.
My partner and I are considering relocating to Greece in the next 5 years, and will be starting our first 3 week vacation (in Athens) soon. We will then also be travelling back and fro a lot.
If there are any member here from SA who is currently staying in Greece, or know of any people that I can contact to find out how it is living there if you’re from SA, let me know.
Please get in touch.
roseltw@gmail.com

Javier.

Thank you for the response.

We have found a few helpful contacts in SA and on the internet (including FB).

SA has a few things going on at the moment. And we hope to settle soon.

Keep in touch.

Hi !

If you feel lonely when you arrive in Athens, you could join NEWCOMERS at first.....they might help you in different ways...
Welcome to Greece and good luck ! MT