Customer Reviews

Living In Greece

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I purchased this book more out of curiosity than actual need since I've lived in Greece for 10 years and can be a objective judge of content. My advice is: Don't buy this book.

A better and more truthful title would be "Visiting Greece." A thin book at 92 pages, this does not qualify as a guide or even an outline on what it takes to live here. As an example, there is only a one-third page of "helpful" website listings, and one of them is wrong. Further, there is only a half page of "helpful" phone numbers. Anyone with some sense can figure out that this kind of brevity is inadequate to navigating a complicated and heavily bureaucratic country full of hurdles, red tape and documents printed only in Greek and no bilingual staff.

With regards to living in Greece, there is one page devoted to residence permits, which the author rightly says are tied to having a work permit. But getting a work permit is a lengthy and difficult process to which the author devotes no explanation and gives one page on how to find work (only in tourism and teaching English) with no specific addresses, phone numbers, agencies or disclosure on where/how to find out if laws have changed (usually getting more stringent, not less). Therefore, this book does not address the subject that the title references.

The only guides I have found of some worth are Going to Live in Greece by Peter Reynolds, which is primarily for Britons and other EU citizens, and a local and horribly outdated publication from 1995 aimed at Americans that has not been reprinted. As of 2007, there is also a book released by an Athens newspaper, however it's just a compilation of outdated and inaccurate articles from their archives that you can access for free on their website, with nothing else to offer. In short, there are no good guides in print for Americans or other non-EU citizens. There are, however, good online guides.

Living in Greece" is a wonderfully practical book for traveling in Greece. My husband and I both love history and enjoy gaining insights into other cultures as we travel. We found just what we were looking for, succinctly summarized in this handy little book.

The section on classical Greek history brings museums and site visits alive! For me though, the most interesting feature of "Living in Greece" is the section on culture. I haven't seen another book that so adeptly covers unusual cultural phenomena, such as the explanation of the belief in the evil eye. Also, the section on Greek words that don't have direct translations into English gives even more insight into Greek culture. The language section provides all that is needed to get by with just a few key phrases.

I recommend "Living in Greece" as a handy supplemental book along with other travel guides, to have on any trip to Greece, no matter what the purpose: travel, business or to actually spend a length of time there. It would be a perfect companion for college students spending a year abroad.