Brits retired to Peloponnese?
My partner & I are seriously considering selling up in the UK and retiring to Greece. We particularly like the Peloponnese and plan to come over in June to travel around looking at different areas. (We've just spent 3 months in Portugal doing the same but decided our hearts lie in Greece!).
Wondering if there are any villages/towns where Brits have settled and which have at least one bar/taverna/shop open in Winter?
Would also love to hear from a couple who have retired there in the last year to hear how you have settled in etc.
Thank you
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I bought a derelict house near Monemvasia in 2009 but didn鈥檛 move furniture from England until 2015.
Good question about winter and spring as it can be lonely if you have a summertime mentality. We have made lots of Greek friends which is so easy over here and so we meet up for meals and drinks on a need to basis.
If you are thinking of staying in Greece for a long part of the year then try for Residency and register for AMKA which is the NHS equivalent.
Anything else please message away.
I assume that you have bought a place over here and so you should have a Tax Code for your annual income tax return. You need that to register for AMKA.
Good luck.
We will be making a couple of trips out to look around during the coming months with a view to applying for a FIP visa and will then look to buy.
Flights to Kalamata are starting again which reduces travel time. For longer stays don鈥檛 discount driving to Ancona that way you have your own car.
I'm forwarding you a youtube hotlink.聽 it may (or may not) help people who are dreaming of living somewhere other than home, it shows how intricate and involved it becomes when dealing with prefecture bureaucracies.
Know out front that this聽 is from my colleague in Limoges, France.聽 Know that each country has a number of different categories in residency.聽 know that each country has variations on these categories when asking for citizenship rather than long term residency.聽 but, knowing that this is what one person has faced in one country may help lots of others make their peace with the volume of documentation necessary聽 -聽 聽in greece聽 -聽 or the country you wish to emigrate to.聽 Understanding what Leon is dealing with will help a lot of people understand the boundaries of the process; the details will vary by residency category, citizenship request, and possibly by region within one country.
Concertina, for you, you may need to be fluent in written and spoken greek.聽 you will need to seriously comb through the website published by greece.聽 that website may (or may not) have not easily noticeable links to the pages that you need.聽 to get your citizenship will require a lot of documents translated into greek by a translator certified by the greek government.聽 not only that,聽 different bureaucratic clerks will each have different forgetfulness problems.聽 it may take several, if not many, trips to the prefecture (or what ever it is called in greece) office to finally get ALL the documents every bureaucrat wants to see.
hope this helps with understanding.聽 it's something I've been researching for years.聽 have done the boots on the ground in france and find it "do-able."聽 that said, I have decided that I need a milder marine climate and am focused, now, on greece.聽
if you wish to talk to me off forum, please look up my email on my profile page.聽 please and thank you, jane.
We made a move to the Peloponnesus late last year, bought a house near Petalidi, 30 mins from Kalamata, there鈥檚 lots of places that have tavernas tucked away and a little supermarket. Koroni was mentioned, we go often and it鈥檚 a lovely place, good luck, have fun, if you find yourself getting serious on the idea I鈥檇 organise your AFM numbers and also you bank account here, the later can be a real hassle we found re paperwork!
Greece needs tons of patience and you need to both be informed and have experts to hand to help you - I am Greek/British and speak fluent Greek and am I believe well educated on a many related Greek matters (legal - process - culture etc) but still struggle without expert help - all you need is to find 1 or 2 competent professionals and if they like you and you look after them they will both look after you and likewise introduce you to other hi quality professionals in many areas
I can be contacted for advice if you get stuck as I have probably faced most problems you may face
The properties we've been looking at online mostly seem to be built in the 2000's. We will make sure we look for the columns you mention.
Hi there....
I have had a home not far from Kalamata for 17 years and just sold it.
A few words that might help.....
Stoupa is a nice holiday area and gets rather quiet in winter. The road to Kalamata
at first will seem OK, but travel it often and it will soon become a big chore. Kalamata
would be your main shopping area and of course the hospital is there.
On the other side don't consider living in Messini town.聽 Quite often a bit of trouble there
If the west of the island is of interest look at Petalidi area.聽 Alive summer and winter but not
Don't get ripped off on car hire......Stravrianos in Kalamata will bring car to airport
and small car (Fiat Panda) will be around 20 euro a day.
@sandiedawn Hi Sandie! thank you for your post. Well, we were just reading it and thinking 鈥渢hat sounds like us!鈥 We are Cameron and Peter and we spent quite a lot of time and energy on the prospects of moving to Portugal BUT when we visited the Peloponnese this past Fall, we were instantly enamored by it鈥檚 people, food, history, culture, and absolute beauty that is Greece. Have you guys settled yet? Curious to know if you鈥檝e made the move. We are planning to retire and move there in April but we are not certain of the area. We are leaning toward Ag. Nickolous by Stoupa, but we also love the convenience and amenities of Kalamata.
@cameronenglishpt Hi . Yes, we moved out 6 weeks ago, and are loving our new life! We are currently renting in Stoupa, near the beach, and have made a deposit to buy a property in the hills behind. It will be a short drive to either Stoupa or Ag Nik and walkable in Winter.
It depends what facilities you are looking for. There are a few bars and restaurants open all year in both Stoupa & Ag Nik (more in Ag Nik), and there are activities you can join if you wish e.g. hiking, yoga, bridge. There are a couple of good size supermarkets in Stoupa but for clothes, shoes etc, we go to Kalamata. It's only 50 mins so suits us to have the peace and quiet here and drive in for shopping etc. However if you're people who like a bit of 'bustle' and a big choice of restaurants etc, then Kalamata may be a better choice. Perhaps you could try to rent for a few months in each to help you decide? Good luck!
Oh, and if you haven't already, have a look at the website: 'parea sti mani'
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