what if I told you that your dream retirement in Greece is not just for the wealthy planet of expat rares live comfortably in Greece for less than $1,500 a month that's right for the cost of a l studio in many West cities you could be enjoying a laid-back lifestyle in a beautiful Greek Town in 2023 the number of American rares interested in moving to Greece increased by 40% but why is it the lower cost of living the private healthcare system or something else entirely different here's the answer it is something else something that almost no country in Europe can offer you before we start I want to grab a pen and a paper and jot down your current monthly expenses by the end of this video you see how much cheaper your life could be in Greece you also discover the best places to leave with the highest quality of life for the lowest cost but before you pack your bags let's discuss the pros and cons of retiring Greece let's begin with the pros the first is not the most important yet but it's already famous worldwide the climate Greece has a Mediterranean climate ideal for both wine and humans yes is a curious aspect where there are wineries there is likely good weather only a few places in the world have this ideal climate for a pleasant life parts of Chile South Africa Australia California and the Mediterranean coast and Greece is itself a Mediterranean archipelago imagine waking up to 300 days of sunshine a year if you're from that might be hard to imagine that's reality most parts of Greece the Mediterranean climate isn't just Pleasant it's great for health mild Winters and warm Summers make it easy to stay active year round running swimming and walking are all easier in good weather this climate May partially explain the next advantage of our list Greece has an unusually high life expectancy the average Greek lives 82 years this is more than richer countries like Germany the UK and much more than the US they not only live longer but also live healthier lives researchers worldwide are trying to understand why Greeks have some of the healthiest hearts and brains on the planet this likely has something to do with our next Advantage Greek cuisine you won't find Arby or Waffle House in Greece instead locals enjoy a diet reaching healthy fats like olive oil along with vegetables fruits and Ling proteins have you ever heard of the F Mediterranean diet by the way tarama Salata is my favorite deep it's unbelievably tasty the Mediterranean diet became famous after scientist anel Keys proved that increased longevity and improved heart health but what you probably don't know is that Dr ano Keys who leave it until 100 years old made his study based on the diet of the GRE island of CIT crit is famous worldwide for having so many people more than 100 years old besides great weather and a healthy diet there is a third factor that makes Laing gree good for expatries the private healthcare private healthcare in Greece is high quality and affordable so much so that many forers travel there for certain procedures it's currently one of the top 15 destinations for medical and health tourism in the world for example a catara surgery in Greece will cost you on average $1,400 in the US the same procedure will cost between $3,500 to $77,000 a visit to a doctor might cost less than $50 while prescription medications are often much cheaper than in the US a box of sexine 250 mg and antibiotic with 60 tablets will cost less than $50 in Greece while the us if you're lucky you pay the double moreover many doctors in Greece are Western trained and speak fluent English another reason Greeks live longer is because it's a very safe country except for a certain part of aens as I discussed in a previous video Greece has an homeside rate of 1.13 per 100,000 residents per year the safest state in the US Maine has a homicide rate higher than that 1.7 Boston Massachusetts has an homicide rate of 8.3 so even Boston is seven times more violent than Greece and the most surprising thing is that despite Greece being safer having a better climate healthier food and Greeks living much longer lives the cost of living in Greece is much cheaper than nearly anywhere in the US because this is our next Pro and I bet this is the one that we're really expecting the low cost of living but when you talk about low cost one disclaimer is important what we'll say next is not valid for Athens aens being one of Europe's largest cities and the Greek capital is more expensive moving on Greece has low cost in many areas of life even for basic things for example a male haircut in thessalonica will cost you only € 10 in smaller cities is likely even cheaper groceries in general are also cheaper 1 kilo or 2 lounds of tomatoes will cost you around 1.5 $1.7 in the US the price would be at least twice this this also applies 200 fo Staples like bread potatoes apples and even beer all of them cost around half of the price in the US the only food product that I found really expensive in Greece is milk and that is curious because this is the same phenomenal I saw in Italy wine milk in Mediterranean Nations is so expensive if you have an idea please let me know in the comment section ction because I'm really curious and since we are talking about the cost of living here is a good surprise hot water is very cheap in Greece for most of the year because most houses and buildings are equipped with solar heaters this is what a local told us about the cost of living Greece open quote $1,500 per month is more than enough in Greece if you living some Village you'll be one of the richest guys in the village close quote there are however certain things that are more expensive in Greece than in most European countries one of them is gasoline yes gasoline there is crazy expensive and I I mean Scandinavian prices for fo now you must be asking about the housing right after all this is the most important component of the cost of living the thing with housing is that it varies tremendously between cities very soon I will show you the housing price in three Greek cities and believe me you'll be shocked at how a affordable they are because now is the time for the biggest positive factor of all but before I would like to ask as all favor if you enjoy this episode please hit the like And subscribe buttons so this really good Pro of Greece is there recently launched for Ryan pensioners tax regime it's a government program that allows for R Pacers live in Greece to pay much lower taxes than normal here are some of the highlights first for Riders who qualify for the program will pay only 7% income tax on their pensions from abroad second they also only pay 7% income tax of for income like dividends interest capital gains Etc third members of the program will also be able to deduct from these 7% the taxes that they pay for their home country if there is a double taxation treaty fourth all these privileges will extend for up to 15 years during your residents increase now to put into perspective how attractive is this program let's compare it with other countries in Europe if your annual income is $50,000 in Spain you pay around 27% of income taxes meaning $13,500 per year in France you would lose 16% of your pension in income taxes or almost $88,000 per year in Portugal with the same income you pay 10% of income taxes meaning $5,000 per year in gree however if you qualify for this special tax regime your income tax will be only $3,500 per year this is probably one of the most attractive tax regimes for foreign pensioners in the European Union Italy has a similar program but it's valid only for those who live in small cities less than 20,000 residents in South Italy in Greece however it's valid for the entire country but no place is perfect and now let's talk about some challenges you might face in Greece the most visible of all is the crowdedness during High tourism season popular Greek island L cities can become very busy during this season traffic surges prices go up in the peak summer season the water supply might even be disrupted in some Island but it's not everywhere in fact most locations are well prepared to receive tourists another issue that might be a reason for concern is Healthcare as I said before private healthare in Greece is Affordable and high quality but it's not available everywhere in larger cities like thessalonica or patras you'll find mod hospitals with English speaking staff but if you're dreaming of retiring to a small island be prepared for limited medical facilities Greece also has a public Healthcare System that is accessible to Legal residents however however the quality of facilities can vary especially in rural areas in a smaller Island and talking about the rural areas in a small towns our next negative aspect is exactly about that while Greece is charming Villages and historic sites are beautiful most of them are often not senior friendly while this problem might sound Patty it can limit your ability to enjoy the country fully if you don't have good knes another thing that might sound small but it can bother you is that their internet quality in gree is bad and the price is expensive they have one of the lowest average internet speeds in the entire Europe now let's talk about the elephant in the room bureaucracy the Greeks invented the word bureaucracy once an Italian told us that only Greek bureaucracy is worse than Italian they are known for its complex administrative processes which can be frustrating for forigners these are requirements for instance can can be seen like a maze as a RoR you likely need to apply for a d Visa which requires proof of sufficient income health insurance and a clean criminal record property ownership laws for forers are also more complicated while you can buy property in Greece there are restrictions in certain border areas and Islands another obstacle is the language barrier Greek isn't exactly the easiest language to learn far from that it has a unique alphabet and complex grammar but don't let that discourage you many Greeks especially in larger cities speak other language according to the last data 51% of the country can speak English this is one of the highest percentages in entire Europe however learning some Greek will greatly improve your integration with the locals and that's why I always recommend learning the local language in the comment section I'll give a link for a very effective software that I use to learn languages I said before that if you plan to retire in Greece aens is probably not the best idea instead right now you discover three places that offer you at the same time lower costs high quality of life and good infrastructure we start with Thessalon in central Macedonia this is the second largest city in Greece with around 1 million people in its metro area as with every Big City it has its pros and cons lots of cars and noise in certain parts but also good hospitals plenty of things to do and an International Airport one good characteristic of thessalonica is that it's considerably cheaper and safer than aens locals also say that one huge Advantage is it how close the city is to haiki Peninsula which has wonderful beaches national parks and is just 1 hour drive away the best neighborhoods of Tessalon for an expat according to locals are calamaria a city by itself sui and tumba however one local alerted us that tumba might be chaotic before and after football games this is what a local told us about the city open quote thess salonic is the way to go beautiful popular easy to walk around inexpensive great people end quote well let's check what we can afford in th salonic with onethird of the rent of a studio in Boston this means $970 or less than €900 we found this Waterfront apartment with 105 square m and three bedrooms and this Majestic View for only €700 $770 per month in Boston for a three-bedroom apartment you would pay $5,800 and in Boston you would not have that view or that weather or easy access to tasa malata here you have all that for $770 per month but there is a city that ranks even higher than the salonic for patriar it is kamata in the peloponese region this is smaller with around 70,000 residents but with this size you have most of the benefits of a City without the cows and high prices this is what a local told us open quote I think it's hard to beat camata has a value proposition for remote work and it's only 2.5 hours from aens by car end quote by the way if you are a fun of Olives like me know that this city has some of the best in the world so what a person can rent in Kalamata for less than €900 first of all €900 is too much for kalamata you'll simply not need to spend all that an apartment with two bedrooms with a stunning view of the Meenan golf costs only 500 per move $550 in Boston a parking spot can cost more than that and talking about views let's talk about a place that nearly one in every two locals told us it's a good place to retire in Greece creit but creit is a big island so we focus on a specific City Haya a city with 110,000 residents Hana is a contrast to heracleon the kept of crit which is larger and not as beautiful and if you talk about beauty well Hana really score some points on this Factor while at the same time the driving skills of the local received a fair amount of criticism this is what a resident told us about the city open quote H is super gorgeous but the whole driving is different you you really have to be careful end quote since the city has more tourist appeal the prices are a bit higher still there are plenty of good properties under our budget of €900 check this apartment here I couldn't believe how good is the location from the balcony you can see the sea a this lemon tree is cutting a bit of the view and this is how close the beach is the price € 620 per month or just $680 another cting cre locals recommended for retirement is REO not far from haa but much smaller with only 34,000 people well before finishing I want to leave the words of an expecting grease he kind of summarized everything open quote has someone making around $2,000 monthly I find the food Landscapes housing at the right price private healthcare access social life and entertainment options in Greece all great additionally most people in Greece speak English better than in many other places close quote so what do you think remember when I mentioned another place where we can enjoy Mediterranean weather and only pay 7% income tax it's sou for Italy and this is not the only great thing they have to discover more check this video here at your left you'll be surprised at how many benefits places like Calabria Sicily and Pula have for forine rares