Well…it’s been a while!
I must apologise for not being here, on my blog, for quite some time. You see, I’m living here in Crete with the aim of finding a home to live out my dreams. Yes, that sounds kinda corny, but it’s very real and very much in line with my wanted destiny.
Since early February, we’ve been renting various houses, apartments and studios in the attempt to lock down that very special place. I’ve only been back to blighty twice since then and that was only for mums 80th birthday celebrations and also to keep a check on our house.
But, it’s not all roses and dreamy days here. We still haven’t found the perfect place and since talking to locals and a few realtors, we have possibly come to a conclusion about our future living plans.
My ultimate manifestation is taking too long to accept. I now understand that buying a permanent place here in Greece is not what we want.
To be honest, this came as a bit of a shock one day when reality kicked in and almost wrecked the dream.
You see, it not so easy to buy a place out here. We originally thought we would take our time finding a home in Greece and that it would fall into our lap, but we now realise, this is not going to happen anytime soon.
The house on the left is typical of the type of property we imagined, but many of these are in the owners family for many generations. This means it can be a long and laborious exercise to make sure there isn’t a long lost uncle who may still have an interest in it. It’s not as easy as many estate agents make out.
So, with this realization we have decided NOT to buy a home here, but to just keep on renting places instead. I now understand that this is the best way to accept our dreams. Yes, ideally, that perfect home will appear soon, but there is so much baggage that comes with the process that it may taint the whole experience.
Buying a property in Greece can be a minefield. Unless you have an extremely healthy bank balance, it is a long, long process. We have money and can live quite easily in Greece, but not enough money to totally relax and forget about it.
The taxes are high, the process of elimination of land rights is long (people leave their property to family members that have a long line of siblings!), rules change every other week (so it seems) and good, concrete advice can be hard to find.
We have looked at 5 possible properties, all beautiful, but along comes the baggage with everyone of them.
For instance, we fell in love with a town house just outside of the old city of Rethymnon and started negotiations. Instantly we knew it would be a long process and would prove pretty expensive. If we had 150k in cash, right there and then, with a couple of million spare, it would have been a breeze. Because down the line, that 150k would turn into 200k and would only be a little dent in our finances. But if you haven’t got the back-up, it becomes really risky.
I won’t bore you with the details, but suffice to say, there are a lot of add-ons when buying a house in Greece. This particular house was 200 years old and full of character with great views, but it wasn’t meant to be.
This also happened in Chania, so we knew, it wasn’t going to be easy.
Then something happened...
Kristos, (our Greek mentor!) asked us why we really wanted to live in Greece.
Such a simple question and it was readily answered.
“We love it here. We love the pace of life, the scenery, the weather, the sounds, the people..everything!”
“Fine, but must you tie yourself down with ownership of a property here? Even we Greeks are displeased with the way our government keeps finding ways to take our money. If I were you I would just visit!
The lightbulb moment came on.
We have spent the last 2 years travelling around Greece looking for possible places to live and loved every island we visited.
A year ago we stayed at our friends house in Kos, who advised us not to invest in Greek property (just yet) because it will ruin our perception of Greek living. We wouldn’t listen though and kept on searching.
Now their well intentioned words came back to us.
We didn’t want our lust for Greek living to die. We didn’t want to become just another ex-pat. We wanted to roam free and be free to do whatever we wanted. Being tied down might just come back and bite us.
When we came to the conclusion and understanding that the last 2 years of our lives have been the best yet, but our dream was beginning to be tainted by overthinking, it was one of those Eureka moments!
We just carry on as we are, living almost as visitors. Now we can live on any island we want for as long as we want without being tied down to owning, what is essentially, just a building.
We make all of Greece our home, not just a tiny bit of it.
It’s not expensive to rent, travel is easy, we can see so much more of Greece, find out the different characteristics of the Islands (Zakynthos people have a wicked sense of humour!) and enjoy them all at a little bit at a time.
Does this sound irresponsible?
Good!
At the moment we are living just outside the city of Rethymnon in a little village called Galios. We’ve been here for just over 6 weeks, and loved it but now we’re on our way to the east of the island, somewhere where we’ve never been, Sitia. A large-ish town that has its own Airport and sea port. This should be interesting!
We intend to stay there for another 6 weeks and then head south. Or maybe, stay longer…or shorter. That’s the beauty of this.
In June, we had incredible weather. Not the sunny stuff you would associate with Crete, but heavy rain, thunderstorms and cold winds! Kostas, our neighbour, says it was unusual, but very much needed after a dry winter.
In all, 3 weeks of British weather, and talking to a few folks on holiday here, very disappointing for them! But the sun is back out now and it’s in its late 80’s as I write this in mid July.
I have an old mobile phone that I only use once in a blue moon, (hubby only uses his for sports results when we are in a hotspot), we rarely switch on the TV, although the World Cup has been a pleasing distraction for us of late, we have no Internet connection here in Galios, but can use free wifi in cafes and bars if the moment takes us, and our transport is by bus or taxi.
We hire a car now and again, but only when the fees are low. We are going back in time!
I will have to buy a camera, or upgrade my mobile phone so I can take photos, but to be honest, these ‘luxuries’ are not missed. We have a few photos of our exploits in Greece, but most are just weird and of houses, interiors, dogs and cicadas!
So What Do Our Friends Think?
I know for a fact that some people back in England think we’ve flipped or just gone plain weird. “What are two people in their fifties, bumming around Greece, think they’re doing” I can hear them and it honestly brings a smile to my face.
They say it’s not conventional, it’s irresponsible and what if everyone did this?
Well, why don’t they?
By the way, what we’re doing is not that unusual. We have met British, German, Dutch and Russian people who are doing exactly the same. There is a kind of secret smile amongst us all.
Many live like this because they are free willed people who have moved away from their comfort zone. One couple told me their life was just starting…they were both in their late 60’s. It’s never too late.
Our son, Jack, absolutely loves what we’re doing. He’s at Uni back in England and has come over twice this year already. To see his smile and relaxed attitude about life is a great thing to behold. He has the same Law of Attraction attitude as us and is in no doubt at all that he will be a millionaire within a few years and will be kicking back in California living the life of luxury by the time he’s 30.
He has his head screwed on correctly, loves to work hard, and loves his chosen path. His focus is incredible.
Now, if only I had had the same attitude when I was his age, life really would of been there for the taking.
I also have no doubt he will be the man he wants to be. His belief is so strong that he cannot fail to accept what he is producing. So proud of him
We Are All Different
So, that’s where we are. All this by living the Law of Attraction and believing we CAN really do this.
It’s not for everyone, but if you would have told me 10 years ago that I would be happily living on various Greek Islands without hardly a care in the world, I would have concluded that you were quite mad!
It really is like being on a permanent holiday!
I have more things to tell you and will try to update more often in the future, such as the costs of living here, how we commute from island to island, cheapest way to get here from England, (hint: buy one way flights with no baggage), long term rental ideas, but organization is not my strongest point, so posts may be infrequent.
One thing you must understand, we are not rich, we don’t need to be. We get by. Money is not that important to us, after all, it was money that screwed us in the first place!
Hey, life is short. Do what you want to do in life. Find the real reason what you were really born to enjoy. Don’t limit yourself. Get out of your comfort zone and live that life you were meant to.
Everyone on this earth is different in some way or another. My life, I know, will not appeal to everyone, but that’s the beauty of it. If everyone did the same thing, wouldn’t life be a drag?
Find your own little bit of magic and make living really worth it. Manifest the life you want, believe in yourself and believe in the Law of Attraction. Take it with both hands and develop it into your destiny.
It’s already there, so go get it.
Well all I can say Gail is Wow and Bloody Good Luck to you and your husband!
I think what you are doing sounds fabulous: not for me but that’s only because I’m not fond of hot weather anymore but the travelling round somewhere you love…
I think many others may think you have both ‘flipped’ as you say: but that would bring a smile to my fact too.
I think your son is very lucky indeed to have parents like you who have nurtured the LOA belief in him at such a tender age and like you: Oh how I wish all this had been common knowledge when I was his age. How much happier and more successful mine, and my husband’s life, life would have been…
Please continue to update us with your exploits and most of all – have a FAB TIME!
Aww, thanks Maureen…
At the moment it’s pretty nippy here! I’ve had the fire on for the last few days, in fact, when I looked out of the window earlier all I could see was grey skies, a bit of drizzle and was aware of a biting, cold wind! It was just like being back in blighty!
And, yes, we’re very proud of our son, Jack. He has everything to go for and the best thing is…he knows it. When we were his age, we didn’t seem to have any focus on the future, sort of just drifting along, waiting for things to happen to us instead of going out and getting them.
I’m so glad he sees things differently.
I intend to write more on my blog in the near future, I’ve been busy of late, what with the move and settling in. Also, there are forecasts of thunderstorms and lots of rain, so no excuses for not updating when we’re confined indoors!
Thanks for your kind words again, Maureen, it’s much appreciated.
All the best
Gail